PAPER DEPOT TODAY

In its modern new building just two blocks from its first home, Paper Depot has a reputation for having the finest selection of high quality printing papers and envelopes, imported hand made papers, Japanese and Italian silk screen papers, origami papers, book binding supplies, paper making, rubber stamping, brass stencils, scrap booking, and wax sealing materials, all selected with the do-it-yourself person in mind.

Design professionals are always available to help you create invitations for weddings, births, anniversaries, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, parties or any other occasion. Design staff will help you to coordinate papers and embellishments, estimate materials needed and costs, and advise you about layout, printing, adhesives, and cutting options as well as invitation etiquette. Paper Depot has a large customer work room supplied with paper cutters, die cutting machines, scoring and perforating machines, all available for its customers’ use free of charge. Paper Depot offers dozens of classes, each designed to teach a technique that can be applied to a variety of areas within the paper arts. Of special interest to brides is the Wedding Daze class. Scheduled several times each month, Wedding Daze covers design, materials, printing, and construction of do-it-yourself wedding invitations. We work hard to help you make your project beautiful and personal. Please stop into our store, we have the materials and the know how to help you with everything from book binding, wedding invitations, origami to wax seals. We would love to help you with your paper arts project today

Paper Depot was founded in 1973 as a subsidiary of a much larger national company. Located in a one hundred year old warehouse in downtown Minneapolis, the company’s mission was to service the needs of small, corner print shops by providing them with printing papers and envelopes along with the inks, chemicals, and supplies used in small printing presses.

In 1975, Bill Pupeza, having twenty-six years of experience in the wholesale paper business, purchased Paper Depot from its founding company. He and his high school aged daughter, Janice, added a line of towels, tissues, and mimeograph supplies and built a clientele of churches and other non profit organizations. Those who knew Bill knew that his word was his contract and that was the way the company operated.

In 1978, Bill’s son, Mark, joined the company. Mark had a background in retail hobbies and crafts management. Taking advantage of Mark’s background, Bill began to shift Paper Depot’s product mix to attract retail consumers. Retail consumers had up to this point found it difficult to find paper and envelopes in small quantities. Now they could not only get small quantities, but they could get fun and fancy papers as well. Bill also added a line of commercial office supplies, distributed catalogs, and began to sell office supplies to other businesses. Mark and Janice spent the next ten years working with their father, Bill, learning how to run the business with honor and integrity.

In 1988, Bill retired and his son, Mark, bought the company. Shortly after, Mark’s wife, Kathy, joined the company and today is its CFO. Mark’s sister, Janice, is the retail manager. Janice and Mark pushed further into the retail market by adding a large selection of rubber art stamps and brass stencils and began to choose papers that were good for making greeting cards. As the company grew, they asked their sister, Karen, to join them. Today Karen is head of purchasing and product development. Shortly after, their sister, Linda, joined them and today is the office manager and head of commercial customer service. Janice’s husband Mark runs the warehouse and production areas of the company. Bill’s family is still the core of Paper Depot’s large and diverse staff. Over the years many other family members have worked at Paper Depot as they went to school and eventually went on to pursue other careers. Bill still stops in to the office several times a week and Mark’s granddaughters are in once a week with their daddy, Ben. There are four generations of Bill’s family active at the Paper Depot and Bill’s principles of honor and integrity are still the foundation of the company