After 50-plus years in the fine paper business, Jackie Howard is known for expert advice and depth in understanding the role of fine paper in life’s celebrations and day-to-day use.
At 13, Jackie’s mother, Joy, took her to J.P. Stevens downtown for her birthday gift where she chose monogrammed dye and engraved “thank you” notes. She recalled, “From that time on, I was aware of fine stationery and paper. Our family traveled to Europe at the age of 18, and mom carried my engraving dyes. In Switzerland, I ordered engraved stationery again using my old dye.”
Jackie Howard has decades of experience with fine paper, etiquette and other aspects to offer advice.
Howard was later off to NYC for New York’s Stationery Show to set up accounts with engravers and printers. After that, she created a German-made stationery line. Then, she created a Crane stationery collection, which was distributed nationwide in high-end stores.
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On her kitchen table, she learned about advertising, graphic design, pressing type and committed to her “forever love of stationery.”
She opened her first shop in Buckhead, Paces Papers By Jackie. In 1996, during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, she relocated to 110 East Andrews. She celebrated her 50th anniversary in February.
She stated, “The bulk of our business is designing and printing wedding invitations. We often design and print the bride and groom’s entire portfolio – save the date, wedding invitation, rehearsal dinner invitation, program, menu, place cards, thank you notes. We create one-of-a-kind, custom-printed invitations for life’s milestones, from birth to passing. We are currently working on an 85th birthday celebration for a long-time client where we created his 70th, 75th and 80th invitations.”
Howard thinks outside-the-box with exceptional creativity: elegant menus with mouth-watering wording for at-home entertaining, custom design powder room guest towels, personal “life crests” to commemorate special occasions, place card holders making the table memorable. “Save the Date” cards remain popular.
Jackie Howard created this invitation for a rehearsal dinner: silver metallic paper printed in two colors with handmade silver linings.
Howard designed a globe featuring a photograph of the honored person. Another “Save the Date” was embedded in a world globe that rotated using solar power.
Howard sells a huge gift collection with curated items and an extensive collection of greeting cards for every occasion, including an “inappropriate” section. Jackie is often asked for advice on etiquette by clients. Howard replied to “good manners” questions here as a self-professed “Southern, old-fashioned, reformed Jew.”
Paces Papers, Inc., Jackie Howard, is located on 110 East Andrews. The store is open from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. Sundays are closed. 404-231-1111.
Jackie’s Pearls of Wisdom
Determining quality: “I believe in hand feel and paper stock thickness. Deckle edges are found on some European made papers. These can be machine or hand-made. They indicate a high-quality paper. Bohemia Paper was one of the companies I wanted to visit in Prague. They make the most beautiful handmade paper, with cotton fibers, that has a lovely texture and weave. It is exquisite visually and in your hand.”
Metal invitation with VIP Save the Date Daniel. Acrylic invite with white printing.
Modern Technology: “During COVID, we faced challenges due to the supply chain slow down. We purchased a high-tech, high-end digital printer which was a game changer to now print in-house, allowing faster turn-around time.”
Families blended (parents who have had multiple marriages) Include the names of the parents with their newer spouses, resulting in less hurt feelings with the peoples’ names on the invitation. Also, Howard’s not opposed to the bride and groom issuing their own invitations, doing the reply envelope back to the bride’s mother and spouse.
Couples of different faiths and their geographical location Howard will determine if there are two Jewish parents and whether the bride or groom comes from the South, the Northeast or both. In a traditional Southern invitation, the invitation is issued by the bride’s parents mentioning the daughter’s and groom’s name, with no mention of the groom’s parents. In a wedding where the groom’s parents are from the Northeast, she advises the bride that if they leave off the groom’s parents, they will take it as a slight. In their tradition, the invitation includes “son of.”
Observant Jews: Howard offers a blessing on the page in the upper right-hand corner…Hebrew characters Bet Hay. Jackie added, “If it is more important to one of the families to have a Bet Hey, it should be included. As a visual person, I feel it’s a beautiful, decorative touch.”