“I had come to Rock Paper Scissors many times—I always loved this shop, it was warm and welcoming, and it always had things I loved,” says Karen Ward. That was during the six years Ward worked in a stationery store in Alexandria. But as of January this year, she and her husband Jonathan are new Charlottesville residents and the excited owners of Rock Paper Scissors.
Since she was in the industry, Ward knew that the owners of Rock Paper Scissors were ready to sell after a successful 15-year run. “My husband heard me talking about it on a Zoom call,” Ward recalls, “and he has always wanted to live in a smaller mountain town.” The couple had visited Charlottesville often, and Ward loved the store. She was also looking for a new challenge, and their daughter lived in Richmond … so the decision was made.
Ward didn’t start off with big plans for change; she has spent her first season getting to know the store and its breadth of stock, its clientele, and the town. While Rock Paper Scissors does a thriving retail business, it also offers a full range of custom services—personal stationery and note cards, bridal and baby showers, anniversaries and birthdays (“We did cards for a birthday party for a woman turning 90,” Ward recalls. “If you get to that age, you should have a celebration!”)…