This week on the podcast, we have my friend and Paper Camp alum Stephanie Clarke of Dahlia Press and Chloe Clarke Paper. Stephanie has been on the show a few times, sharing how she started her business and different pivots along the way (episode 021, episode 160, and episode 308). But today, we are discussing where she's at now, including the complexities of running two sister businesses.

She has her greeting card and stationery line called Dahlia Press and a bespoke custom invitation studio called Chloe Clarke Paper.

We talk about the importance of building relationships in wholesale and custom work and the realities of juggling multiple business models including, a brick-and-mortar storefront, online sales, wholesale partnerships with big box accounts, and independent retailers.

You will also hear her talk about the challenges and victories of maintaining consistent growth as a business. This has been a really challenging year in 2025, and she's going to share how she has maintained and sustained during those challenges. We also talk about the evolving industry changes that are happening and how we deal with that, and the strategies that Stephanie uses to keep both her team and her customers engaged.

Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit.

Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners.

Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live, engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for our next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the waitlist and you'll get early access to enroll.

SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/424

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp

The Proof to Product podcast team and I are practicing what we preach and the podcast is taking a winter break! We will be back with a new podcast episode on Tuesday, January 6, and we have some incredible things lined up for you!

While we're gone, be sure to dip back into the archives. We have over 420+ incredible episodes to help you strengthen your business.

Have a great two weeks and I will see you on January 6th!

Today's episode is a look at what is going on with independent retail shops right now.

I sat down with my friend Jen from Tiny Turns Paperie. She's one of our Paper Camp speakers and a longtime advocate for small businesses.

We talk honestly about some of the hardships that shop owners have been facing during 2025: everything from operational curveballs to tariffs and other things that have impacted the way they do business.

We did get into some specifics about unpredictable buying patterns, last-minute shopping, the rise of treat yourself, and community-driven products.

We also talked about some of the less glamorous stuff that goes into running a brick & mortar like inventory delays, tariffs, shipping headaches, and things like that.

I think it's important for you to hear today's episode because the things that the indie buyers and brick and mortar shops are navigating do impact how they're doing business with you, too, so Jen's perspective is invaluable as always.

You'll hear specifically how she's possibly adjusting her buying, why planners are hot right now, and why she's focusing on collaboration across indie businesses to really strengthen customer loyalty.

If you want ongoing analysis like this about trends, data, systems, sales, and marketing strategies for your product-based business, come join us in LABS. We break down what's happening across the industry and help you apply it directly to your business

REQUEST YOUR INVITATION

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/423

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp