This story is featured in CityBeat’s Dec. 13 print edition.
The charming city of Wyoming is now home to a new local business, The Sticker Shop. The shop opened at the end of October and sells a variety of stickers, stationery and scrapbooking items. The Sticker Shop is owned by writer and disability advocate Amy Webb (her daughter was born with limb differences and she has been outspoken about what it’s like to raise a disabled child), whose love of collecting stickers started as a child and blossomed into a lifelong passion.
The idea for the shop came from Webb’s desire to inspire people to have more in-person connections. While much of her work has been online-oriented through her blog This Little Miggy Stayed Home and personal Instagram account, and she’s made genuine friendships through the internet, she acknowledges the “prickliness” that has seeped into almost every online platform. “I love the online world,” she said. “I don’t think it’s inherently negative. I think it’s a tool, and it depends on how you use it. That said, I was still just tired from being online.”
Webb’s childhood passion drove her to open a sticker shop to encourage in-person connections and bonding. “A lot of it just had to do with wanting to, both on a personal level but also on a bigger level, really just inspire people, particularly kids, to get analog again,” said Webb.
Walking into the shop creates a semi-throwback feel with a modern ‘80s vibe featuring pastel purple walls and a holographic bubble letter logo. “Sticker collecting was such a nostalgic part of my childhood,” said Webb. “I kind of consider the whole shop a love letter to my Gen-X childhood.”
The shop includes a collection of new and vintage sticker packs and a sticker wall filled with rolls of stickers where you can tear individual sheets off, which has become a quick fan favorite. Not only are the sheets 60 cents each, but Webb has found that many adults are taken back to the sticker shops of their childhood. “People always want to tell me about the shop in their town that has a wall of stickers, which is what I had, too,” said Webb.
Another popular throwback are the scratch-and-sniff sticker packs, some of Webb’s favorites. She explained that one of the “OG” sticker companies of the ‘80s, TREND, recently re-released their beloved scratch-and-sniff stickers, all featuring their original designs and scents.
Webb also spends time tracking down stickers from vintage sticker collectors online and ordering others from South Korea, which she learned is a big sticker and stationery hub. Some of her favorite Korean stickers she sells in the shop come with cardboard scenes, which have pop culture references like the living room from Friends and more generic play scene backgrounds to place stickers on.
It was also important for Webb to find stickers to represent all kinds of people. There are stickers depicting kids wearing wigs and going through treatment and others showing individuals with gastrostomy tubes, which Webb said therapists and other people working in hospital settings have been excited to find and share with their patients. Additionally, there are sign language sticker sets.
With so many stickers, customers need a place to store them all, and Webb has thought of that as well. She offers three types of sticker books, which she mentioned many people are getting for kids to start their own sticker collections — something Webb began doing years ago with her own children.
Even though it’s called The Sticker Shop, customers will also find a variety of stationery and scrapbook supplies. “There’s much more than just stickers,” said Webb. Towards the back of the shop is a collection of vintage stationery, some of which dates back to the ‘50s and ‘60s, along with Lisa Frank and Hello Kitty designs. “That’s been really fun for me to hunt, find and collect,” Webb said.
Along with providing a spot for people to connect and engage, Webb also made sure to include letter-writing sets and scrapbooking supplies as a way for people to document their lives. “I truly believe in the power of writing and stories and keeping track of that,” she said. “Whatever way you record your life, it’s worth your time doing that.” Central to the store’s design is a desk in the middle of the space, where Webb welcomes customers to sit down and write letters.
Journaling is a record-keeping method with mental health benefits that is close to Webb’s heart, and she hopes to introduce both kids and adults to it through her store. From travel and gratitude journals to notebooks from the United Kingdom, Webb is on a mission to offer items that you can’t easily find at big online retailers like Amazon.
Another way Webb documents her own life is through scrapbooking. She sells a collection of binders, along with a variety of filler paper that customers can mix and match — ranging from sticky-back photo pages to pages designed to hold tickets from concerts and shows.
Another perk to visiting The Sticker Shop is that Wyoming Community Coffee is next door. You don’t even need to walk outside to place an order after a trip to The Sticker Shop because the two shops are connected. Webb explained that Sara Aschliman, who owns Wyoming Community Coffee, proposed the open archway idea so that The Sticker Shop customers could easily use the coffee shop’s accessible bathrooms, something Aschliman asked for Webb’s opinion on when the coffee shop first opened due to her background and knowledge.
Outside of her sticker shop and writing career, Webb is a passionate and knowledgeable disability advocate. “I was so lucky in getting the exact space I wanted, and a big part of that was there were no steps; I knew it was completely flat,” she explains. While the space didn’t need a major overhaul, one addition she made sure to install was an accessible button on the front door. “It’s not cheap to renovate places, but it’s also really important that people do what they can,” said Webb.
Since opening, Webb has received an enthusiastic and welcoming response from the Wyoming community, which is one of the reasons why she chose the location. She plans to host monthly workshops, with some of the first sessions focusing on calligraphy and bullet journaling. “With each workshop, it’s not just you coming and learning the things,” she explained. “You’ll get the pens you need to do it and the paper — whatever’s kind of part of it. So you’ll get a little starter pack of the skill we’re teaching you.”
The Sticker Shop, 434 A Springfield Pike, Wyoming. Info: instagram.com/thestickershopcincinnati.
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This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 12, 2023.
