Parker and Otis‘s loyal–nay, obsessive–fan base has kept the Durham retail institution busy since it first opened in 2007. It’s not hard to see why: wandering the store’s bright, witty interiors feels like being submerged in a fish tank of beautiful things. There are rows and rows of scented soaps and cast irons and jocular kitchen towels that, while kitschy, elicit a genuine “Hehe.” There are pickled goods. (There are lots, and lots, of pickled goods).
On Thursday, the American Tobacco Campus announced that Parker and Otis would be expanding to the campus with an outlet focused on the “tactile experience of putting pen (or pencil) to paper.” The shop will open in March.
In August, Parker and Otis owner Jennings Brody introduced a paper goods pop-up on the American Tobacco Campus, as part of ATC’s retail pop-up series. It ran during the month of August.
“I am never without a pile of assorted notebooks and an array of pens and pencils somewhere close by,” Brody said in a press release in July, in reference to the pop-up. “And really it’s absolutely just the loveliest thing to open your mailbox and find a handwritten postcard or note waiting for you. That’s why I am so excited for the opportunity to open a little a shop dedicated to writing more on paper!”
Come March, you can pop over to the new brick-and-mortar location on your lunch break and grab stationary on the go. The shop will also sell a selection of gifts, sandwiches from the Parker and Otis menu, and a curated selection of wine and beer, also drawn from the flagship stores’ stock.
Contact deputy arts and culture editor Sarah Edwards at sedwards@indyweek.com
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