Rifle Paper Co. ready to open store in Tampa's Hyde Park Village

Rifle Paper Co. is opening its second store Saturday, this one in Tampa’s Hyde Park Village, turning a former Paper Source storefront into a showcase for the Florida brand’s stationery, gifts and home goods.

The 2,700-square-foot shop at 714 S. Village Circle is the company’s first boutique outside Winter Park, where its flagship has operated from within its headquarters since 2010. Rifle Paper Co. announced plans to lease the space in March. The new brick-and-mortar shop sits between Stoney Clover Lane and Pirate Candy Shop and promises customers exclusive products that can’t be found anywhere else, the company says.

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Tampa gave the company its first chance to design a store from start to finish, co-founder and artist Anna Bond says in a release. Rifle Paper Co. designed the store with local architect Joe Hafner and DeLotto builders, Bond says .

“This store is everything I have dreamed about for many years, including hand-painted details, custom wallpaper, a children’s reading nook, and of course, a home for the majority of our stationery, home, and gift products,” Bond says in the release. 

The opening adds a Florida-founded retailer to the six-block shopping district owned by Massachusetts-based WS Development. Rifle Paper Co.’s opening collection gives the brand’s illustrated goods a Florida twist, with pirate ships, alligators and seashells appearing on products sold exclusively at the Tampa shop, the release says.

Anna and Nathan Bond started Rifle Paper Co. in 2009 after Anna, then a freelance illustrator, began designing wedding invitations for herself and friends. The business grew from stationery into home furnishings, with products including wallpaper made with York Wallcoverings and rugs made with Loloi. 

Rifle Paper Co. will host an opening day celebration Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the new shop and around Hyde Park’s central Village Circle Fountain, where there will be a large-scale floral installation and several other outdoor activities, the release says.

The first 400 guests will receive a free tote bag, screen printed live on-site, and free popsicles from nearby Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops. Additional activities include a free vintage photo booth and DIY bouquets from Posies Flower Truck, the release says.