When the booths open up at the Niles Bensidoun French Market on Saturday, a special one will be set aside for a rather rare appearance.
French Paper Co. will be on hand, selling some of their specialty papers and products as the Niles DDA recognizes the company’s 140th year.
“It’s because of the 140th birthday,” said Jerry French, the fifth of the six French generations who have kept the company going.
It was the Niles DDA’s idea, French said, to have he and members of the company downtown for a special visit. While shoppers will be able to choose from crafting papers for scrapbooks, cards, envelopes, pins and soaps a special cake will also be on hand for the birthday.
For a company so heavily tied to its Niles roots, those who want to shop French Paper Co. have had to do so online. The company has not done too much in the form of retail sales.
Everything from its specialty papers in various colors, sizes and weights to retro wrapping paper, notebooks and more are available online.
“We’re just bringing down a small offering of what we have on the website,” French said.
Those customers who may be introduced to the company for the first time can get a whole lot more where that comes from online.
“They can always go online and get it,” French said. “It’s always available on our website.”
And that, in itself, may change.
French said he and the DDA have been kicking around ideas to “measure whether there enough interest of maybe doing something downtown.”
More than 100 paper mills have closed in the last 10 years, French said, and keeping the business successful has not been devoid of struggle.
The company has developed itself as a premiere, designer paper mill.
“We’ve got international customers coming in next week from Australia,” French said. “And we have designers in from Colorado. We’re trying hard.”
Still, he says he considers French Paper Co.’s 140 year run “very fortunate” and he credits the community.
“I think we’ve been pretty blessed,” he said. “There aren’t too many companies that could have survived if it weren’t for the kind of people we have in Niles. We wouldn’t be here today. We have good, caring employees.”
French will be at the Niles Bensidoun French Market on Saturday. For more information, go to www.frenchpaper.com.