I'm so glad we stopped by to visit this fantastic business in the East Village! There is an excellent selection of greeting cards, writing tools, notebooks, potential gifts, and stationery with good pricing in a terrific setting. The store feels good. We met Karen, a warm staffer with excellent customer service who knew the store well. I'm looking forward to my next visit! read more

Ephemera Stationery Studio - Cards & Stationery Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Favorite Stationary Studio!! For so many reasons it's not funny!! I get so many compliments on the nature of the cards I buy there, that my family and friends say they love!! read more

Selection is very small and what they have is not well... curated. The woman behind the counter was extremely loud. read more

I liked in that movie 500 Days Of Summer, the character works at a Card Writing company.. That stuck with me! Cards can say so much without saying much! This cute store does just that! It says so much in such a small package.. Perfect final piece to that perfect gift, or if you just need to send someone a little reminder of how much you love them.. read more

The BEST place in Iowa to get fun cards, stationary, and gifts. I can spend so much time and money going through all the unique and witty cards. I recommend it to everyone I know! read more

Exceptionally smart and helpful staff Wonderful old architectural touches in the decor Highly recommended read more

Wonderful local spot to shop. They have adorable stationary and a fantastic selection of cards. I love buying my calendar locally each year and this is definitely the place to get it. read more

Oh my, so much temptaion in one place for a paper junkie. I loved all of the gorgeous art papers, along with the other beautiful baubles scattered throughout this fun little shop. The selection is quirky and will tickle the creative within you. Have fun! I know I will be back again to feed my addiction. read more

Ephemera is THE place in Des Moines to go for nice cards, gifts and custom print needs. They are extremely prompt whenever you need a print job done, it is always perfectly done and they are so incredibly kind and friendly. They are willing to offer advice on any project, provide guidance and direction all while making sure your original vision is realized. Their selection of cards is delightful. From the humorous to the delicate, they have one for every occasion and with the help of Ephemera you will be on top of your game with the perfect card! Their birthday offerings range from the silly to the sweet, they offer wedding cards that will for sure make that scrapbook of the happy couple. They truly have a card for every occasion. They select cards from the best vendors and even have some made in house! Don't forget to grab some of their wrapping paper and ribbon while you're in, they have a wonderful selection of adorable papers! read more

Great place for a unique gift or card, but their card selection is admittedly very small. No reason to NOT check it out for art supplies, lotions, candles, chocolates, and everything in between. read more

I'm bringing postage back. Remember the excitement of there being a "real" letter when you were in college? Well, it never went away. It's still boss to get a letter with actual handwriting on the front. Far too often people forget, or neglect the simple pleasure of opening a post box and not seeing a impersonal form letter, the gas bill, or yet another post card from that optometrist that you went to three years ago when you needed more contacts - quickly. When I stumbled upon Ephemera Stationary Studio a few months ago, I was looking for one, maybe two quickie birthday cards to two of the four people that are on my holiday card list. What I found in the shop was inspiration and beauty surrounding me. Passing through the birthday cards, thank you notes, I noticed fine collections of charming and original hand-made cards. Blank for "Just Because." While browsing, I met and had a nice chat with the gal behind the counter of the benefits and pitfalls of giving a gift of paint-by-number pictures painted or unpainted. (My sister sure enjoyed her UN-painted pictures at Christmas.) Ephemera provides the cards, notes, and design-intuitiveness for one-of-a-kind cards - the kind of cards that end up on a fridge, or in a cubicle, just because. Just because they're pretty, and just because you forked over the $.42 to make someone's day. Find it at Ephemera. read more

This is a great little shop that sells homemade stationery as well as a small assortment of handmade jewelry, accessories, home items, and other shiny objects that I have no real use for but want to purchase anyway. They do custom stationery, invitations, etc. and though I haven't looked through their selection extensively, what I've seen looked very creative and exciting. The greatest thing about Ephemera is that there's a whole "crafting" room toward the back where they hold different classes each month - knitting, printmaking, sessions with local artists, etc. The classes are reasonably priced and although I haven't had a chance to sign up for one yet, there's always something that looks fun! read more

I am a sucker for good stationary and cards and this shop has them! Locally owned and locally created, so if you are looking for something specific, these ladies can make it for you. Everything in the store is very creative and handmade, but if you are looking for a wide variety of choices, you might want to go to Hallmark or make a custom order. It also helps that they always have coffee/cocoa and cupcakes available for you while browsing. read more

I come to ephemera every time I need the perfect snarky or sentimental (or sometimes both) card. Visiting with the owners Arin and Karen is like a therapy session. I adore the little slice of sanity and calm they've created. read more

One of my favorite stores in the East Village. They have a very unique and vast selection of notecards, greeting cards, & stationary. Also, the staff is very helpful. Definitely a must for any paper product needs! read more

Got the most beautiful wedding invitations, thank you notes, coasters and menus from Ephemera. The staff was helpful and fun to work with, and their shop is adorable! They have lots of pretty cards and little gifts -- I couldn't help but buy something every time I went in to talk about my wedding paper products! At one point, we had a miscommunication about the color of the something, and the studio offered to reprint that day and even drop them off! Also -- we had to add a last minute note to our gift boxes, and the staff was able to print something adorable within a few hours. Highly recommend! Can't wait to go back when I'm in town. read more

When I walked into this store all of my stationary dreams came true. The two young women who own the store greet you, and are open to chat about your day while you browse the phenomenal inventory of their adorable shop. The first thing you see when you walk in are sassy, silly, intimate, or sweet cards that just seem to say what you want. Then to the left there are many treasures! The creations of local artist from Des Moines ranging from jewelry, wallets, to pin cushions. Also there are many interesting things you never knew you wanted, that these girls know how to find. I have not gotten married yet but when I do, these two ladies are the ones that I want making my invitations, thank you cards, and announcements. The many samples that they have available for viewing are tantalizingly sweet, and their personalities and ability to work with customers make me believe that they will be able to customize to your precise desire. If you are looking for a simple card to say thank you, or a gift for that person that has everything....this is the place to be! read more

If you are interested in supporting unique, local businesses this is an outstanding choice. Not only do they produce beautiful stationary items but they offer a variety of products made by other artists. Karen and Arin the young women who own and operate this store are delightful. Not only can you purchase wonderful merchandise but you get the opportunity to interact with two wonderful people. What could be better? read more

For the creative soul; a stationary studio tucked away in the East Village. There is something poetic about this shop. Pen to paper, this is deserving of my first 5-star review. read more

Ephemera is an AMAZING place to get your wedding invitations! They are custom designed to reflect your wedding tone and they were spot on exactly what we were looking for. Thanks to Arin for her great ideas and ability to hunt down the exact perfect paper products we couldn't be more thrillled to send these out. They look like they cost 2X what we paid! Do not let the word CUSTOM scare you aware from checking this place out because the prices were competitive with other online products that were not customizable. Thank you Ephemera we definitely have had a 5 star experience with you! read more

I used Ephemera for my wedding invitations and wedding-related stationary and they did an outstanding job! Not only were they professional and on-time but they were also quite personal and creative. If I needed help with a design, they were able to pull together some options for me which fit with the rest of my suite. They provided honest and helpful feedback and the end product was exactly what I hoped it would be! I definitely recommend them! read more

Wish they had an updated list of classes on their website. I've even sent an email asking what this months classes are... and received nothing in return. read more

It is always great to support a locally-owned business, particularly instead of using cookie-cutter online stationary options. Working with the girls at Ephemera was great initially, because you get to actually see and touch the samples and make custom choices to get exactly what you want. Plus, their shop is cute and they have fun personalities. Ephemera delivers a very high quality product... but of course you get what you pay for - they're not cheap! (We paid almost $1,000 for our wedding invites/RSVPs.) The cost was worth it though when people actually called or emailed specifically to tell us how awesome our invitations were. With that said, we would highly recommend you bypass the option of having Ephemera address your envelopes. Unfortunately there were several mistakes, which were not adequately fixed. We had a few people who never received the invites due to these errors! Very embarrassing and awkward when they had to come to us and ask if they were still invited. For these errors, I believe Ephemera refunded us approx. $5.00. We would also recommend that you proofread all estimates and invoices, as there are likely to be mistakes there too. This was one of the more frustrating parts of our wedding-planning experience, so regretfully we won't be using this shop again. :( I hate to write a critical review, but I found Yelp to be very helpful in planning our wedding. We just want to make sure to help future brides and grooms know where to closely review and consider things. But if you do want cute, quality stationary products in general, shop away! read more