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Tucked behind a basement-level window filled with hanging origami, this shop has a variety of artistic papers. The main focus is on stationery; funky, floral-themed birth announcements, notepads, wedding invites, and the like take up most of the showroom, and the store works with a range of letterpress, thermography, and engraving companies to customize items for every occasion. An assortment of rubber stamp sets and ink pads allows shoppers to design their own invites, and a smattering of scented Kazu candles and Bluewick house sprays make for nose-tickling party favors. In addition to typical odds and ends like photo albums and silver ballpoint pens, Zoe Papers has a wide array of imported wrapping papers from Thailand, Taiwan, and other foreign countries. The patterns are so beautiful and the textures so sensual that each wrapper is a gift in and of itself. Sure enough, many visitors pick out map-printed papers (of Chicago’s El loop or the old New York subway system for instance) to frame. — Alex Littlefield