Special occasions like weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, birthdays, and graduation all involve cards: invitations, congratulatory cards, place cards, thank you cards and more. Picking the right font, color, wording, and paper can be a time consuming process before any event.
A short trip to Cedar Lane—or a long one if you come from out of state as many do—to Cohen Paperie & Gifts will fulfill all your invitation and card needs. The store, run by Ruth Cohen, has everything from custom invitations and greeting cards to commercial printing and gifts.
Cohen started off doing graphic design and typesetting for newspapers after making the move from Israel to New York. She then spent five years working in a printing shop in Brooklyn until her boss helped her open her own store in Flushing in 1996. It was open for 12 years before Cohen moved her shop to 500 Cedar Lane in Teaneck after getting married and moving to New Jersey.
Cohen’s store is one of the top options for Hebrew printing, and many people come in from out of town for that option. Last weekend alone three couples from West Hempstead, Philadelphia, and Princeton came in to have wedding invitations made. “People know they are going to get something special if they come here,” Cohen said. “I’m here for quality,” she later added; all invitations are custom made and sent out to high-end printers for maximum quality.
In addition to custom-made cards, there’s a wide variety of papyrus greeting cards for purchase. There’s also a new special line from L’Chaim of Jewish greeting cards. “People keep telling me that this is what Cedar Lane needed, a hig- quality stationery and gift store,” Cohen said. “There’s no need to go to the mall to get a nice card.”
A large variety of gifts that “say something” are also available: baby shirts with slogans like “The Prince Has Arrived” and “That’s How I Roll”; wall signs with “My Mom is My BFF” and “My Favorite People Call Me Grandpa”; mugs that say “I am a Great Shadchan/Rebbe/ Schmoozer,” and “#1 Morah” are among the offerings. There are also pillows, scarves, picture frames, journals, bar mitzvah books, and more.
“You want to say something meaningful with your gift and that’s what we’re here for,” Cohen said. “It’s not expensive, but there’s a lot of meaning to it,” she added while showing off a heart- shaped stone paperweight designed as a gift for nurses.
Cohen Paperie & Gifts is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m, and late evenings by appointment only. To contact Ruth Cohen at Cohen Paperie & Gifts, call 201-287-0343 or email [email protected]. For more details on services and products, visit cohenprinting.com.
By Aliza Chasan
