- March 28, 2025
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A business that began in an Atlanta area apartment selling cardmaking supplies has grown to a seven-figure operation in a north Manatee County warehouse.
The Palmetto-based company, called Pink and Main, started with a feeling.
“I always had just kind of a feeling I wanted to do something on my own,” says Michelle Currie, creative director and owner of Pink and Main. ”I just took the leap.”
Currie had been working as a medical technologist for 11 years when the company was born.
“I emptied my bank account to purchase my first manufactured stamps,” Currie says. “And fortunately, it worked out for me, with a lot of hard work and loving what I do.”
Currie started Pink and Main out of her basement apartment in 2014 in Social Circle, Georgia. After a year or two, she says she had to expand since her residence filled up with supplies.
The business sells its own branded papercrafting materials like stamps, dies and foil, as well as “pretty papers and everything someone needs to make their own handmade cards,” Currie says.
“Starting and running a business, I think I encountered the same challenges that anyone else would but also a little extra because there are things that I can’t do myself, that I have to get help doing,” says Currie, who has muscular dystrophy and is in a wheelchair. “But I still find a way to get things done.”
Pink and Main opened a storefront in 2019 at Georgia Square Mall in Athens, Georgia. Then, during the pandemic, Currie decided to close up shop and move south.
The papercrafting business is now in a 7,500-square-foot warehouse space on 14th Avenue East in Palmetto, which supports her ecommerce operations as well as a retail store.
While she declines to disclose figures, Currie says Pink and Main has been “growing every year, little by little,” and now has a seven-figure revenue.
“It sounds like a hobby, but it really is a big, big business,” Currie says of papercrafting and cardmaking.
After getting established in the warehouse in 2021, Currie says she decided to convert extra office space into a retail area because clients wanted to visit a store.
Crafters “search us out,” Currie says. “There are not many stores left out there that sell stuff for papercrafting, other than a couple of the big-box stores. They always carry the same thing, pretty much. They don’t change things out too often.”
Pink and Main, on the other hand, sells smaller brands and more unique supplies.
“We have people come from all over,” Currie says, like travelers from Canada and Wisconsin. “There’s just something about touching and feeling and seeing things in person when you’re shopping — that’s still important.”
The rest of the warehouse is dedicated to inventory, packaging and shipping.
Pink and Main has eight employees, according to Currie, including part and full-time staffers.
“We do some of our own manufacturing here in the warehouse,” Currie adds. “We print our own paper products.”
The papercrafting company’s reach extends well beyond its commercial space and website, as the business has a robust social media presence.
To date, Pink and Main has more than 29,000 Instagram followers; 14,000 Facebook followers; and more than 8,000 subscribers to its YouTube channel.
The company regularly sends new products to influencers who post videos showcasing them on social channels.
“A big part of it is showing people how to create with the products,” Currie says of her business. “Some people say, ‘Oh, I’m not creative at all,’” but if they can see how to do something and copy it, their inspiration will start flowing.
Currie is leading a virtual class on cardmaking in March during a conference sponsored by trade publication "Scrapbook & Cards Today" magazine that will draw more than 3,300 people.
“One of the biggest challenges for me is just staying on top of trends and coming out with new ideas,” Currie says.
For example, she says, each winter holiday season the company tries to think of something beyond Santa Claus, mistletoe or other well-worn concepts.
“You’ve always got to be thinking of what’s new and different and unique, something that separates you from everyone else that’s out there,” Currie explains.
To keep things fresh, the business in 2019 began offering monthly subscription boxes. It has been “great for business” because it generates a steady stream of orders, Currie says.
One obstacle the business faces is that companies overseas have taken original artwork and sold it for a lower price than Pink and Main can buy the products.
“We’re being counterfeited, just like a Gucci or Chanel bag,” Currie says. Asked whether she thinks tariffs would raise prices and make counterfeiters less competitive, she says that is the hope.
“It’s hard to fight it,” Currie says. “So I just stay focused on what I’m doing and treating my customers the best that we can. And I think if you do that, they’ll keep coming to you for the real thing.”
In addition, Currie believes in the product she is selling, which is more of an experience.
“In a world where we're all sending text messages and emails, there really is still something special about getting a card in the mail or handing someone a card,” Currie says. “And how much more special is it that you took the time to make it yourself.”
