Oblation Papers & Press

This place is such a treat. Just one of those places that is both an errand stop and a really pleasurable experience

Oblation is exactly what a paper store should be. Their attention to detail with all their goodies keeps me coming back for more. A must for any gift that needs that special touch.

Great paper store with an amazing selection of beautiful cards, papers and gifts. The even have refurbished typewriters for sale!!! Plus they gave their own letterpress shop and make hand made paper.

This little Shop was adorable. There are so many treasures to find. It feels as if I stepped back in time.

Six proofs later, the patients and professionalism of the staff intact, I have me some gorgeous classy perfect CARDS.
Worth the expense, if only for appreciation from the older generations.

I am not one for stationary stores but this is certainly one store that I really love. The selection keeps the creative side of you giddy with joy and paralyzed by the great choices. The staff is very knowledgeable and assist in making the right choice for your project or occasion.

We stumbled upon this cute little shop while strolling through Portland. They have stationery, wrapping paper, stamps, and much more. I ended up buying a few cards that were really unique and I can’t wait to give them! They also sell and clean old typewriters. A gem in the pearl district!

Alyssa at Oblation helped my husband and I pick out the most beautiful and elegant letterpress invitations for our wedding this year. We were overwhelmed by the options at bigger stores and online, and Alyssa kindly and calmly guided us through Oblation’s beautifully curated selection of design options, from fonts to envelopes. The experience was relaxed and fun, and the invitation we ended up with was beautiful enough to frame. (We actually are planning to frame it.) We also appreciated that she worked with our budget concerns, suggesting a mix of letterpress and flat-​printing to get the price where we needed it to be. During the printing process, there was a little glitch with the envelopes, but right after I left a message on their answering machine pointing out the problem, I received three separate apologies from members of the staff and they corrected the problem within two days, without charge. I was very impressed. Highly recommended.

A beautiful shop with the most helpful staff.
First impression is the sheer amount of unique paper products on display, impressive to say the least. I inquired about a one-​off letter project for my wife on our 23^rd anniversary, a little awkward at first but thats common because I have some strange ideas and don’t explain things well. Either way, Rachael stepped up and delivered my vision beyond what I was expecting. She took her time to interpret my idea and deliver a quality product that was a delightful surprise to my unsuspecting lady. While I would have settled for a far less superior product, the folks at Oblation delivered a masterpiece in my eyes. Far more than I could produce, well worth the price.

Lovely, curious, warm shop.
Pass through the old, seemingly original doors. Walk the old worn wood floors, peruse the various tables for cards, magnets, note cards etc. Look for the very old printing presses, hopefully pressing, at the back of the shop. On a lucky day you will see them making paper in large vats/​screens. Wax stamps, ribbons, buy by the piece paper and envelopes, wrapping paper etc.
This is the place for classy, elegant, unusual papers.
A must visit

REALLY niftywifty!
Their business card-​size individual papers made from recycled cotton are a dollar a piece.
Even if ye don’t have a lot of cash, if you need business cards, pick up a paper at a time, it’s worth it. They’re helping the environment with using recycled cotton to make some of the cards

Products are ridiculously over priced. Had some time to kill so I took my time browsing. Yes, I heard you, rude sales lady talking about me. Save your money and shop elsewhere where the staff are smart enough to keep their snotty comments out of earshot from their customers.

Lovely papers, cards, gift wrappings, gifts and typewriters! Yes, typewriters that you can buy! It was fun perusing their store and coming up with ideas for the Christmas holiday! Found tons of things I would love to buy or create. Some things are pricey and others are moderate. Would go here for any gift or card need.

This is a very darling shop; it’s Portlandy, cozy, and inviting. Our troubles started when we placed an order with them for very typical custom letterhead stationary and envelopes. When we placed the order, we went over what we wanted for our letterhead with their designer. Later that week I get an email with the PDF proof, which did come in a timely manner, but did not include the option that we really wanted to see. In addition, our address on the preprinted envelopes was incorrect.
Ok, so people make mistakes, no big deal, but the story continues. I sent them an email asking for the proof of what we initially talked about and to correct the address. The 2^nd proof comes in, the address is still not changed and again, I do not get the proof that I wanted. I email the designer again, requesting the proof that I wanted and again to correct the address. The 3^rd proof comes in, and again, not the proof that I wanted and the address is STILL incorrect. And on top of that, the designer wrote in the email that any additional proofs will be $ 10. I promptly called and explained to the designer that I did not get what I was asking for and to update the address. She was polite and said she will send me a proof at no charge since there was a miscommunication. The last proof was finally correct!
But wait. The story STILL continues. We come in to review the printed proofs, they are all correct, we sign the printed proofs, and the order is placed. The order is printed and ready to pick up within a day or so. Very quickly. We come in to pick up our order… The letterhead was correct, but the envelope order was completely wrong. Not only did they print the wrong address, again, but they printed on all the envelopes when we only requested for 20 to be printed, as we do not plan on living at our current location long enough for us to write 100 letters.
The associate and the designer are very nice and were quick to correct their mistakes. It’s just a little frustrating to be dealing with an error that couldn’t be resolved after two emails. All our correspondence with them was polite and friendly so I won’t write them off due to this unpleasant experience, but they definitely don’t have my loyalty.

Absolutely amazing! Beautiful store, wonderful products, priced reasonably for downtown Portland. My husband and I browsed for an hour just seeing all the amazing stuff!
Old typewriters just put out to play with! So stinking cool!

Oblation is a lovely little card, print & gift shop that we always visit on our trips to Portland because they have unique locally made cards. I always buy my mom’s B-​Day card here. The staff is always helpful & really nice.

Oblation Papers & Press has an amazing and beautiful selection of paper goods. They have letters, cards, wrapping paper, ribbons, stamps, and everything else you could ever need.
I also love how you walk into the shop and it smells like lemons.

It breaks my heart to give this place 3 stars because I’ve always given it 4 – 5 stars. I fell in love with this place the first time I went to First Thursday when I was 11. I bought my first autograph book here that I’ve had for all through middle school, high school, and college! I fell in love with this place and have been in many times since until I had to move. It has been five years since the last time I visited portland. My first instinct was to visit Oblation.
Beautiful paper goods, one-​of-​a-​kind paperpress stationery, and a carousel of yards-​long ribbon are all unique feature of this Portland iconic location. A stationery lover’s paradise, this place won’t disappoint. That is, if the prices don’t turn you off first.
Severely overpriced cardstocks may turn off some, but they are largely unique that you cannot find at your local hallmark. They have an array of brightly-​colored envelops, parchments, and little DIY knick-​knacks if you want to do something special or crafty.
Creaky, old wooden floors really add to the ambiance of an old papermill. You can see them press handmade paper here as well.
I bought a notebook ($ 4) and two postcards ($ 2 each) for $ 10 and had a lovely conversation with the first cashier. I didn’t pay attention that the notebook charged at $ 6 instead of $ 4 according to the sticker. I walked a block away before I realized. I doubled back in to politely ask. Immediately, the guy cashier and another gal there look over the sticker price ($ 4) and compare it to the inside cover ($ 6) contradicted one another. Just as the guy says, «oh well we should be able to give her – » and he gets cut off and given a look by the other associate. She firmly told me that the sticker must have stuck perfectly to the back lower left corner somehow from another product. It might have been just a $ 2 difference, but I felt like her condescending attitude embarrassed me. I felt like asking for refund right then and there.
Do visit this institution. Apparently, they try to get your money for all they can get so much so that a $ 2 difference means so much. The price didn’t bother so much as the attitude. Other than the negative visit, it’s amazing stationery store that is a bit pricey, but a scrapbooker’s dream. A true treat in the pearl district.

I needed a birthday card and a way to wrap 3 bottles of liquor into one package. The Unilocal app directed me to this fine establishment when I entered «wrapping paper» into the search bar. What a find! As soon as you walk in the door a plethora of unique cards and wrapping notions greet you. The best part about this shop isn’t even the items available for purchase. It’s the staff! I walked briefly around the 2 rooms bursting with paper, cards, bags, ribbons, wrapping paper, etc until I realized I had no real clue of what I was doing. So I ended up talking to the manager (fantastic woman!!) about what I needed. She came up with a few options for my wrapping needs, we settled on a price and I left my items with her to wrap for me. When I came back to pick up the wrapped gift, I was delighted to find a beautiful masterpiece!
If you aren’t talented with wrapping and need to make a statement with a gift, please go here and get a custom wrap job. This is a beautiful shop with eager staff. I’m so pleased with my purchase and will definitely be back again! THANK YOU!

If you have an affinity for typography, letterpress, fancy paper stock, stamps, well-​designed things and similar various trifles and sundries, you’ll easily give Oblation a standing ovation. Whether you want to blow huge sums of money on letterpress wedding invites or simply pick up unique, thoughtful and beautiful cards, stationary, gifts, gift-​wrap and more, this is your place. It’s a serious cardgasm in here.
I have a soft spot for stuff like this. Maybe it’s because my mom was in the print and design business? Who knows. But I seriously have to stay away from stores like this. If there are any other stores like this, that is.
But I did finally visit the other day, and spent plenty of time gawking at the many things I wanted to buy (yet nothing I really needed). I had to keep a steel grip on my wallet to keep myself from just handing it over to the casher in trade for these tasty wares.
I guess I could gush more, but why? You get the picture. Visit and see for yourself.