Meet Miss Larroudé, Marcie Pantzer

An avid letter writer and stationery collector, Marcie Pantzer wanted to find a way to celebrate the tactile and emotional joys of real human connection. Unsurprisingly, her line, Dear Annabelle has us enamored. We spoke to the NYC-based founder about the Holiday season, inspiration, and fashion, of course.

 

Name:

Marcie Pantzer

 

IG Handle:

@dearannabellenyc

 

Where do you live? 

On the Upper East Side of New York City. 

 

What is your job title? 

Creative director and CEO of Dear Annabelle.

 

Favorite Larroude shoe for The Holiday Season? 

My current obsession with bows knows no bounds, so the Elle Mule and Mini Elle Pump are my top picks this season. 

 

 

What excites you about the Holiday Season?  

There is nothing more festive and fabulous than New York City around the holidays. The townhouses are festooned with lights and décor, the trees on Park Avenue are lit up, the windows of the shops are works of art. I always get really excited for holiday lunches with friends and Christmas cocktail parties — any excuse to dress up, clink glasses, and celebrate brings me total joy. 

 

Favorite restaurant/dish in your city? 

Nothing beats the Curry Langoustine at Cipriani, in my humble opinion! 

 

IG Account(s) you follow for Inspo: 

There are too many to name, but here are a few off the top of my head: @david_stark_design @lewismillerdesign @sabatods @thelsd @elledecor @stellenevolandes.

 

What inspires you? 

I have a massive collection of art books and coffee table books, which I turn to for inspiration whenever I’m dreaming up something new. I go to museums and galleries often to soak up as much color and culture as I can. Traveling is a big source of inspiration for me — I am always on the move and love visiting new cities and revisiting old favorites. I’m currently looking forward to a family trip at the end of December to the English countryside, Spain and Tanzania. 

 

How did you get your start? 

I’ve been a letter writer and a collector of beautiful paper products since I was little and dreamed of having my own stationery business for many years. I covered the stationery market as a contributing editor to a Town & Country Wedding quarterly magazine for some time, and never tired of seeking out and connecting with incredible companies and designers. After several years as a stay-at-home mom, I decided it was time to launch my own business, and Dear Annabelle was born. The name is a nod to my eldest child and only daughter, Annabelle.

 

 

Piece of advice for your younger self:  

Life is short and goes by much too quickly. Have fun. Have a drink. Be playful. Be polite. Love fiercely, make and share beautiful things, live each day to the fullest. 

 

One thing you wish you knew when you were first starting out? 

I originally planned for Dear Annabelle to be a direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform, but have come to realize how important wholesale is to grow a small business. If I could start from scratch again, I would have created products with margins that could support the wholesale model. 

 

What does a typical day at work look like? 

Every day is different! Dear Annabelle is a small business with only one other full-time employee, so I am constantly wearing many hats. From working on our new designs and production to writing copy for our social channels and fielding customer service emails, I definitely stay busy and am always kept on my feet. 

 

What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your industry. 

We make all our stationery products in the United States — by hand! We are total sticklers about quality — we check every product that leaves our studio to be sure it meets our extremely high standards. A big challenge we’ve run into is price increases from our various manufacturers; we try our best to be creative and absorb these costs, so we don’t have to pass them on to our customer. 

 

What is one of your biggest successes so far? 

I am very proud of our new cocktail napkins that we launched this fall. They were the first non-paper product we created, as well as the first product that was made abroad, so the sourcing was challenging. But that made it all the more exciting to see the finished product, which turned out even more elegant than I’d imagined. 

 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  

I would love to see myself standing in a Dear Annabelle boutique on Madison Avenue or in Soho, showing all of our fabulous products off to stylish customers. 

 

What’s your go-to Spotify Playlist? 

Let’s just say my weekly mixes are always 90% ‘90s hip hop and 10% Classic Rock. 

 

What is your fashion uniform? 

I’m the kind of person who likes to get dressed up - you’ll usually find me in a dress or a blouse and a great pant.  The only time I’m not in heels is at the gym. ☺