For as long as Ally Letsky can remember, she has been a “paper person.” Sending and receiving greeting cards has always brought her joy — a small but meaningful act of connection. After spending a decade on the East Coast, where independent stationery stores were part of the neighborhood landscape, she returned to Kansas City in 2020 with boxes of her favorite cards in tow. As the holidays approached, she went searching for her signature “weird, funky, cool” holiday cards — and was disappointed by the limited selection. While Kansas City had wonderful local shops, she missed the variety and depth of independent artists and small printers she’d grown accustomed to.

That realization sparked an idea: Kansas City needed an independent card shop that carried thoughtful, well-designed cards for real life’s real moments. A few years later, after taking a class at the Small Business Development Center, she discovered that her dream could become a reality — and May Day Paper & Post was born.

Entrepreneurship wasn’t something she had always envisioned for herself. Many people spend years dreaming of owning their own business, but she approached it with curiosity rather than ambition. When she opened May Day Paper & Post, she signed a two-year lease and told herself she’d give it a try — if it didn’t work, she’d walk away satisfied that she had tried.

But one year in, everything changed. She caught what she calls “the entrepreneur bug.” Watching her idea thrive was exhilarating. Seeing customers return again and again, sharing how much they loved the shop — and continuing to support it beyond the initial excitement — confirmed that she had built something truly special.

Her personal values are at the core of May Day Paper & Post. Every decision reflects her commitment to integrity, quality, and inclusion. The shop sources directly from small American printers, artists, and makers — avoiding practices that undervalue creative work or drive down fair pricing. She also prioritizes diversity and representation in the store’s selection, ensuring customers can see themselves reflected in the cards they choose.

One of her biggest challenges as a woman business owner has been learning to think big. Like many women, she found it easy to get caught in the day-to-day details — completing tasks, solving immediate problems, staying busy but not always strategic. A moment during a Growth Mentoring Service (GMS) meeting changed that. Someone asked, “What’s your long-term plan? What do you want to sell your business for?” The question stopped her in her tracks. Until that point, she hadn’t thought that far ahead. It was a turning point that pushed her to consider May Day Paper & Post not just as a passion project, but as a growing business with real long-term value.

Her biggest risk — and perhaps her proudest leap — came when she opened a second location in Brookside on the two-year anniversary of her first shop. While it wasn’t necessarily the “expert-advised” move, the opportunity was too good to pass up. Trusting her instincts paid off.

But her true pride lies not in expansion, but in connection. Every day, customers walk through her doors searching for the right words to express life’s most intimate moments — joy, grief, love, and everything in between. She’s cried with customers mourning loss and celebrated new babies, weddings, and milestones. Couples have written letters on their wedding day using stationery from her shop; others return each anniversary to secretly choose cards for one another. “It’s just spectacular,” she says, “to share in so many personal moments.”

Her advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs is simple but powerful: do your homework before you spend a dollar. She encourages others to research, plan, and prepare for both success and failure. Before opening May Day Paper & Post, she analyzed every possible outcome and knew exactly what was at stake. “It might sound like overkill,” she says, “but I was prepared to succeed, and I was prepared to fail.”

Balancing work and life remains an ongoing journey. The book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz helped her reframe how to run her business without letting it run her. Building a trustworthy, passionate team has also been key. “We have an amazing team who loves my shops almost as much as I do — some days, they might love them more,” she says with a laugh. Having that support has allowed her to step away when needed and maintain balance.

At a time when so many small businesses — and independent stationery shops in particular — are closing their doors, May Day Paper & Post stands as a bright spot in Kansas City’s retail landscape. Beyond selling cards, her business supports a network of American artists and printers, keeping the craft of letterpress and paper alive. Every card purchased helps sustain local jobs and small creative businesses across the country.

For her, the shop’s mission has always been about connection. In an increasingly digital, fast-paced world, May Day Paper & Post celebrates the slow, intentional act of putting pen to paper. “Print and stationery is often thought of as a dying art,” she says. “But I don’t think it is — and we’re proof of that.”

Through each handwritten note, each thoughtfully chosen card, and each meaningful exchange, she continues to remind her community that connection — real, human connection — is something worth keeping alive.