0522HarfordSpring22 - Flipbook - Page 12
SPOTLIGHT
BY MIKE KLINGAMAN
Harford Magazine
Perfect penmanship
Family-owned for 4 generations, Preston’s Stationery is a Bel Air staple
A pillar on Bel Air’s Main Street for nearly a century, Preston’s Stationery is truly a stationary business. Family-owned
for four generations, it has weathered a depression, a pandemic and a lot of merchandise tinkering in those 96 years.
“I’d like to make it to 100,” owner Robert Preston said.
Many mom-and-pop stationery stores have shuttered, but
Preston’s survives thanks to its reputation and a clientele
that favors personal service over the internet when purchasing custom invitations for weddings and social gatherings.
That’s the gist of Preston’s sales.
Here, brides-to-be meet with staff to draft their ideal
come-ons, like the faux train tickets that one woman sought
for her destination wedding.
“People get really creative,” said Preston’s daughter, Kim
Preston Bond, who works with customers to hammer out
12 | SPRING 2022 | harfordmagazine.com
A display of stationery samples at Preston’s Stationery.