It’s been roughly five years since Erin Oliva opened her boutique at 7942 Santa Fe Drive.
In its time in downtown Overland Park, Ink & Page Book Boutique (formerly The Pretty Posy) has taken on two distinct forms: one with racks of women’s clothing and accessories, and another with shelves of books.
As the summer approaches and with it, the time to renew the boutique’s lease, the shop is preparing to enter another new era. But in this one, the Santa Fe Drive space won’t be Oliva’s anymore.
This summer, Ink & Page will mark the end of its final chapter in downtown Overland Park. The bookstore will close its doors in July, if not sooner.
The Pretty Posy initially opened in 2021
Oliva, who had previously worked as a teacher, opened The Pretty Posy first as a women’s clothing boutique.
After two years of that, she felt burnt out — but she was locked into a five-year lease. So she began to imagine what kind of pivot she could make in order to feel more fulfilled by her business.
That pivot ultimately gave her a renewed sense of purpose. Oliva found herself energized by conversations with customers, bonding with them over books and watching the store buzz on busy Saturdays.
“I enjoy it so much more,” she said. “I have so much fun in the store, talking to the customers and recommending books.”
Oliva is entering a personal new chapter
Though Oliva loved the atmosphere inside Ink & Page, the reality of running it never really loosened its grip.
Being in charge of a small business, Oliva said, ultimately means much more than chatting with customers about books.
Owning a storefront meant Oliva was not just a bookseller, but also a property manager, janitor, IT department and snow-removal crew — sometimes all of them in one week.
From stocking books and keeping the website running to pulling weeds and salting the sidewalk outside during snowstorms, Oliva found the challenges of keeping Ink & Page running to be “all-consuming.”
“You’re responsible from start to finish,” she said. “And when you’re a small business, you don’t have a huge staff to do all these things.”
While she says goodbye to the many challenges of running a brick-and-mortar store, Oliva is saying hello to something else: more time with her family.
Her three children are now 8, 9 and 11. Their schedules have filled with basketball games, soccer matches and other activities that Oliva doesn’t want to miss anymore.
“When I started the storefront here, (my kids) were little — they were like 3, 4, and 6,” she said. “Now they’re older, and I don’t want to miss another five years of their life.”
Ink & Page will remain open for now
Ink & Page’s lease officially ends in July. Until then, Oliva said, it’s business as usual.
“We’re still taking used books for store credit, we’re still restocking,” she said. “We would love it for people to come see us before we close, even if they’ve never been here before.”
The one exception may be if another tenant hopes to move in before the summer begins. The new farmers market pavilion is set to open this summer, and the World Cup is also expected to bring an influx of visitors to the metro area.
Ink & Page’s space sits just steps away from what’s expected to be a surge of foot traffic. Though no official decisions have been made about who is moving in, Oliva said there’s already a significant buzz of interest.
“It is highly, highly likely that the new tenant will want to take the space earlier, so that they can prepare and be open for those things,” she said. “I would say the earliest we would be done is the end of April, so that someone can take it over in May. The latest would be the end of June, so someone can take it over in July.”
Beyond the brick-and-mortar closure, Ink & Page’s website will also remain up for online book shopping for now.
Ink & Page has also built a loyal following through its playful “Blind Dates with a Book,” where customers buy wrapped, unmarked books labeled only with a short description. By popular demand, Oliva plans to keep that going online.
“They’ve been best sellers, ” Erin said. “We’ll probably continue doing that.”
Despite the growth of downtown Overland Park, and the investment Oliva has poured into the space, she said she views her decision less as walking away from an opportunity and more as walking toward the life she wants to live.
It’s a bittersweet choice, she said, but a clear one.
“I just have to do what’s right for my family, and I just want to spend the next five years being a present mom to them,” she said.
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