Earlier this month, we partnered with our friends at Oxford Exchange in Tampa, FL to host a live drawing session and fully-stocked Blackwing shopping space. OE is a combination of a restaurant, tea bar, coffee shop, bookstore “dedicated to the beauty of the physical book,” and a gift shop featuring a “curated collection of home decor pieces, vintage finds and gifts designed to delight.” Basically, it’s the quintessential Blackwing store, and we’re stoked to have them carry our products.

Read on to learn more about Oxford Exchange, and why you should visit them on your next trip through western Florida.

What is OE? What’s the story?

Oxford Exchange was created to build community. Owners Blake Casper and Allison Adams wanted to create a space where Tampa could gather, explore and learn. Once they found this building, the space really dictated what came next. Truly, it all started with wanting a bookstore, and then grew from there.

What’s your product ethos?

Our product ethos is quality – for every single product and brand we sell. We carry around 100 different brands, with around 2,000 products in total and we stand behind the quality of each of those products without question.

Who is your customer?

We have a very diverse customer base, which we value greatly. In our minds, when we were building the space and our inventory mix, our customer was well traveled, creative, open to new ideas, and ready to learn. As it has turned out, we have found exactly that in our customers! We are a gift store in the truest sense, so we try to have product for anyone and everyone – all ages, backgrounds, interests, price ranges… etc. And because of our product mix, we in turn attract customers of all ages, backgrounds, interests, and budgets. It’s great fun!

How did you discover Blackwing?

To be honest, I can’t remember. We started carrying Blackwing in early 2014, about a year and a half after we opened in late 2012. We haven’t looked back since.

How do our products fit in OE?

Because our customer base is so broad, on any given day we see architects, writers, students, business leaders heading into our business center, and on and on. Blackwing fits into that mix perfectly – it is the tool they all need to get their jobs done. It also breaches into the gift arena, because of the well done packaging and quality product – so we sell Blackwing quite often as a gift as well.