15 minutes with All Paper Everything
Can you tell us your story?
Five years ago I took a calligraphy class with Chiara Perano and completely fell in love with the art of it, which then quickly grew into an obsession for anything paper related. I spent a few years learning and practicing lots of crafts all linked to paper. Over time All Paper Everything has evolved in lots of ways, now with a focus on combining sustainability and beautiful stationery.
How did All Paper Everything come about?
I have 14 years’ experience as a Visual Merchandiser working for lots of wonderful brands. I remember one morning walking through the stationery department in Harrods and looking at the beautiful stationery products. I couldn’t stop thinking for the rest of the day about what I would do if I ran a stationery brand. As soon as I had this thought, the idea just wouldn’t leave me and so I began researching and pursuing how I would start. I think working in a retail environment for all those years, being surrounded by beautiful products, maybe is subconsciously one of the reasons why I have started my own brand too. I quickly opened an Etsy store and now run All Paper Everything full time from my studio in Bristol and absolutely love it!
What do you most love about crafting and where do you get your inspiration?
Someone once told me that people who have jobs working with their hands are the happiest because it quietens the mind as your concentration is with your hands. I really do believe this helps me. I guess combining mindfulness with making, you then get something beautiful at the end of it.
Someone once told me that people who have jobs working with their hands are the happiest because it quietens the mind as your concentration is with your hands. I really do believe this helps me. I guess combining mindfulness with making, you then get something beautiful at the end of it.
I find inspiration in nature and being outside. Discovering all the British wildflowers this spring definitely inspired me. I grew up in London with daisies and dandelions and so being surrounded by forget-me-nots, poppies, cowslip and woodlands filled with wild garlic and bluebells was a huge change! One of my favourite places to visit is Kew Gardens. I can fill my camera roll in a few hours easily! The palm house is incredible not just for the plants but the architecture too! I also use Pinterest a lot and can easily lose a few hours pinning!
Can you talk us through the design process for making our window displays?
I originally spoke to the wonderful Crew team about my Garland DIY kit which then led on to asking ‘is there a way we can adapt it to use in our Christmas Windows?’ I went away and designed five different schemes for the team to choose from. Once the scheme was chosen. I had a colour palette to work with (navy, white and silver) so I designed around 10 different style garlands which the team narrowed down to seven. Apart from one garland style, every element that features in the windows has been finished by hand. I have absolutely loved working together on these windows and am so proud to see my work in the Crew windows and in store too!
You’ve created DIY kits for recreating the garlands at home. Would you be able to give us a sneak preview into what’s inside?
Of course! Included inside are 10 sheets of luxury paper, string, instructions, a star template and a sample star so you can see how they are folded. The results are so impressive – I’m really excited for people to try them.
This Christmas, we’re all about kindness and we love the envelopes you’ve made for our windows featuring cute messages. What’s the kindest thing someone’s done for you?
My family threw me a surprise birthday party a few years ago which was so unexpected and so lovely to have all my loved ones together!
With such a busy business, how do you unwind?
I love to get outside and go for a long walk. One of the reasons I moved away from London was to be closer to the south west. Exploring Devon and the Cotswolds are my favourites.
What’s your favourite Crew piece?
I have a couple of favourites! I absolutely love the Captain jumper – you can never have enough cosy jumpers and I love the different styles knitted together. The boucle scarf is so pretty and soft! But also I’m a huge fan of the Cosy socks because I’m always on the lookout for snuggly socks and slippers and I love the designs on these! As ever, Crew have triumphed.