The Card Designer Highlight is a collection that includes unbiased makers whose greeting playing cards you could find in Paper Supply shops. Meet and be impressed by a brand new designer each month on our weblog!
This month we need to introduce our featured card designer, Leanne Thompson of Little Might Papery. Discover out about how Leanne has taken her pure capacity to unfold cheer inside her group and switch it right into a profession that enables her to unfold pleasure all around the world!
How did you start your card-making profession?
My card-making journey began as a method to unfold vacation cheer. Each Christmas, I created cute watercolour playing cards for my household and associates, and it rapidly turned a convention. They might all the time remark that I ought to promote my playing cards… So I signed up for my first craft market. It was each thrilling and nerve-wracking, as I wasn’t certain anybody would purchase my designs. However they did! I nonetheless promote a few of these early designs, which all the time makes me smile. Connecting with fellow makers locally and seeing individuals chortle out loud at my designs is one thing that may’t be overwhelmed.
It’s been extremely thrilling to see my ardour evolve into my job. Turning one thing I really like right into a profession has been a dream come true, and I’m grateful for each step of this journey.
The place do you draw inspiration from?
I discover my inspiration for Little Might Papery within the candy and easy moments. I really like utilizing puns and phrase play, in addition to giving little personalities to inanimate objects – like a smiley cup of espresso or a pizza slice with legs and arms. I like to weave that silliness into my designs.
There’s one thing so pretty a few card that makes you smile, cry or chortle out loud. I prefer to mix these playful touches into my designs, creating playing cards that permit for connection and add a contact of caprice to on a regular basis moments.
What does your day appear like as a card maker and designer?
My days are ever-changing—every single day is one thing new! Typically I spend the morning performing some housekeeping – ensuring stock is okay, analyzing spreadsheets, checking and replying to emails. I additionally love an inventory, so I can tick issues off and really feel achieved. Subsequent, I’ll often do some packaging and fulfilment, each retail and for our wonderful wholesale companions. I really like placing on a podcast while packaging and seeing our merchandise being despatched all around the world. If we want a restock of merchandise I’ll then ship these orders to our native printer—supporting fellow native companies is all the time a win!
My favorite time nonetheless, is after we are designing for a brand new season – I really like pulling up my notes app on my telephone and delving into all of the wild and great concepts I’ve famous down over the weeks.
After all there are the extra mundane elements of working a enterprise peppered all through the day, however general I’m so fortunate to have the ability to take pleasure in my days at work and love the spontaneity that comes with proudly owning a enterprise. Little May additionally runs out of a warehouse with fellow small companies; together with Friday Sock Co, a cool mismatched sock firm, so it’s all the time a artistic and enjoyable surroundings to be a part of.
What’s your most popular medium?
My most popular medium has positively advanced over time. I began with good outdated watercolour and ink, which was all the time so pretty to mess around with. I then made the leap to the digital world with my iPad and Procreate, and actually that was a game-changer for my enterprise; it opened up a complete new playground for me. I really like the flexibility and the power to experiment with all of the completely different layers and results. It’s positively helped me stage up my illustration expertise and be extra experimental.
What does your artistic course of appear like?
My artistic course of is fairly free & unstructured. I all the time hold a working notes app on my telephone stuffed with all my concepts, in addition to an inventory on the wall in my studio of the merchandise I dream of making someday. Concepts can strike on the most sudden occasions and often they arrive to me on my runs, while I’m falling asleep at night time, or within the bathe (why do one of the best concepts all the time come within the bathe?!). I additionally love firing off concepts with my household & associates – it’s all the time so enjoyable to give you humorous sentiments with individuals, then have them see it come to fruition in a product or card design.
Generally, there may be an illustration that’s nice however the sentiment isn’t fairly proper, and vice versa.. It’s like placing collectively a puzzle & whenever you lastly determine it out, it’s fairly cool!
What are you most happy with as a creator and card maker?
The factor I’m most proud of is having began my very own artistic enterprise in our one bed room rental, and seeing it thrive and evolve over the years. It’s so rewarding to assist help my little household whereas doing one thing I really like. I really feel extremely fortunate & proud to be my very own boss and have the pliability to have the ability to spend high quality time with my youngsters; that has all the time felt so particular to me. I can design my days round my household and I’ll by no means take that with no consideration.
As properly, seeing my playing cards and merchandise within the wild is all the time one thing that makes me so proud. The partnerships with boutiques all around the world & attending to know my prospects who’ve been with me over time is absolutely particular. I bear in mind the primary time I visited a Paper Supply retailer in New York and noticed my little peanut design on the cabinets, it was an enormous ‘pinch me’ second.
Any private tidbits?
I’m a proud Mum to Ella and Oliver- they hold my life splendidly busy and full. I’m initially from England and have been lucky to name Canada my house for over 12 years now. I really like to go to my household in the summertime time to take pleasure in infinite woodland walks and blackberry selecting. Earlier than opening Little Might, I attended Drama college in London & labored as an actor for just a few years. I’ve lately been dipping my toes again into that world, which has been tremendous enjoyable & an fascinating distinction to illustrating. I’m a proud ambivert and may often be present in my studio with a cup of tea blasting both Taylor Swift, early 2000’s emo music, a Broadway musical or a wellness/enterprise podcast.
Discover Little Might Papery playing cards akin to Little Peanut Child Card and Humerus Skeleton Halloween Card at your native retailer or on-line at papersource.com. For extra inspiration and behind-the-scenes motion, comply with @littlemaypapery on IG.
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