Our Next Chapter
Moving our business from online to real-life
As believers in the power of the physical, tangible magic of a hand-written note, a ‘real life’ shop has always been one of our dreams since starting our online stationery business in 2015.
We are so excited to have the opportunity to bring this vision to life, and to create an inspiring, creative place where nearby customers can visit, and far-away customers can dream of planning a trip to one day. In the shop, as well as our own range of stationery and greetings cards, we plan to stock a beautiful range of heavy-weight notebooks, hand-bound journals, premium pens and art materials. We will also host art workshops and dream of creating a thriving community hub of creativity and connection - something that is being lost in our increasingly digital world.
We are moving from our current Cotswold studio to a larger premises in the heart of Cheltenham - a building that can house our studio & workspace, will allow us to hold workshops, and also open a dedicated retail space in the form of a shop front. To help fund the shop-fit and prepare the workshop ready for visitors, we have prepared a variety of rewards for pledges such as limited edition stationery packs, small business mentoring, and workshop tickets (online & offline).
We really do believe that we are well-placed to create a unique, concept stationery store that will be one-of-its-kind not only in Cheltenham but across the United Kingdom. We dream of a place where you will be able to come in, write a card or letter at a large writing desk with a cup of tea of coffee, try out our pens and art materials at your leisure, and leave feeling refreshed and inspired.
Background
In 2015 we started our business 'Wildflower Illustration Co.' by selling stationery and greetings cards online, based on Rebecca‘s watercolour illustrations. Inspired by nature and travel, we began because we believe in the power of a handwritten note to brighten someone’s day or capture a shared memory.
Our business started off in the second bedroom of our flat, in our evenings and weekends whilst we were both pursuing traditional careers. In an increasingly digital world, we hoped our cards and stationery would spread a little joy on doormats around the world.
Since then, our business has flourished and six years ago we left our original jobs as a teacher (Karl) and a lawyer (Rebecca) to run the business full time, and have loyal customers all around the world. Our family has also grown since then, and we now have a four year old daughter and two dogs. We have been featured in multiple publications, including a 6 page spread in Country Living magazine, and found that the pandemic led many more people to cherish the joy of a hand-written letter at a time when it was one of the only ways for connection to our loved ones.
As the world has opened back up again, we have been steadily dreaming and building an idea of how we would like our business to grow and develop. We are always focused on sustainable, ethical growth, and although we are so grateful that our online business allows us to reach all corners of the earth, we are craving roots and real-life connection alongside this. A physical shop will allow us to have real conversations with our customers, and invite them to participate in workshops and events.
We are dreaming of a cosy, traditional shop where you will be able to pop by and leaf through our cards to your heart's content. Flick through an archive of writing paper - watch whilst we personalise a box with gold foil for an extra special gift. Try out the fountain pens at a large, traditional writing desk and write a card here with a cup of tea of coffee - before passing it over the counter so we can pop it in the post for you.
We are especially excited to prepare the workshop space, which we envisage to be a unique community hub for creatives and writers alike. Cheltenham is home to the famous yearly Literature Festival, and we hope to find a place on the map by offering a different kind of retail experience. We have so many exciting ideas such as an option for sending letters to your future self, poetry, philosophy and letter-writing workshops.
Our commitment to sustainability and conservation of our precious earth informs every aspect of our business, from the materials we use to our production processes. We believe that we can create beautiful, high-quality stationery and prints without sacrificing our values or our commitment to the planet.
With your support, we can create a physical space that brings our vision to life, where we can share our passion for nature and creativity, and offer workshops and personalised stationery. We believe that this space will allow us to continue doing good, spreading joy, and strengthening our connection to the natural world.
The Shop
We are especially happy to be taking on a shop that has operated as a stationery and printing shop since 1983. To continue the story for a paper business feels very special, and fully aligned with our values. We look forward to breathing new life into it, and putting our own stamp upon a building that has stood since around 1814!
The shop is ideally located in a charming area of Cheltenham called The Suffolks. The Suffolks is an area of quiet, period streets set around the grand architecture of Suffolk Square, a short walk from the top of Cheltenham's Montpellier District in one direction and the same distance to Bath Road, Leckhampton in the other.
If you have any questions at all about the shop, please do let me know!
This is so exciting Rebecca, off to check out your crowdfunder!
This sounds like the dreamiest of shops.