I love discovering new paper brands at trade shows, on Instagram … or best of all, sometimes they track me down to say hi! I also find them in Stationery Trends ads, as believe it or not, sometimes makers take out an ad without submitting editorial.
And that, my friends was exactly what happened with Louise Mulgrew, whom you may have noticed in our winter issue. I am a big fan of British design — to say nothing of that country’s devotion to the stationery category — and Louise delivers a enchantingly quirky take on flora and fauna. She has a grasp of color that feels very distinctive as I hope you agree.
Hailing from Central Brighton, Louise was “at uni” studying illustration when she visited to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage in Nairobi. “I’d always been an animal lover and a crazy cat lady, but that trip was my inspiration to start painting animals for the very first time,” she wrote on her about page. “For my Final Major Project of my degree I wrote and illustrated a picture book about an orphan elephant called Tibbo, and many years later, elephants are still my favorite animal to observe and paint.”
After graduation, Louise moved back in with her parents and worked on her portfolio of animal illustrations, which she began to sell at local markets and fairs. In 2016, Louise took her first collection — Furry Friends, still a bestseller — to Autumn Fair in Birmingham, and slowly her business grew.
The brand can now be found in about 400 UK independents in addition to several larger chains. The Henries are the UK equivalent to the Louie Awards, and Louise has already snagged a few. First, in 2017, she won Best Art Range and then took two more in 2020: Best Art Range and Most Promising Young Designer.
Now this fresh house of paper is expanding stateside at Faire, which runs February 1-4. Like so many American stationery brands, Louise Mulgrew is committed to sustainability.
“As an animal-loving paper enterprise, our designs are a celebration of nature, wildlife and all its diversity. We care very much about our beautiful planet and are committed as a company to constantly improving our environmental impact in every way we can. Our focus is on sourcing sustainable materials, manufacturing locally locally and using eco-friendly, plastic-free packaging.”
Louise has also combined forces with the Eden Reforestation Project. For every card ordered on its retail site or dozen sold at wholesale, Eden plants one tree. So far, 281,068 trees have been planted! Learn more here.
Since January 2020, all cards are now packaged plastic-free, and wholesale orders use a paper card clasp to hold the card and envelope together, although wholesale orders are still grouped in plastic cello bags of 6 for now to protect the merchandise. They are however seeking alternative solutions.
If you are virtually walking this dynamic show, look out for this ultra-fresh resource! Louise sent me a few sneak peeks at her 2022 holiday release in progress as you can see below, and I’ve got to say, I’m pretty smitten! Find this brand on Faire or shop it here.
