Your wedding day is one moment in a lifetime of many. A moment that you will gaze back on for years and years to come. Framed photos hanging up on your wall, capturing a moment standing still in time that you can look back on, forever.
Or perhaps, a handcrafted print hanging above the mantlepiece, inscribed with your personal vows.
The Paper Gazelle (a name inspired by the majestic animal itself) was born out of a desire for a slower paced life away from the hussle of a corporate world, and became a platform where passion for creativity could come alive. The Paper Gazelle pride themselves in bringing the magical moments of your wedding day back to life with beautiful hand-crafted calligraphy, embroidery, signage and more. Inspired by a modern bohemian touch, your keepsake will boast timeless charm.
“We love to create handcrafted pieces including wedding stationary, painted jackets and personalised keepsakes that you can treasure on your wedding day and beyond.”
Read more on the heart and passion that brought to life The Paper Gazelle as we interview the founder of the flourishing business.
So, run us through ‘The Paper Gazelle’, we’d love to know where the name comes from, and what you offer to clients?
On a surprise birthday trip planned by my family, I found a pair of ‘Mr + Mrs’ brass gazelles in an amazing antique store, and they soon became one of my favourite possessions. A few years later, whilst coming up with a name for my creative business (which was one of the hardest things I had to do!), I kept gravitating back to these elegant and beautiful animals.
In terms of what we do, we offer a collective of design services, all based around the art of modern calligraphy and our elegant bohemian aesthetics. We love to create handcrafted pieces, including wedding stationery, painted jackets and personalised keepsakes that you can treasure on your wedding day and beyond.
Have you always been a creative? What is your background?
I have always been a creative and maker from a young age, hoarding materials, being fascinated with my grandad’s workshop in his garage and copying every single font from The Lettering Book in the 90s. After graduating from Elam School of Fine Arts, I worked as a visual merchandiser in interiors for a while but soon fell into a fast-paced corporate environment for over a decade.
Even though I had always been a bit of a workaholic, after having our son, I craved a slower life to spend more time with him. What first started as an outlet to find my creativity again soon became a small business that gave me both the flexibility and challenge I was looking for.
Tell us about the process from start to finish for a couple looking to work with you?
It’s really simple – just pop an enquiry through via our website so that we can start chatting about options. When they are ready to book, we email through our formal booking process, including links to a contract, design timeline and payment schedule.
Most of our wedding clients book months in advance, so we would get back in touch with you about 4-6 weeks before delivery, depending on what we are creating.
As most of our services are personalised, we like to ensure that we understand the couple’s vision and preferences by starting every wedding project with a design questionnaire. Depending on the couple, this may be filled with just a few details about the venue, or it may include their Pinterest boards and the exact shade to match the bridesmaid dress. This questionnaire creates a brief for us, and we then work closely with the couple through a process of visual mockups, options and alternatives to ensure that they love what we create.
We understand some changes may happen during this time, such as guest numbers, menus or seating plans, so we work to ensure that there is some flexibility during this design period to make things easier for you.
Once final print proofs and mockups have been approved we work our magic on the final pieces.
Do you ‘Love what you do?’ Tell us why?
Absolutely! I am really passionate about design, and I love that every day is different. I get to wear so many different hats to run this small business. It means one day I might be working from home in my pyjamas, and the next day I might be sipping Rosé and running a calligraphy workshop with a group of lovely attendees somewhere around the country.
I really love working with couples and creating beautiful pieces for their special wedding day, which reflect their own unique personalities.
Outside of weddings, I love making sentimental keepsakes for life’s celebrations and people’s homes.
If you could go back and tell yourself anything during your first month of business, what would it be?
It would probably be the same thing I should tell myself now! That Rome wasn’t built in a day and that slow progress is still progress. Oh, and 3 coffees a day is perfectly acceptable!
What trends do you see coming for this season in terms of signage and doing something ‘different’ for weddings and events?
We have always loved tonal depth, textures, and layers. We would love to create more this season to really blend and blur the line between art and signage.
What makes you give yourself a mental high five?
At this very moment, it is upskilling and navigating my way through the complex world of Facebook Business Suite.
What is something you have been reading, listening to or watching lately?
Reading: Usually, I love some easy chick literature but I’ve just started reading ‘Triggers’ by Marshall Goldsmith.
Listening: 90’s music or small business podcasts – right now listening to older episodes of ‘Your Creative Start’ with Jaharn Giles.
Watching: Currently bingeing on Bridgerton on Netflix like everyone else!
You can find The Paper Gazelle over on our Wild Hearts Vendor Collection here.
Follow all the creative goodness from your wedding and walls of your home over on Instagram @thepapergazelle
Also if you would like to see more Wedding paper prettiness from The Paper Gazelle, check out this beautiful Glenorchy Elopement Styled Shoot captured by Wild & Grace, here.
Words by Aimee Steel
