About Us
All the answers to the who, what, why, when, where and how of The Little Stationery Shop (but if we missed something out that you want to know just send us a message).
Who is The Little Stationery Shop?
So The Little Stationery Shop is a female owned business, solely owned by Flic Howard. There are sometimes some other names you will see though. Flic is actually my middle name shortened (Felicity) and Eliora is my first name but I seldom use that. My birth name was something else entirely as I changed it a few years ago.
So legally I’m Eliora, to friends and as a business owner I’m Flic, but to family I’m Aimee (doesn’t get confusing AT ALL).
The only other name that I say is ‘staff’ is Lulu. She’s actually my daughter and isn’t even 2 years old yet. She isn’t formally on the payroll as that’s a bit mean, but as a single parent she will be at every in person event with me and will no doubt wave and say ‘hiya’ to you.
What is The Little Stationery Shop?
The Little Stationery Shop is a business focused on everyday stationery having the same quality as luxury stationery. That thick paper that just feels great to write on, why is it only in the notebooks that are £20+ and mean I am scared to commit to writing in it because it is too pretty and expensive to replace if I ‘mess it up’ (just me then….?).
That’s what we focus on here. That everyday notebook to write your shopping list, or your to do list that you need to do each day…well we think they should be on paper that means it feels good to write on just as much as that fancy notebook. Everyday stationery shouldn’t have to be a horrible writing experience just because its a mundane piece of writing.
Where is The Little Stationery Shop?
The Little Stationery Shop is based in the North-West of England near Manchester. It is run from home with a mixture of in person and online shopping. We are at events such as small craft fairs and markets across the region and we have some bigger events we attend each year, such as StationeryFest In Manchester each summer.
When was The Little Stationery Shop opened?
I first opened this business in December 2020 on Etsy with my first website opened in 2022 on Shopify but now I have it all run on wordpress as it just suits me better. Since May 2025 I have also been branching out to selling in actual brick and mortar shops and currently have products in a shop in Saddlesworth and a few more hopefully appearing before we get to autumn.
Why was The Little Stationery Shop opened?
TL;DR
Used to be a teacher but not now. Always a craft person so set up shop. Love it. Now a mum and want to be able to work from home because of my health and being a single parent. I’m disabled and autistic and love everything paper and pen.
Longer version!
When I first opened my business I didn’t really know where it would go (if anywhere) or if anyone would even want the things I made. I also didn’t know how my own life would completely turn upside down in the years following that first order in December 2020.
In October 2020 I was signed off from work as a teacher. I worked in an autism specialist setting as a specialist teacher (I am also autistic but had been working with SEND children long before I was diagnosed at the age of 31) but for various reasons I just couldn’t stay in the job and was signed off work. To try and help me, my GP suggested I keep doing my “craft stuff” as it was clearly helping and we talked about having a purpose in my day. She suggested selling things just as a thing to do, not really pushing it in any way. Then in December 2022 I was no longer employed as a teacher, having never returned to the classroom (I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my class and that will always be a regret but the school wouldn’t allow me to see them). At this point I had two options – consider a whole new career or see if this “stationery malarkey” could go somewhere.
So having first opened as Plans by Aimee in December 2020, then changing to Eliora Plans when I changed my name, I initially focused just on planners and planner sheets. It was what I made for myself and so it was a natural way to try to promote things I already used and enjoyed making.
Somewhere along the way this became Life of Paper. I had started to venture away from planners and discovered the rabbit hole of sticker making, then came greeting cards, then came bookmarks and memo pads and so it seemed more fitting to have a business name that covered it all. Since my life evolved around paper it seemed to make sense to say ‘Life of Paper’.
In 2024 my life got turned upside down, inside out and back to front.
It was definitely a roller coaster year. My grandparents who were my biggest supporters, venturing to the local market I would be at monthly and would without fail purchase something every time, had both passed away and even now I don’t think it has truly sunk in they aren’t with me. Then in April 2024 my Dad suddenly and without warning had a cardiac episode and passed away in December that year, without ever regaining consciousness. This last part is always a mixed feeling memory because at the same time I was able to get pregnant and had my little girl two months after my Dad died. So for every excited moment during pregnancy I had, I was met with a sadness of not being able to share it with my Dad.
That has sort of what has led me to keep pushing though. I know that my Grandparents and Dad were so proud of me for finding a way out of the state I was in when I left teaching and were proud of me being a woman in charge of my own business. They saw how happy it made me. Now that I am a mum I want to make sure I spend all the time I can with Lulu. She’s currently asleep as I type this page which is how we make it work. I work around her schedule as best I can so that my time with her is just us. I want her to see that life isn’t about a single plan and that being the only way your life should pan out. You can have a plan, or no plan and just see where life takes you. Just earn enough to cover the bills, avoid debt as best you can, and if possible have an emergency cash fund. Be happy in what you do and do what makes you happy. If that’s university and a high paid career great, go for it. I just know as someone with a music degree, then a teaching qualification, then 15 years later having nothing to do with either of them it isn’t the end of the world to put a full stop and change direction in that plan.
