Why I Started The Little Stationery Shop
I first fell in love with stationery in my teenage years, during a part-time job at an art supply shop. We sold everything from basic £1.99 pens to a silver fountain pen so fancy it gave you just 1p change from £1,000. I don’t think we ever sold that one — but I used to look at it and wonder who would buy it and why.
What fascinated me wasn’t just the pens or the paper, but what people did with them. Two people could take the same blank page and create something completely different. The mix of tools, colours, textures and ideas — all that potential wrapped up in something so simple — felt like magic to me.
From Dot Grid Paper to Designing Stickers
Back then, I didn’t know I was autistic. I loved art, but I’ve never had a “picture imagination.” If you tell me to visualise a pink elephant with blue polka dots, I see nothing in my mind. But give me a pen and paper? I can create something from it. That’s where stationery started to feel like home.
Fast forward to 2019, when I discovered bullet journaling on YouTube. That was the start of many late-night rabbit holes. I had no idea what dot grid paper was before then, or why people were obsessed with the Leuchtturm1917 — but I was hooked. I also got frustrated that my pages never looked like the ones online. They were beautiful, polished, and perfect… mine weren’t. That’s when I found the Happy Planner range. It gave me structure, which helped, but I felt like I’d lost some of the creative freedom I loved.
A Hobby Becomes a Business
In October 2020, I was signed off from teaching due to mental health struggles. While recovering, I started making my own stickers — purely for fun — but that hobby slowly turned into something more. I didn’t plan for it to be a “real” business. I couldn’t commit much time. I genuinely thought I’d be back in the classroom eventually. But life had other plans.
When I had to leave teaching completely, I hit a fork in the road. I could spiral again, or I could try to build something for myself. By then I’d also been diagnosed with ME/CFS and POTS, alongside other health issues. A standard 9–5 job wasn’t going to work for me. Some days I can work sitting at my desk; others I’m working from bed, like I am right now, at 7am, because that’s when my brain is functioning.
Family, Grief, and a Fresh Start
Around that time, I also became a mum — two months after my dad passed away. In the space of four years, I lost all four of my grandparents and my dad. That kind of grief changes you. But so does becoming a parent. I knew I wanted to build something flexible that allowed me to be there for my daughter, Lucrezia, and still contribute to our future.
My grandad always told me to do what makes me happy — and stationery makes me happy. So that’s what I did.
Creating Stationery That Sparks Joy
The Little Stationery Shop exists to spread that happiness. I focus on creating stationery that feels good — bright colours, animals, doodles, quotes, and the occasional bit of sass (but never crass or sweary — there’s a time and place for that, and this isn’t it). I want my designs to feel accessible and uplifting for all ages and all genders.
If I’d known as a teenager that I was autistic, I think my life would’ve played out differently. Not necessarily better or worse — just different. That’s why I want my stationery to work for everyone. If you want to have a planner or diary that is creative and looks brilliant like some on Youtube then go for it, or if you have just got a basic notebook and pen that’s ok too. I feel stationery is there to help bring a little happiness and that looks so different to everyone.
I’m not aiming to be a millionaire. I just want this little business to pay the bills, let me be there for my daughter, and maybe one day set a little something aside to help her start her own journey.
A Creative Life, One Page at a Time
Stationery has always been a way for me to create structure, express myself, and find calm — even on the most chaotic days. And if my products can do that for someone else? That’s all I could ever ask for.