Who knew we needed a scratch and sniff greetings card? Clever Joanne K, the artist behind witty brand Yes Paper, saw a scent shaped gap in the market. Find out all about the London based stationer's fun filled Instagram life here.
I started my stationery company to combine my love of graphic design, old printing techniques, paper and because I feel passionately about the art of correspondence - something that needs to be preserved in the digital age. The written word is something intensely personal and much more long-lasting than text messages or email. It's this sentiment combined with design that is why I care so much about what I do! Here I am wearing one of my Japanese kimono that I collect along with other vintage textiles.
One of the most exciting aspects of having a stationery brand is when samples arrive back from the printer. There are so many different options and sometimes it's hard to narrow them down! Everything is printed in the UK by the same person whom I trust for quality. After matching swatches of colours it's fantastic to see the results come to life!
I also teach workshops in Victorian botanical cyanotype photography. It's been so much fun sharing my love of early photography and seeing inspiring people people in a lesser known medium. So often people tell me they aren't artistic at the beginning of the class and then they are blown away by the results which is so lovely to see.
I am endlessly fascinated by seaweed and am always bringing some home to be pressed and used in my cyanotype work. Luckily my family lives in Devon near some great beaches so there's always a chance to go seaweed foraging when visiting.
These are rolls of metallic foil colours that I will test samples out with to see which colour combinations work best. I love printing machinery and all the possibilities they allow! Each foiled design needs to have a metal printing plate made and then the fun of testing begins. Often the combos that don't look promising in swatches look great in person!
Ceramics has been something I've enjoyed doing as a way to switch off - focusing on physically making something and getting your hands dirty is such a welcome antidote to screen time. It's immensely satisfying eating from a bowl you've made yourself!
No Instagram snapshot round up would be complete without an appearance from Pippin, my fluffy Chihuahua sidekick. He's just been in the sea here and is pretty pleased with himself.
Living in North London with a dog means it is inevitable I will end up on Hampstead Heath and even more inevitable that I will try to photograph it. This photo is from a few years ago when a thick fog hung around the Heath for hours making it feel like the Mists of Avalon.
My popular scratch + sniff scented range is what I've become known for and it's taken years of fine-tuning to perfect. I was inspired by the 80s scented stickers everyone remembers and loves!
My other love apart from stationery is antiques - if I'm not on a park walk with the dog I'm usually at an antiques market. Here Pippin is helping man the tills at my favourite London shop, Rooms of Clapton. I liked the shop so much that I ended up becoming friends with Kentaro the owner, who has a fantastic eye and sometimes I help out with the shop. It gives me more time to look at all the pieces he has in and usually quite a few of them end up coming home with me. It's also lovely to be out of the studio occasionally and chat to customers, especially if they end up buying my cards which are stocked in the shop!
I paint all the artwork for my illustrated cards in gouache and then scan and retouch them for litho printing. Everything is produced here in the UK by small businesses and craftsmen. I feel so lucky to be able to design, paint and create products people are so positive about!
As well as vintage paper ephemera, I also collect old found photographs in particular landscapes. These and the marbled folder were found in Porto which has some of the best vintage bric a brac shops.
