I have had this range in mind for at least three years. But as per my usual style, there's a backstory as to why I am only releasing it now. I'd suggest you get a cup of tea and settle in for a little read.
Long-time followers will know I ran a successful custom stationery business before 2020. I had built it all on word of mouth before social media existed, and I took pride in creating unique upmarket stationery designs that no one had ever seen.
I started out right as the party industry took off and rode that wave. My work was featured on blogs worldwide, and my business grew, so I hired another person to help me.
I went from working in my small home office to converting the rumpus room to a studio to getting a commercial factory space and working from there. I LOVED what I did.
Somewhere along the line, though, my passion for it had dwindled. More inquiries came through for licenced themes, and I was asked to copy other people's work for a lower price way too often.
Parties were also getting very elaborate, and I recall that I was on the phone with someone to clarify the stationery brief at one point (at the peak of the unicorn party trend). They told me they were getting an actual horse and spray painting the tail and mane for a VERY young child's party. After that call, I knew something had to give.
I needed to honour my core values - new ideas, creativity and simplicity. I wanted to help people create beautiful parties and foster imagination at an affordable cost. While grappling with this and deciding what to do, 2020 and the worldwide pandemic made my choice. Events were cancelled, so my business had to pivot (ah, that word!).
In it's first iteration, the Printable Place was a meld together of two very different businesses - and therefore, messaging about product offerings became mixed and confusing. I was creating anything and everything but with no real direction or plan.
I needed to figure out what the future held. I was suffering burnout from the previous years and faced with the fact that my kids were almost grown and life had changed.
So I turned off everything. I stopped posting, closed many socials, and got a 9-5 job. I suffered a brain haemorrhage, but I rested and recovered. I worked on myself during this time, and then a spark for my little business came back.
Find your why, as they say. And it became crystal clear:
- I still have the core belief that imaginative themes and simple parties had their place.
- I know that kids are our future, and their imaginations are precious. The environments in which they learn will help determine how they learn.
- Creating is so good for brains - it gets us off our phones and using our hands.
- Creating something that looks great and is fun for your loved ones feels good, and you get a sense of pride as a bonus.
- A good party can be a simple party.
So, after 4 four-year hiatus and almost leaving it all behind, then coming full circle after a lot of work, I have found my creativity again, designing themes that I love and know you will love, too.
I have added extra pieces and refined the bundles we offer to make it easier for you. You can now buy all the pieces separately, so you have total control over what you purchase and create.
You can get printable pieces for parties, classrooms and gifts, and they all work together. The only limit as to how you use them is your imagination.
Releasing Crocodile Style means more than I can ever write in words. I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved creating it.
