Papir by Hannah

Hannah’s work is everything you could ask for in a small, simple keepsake. Utterly charming and authentic, her custom embroidered pieces are both personal to her and her clients. Whether it’s your vows, a personal touch on your veil, or a gift for someone very special, Hannah can create the memory with a thread and needle. During a time when everything is either digitally presented or produced, Hannah’s work is a breath of fresh air.

Tell us about the journey of Papir by Hannah.

Papir by Hannah was founded in 2020. Originally it was just meant to be a gift wrap account — I was obsessed with wrapping and ribbons and was always complimented on it. However, about a month or two into starting it, I came across embroidered gift wrap, and instead of trying to embroider this myself, I was keen to embroider a card and thought I could interlink the two ideas together. Fast forward, gift wrapping got scrapped as the cards themselves were actually quite a hit right from the beginning. The business was the most accidental thing to ever happen, yet one of those things that just make me stand back and think “this was always meant to be!”

In a world where everything seems to be focused on digital, tell us about your focus on the physical process and artifact.

I’m actually a quite a technophobe, so using my hands to make something is a lot more natural to me than using digital. I love the process, the sketching, the feeling of the thread, the papers. It’s watching something that I’ve envisioned come to life through my very own hands. It’s so rewarding and quite medicinal for my soul too. 

Since you started, do you see the demand for unique and tangible keepsakes has changed?

Yes! I think it’s definitely become more popular in my opinion. I really get requests for every type of occasion but then I think it probably has a lot to do with sustainability and more awareness around that too. I remember keepsakes when I was younger were generic plastic whatnots from souvenir stores that would’ve ended up in the bin. (eek! Looking back now it’s kind of bad how much we did throw away!) There’s something about the craftsmanship of hand embroidery that more and more people seem to be getting on to.

Describe a typical day for you?

Since I work from home there’s actually not much structure. Lately it’s; wake up, work out, shower, coffee. Then straight into work by 7-8am. I’m not super organised so I don’t have set tasks for a certain day. Typically you can find me either sketching up ideas, embroidering then packing up outstanding orders. Whenever I’m not working through any of these tasks, I’m being inspired and planning future projects/jotting down ideas.

Embroidery on paper is unique to us. How did you come up with the idea? Is the paper type an important factor?

Going back to the journey of Papir by Hannah, I’d love to say I was the first one who tried it but I actually got the idea from Pinterest when I came across embroidered gift wrap. I first started in the winter of 2020, I made a little card and some gift tags for families Christmas presents and it was nothing more than a hobby for a good while as I still had a 9-5. The type of paper is definitely important, I have 2 brands of paper that I’m very loyal to due to the quality and colour availability.

Do you offer any predesigned products or is it all custom?

It is all custom at the minute, however I’m trying to limit the amount of designs I offer so that it’s a more curated selection of custom products.

What are your typical lead times?

It depends on the size of the project but I’d say 2-4 months as I tend to work on a few different projects at a time.

What are your hopes for the next couple years for Papir?

I hope to have a website! Seems so little but I’m such a technophobe that I just seem to be putting it off. I hope for the loyalty & support from the most amazing customers to still be as big as it is now and I hope I never get bored of calling this dream, my job.

A favourite quote?

“Success will have you creating the same thing over and over again if you’re not careful”

It’s by Amy McNee @inspiredtowrite on instagram. From a creative standpoint, she’s my favourite account for a little reality check.

To contact Hannah and find out more @papirbyhannah