Illustrator Talk: Papio Press

Harry and Zanna Goldhawk came in to talk about their self-started business, Papio Press which makes beautifully illustrated designs that are then applied to products like postcards, notebooks, calendars etc. Because of their graphic nature (which is very fashionable at the moment) they are very successful and I have seen their products in the Natural History Museum and local bookshops. It is very exciting to see and recognize the alumni of my course doing well in the outside world. Their etsy shop is a clear sign of their success: over 3500 sales since 2013.

They gave us some advice for starting our own business selling small self made products (which is very accessible for our course in particular) such as start by selling quite eco-friendly products made of paper or similar in case you have to discard them at some point. Starting with a few products and then seeing what sells well will help you to decide on the next product to make, how many and the correct pricing range.

I found their advice very helpful as I was about to start making products for Semi Nice and True Believers and was not sure where to start. Although most of my products are prints or similar, I will be branching out into postcards and greetings cards very soon inspired by their advice.

Having previous students come in to talk about how they are working now is very uplifting as it shows the next possible step after my studies, inspiring me to start working on this idea now.