HOW I STARTED MY BOTANICAL STATIONERY BUSINESS

I have always loved drawing and painting and most of my childhood memories involve paintbrushes, pencils and crayons. My mum used to buy lining paper by the roll, as I never seemed to have enough paper! School textbooks quickly became filled with floral illustrations instead of arithmetic and I think I knew from about 6 years old that my future would be in the creative arts.  

I started Kate Hall Design around 18 months ago after attending my brother’s wedding, where he’d asked me to illustrate some botanical chalkboard signs. While I was working on them my husband looked over at me and said

“Kate (sigh and pause for dramatic effect), you never look happier or more peaceful than when you’re drawing”.

He returned to his large glass of red wine, while I couldn’t stop thinking about his observation. A few days after the wedding in the picturesque French village of Brantome I decided it was time for a career change. 

My love of watercolour florals seemed a perfect fit for botanical wedding stationery and I loved the idea of creating something that would represent such a special moment in people’s lives. I spent the next few months painting in the evenings and at weekends to create the artwork that would feature in my first collection. Many, many, hours of Photoshopping later and the post-man cheerily delivered my first printed invitations. I probably looked at them for at least a week, in disbelief that I had actually created them. That feeling was pretty amazing, but it paled in comparison to my first Etsy order, which had me dancing around the house for about an hour. 

I have since designed more botanical wedding invitation suites and added cards, prints and gift-wrap to the collection. At the beginning of the year I took the decision to leave my job and focus full time on my botanical wedding stationery business. I am now working from my studio in Yorkshire with my French Bulldog Mabel at my feet. She is definitely living her best life!

The start of this new chapter seems like the perfect opportunity to introduce myself and share my story. I hope to use this blog to give insight into the design process and help you plan your wedding stationery, from botanical save the dates and invitations, all the way through to your on the day essentials. To keep up to date on my latest collections, special offers and favourite suppliers you can also subscribe to my mailing list.