I’ve been a graphic and digital designer for over 15 years now, and I’m always brainstorming, planning, dreaming and learning…or trying to find a different way to do things! For a few years, I ran a design blog and online community, interviewing and sharing the work of Brisbane-based creative talent. This really inspired me to reach out and connect with fellow local creatives. I formed many wonderful friendships, several of which now have designs in our Notely Artist Collection.
Notely began from my lifelong love of beautiful stationery, and from wanting to collaborate with fellow creatives. I really wanted to produce something locally where I could minimise the impact on the environment. I hope that having a Notely in hand means that people will write down that amazing idea they have in the middle of the night, scribble that personal note to a loved one before heading off on a trip, and take the time to journal about the things they want to achieve. In a world where so much of our lives are experienced through screens, I hope that using a Notely notebook will help my customers to feel more grounded, more inspired and more connected to their local creative community.
Each of our Notely artists has their own style and influences, which brings another layer of storytelling to our brand. But nature, botanicals, flora and the Australian coast are definitely key themes in all of our products. Our Notely notebooks are always photographed on turquoise, and much of our range is themed around botanicals with a minty and turquoise colour palette. I’m really inspired by Australian flora, and love drawing the flowers I see in the gardens around my neighbourhood.
We’ve recently launched our Leafy Tote Bag, and this was inspired by a few trips I’ve had to K’gari (Fraser Island). It’s the world’s largest sand island off the east coast of Australia, where you can drive two hours through the thick rainforest to arrive at a stunning freshwater lake. I took countless photographs of the leaves and trees there, which I started drawing a few months later – these eventually became the design for our totes!
I’m very passionate about making sure that the entire Notely production process has a minimal environmental impact. We work directly with those who are helping produce our products. Most of our products are made with carbon-neutral, chlorine-free and 100% recycled post-consumer waste paper. Occasionally the paper isn’t recycled for different effects or surfaces, but instead is made with FSC® certified paper, so that we know the trees were felled from well-managed forests. I want to make sure we conserve our environment as best we can for the next generation. This means making mindful decisions about where something is sourced from, with as minimal wastage as possible.
We love supporting fellow businesses that care about their environmental impact. noissue tissue really appealed to us because we could customise it with our leafy designs, and have beautiful packaging for our customers that is recyclable and FSC-certified. We love taking the time to wrap our online orders – this ensures that the love and care that goes into our product shows when it arrives in the mail!