Paper Culture is the brainchild of e-entrepreneur Christopher Wu and three cofounders: Huiling Chen, Armando Singer and Anurag Mendhekar. Wu describes Paper Culture — launched at the beginning of 2009 — as a design company specializing in modern premium stationery. Wu’s initial vision included eco-friendliness, and the company has been green from the get-go, but Wu didn’t anticipate that customers would be drawn to Paper Culture for its ethos as much as for its aesthetic.
He recounts, “Much of the inspiration for this business came when I was about to become a father, and my wife put me in charge of ordering the baby announcements. I was quite surprised that I couldn’t find what I had assumed I would. I ‘felt the pain’ and saw the opportunity. I knew that I wanted Paper Culture to be green. This may sound slightly hokey, but when I was formulating our 10-year plan, I imagined being able to tell my kid that the company had always been environmentally responsible.”
Creative director Huiling Chen is also a parent, and quick to credit her son Theo as the inspiration for her animal face designs. She says, “When we visit the local zoo, Theo loves to call out the names of the animals he sees. I was watching him, trying to imagine the impression the animals’ appearances were having on his young mind. And that gave me the idea of using simple shapes to render the animals in the most minimal way possible for our card designs.” Wu adds, “The faces invitations have always been among our bestsellers. The first time we printed them as a set was actually for my daughter’s birthday. We are constantly adding new products — boxed sets is one of our newer forays.”
Paper Culture prints digitally and only on papers that are 100% pcw: Mohawk Options and Strathmore Script (100t for envelopes and 130dtc for cards). Orders ship in super-sturdy boxes made from recycled materials. Everything is tidily banded, no superfluous packing material, and each order comes with a digitally printed, round-cornered thank-you note from Paper Culture. (I have been on the receiving end of this delightful detail twice already: first for my Toastday invitations, and next for my valentines.)
When I first reported on Paper Culture last year, Wu had already progressed from eco-friendly to net-neutral, meaning that the company was offsetting its carbon footprint (through Carbonfund.org). Then, as of Earth Day 2010, Paper Culture started planting a tree in a U.S. national forest for every order the company receives. So Paper Culture’s products are green, and their citizenship is evergreener!
Alyson Kuhn rode the train from San Francisco to Paper Culture. The Burlingame station is a two-minute walk from the studio, if you don’t stop at Royal Donut Shop or the Museum of PEZ or Kabul Afghan Cuisine.
Images 2–5 courtesy of Paper Culture
Nothing but good experiences with them. I feel like awesome people work there, their designs are fresh & modern, and their customer service is superb. Rock on Paper Culture!