It’s always fun meeting new people, which is why we came up with the idea of The HTF Hot Seat – a regular post to introduce you to the creative dynamites behind some of your favourite hardtofind products. This week’s seller in the spotlight: Tony and Lindsay from Wood Paper Scissors.
We’re known on hardtofind for our… original wooden gifts and homewares.
Right now we’re inspired by… our recent move to the coast of Cornwall in the UK. We’re finding inspiration in beautiful countryside and coastlines. We especially like the old wooden painted boats in the harbour and being by the beach, even on a cold day!
Our favourite part of the making process is… seeing our designs come to life. The way the designs translate from paper sketches to finished wooden products is always a joy. We can never visualise 100% how the grain and imperfections of the wood will look on the finished products. Ultimately, for us it’s the natural raw materials that we locally source that give our designs a raw edginess and the unique style that we love. We want all of our products to be tactile and natural, we are mindful of not overworking any piece of wood as we want our products to showcase the features of the original timber – knots included!
We work from… our stone studio workshop, which was formerly a coaching house on a farm. It’s a lovely place to work and we are lucky enough to have beautiful sea views.
A typical day for us involves… We get up and feed the cat, kettle’s on for a quick cuppa before the school run. We try to go for a short walk along the beach to wake up before heading up to the workshop. Firstly, we deal with emails and admin (accompanied by another cup of tea – and biscuits!), then most of the day is usually spent on making orders and working on new ideas for products. We do all our own photography, so we like to spend some of the afternoon on this when the light is good. At lunch we have something from the local bakery and at the end of the working day we pick up our daughter from school and do the post office run. Then it’s home for dinner, family time, more cups of tea and maybe a walk along the river bank at the bottom of our garden. In the evening, we’ll watch a film or read. Bedtime is around 11.30pm.
Our proudest business moment was… winning the Prince’s Trust Young Entrepreneur of the Year and getting to meet HRH Prince Charles.
When we started our business, we wish we’d known… that sometimes your best ideas come to you when you’re not even thinking about work. Our most successful ideas have come from some of the most obscure places.
We’d describe our personal style as… We are both fans of mid-century modern and believe firmly in buying once but buying well. Things that are made sustainably and to last the test of time.
Our last purchase was… an Ercol blonde elm 1960’s blue label dressing table and chair set.
The first thing we do when we wake up is… hit snooze!
The motto we live by is… What’s the worst that can happen…?
We’re hoping 2017 will bring… time to draw inspiration for our new products from our stunning new surroundings.
Everything tastes better with a little… Marmite!
1. Personalised Wooden Beard And Moustache Comb 2. Personalised Walnut Round Engraved Box 3. Personalised Walnut Jigsaw Coasters 4. Solid Wood Personalised Serving Board
PS. This lady is a jewellery wiz and if you want gifts, this creator knows gifts.
Hardtofind is Australia’s leading online curated marketplace for gifts, fashion and homewares.
