This month’s Focus on .. is Jan & Robert of Pavillion, a gorgeous range of modern cards we’ve been stocking for a couple of years

Here’s a little interview we did with them both to find out a little more.

Tell me a little bit about yourselves.

We are Jan & Robert, we live/work in Norfolk with our dog Ripley and have been together since 2005. Pavilion was launched in January 2018 after 18 months of designing and forming our first collection of greeting cards.

How did you get into doing what you’re doing

Our backgrounds are in design, Jan’s as a textile print designer and Robert’s as a stylist. We both love fashion and print and had worked together on creating a range of printed scarves and bags which became wall art prints which we sold locally at art craft fairs and markets. We then looked into turning the artwork of the wall art into greeting cards and then it took off from there.

What does a ‘normal’ day look like?

The day starts with walking Ripley in the morning, then as we work from home many mornings will involve a run which is a good start to the day as you get to think about and plan the day ahead as you are jogging and also it gets you out of the house for a while before you get to your desk. We often have a quick sit down together to look over what needs to be done, there’s usually orders to be processed, packed and booked on with couriers. A lot of our time in the studio is spent coming up with new card ranges, designing the prints and overseeing proofs of the new collections for the next season. No two days are the same.

Biggest achievement to date

We have had many big achievements since setting up the business, we both feel very proud when we are approached by major galleries and museums and asked if they can stock Pavilion and affiliate:107 (our partner brand) as these shops are very focussed on design-led products. More often than not we are asked to supply these stores as our products sit in line with upcoming exhibitions that the venues are presenting which is a big compliment.

Where can we find your cards?

Our collection is very varied, ranging from modern, simple through to heavily patterned colourful designs. This means you can find us in a very broad range of stockists from many independents across the UK, US along with other stores around the world as well as the museums and galleries mentioned before. We sell into jewellery stores who love our modern, foiled designs to sit along side there jewellery, as well as many florists who love our floral/illustrative cards. Since launching our notebook collections we have found that we have gained many stockists that are focussed purely on the notebook/journaling side of stationery.

Favourite card you’ve designed  / most popular card design?

That would have to be our Radar Card Wes which is our best seller by far and is also very indicative of our brand, really beautifully coloured, bold and impactful paired with a huge gold foiled star motif. We designed this card to being joy and happiness and our customers love it and always repeat buy when ordering along with new customers who have to have it on their shelves in store.

Have you seen any changing card trends over the last 12 months?

We are not probably the brand to ask about card trends as we draw inspiration for our new ranges from sources that are not trend-led. In fact we find most of our ideas come from artwork, fashion collections and graphics from way back.

Why do you think sending cards is still so important?

Sending a card is a very personal way of letting someone know that you are thinking about them whatever the occasion. Many of our customers keep the cards they are sent as a reminder of a special time and even frame them as a keepsake to have on their wall.

Best thing about running your own business?

There are many good aspects to running Pavilion, the best part is the designing process. So much of our time is spent discussing and then physically creating the artwork for the products. For both Robert and myself as creatives turning our ideas into stationery goods is a massive part of the brand. Customers at trade shows are always surprised that its just Robert and I that put the brand together as there is such a wide array of design styles and themes that are a part of the collection. When we set up Pavilion we had no real business experience so it’s been a massive learning curve to running the brand too and seeing our work out in the wild.

Advice to someone looking to turn their hobby / talent into a business?

Research is key, we spent a lot of time researching and going to look in shops at other brands for all aspects of the greeting card/stationery world before we finally committed to exhibiting at a show. We had to think about where we would sit in the industry and what we had to offer, what was unique about our work and what would draw the customers in. If you want to commit to a trade show its important to visit and look at how you would set your stand out as it is a big financial layout and look at existing brands and how they present themselves to show attendees. It costs a huge amount of money to set up so allow yourself to have the finances to launch, I spent a long time working my regular job freelancing as well as setting up Pavilion to keep a steady income coming in.

Plans for the future?

We are forever talking about the future and what we would like to do with the brand, whether its new card/stationery ranges or discussing new products we would add to the collection. For the immediate future we are focussed on creating new and interesting stationery with our unique point of view and hopefully continuing on gaining more stockists that love our work and who knows what the future holds?