A lovely little story from Leaf

I think I may have mentioned once or twice this week that I have met some pretty awesome people since starting this blog. Well I have another one of them for you today. The first time I saw them, I was instantly attracted to both the aesthetic AND the thinking behind the gorgeous products from Leaf Journals. They are all about storytelling and today I have invited Cath to tell her story

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your creative background

It’s always hard to write about oneself, so I thought I’d share something I wrote nearly 3 years ago, when I was in a pretty dark place… it’s amazing how insightful it is – and how well it captures ME.

“I am a crazy mix of creativity, practicality, determination, passion and intelligence.

I am an aesthete, reveling in all that is good, beautiful and true in the world – art, design, music, science, nature. I tend not to see the darker side of life, even when it is obvious to others. I am constantly amazed by the beauty, power and miracle that are our planet Earth and its inhabitants. The more I see and learn of the world, the more I am inspired.”

I originally trained and worked as a Graphic Designer, but I’m more of an ideas person than a great designer. However, I do know that my training as a designer greatly influences how I collect and sort information – design thinking and all that! I LOVE great design, but I’ve realised my taste goes way beyond my talent. So these days I outsource.

Following on from this, I worked in the wholesale paper industry for 10 years, first as a Promotions Rep to the design and advertising industry, and then in marketing, so I know more about paper than even I care to admit. I love the permanence of paper, and how it feels. Digital media is great, but there’s nothing quite as lovely as the feel of a real notebook, card or writing paper in your hands.

As I’ve grown into my role as a Mum (I have a 5yo boy, usually referred to in public as The Munchkin), I’ve become more passionate about how we equip our kids for life today. This is driving a lot of my work now, as I seek to help kids find their voices, tap into their creativity and think for themselves.

Of course, my own childhood has been a huge influence on who I am today, the products I create and the direction my business is taking, but that’s a whole other story!

What led to you starting your business and where did the name come from?

My story is a classic case of “be careful what you dream of!”

Anyone who works in the paper and printing industry knows that the last five or so years have been tough – really tough.

I was promoted to the marketing team at exactly the same time I fell pregnant with my son. Good timing, bad timing – who knows! But as this was my “dream job” I was determined to make it work. And I did for a while. I went back to work when the munchkin was only 3 months old (full-time when he was 11 months) and things were going OK. The company was putting me through an MBA, so I went back to study when he was 18 months. Talk about biting off more than I could chew!

Meanwhile, we restructured our team, I took on more responsibility and workload, and market conditions got gradually worse. Then came the GFC. We were working our butts off, but it seemed to me like we were getting nowhere. All the projects I was excited about got canned. My dream job was slowly turning into my own private hell.

Around that time, I did a subject on career planning. As part of this, my childhood dream of running my own business came bubbling back to the surface. My problem was, I had no idea what that business would be.

Then my son turned 3. I realised that I had already missed so much of his childhood, and I didn’t want to miss much more. I made a To Do list of all the things I wanted to do with him – bake muffins, go to the zoo, visit a music store – so many things (it was big list!) I would look at the list and cry and cry, because there was never going to be enough time to fit them all in before he went to school.

Then one Friday, I had an idea for a business. I had another idea on Saturday. My sister came over for dinner on Saturday night and I could talk about nothing else. She was just as enthusiastic. On Sunday I came up with the business name, Leaf – the perfect name for an environmental paper brand, I thought. On Monday, during my lunch break, I quietly did some research at work and wrote up the first draft of Leaf’s “business plan”. On Tuesday, I was made redundant.

I’d been with the company 10 years, so it was a nice payout, certainly enough to give me time and some seed funding to get a business up and running. It was like being handed my dreams on a silver platter.

So now it’s just up to me to make them come true!

What inspires you?

EVERYTHING! Nature – people – art – music – science – conversations – books – articles – my beautiful little boy (and the big boy too!). It would be easier to tell you what doesn’t inspire me!

I’m always searching. I am becoming better at finding, and more importantly, realising the value in my finds.

What do you love most about your business?

Being in control of my own destiny. I can decide not to make the phone calls or to have coffee with a friend, and it’s my call, and my responsibility if things don’t happen automatically.

Similarly, I know that if I work my butt off, that the rewards will be there… one day. And in the meantime, I can pick my son up from school, take him to playdates and hang out on school holidays. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this in my previous life

What do you most love about Christmas?

My truly divine Christmas Tree. I’m a complete sucker for beautiful Christmas decorations – they’re my one girlie vice.

What are 5 of your own favourite products/creations and why?