Caroline Gardner's website sells beautiful greetings cards, stationery, wrapping paper and gifts, all in her distinctive, colourful style.

How did the idea for your stationery business begin?
A friend was looking for someone to design handmade cards for a gallery in Tokyo. I was a fine artist at the time and said I would have a go. The cards went down so well that I decided to send them to a few shops in London. Soon I had more orders than I could make myself so I started employing local au pairs to help. I would get all the bits and pieces ready, show each one how to make them and then they'd bring back the finished products a week later. Within months, I had about 25 people coming in and out of the house at all hours.

Do you still design everything yourself?
For the first few years, I designed on my own. But as the business grew, the volume of work meant I had to find other designers. I now have three in the studio.

How are your cards made?
We use lots of different techniques, but my favourite is still die-stamping. It's one of the oldest forms of printing where images are transposed onto a piece of copper or steel and engraved, by hand in most cases, then put onto a die-stamping press. The prints are laid out to dry and later burnished to make the metal ink shine. Finally, they are “bumped up” to give the finished effect. It's a labour-intensive process, but worth it.

What impact has your website had on your business?
It was launched just over a year ago and we're constantly updating it, but we're still first and foremost a wholesale business, supplying lots of wonderful retailers all over the country. We also sell worldwide and, while we Brits are the most prolific card senders, Other countries are catching up.

Tell us about your new stationery collection.
It combines rare Italian paper in unusual, subtle colours, with rich inks die-stamped onto it, nestling in a beautiful tissue-lined envelope. It's a bespoke service so customers choose the layout, font and colours. Deliveries take three to four weeks and arrive tied with ribbon and encased in a keepsake box. There are also going to be new products, such as diaries and bedlinen, available this autumn.

Visit the website at www.carolinegardner.com.

FEATURE JANE AKERS
APRIL 2009