Katie Leamon | Katie Leamon

Another of our favourite ladies is Katie, founder of Katie Leamon – a London-based luxury card and stationary brand. This gorgeous company is best known for its hand-printed greeting cards reflects Katie’s clear love of typography, printing and all things vintage. Katie is an inspiration to us because of her true connection with everything her company makes. All Katie Leamon creations are responsibly made with incredible care and attention at every stage of their production. Read Katie’s answers to our IWD questions below:
1. Briefly describe your job/role and how you got there –
I have a design-led greetings card & stationery business that I started in 2010. When I first started the business it was just me, so my role spread from design and production to sales and marketing. Now, we have a small team and my main role is creative; I research, source and create new products and new designs within our existing range. I also lead any creative collaborations, and exhibitions we participate in. Alongside this I also oversee the overall running of the company and any key decisions with my partner Ruairi.

2. Who/what is your inspiration – in design and in life?
I look into interior trends, architecture and nature as a starting point for a lot of our collections. I couple that with keeping an eye on graphic and typographical design and try and relate the two while combining our key aesthetic into a new project. I love the simplicity and colour of both Matisse and illustrator Karl-Joel Larsson and the clean lines and shapes associated with Scandinavian design. My favourite aesthetic is a real mix of old and new… I love the sun drenched walls and washed out pastels found in old European cities but coupled with crisp clean line. I think its this clean vintage tangibility that we have running through a lot of our work.
3. Tell us about a favourite creation – this could be a recipe, cosmetic product, piece of art, garment, moment, or life hack
This is a hard one, in terms of my work, I think our debut leather collection – HiDE was a real labour of love. It was born from a desire to recreate vintage leather items I’d received from my mum years ago, and I wanted to give them a modern twist and create a range that sat alongside our stationery. The quality of the leather was selected to mould with the user and become a beloved item while also being useful.
4. Tell us your favourite way to pick yourself up and/or unwind
When I feel stressed or under pressure I think I always benefit from talking it through with my partner Ruairi. Im not very good at switching off from work and relaxing but now we have a little boy I try and ensure we spend our weekends phone free and relaxing as a family which is the best way to unwind for me. I love being outside, so my perfect days are spent in the garden or out at the park.
5. If you could ask the ladies in India a question, or give a piece of advice, what would it be?
I would ask them where would they would most recommend visiting in India? I love to travel and experience new cultures and India is definitely high on my list.