After establishing her wholesale card and print business in 2016, illustrator Emma Johnston opened her own shop, Hunter Paper Co., with her husband Ross in 2020. The brand uses a vintage printing press to produce their signature greeting cards and custom stationery, that are offered alongside a collection of beautiful stationery from all over the world. 

"We really feel a part of the local community, which we could never have achieved by being purely online."

Emma started the business in 2016 just a few months after her illustration degree. She started screen printing cards and prints and selling at local markets. As the business started to grow she decided to take the leap and buy a letterpress printing press, teaching herself how to print and put together a collection for trade shows to sell wholesale to independent shops around the world. Throughout the years we often talked about our joint dream of the business having a physical space to not only house the production side of the business, but also to stock the beautiful products we found at trade shows over the years. Ross officially joined the business in 2020, although had always been a huge part of the business before then. He started growing our online shop and then we found the perfect space near our home and took the leap!

What makes Hunter Paper Co. so unique? Our shop combines our own brand products, designed and letterpress printed by us, as well as a curated selection of the best stationery from around the world coupled with warm, friendly service. 

Emma & Ross Johnston, the shopkeepers at Hunter Paper Co

What inspired you to open Hunter Paper Co.? Meeting the independent shop owners we have stocked over the years at trade shows, seeing their passion for independent retail, and the idea of curating our own selection of products we were finding at shows and on our travels. The pandemic definitely sped up the trajectory of our business. We knew we'd one day love to open a shop, and the pandemic gave us the space to think about it seriously and decide to take the leap.

What do you love about having a shop? Seeing people get excited about a notebook or fountain pen never gets old, meeting and getting to know so many interesting and lovely people. We really feel a part of the local community, which we could never have achieved by being purely online.

"We really think the future is local. Getting to know the people who live nearby and pass by everyday, it's what people are yearning for after years of zoom meetings! Curation is also a huge aspect of making retail a success. People go to a shop because of the look and feel of the place and what they might find that's different from the cookie-cutter bigger stores."