At Sugar Paper, we’re makers at heart. What started with a love of paper and a letterpress has evolved into a line of products that are made the way those very first orders were made - with an idea and an eye for detail.
Most of our product ideas start with a casual chat in Jamie and Chelsea’s office and go on to become beautiful products that impact people's lives in a real and emotional way. The conversation usually begins with something like, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a (fill in the blank) out there for (fill in the blank again). Our products are always made with a specific reason for us to make it. Making the baby book happened that way.
Once we have an idea we tend to get a bit obsessive about it. Our team collaborates, designs, and goes through several rounds of editing to create the best version.
With the baby book, we labored over each detail. We debated what should be included and what, intentionally, should not be included. We wanted to create a beautiful place for all the things that you save and a home for all those heart string moments that you never want to forget. We wanted to capture the newness of the entire first year.
It was important that we not only capture the images and those all-important firsts, but the actual experience of bringing a little one into the world. So we started to brainstorm about what we wanted to capture, remember, write down, about the whole experience.
Fortunately, we had lots of people to bounce ideas off. The baby book was born during a time when Sugar Paper was experiencing it's own baby boom. We had new moms, moms-to-be, and what we now affectionately refer to as the "old moms" - the veterans with older kids - who never got around to making a baby book, mainly because they never found one they liked.
Creating a product can actually be a lot like new parenthood-you can feel exhilarated and then defeated ten minutes later. But then you remember that you love all of it. Even the messy parts.
When you think of baby you think blue and pink. But blue and pink can be really tricky. We mull over hundreds of swatches, paint chips, and Pantone books to bring color palettes to life.
For this, chambray seemed like the obvious choice from the beginning. We love chambray, and it’s sweet and sophisticated for babies. Sugar Paper pink was a no-brainer… but pink! Ask any designer, pink is nearly impossible to get right the first (second and third!) time. And this one had to be right.
Creating a product can actually be a lot like new parenthood-it's exciting, but tiring at times. You can feel exhilarated and then defeated ten minutes later. And sometimes you question whether you have any idea what you're doing and if you're doing it all wrong. But then you remember that you love all of it. Even the messy parts.
This particular process has resulted in more positives than we could have imagined. All it takes is one customer - and there have been many more than one - to tell us how much it means to them, and how much they love it, and we’re reminded why we do what we do.
It’s the baby book we wish we had when our kids were born. Truthfully, we made it for us. We made it for our kids, and we made it for you. Because babies deserve the very best of what we have to give.
So… It begs the question:
What do you want to see us make next? We’d love to hear your ideas.
Xo.
