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Introducing: Friday Night Sketch at The Design Museum

Friday Night Sketch at The Design Museum

Friday Night Sketch is a brand new, year-long event series that kicks off on the 2nd November 2018 – here’s everything you need to know about the night, the artists, and what to expect. Get your sketchbooks ready…

It’s no secret that, here at MOO, we love all things design. That’s why we decided to partner with our friends over at The Design Museum in London on a series of creative sessions that get you involved with the makers and doers – Friday Night Sketch.

What is Friday night sketch?

Hosted at The Design Museum as part of their late night events programme, Friday Night Sketch is a creative session, taking place on the first first Friday of each month. Each evening is hosted by a different illustrator or artist, and as a guest, you’ll get the chance to meet the designers, tour the museum, and get creative – oh, and did we mention there’s a bar too?

How does it work?

Whether you’re dropping in on the night or have pre-booked tickets, you’ll explore the museum with the artist, sketching architecture and points of interest as you move through the space. In addition to a different creative host, there will also be a different theme for each evening, so it’s a real chance to test your skills and experiment.

What can I expect on the night?

Your sketching task will be inspired by one of The Design Museum’s permanent collections or featured exhibitions. The event aims to encourage total creativity. Whether it’s contemporary design or architecture that you’re into, Friday Night Sketch is about creating art from whatever excites you. The first event theme is Home and Identity.

Introducing our first artist – Erin Aniker

Working as an illustrator based in London, Erin has developed a style that’s caught the attention of plenty of publications – including creative company, It’s Nice That. Erin draws inspiration from her travels, her Turkish/British heritage and from the inclusive community she’s grown up with in her capital home.

What can I expect from The Design Museum?

Housed in a Grade II listed building in London’s High Street Kensington, The Design Museum is an international showcase of all things design – from graphics and product to industrial and fashion. The museum welcomes over 700,000 visitors a year and holds a variety of contemporary exhibitions throughout.

How can I get involved?

Come on in! All of the sessions are completely free and you don’t need to sign up to attend, simply drop by on the night. We will also have 100 pre-bookable tickets available for each month. These will bag you some sketching goodies – provided by MOO – and get you into an exclusive 15 minute workshop with the hosting artist on the night. The opening night is already sold out – but don’t worry – there will be 100 more available for every session, so keep a sharp eye out.

Pen and paper at the ready? Get the full event details

Studio partners Carrie Kiefer  and Morgan Georgie tell us how gift wrap patterns and a taste for typography lead them to open their own studio.

It took eight years of debate and late-night freelancing to convince Carrie and Morgan to make the jump from full-time employment to launching their own business, Ampersand Design Studio.

We caught up with Carrie and Morgan to find out how they transitioned from running a 6-11 to launching a thriving business, and what they learnt along the way.

ampersand-studio

How did you two meet?

We studied graphic design together at university, and we think it’s no coincidence that we first met in a typography class – even though we had no idea that we’d eventually start Ampersand together.

After graduation we were both hired by Hallmark Cards, where we worked together for almost a decade. After about two years, although our careers were fulfilling, we naturally starting talking about starting a company together.

We’d always dreamed of paving our own path and making our own unique mark on the world. After dreaming, scheming, and countless late nights of freelancing on the side, we finally followed our long-time dream to start a business creating patterns and artwork for modern, everyday living. 

How did working at Hallmark influence your design perspective?

Most of our options for jobs were in the advertising world, but at Hallmark, we designed actual products instead of marketing pieces, with the goal of connecting people and creating memories. We learned how to design for products, source new materials and processes, and bring whole collections in various formats to life.

We spent the majority of our time working on gift wrap, which is where we learned the art of repeating patterns. Prior to that, we’d both loved surface pattern design, without truly knowing how it worked. Hallmark is where we became familiar with that whole branch of design.

  • Ampersand studio accessories
  • Ampersand studio pins, gift wrapping paper and other accessories

What did working on a 6-11 teach you?

Launching a business wasn’t an easy choice, and we had a hard time making the leap. So instead of cutting ourselves off from our paychecks cold turkey, we tried things out on the side for a while.

In those early days, we were all over the place. We knew we wanted to create unique art and patterns, but didn’t know how to turn that into a business. We experimented with everything from patterned handbags to modern wedding invitations.

We learned a lot of lessons the hard way, but that time was a game-changer for us. We’d sit side-by-side at one computer, designing invitations alongside branding and other graphic design jobs, tweaking the smallest details, night after night.

We met clients at coffee shops and listened to their needs, estimated our expenses (inaccurately at times!) and, on a small scale, learned to run a business. We didn’t make the jump to set out on our own until a series of life events gave us both the push we needed. In 2010, we launched Ampersand Design Studio, and we’ve never looked back.

  • Ampersand square cards
  • Ampersand designs
  • Ampersand notebooks

How did you choose the name Ampersand?

With there being two of us joining together, the ‘&’ was the perfect mark to symbolize that union. Having a strong love of typography, we were happy to discover that the ampersand is historically the character that a typographer can use to infuse personality and playfulness into a font.

It’s the symbol that gets to have a little more fun, and once we realized that, there was no question about what our business name should be.

  • Ampersand studio
  • Ampersand cut paper

What inspires your designs?

We find inspiration everywhere we go, from the floor of a favorite restaurant to an accidental color palette of painted buildings placed next to each other. Traveling and experiencing new things, whether it’s food, art, or an experience, always gives us a creative boost.

Our work is frequently full of bright, fun and bold color, so we joke that we never grew out of that whole rainbow-loving phase from our childhood in the 1980s.

You’re great at getting creative with MOO products. Tell us about that.

We first fell in love with MOO when we discovered the possibility of printing multiple patterns on the back of Business Cards. As surface pattern designers, it was an ‘ahh!’ moment.

Each year, we update our cards with new patterns, and we fan them out and let people pick which pattern is their favorite. We also give out Postcards as take-home pieces from our trade shows, add them as mini art-prints to slip into our shop orders, and use Stickers, too.

  • Ampersand studio square cards
  • Ampersand studio gold square business cards
  • Ampersand studio business cards in various designs
  • Ampersand studio business cards

How does your partnership impact on your business?

What sets us apart is our shared design aesthetic. Although we have different inspirations and points of departure, our strongest work comes from combining our viewpoints.

Sometimes, we both concept for a job, then one of us will take it to completion. At others, one of us will start and the other will fine-tune. But we both work with paint, pen and ink, cut paper and anything else we can get our hands on.

Neither of us has a natural business mind, so that side will always be a learning process for us, but we’ve organically started to own different aspects of our business, such as finances, social media, brand strategy and scheduling.

Overall our priority has always been our friendship. We’ve heard horror stories about companies going south and owners never speaking to each other again. We always promised that we’ll fold the company and walk away before endangering our friendship.

Want to shout about your designs by getting creative with MOO? Choose your perfect product here.

Freelance illustrator Mélanie Johnsson combines her passions for the environment, fonts and design to create colorful artwork with a message.

French-born designer, illustrator and letterer Mélanie Johnsson swapped France for Margate and found herself inspired by her new environment. We caught up with her to talk about eco-friendly design and the freedoms of being freelance.

When Mélanie collaborated with MOO to create a set of Postcards, the outcome was a colorful series centred around the natural world, inspiring change and  inviting people to re-discover the beautiful species we need to protect.

Choosing Futura as her font (“I believe it’s one of the strongest, clearest and most beautifully drawn typeface out there,” she explains), the cards feature single, striking letters, teeming with wildlife — a snake wrapped around the bars of a capital E; a cheetah prowling beneath an R.

Together, the letters spell ‘PRESERVE!’ and the backs of her striking designs feature 10 tips for preserving the environment.

Now, working freelance from her home studio, MOO caught up with Mélanie to find out how she aligns her brand with her eco-friendly values, and the benefits of allowing your creative mind the time and space to wander.

Tell us about yourself and your background

I was born and raised in France by a family of designers. I studied visual communications at Duperré in Paris for three years then went travelling, and was lucky enough to get some freelancing jobs.

After a while, I decided to settle in London and find a full-time job. Then after a year, I realized I wanted to go back to being self-employed. I recently moved to the seaside, in Margate, and I really love it here.

You run your business from your home studio – do you have any tips for others thinking of doing the same?

I love working from my home studio because I can control my environment. I try to keep ‘normal’ hours for work — although I’m more efficient in the morning, so I tend to start work very early and finish early too.

I do the work that needs to be done, but I’m not afraid of pausing in the afternoon if I feel like it. That’s what I love about working on your own terms — you’re free to do what you want and work whenever you’re the most inspired.

Some days, I’ll work for crazy hours, and others I’ll only work half a day and go outside, walk by the beach, or go for a kite surfing session. That’s what I need to stay sane and creative. It’s important to spend time refining your art, but not at the expense of life experiences! It’s about finding that magical balance.

If you’re thinking of setting up your own studio, I’d offer these five tips:

  1. Make it bright and airy
  2. Keep your office tidy and clean so you have space to think and be creative
  3. Have lots of plants around
  4. Always have blank paper next to you so you can jot down ideas
  5. Make yourself a few playlists for different moods

  • Melanie Johnsson studio
  • Melanie Johnsson painting
  • Melanie Johnsson at home

How do you stay inspired?

Travel, nature and the cinema are my biggest sources of inspiration. Moving to the seaside has been really inspiring too — I love being able to leave home, walk for four minutes, and be by the sea. I feel terribly lucky.

You’ve got a really strong creative identity – how have you developed your style?

I guess it’s by making things from my heart about themes I care about. Whatever happened, I kept listening to my inner voice and never let myself be influenced by others people’s opinions too much. You have to make a lot of things before you start making things you actually like.

I’m also pretty good at saying no to projects that don’t feel exactly right, and I dislike when things are rushed, because I know I won’t do my best work. So I’m getting better at communicating with my clients on the time needed to create our best work together.

  • Melanie Johnsson minicards
  • Melanie Johnsson business cards
  • Melanie Johnsson card designs

How important is choosing the right font to the overall aesthetic of your designs?

Choosing the right font for a project is one of the most important decisions you have to make. Each font has a singular history and personality, and you have to make sure they’re a good fit for the story you’re trying to tell.

If I had to choose a favourite, I’d say Futura. It was beautifully drawn by Paul Renner in 1927, and is still used in a lot of designs today. I love that it’s based on simple geometric figures, which makes it timeless. Plus my grandad was a designer too, and it was one of his favourites.

You like to work with people who care about the planet – tell us about that.

I recently made the move to working only with brands that are sustainable and eco-friendly. I’m finally mixing my personal values with my brand values, and I want to work for people who are as passionate about raising awareness as I am. It’s been wonderful working with people who care and aren’t just here to make money without thinking about a green future.

What’s been your favourite project so far?

I know I don’t have to say this, but my project with MOO has been a favourite this year. I was given the opportunity to speak out about preserving a few of the extraordinary animals that inhabit this planet, and I love a project that’s visually enticing and carries an important message.

Your Instagram feed is beautiful! What are your tips for curating a feed and cultivating a community?

I believe that posting your best work consistently is key. Edit yourself a little bit, but not too much — you don’t want to lose spontaneity. Have fun with it. And don’t do it for the likes — they don’t really mean anything.

I love my little Instagram community, and I’ve made some really good friends there. It’s an amazing place to share opinions and ideas with like-minded people. I’ve also found some amazing clients through social media, because my feed really reflects who I am, what I do and who I want to work with.

Do you have any advice for design entrepreneurs about to embark on their own freelance journey?

Don’t undervalue yourself (you’re great), don’t say yes to a project you’re not sure about (follow your gut), don’t work with disrespectful people twice (although you’ll learn that by making the mistake once) and always have fun — because that’s how you’ll do your best work.

Get your brand message out in the world with Postcards

If your workforce is flat-out over the festive period, use these tips to help them avoid burnout and keep everyone smiling.

The holidays are a time when lots of businesses naturally start winding down in preparation for a fresh start in the new year. But for others, it’s their busiest time of year, with customer services and fulfilment working overtime to keep things running smoothly.

Every business experiences ebbs and flows, but when your employees have to take on extra work over the holidays, it pays to make some adjustments to account for the extra stress everyone is under.

Acknowledging their efforts and taking steps to ease the pressure will result in a happier workforce, which research has shown can lead to a boost in sales as well as productivity at a crucial time. Or, as Virgin’s Richard Branson puts it: “Take care of your employees, and they’ll take care of your business.”

If you’ve already decided how to show employees your appreciation in 2018, here are 6 more ways to look out for them over the holidays.

1. Provide some festive treats

When you know there’s a busy day ahead, handing out seasonal treats to keep everyone going is a great motivator. Offer pumpkin spiced lattes first thing in the morning, marzipan fruit cake during break, and healthy nibbles such as fruit, spiced nuts and veg batons throughout the day. It will make those overtime hours feel a little less painful, as well as keeping everyone’s energy levels up.

2. Get into the holiday spirit

Putting a Spotify holiday playlist on repeat from October probably won’t have the desired effect – but decorating the office, and allowing employees to adorn their personal workspaces will keep the atmosphere in the office casual and fun.

There will always be a few Grinches who don’t want to join in, so get everyone involved by swapping employee photos with pictures of them transformed into elves, or wearing holiday jumpers.

3. Keep things moving

Exercise can go straight out of the window in winter – especially when you’re chained to a desk during a busy period. But exercise is a proven stress-buster, so it pays to help your employees get moving. Make it part of your office culture, and they’ll be more relaxed, energised and productive.

Offering lunchtime classes – for example, pilates or yoga – held in an empty meeting room will appeal to employees who struggle to fit in a workout before or after work. Other options include subsidised gym membership, organising in-office leagues of team sports, or simply encouraging everyone to take a walk during their break rather than having lunch al desko.

If your workers are glued to their screens, make sure they’re taking regular time away from the glare. Make everyone aware of the 20/20/20 rule to combat eye strain (taking 20 seconds to look at an object 20 feet away every 20 minutes), and encourage them to take a break from their desks every 30 minutes to avoid more serious health issues.

At MOO, we take exercise very seriously.

4. Make time to connect

After a busy shift, if you’re able to take your team for drinks, it’s worth taking the time out to thank them in person for their hard work. Getting together socially gives everyone space to discuss any issues they have in a less formal atmosphere. Some employers worry this can foster unprofessional behaviour, but studies have shown that going for a drink together helps groups to form bonds.

It also gives you the chance to show you understand your employees have their own lives outside work – and promoting an office culture with a healthy work-life balance benefits everyone.

5. Say a personal thank you

A handwritten note is a thoughtful way to show your appreciation, and gives you the chance to tailor your thanks to each member of staff. A personalized Notecard or Greeting Card that acknowledges the hard work everyone has put in over the holidays will be appreciated – thanks to Printfinity, you can even make each image different, to suit the personalities of your people.

6. Cut everyone some slack

Your business might be running flat-out helping other people enjoy their holidays, but your staff will be making their own plans, too. Recognizing that they may need to take some time outside of their lunch hour to prepare, and trusting them to make up the time later, is a surefire way to foster happiness in the workplace.

Studies have found that flexible workers are happier and more productive, and even if you can only apply this on a small scale over the holidays, it could reap huge dividends in terms of staff satisfaction.

Want to show your thanks? Browse our personalizable Greeting Cards.

Thinking of adding a festive twist to your branding or products this year? Get advice and inspiration from these designers before diving in.

The holidays are the perfect opportunity to go all out creative with your designs – whether that’s assembling promotional packs for clients, adding awesome festive extras to your product offering, or simply slipping a thank you postcard into your customer orders.

So, how do you keep your design aesthetic true to your brand while also trying to avoid the holiday clichés? Well, you take a little advice and inspiration from these awesome illustrators and designers, of course.

Check out Mélanie, Tim and Sara’s tips for creating bespoke holiday designs that’ll be sure to spread warm fuzzies to clients and customers alike.

 

Mélanie Johnsson

This year, illustrator and letterer Mélanie has designed a holiday-themed collection of sendalongs to wish her clients a happy year ahead. “For this holiday season, I’ve tried to remain as close to my style as possible—making it fun and lighthearted, but still meaningful and holiday-themed,” Mélanie says. For her, the biggest detail was in the color scheme. “I came up with at least 5 different color palettes before settling for this deep ocean blue, forest green, light beige, chocolate, and millennial pink combo.”

  • Melanie Johnsson holiday cards and gift tags
  • Melanie Johnsson cards in various designs and colors
  • Melanie Johnsson gift tags

As well as beautifully designed Greeting Cards and MiniCard gift tags, Mélanie also crafted her own festive take on a classic game as an extra little surprise to share with her clients – chatterboxes. “They fit perfectly onto Square Flyers and I loved the idea of bringing this paper game back to life,” Mélanie explains. “It’s also a fun giveaway to have on hand when working with clients.”

  • Wall with Melanie Johnsson cards
  • Melanie Johnsson green and blue holiday cards on wall
  • Melanie Johnsson holiday cards on wall

We were like kids on Christmas morning when we set eyes on Mélanie’s Cotton Business Cards, which are designed to inspire positivity and motivation for the year ahead. “The idea is to give the cards away during the holidays for people to keep in their wallet throughout the new year and beyond,” Mélanie explains. “In 2019, nothing can keep you from following your wildest dreams!”

Put your holiday branding on Flyers, Greeting Cards, and MiniCards.

 

Tim Easley

Taking a personalized approach, illustrator and designer Tim has created a customizable collection of Postcards, Gift Tags, Stickers and Notecards that embody his unique style. “I didnʼt want to do anything too stereotypical,” says Tim, “so I steered clear of the green and red palette and went bright and cheerful. For me, it still represents the feeling of the holidays without having an overly traditional look and feel.”

  • Tim Easley designs
  • Tim Easley holiday cards and stickers
  • Tim Easley postcards and business cards

Tim’s customizable products serve as a clever way for him to spread word of his brand—along with good tidings, of course. The cards have fill-in-the-blank phrases for clients to tailor their holiday messages for each recipient. “I wanted to send something to clients that would encourage them to share my designs around their office. With my customizable cards, people can fill them in and pass them around their studio or office space — that way, everyone in the building would see my work.”

  • Tim Easley square cards in Christmas tree
  • Tim Easley cards in various colors
  • Tim Easley holiday card
  • Tim Easley cards and stickers
  • Tim Easley cards in various colors
  • Close-up of Tim Easley card

For Tim, adapting his personal branding and creating limited edition designs is less about following the crowd and more about paving his own way. “Don’t worry about conforming to the traditional holiday look. It’s fine to use a different palette and elements that may not usually be relevant – in fact – it can be refreshing to receive something a little different!”

Create your own unique collection with our Notecards, Stickers, and MiniCards.

 

Sara Boccaccini Meadows

On a beach in late summer, Sara began drawing red and green foliage, snowy cottages and scarf-laden figures. Inspired by holiday walks with her family in native England, she developed a limited-edition collection of print products featuring holiday motifs for her clients and customers.

  • Sara Boccaccini Meadows holiday card with portraits
  • Sara Boccaccini Meadows holiday card
  • Sara Boccaccini Meadows card on flower bouquet
  • Sara Boccaccini Meadows holiday card with snowy mountains and houses
  • Sara Boccaccini Meadows card with plants
  • Sara Boccaccini Meadows card with garden pattern

Sara decided to rework some of her older sketchbook illustrations to create a seasonal color palette and aesthetic. “These designs were a mix of inspiration – from an office party, to winter walks through a botanical wonderland,” she explains. The holiday season is packed with trade shows and pop-ups, making it a great time for Sara to get her work into the hands of lots of different people. “These events are perfect for handing out Business Cards, Postcards, and fun Stickers – they really make a lasting impression,” Sara says.

  • Sara Boccaccini Meadows holiday card and stickers
  • Sara Boccaccini Meadows Christmas cards and round stickers
  • Small Christmas gift with square card and round sticker by Sara Boccaccini Meadows
  • Gift decorated with Sara Boccaccini Meadows round stickers

To keep her branding cohesive, Sara also designed seasonal packaging to decorate shipments of her new illustration book, “Botanical Painting.” She created hand-drawn Stickers to finish her wrapping, and even handpainted a gold message on the back of Postcards to send along with the book as a thank-you. “I think the little details are the most important,” Sara explains. “Having quality touches like beautiful Postcards and Stickers really helps elevate your work.”

Share the important details with Postcards, Stickers, and Business Cards.

The holidays are always buzzing, whether you’re shipping out gift orders or planning end-of-year team celebrations. Here’s how to handle it all in style.

1. Showcase your seasonal products

If your business sells giftable items, the holidays are a fantastic opportunity to release some limited edition holiday-themed products. Whether it’s a festive cinnamon version of your scented candle, a limited edition graphic print or a set of printed Greetings Cards, your imagination is pretty much the limit.

No bandwidth for new products? Give your existing lines an online makeover by taking new product photos with some seasonal props and wintry settings. Our guide to taking great product photos  may come in handy here. Or why not keep it super-simple and mark the holidays by changing up your delivery packages with a seasonal Sticker?

packaging-inspiration

2. Promote your holiday wares

Whether or not you’re producing special holiday items, get your seasonal strategy in place to make the most of the holiday rush. It’s a good idea to start thinking at least a few weeks in advance. To be on the safe side, call a planning meeting around Thanksgiving to get the ball rolling.

It’s a good idea to promote any discounts or special offers early on so that customers can allocate their gift budget. Social media channels like Facebook and Instagram are helpful, particularly if you have new product photos to share. You can also take it offline with Flyers or Postcards ­– equally great for adding to customer packages or distributing locally as a way to keep customers in the loop about seasonal discounts or new products.

For more inspiration on smart festive marketing strategies, check out our tips for being competitive during the holiday season.

3. Get stocking up in advance

No, that’s not advice for those expecting Santa Claus. Stock levels may be affected by unusual patterns of buying activity over the holiday period, whether it’s a flurry of gift-purchasing or a drop in sales as customers’ budgets are focused elsewhere.

If you’re not sure what to expect, and especially if this is your first holiday season as a business, it’s better to have too much than too little. (Unless you’re selling perishable items, that is – common sense applies there.) Make sure you’ve got a stash of products on standby for the holiday rush. That means planning ahead, particularly if you’re a drop-shipping business that works with a supplier partner to source and send out your products.

4. Plan your seasonal shipping and returns

Shipping and returns are hot topics for holiday shoppers. Can they guarantee an item will arrive on time? And what if the recipient doesn’t like a gift they’ve been bought – can it be returned free of charge?

It’s a good idea to clearly state the last date for holiday orders to avoid late deliveries. Let people know they’ll need to get their order in before the cut-off point to make sure they (and you) avoid last-minute stress. If you usually offer free shipping , you could offer an additional expedited last-minute service for an extra charge.

When it comes to returns, you might choose to change your policies for a limited time to help customers out. For example, you could extend the return period for items bought during December to give customers more of a chance to return unwanted gifts.

Publicizing your shipping and returns information will also support your festive marketing plans, reminding customers that you’re a good place to find gifts. Why not spread the word with a seasonally-themed Flyer included with your packages?

packaging-inspiration

5. Boost end-of-year morale and motivation

As the holidays approach, you and your team may not be 100% focused on the job – hardly surprising given the flurry of domestic activity that comes with visiting relatives, gift shopping and the planning of delicious dinners. To add to the preparations at home, you may also be dealing with end-of-year crunches in workload. Make sure you’ve got your self-care game on point to help you stay bright-eyed and bushy-tailed until January.

You can also make sure your holiday season is memorable for the right reasons by holding a team celebration meal. Take the chance to spoil your staff with a glam night out, and make it a bit special with some fancy party invitations. Or if you’re a solo entrepreneur, treating yourself to something in recognition of your hard work in the outgoing year. Maybe a fancy new Notebook would fit the bill?

6. Set yourself up for a happy new year

The end of one year, the start of another – what better time to reflect on your achievements and plan next year’s goals with some company resolutions? We’ve suggested a few in our New Year resolutions guide.

Sending out Greetings Cards to your list of valued clients is a sure-fire way to add some holiday glow to your relationships and set the scene for ongoing business in the new year.

Many businesses opt for a branded greeting card which can be personalized with a handwritten message to clients. You can incorporate your brand colors and illustration style or perhaps feature some of your product images in a festive design. Whatever the style, make sure your message expresses how much you’ve enjoyed working with them.

Bonus festive tip: our Square Business Cards make the cutest gift tags!

Get the story behind one of the world’s most eco-friendly paper mills, and find out how it caught the eyes of MOO’s very own product design team.

Here at MOO, our mission is simple: we believe in the power of great design. Design helps us stand out: from the clothes we wear, to the homes we live in, to the business cards we use. Design tells a story about us and what we stand for. We don’t let any detail go unnoticed — from the special touches and finishes we offer on our Business Cards, right down to the whiteness of the paper in our Notebooks.

Photo credit: Luke Tonge

In fact, it’s this very ethos that we look to echo when selecting our suppliers and partners – and Arctic Paper is no exception.

Deep in the woods of coastal Sweden, a few miles from the mouth of the pristine fjords, you’ll find the sleepy town of Munkedal. From the outside, this hamlet of around 3,718 residents may just seem like an ideal weekend getaway for those living in nearby Gothenburg – but dig a little deeper and you’ll find it’s steeped in history and home to one of Arctic Paper’s most historic paper mills: Munkedals, producer of the Munken Paper range.

Munkedal, Sweden, home to Munken Paper. Photo credit: Luke Tonge

It’s this history, rich heritage and remarkable environmental story that caught the eye of MOO’s product team while designing our line of Notebooks. MOO went to Munkedal, Sweden to get the full story behind the premium Munken paper.

Munkedals paper mill, home to Munken Kristall paper

An eco-friendly history

Founded in 1871, the Munkedals paper mill is situated on the Orekil River, which was once a popular fishing river for Swedish Monks (hence, “Munken”). The location was a logical place to set up paper-making operations—with nearby natural forests for wood pulp and flowing rivers whose water could be used to bind the paper together.

After decades of harvesting trees and using river water in the production process, there was a noticeable change in the environment in surrounding Munkedal—particularly in the nearby fjords. This prompted a quick response from the mill operators to dedicate their practices towards sustainability and care for their surroundings.

Munkedals’ head of environmental quality, Jonas Dahlqvist

Today, Munkedals is considered one of the most environmentally friendly paper mills in the world. The environmental quality team, headed by Jonas Dahlqvist, has implemented processes to ensure that the waste water produced at the mill is purified so well that it’s drinkable at the point of returning it to the Orekil River. “We see it as borrowing resources from the area,” Dahlqvist told MOO, “when we’re done using them, we give them back as we found them.”

Munken paper mills. Photo credit: Luke Tonge

The Munken Design paper range

Specializing in uncoated fine papers, the Munken Design paper range offers a tactile, design-grade experience for drawers, doodlers and writers alike. From the wood-free Munken Premium line to Munken Kristall, the papers coming out of the Munkedals facility are made to last for generations.

Photo credit: Luke Tonge

The Munken-making process begins with the water of the Orekil River, which is used to bind the wood pulp together. Mixed with binding chalk, which contributes to the paper’s notable whiteness, the wood pulp becomes malleable. It’s then sent through a lengthy process of compressing, heating and flattening, and is then rolled over large drums to dry out. At the end of the process, the paper is cut from the rolls and packaged up for shipment—courtesy of paper distributor, G.F. Smith.

Conny Olsson with a sheet of Munken Kristall paper. Photo credit: Luke Tonge

But not all papers are made the same. “There are over 80 variables and parameters to look at when making paper,” Munkedal’s Technical Manager, Conny Olsson, told MOO. “Opacity, thickness, whiteness, roughness—these are all the key factors that contribute to the quality of the paper.” In short: paper-making is as much a science as it is an art.

  • Munken Premium Design paper range
    Munken Premium Design paper range
  • Munken paper

MOO and Munken: a match made in (Notebook) heaven

The long-lasting, never-fade quality of Munken Kristall stood out to MOO’s product team, who pored over different paper samples in their quest to find the perfect Notebook paper. “We looked at over 50 papers to start, and narrowed it down to about 10,” MOO’s Principal Lead Product Designer, Felix Ackermann says. “We did some thorough tests on the feel of the surface, writing and sketching performance with pens and inks, as well as thickness.”

  • MOO's Toby Hextall with Munkedal mill employee
    MOO's Toby Hextall with Munkedal mill employee. Photo credit: Luke Tonge
  • Felix Ackermann
    MOO's Felix Ackermann looking at Munken Kristall paper

We asked Felix about his favorite features of Munken Kristall paper, to which he gave an excited—and fairly lengthy—reply. (Hey, he’s a product guy, so we’ll cut him some slack.) “Our favorite part of Munken Kristall was the excellent balance of texture and smoothness, which gives resistance for quick sketches,” Felix said. “We were also impressed by how little ink bled through the 100gsm paper weight, while still maintaining an oh-so-bright white appearance.”

Rolls of Munken paper. Photo credit: Luke Tonge

The opacity would prove to be the most important to those who want to fill up a notebook with pages upon pages of notes, doodles, and checklists—all while maintaining a signature whiteness no matter what pen you use.

“On top of it all, Munken paper had a great environmental story as well,” Felix added. “We were so pleased to witness the genuine care for the environment at Munkedals throughout all parts of the mill and its surrounding areas.”

  • Lined notebook
    MOO Notebook
  • MOO notebooks with Swiss binding
  • Thick lined notebook

So what’s the key to Munken Kristall’s inimitable paper quality? In part, it’s the combined experience of all of the mill’s employees. Goren Lindvist, CEO of Arctic Paper Munkedals, has been working there for 14 years, and is still considered “the new guy.” In fact, many workers MOO met are 2nd and even 3rd generation employees of the mill, who have worked there for decades themselves. It became clear that Munkedals’ employees are proud to work in a place that cares as much about the beautiful surroundings as it does the quality of the paper.

Want to experience the premiumness of Munken paper? We’re bringing the quality of Munken paper to the USA and beyond. Try one of our Notebooks.

Our MOOcrew are a talented, passionate, and just generally pretty awesome. Wonder what it’s like to work at HQ? Take a peek behind the curtain at a day in the life of a MOOster…

Byron Fernandes

Hey folks, I’m Byron, Experience Design Lead for MOO’s Business Services team, and I’ve been at MOO for almost two years.

moocrew-byron

At MOO, I’m responsible for…

Developing the strategy and managing day-to-day delivery of the customer experience for MOO Business Services – our fast-growing platform and service offering for larger businesses. I also help to guide MOO’s Experience Design function as a whole alongside the other leads, managing key team rituals and flying the flag for the customer across the organization.

I got my role at MOO by…

Building rapport in the first interview with my would-be manager over a mutual love of cheese.

My morning routine is…

Highly inconsistent. The best days are the ones where my dreams are so funny that I wake myself up before my alarm with the sound of my own laughter. I might make a green or purple smoothie, may cycle to work if it’s sunny, could stop by the gym, and perhaps will get to work at any time in-between 8am and 10am.

A typical working day is…

Rare. I could be planning or running research sessions, creating a strategy presentation for the leadership team, coaching or mentoring junior team members, facilitating a workshop on how we can best out of our Experience Design team, and much more – there’s a lot of variety in my work as it touches many parts of the business, and I’m always collaborating with someone new!

Something people don’t know about my role is…

That even the best Experience Designers never simply know the perfect experience of the top of their head. We just know a set of processes and approaches that can help get us closer.

moo-crew

My proudest moment at MOO was…

Making a success of running our first ever design sprint last year, helping to evolve what fast-paced cross-departmental collaboration looks like at MOO. I’ve now just come back from running our first US-based one, introducing a whole new set of people to this way of working and kicking off a great new piece of service design.

The thing I like most about working at MOO is…

The friendships I’ve made here. Spending 5 years as a freelancer before I took this job exposed me to all kinds of workplace cultures, and MOO has one of the best. It’s so nice to be able to stick around and build a few meaningful, lasting connections rather than many fleeting ones.

On the weekend, you’ll find me…

Going on impromptu adventures, getting my nature fix, doing shoddy DIY or dreaming up ideas for my next conference speech.

If I wasn’t doing this as a career, I’d be…

Making soap under my boutique skincare brand, Clean As Folk. This is more of a hobby at the moment, but I’ll be ready to step it up if the world ever stops caring about beautifully crafted, usable and engaging interfaces!

The best career advice I’ve ever been given…

Work that you love is not something you find – it’s something you cultivate.

Stay tuned. We’ll be hosting a guest blog every month from one of our crew across the business to tell you what it’s really like to work at MOO HQ. Up next, we’ve got Sidi, our Engineering Manager.

 

Want to join our #MOOCrew? Check out our current vacancies

The founder of People of Print – and of the only poster in the world registered as a magazine – explains how print can thrive in the digital age.

If you ask illustrator Marcroy Smith, reports of the death of print have been greatly exaggerated. The founder of People of Print, an online platform where independent artists can seek advice, showcase their work and sell their products, is a passionate defender of print, and an advocate for its contemporary relevance.

People of Print and Posterzine founder, Marcroy Smith

Embracing the digital in order to help his favorite medium thrive, Marcroy hosts an online marketplace, has launched iconic poster-magazine Posterzine™, and curated a book championing independent designers.

MOO met Marcroy to find out how he sees the future of print unfolding.

How did People of Print come about?

I was at university studying illustration when I created People of Print. At first, it was just a list of people who used print, and whose work I liked. But when I did an internship in New York, designing for bands, skateboard companies and record sleeves, I met some amazing people and artists I wanted to tell the world about. That’s when People of Print really expanded.

On my return to London, I turned the website into a blog, which marked a change for the vision for the company. I rented a bar in London and got my friends to do live printing — screen prints, linocuts, woodcuts — and sell their prints. I charged tickets at the door, and we filmed the event, which really helped with the growth of the project.

The whole thing really just comes from my love of print. I’m interested in it as a process, and am constantly looking at publications, art prints and packaging design. I’m lucky to be able to work with it.

People of Print’s “Print Isn’t Dead” magazine

In its current form, what does People of Print offer?

We’re now a limited company, with a directory of artists on one page of the site, and a blog on the front page. We also created a book, called People of Print, and it was during that project that I became interested in self-publishing. We launched a Kickstarter for a magazine we called Print Isn’t Dead, which ran for three issues.

The magazine ran for four issues, but it was the third issue that actually inspired the idea for Posterzine™. We wanted to feature an artist called Eike Koenig, but there wasn’t enough space for his interview. So we created a mini magazine, featuring his words and work, that would also fold out into a poster. It was a happy accident — and three years later, we’ve put out dozens of monthly issues.

We’ve also opened Department Store, which is a place to sell not only our products, such as tote bags and pin badges, but other artist’s work. It’s turned into a marketplace with about 250 different vendors — a curated space where we can showcase their work to our audiences.  

Posterzine Issue 36 featuring artist Ged Palmer

How did Posterzine evolve into a separate project?

At the start, I didn’t really think about making Posterzine™ into a business with a target audience. What we’ve found is that there’s a huge mix of graphic designers, illustrators, printmakers, print studios and agencies who buy it, alongside people who aren’t designers, because it’s a really nice poster.

It’s a broad audience, because it’s something to read, it’s simple, affordable and really good quality. We love what we do, and want other people to love it, too.

We treat each issue as a magazine, so once a new one comes out, the one before becomes a back issue. What’s fun about the format is that as well as the artists and interviews being worth collecting, it’s also a poster. It keeps it timeless. I want it to be a form of affordable art from the world’s leading designers.

Can you tell us about Posterzine’s partnerships with design companies?

Each partnership needs to be be as relevant to what we do as possible. For example, we did an issue with Hewlett Packard, because our front covers were all printed with HP Indigo digital presses.

We have a print core to our company, and print is so broad we never have any trouble finding companies to partner with. MOO is also totally relevant to print, which makes it an ideal collaboration.

They’ve sponsored some issues of Posterzine because we share the same philosophy about the future of print, and also want to showcase how print is the best way to bring artists’ stories alive. In this way, MOO is perfect for us.  

Tell us about the philosophy behind your motto, ‘Print Isn’t Dead’.

I’m obsessed with print, but when we started out, the periodicals on the shelves were more news-oriented, and were slowly disappearing. Today, print is growing in a completely different way, with niche magazines independently printing on beautiful stock while supporting local printers. These are the print projects that people want to keep and cherish.

I don’t think print will ever die — in fact, I think print and digital go hand in hand. The development of our department store and our social reach on Instagram is all digital, but we’re selling a printed thing.

Posterzine Issue 35 featuring designer Erik Spiekermann

There are also new technologies coming out, making traditional methods of print easier — for instance, new technologies in screen printing and letterpress that are helping with the resurgence of print in the design community. People are more aware of what they can achieve.

What do you think the future of print looks like?

With the birth of HP Indigo and digital presses, variable data printing and publishing can happen. Data and images customized to the individual, in printed form, will be a big thing. Personalization on a very high level is definitely something for the future.

Click here to explore the Posterzine collection.

It’s Customer Service Week, so to celebrate, we checked in with MOO’s Director of Customer Experience to get an insight into the key values that lead to outstanding customer service.

‘Satisfaction guaranteed’ is all fine and dandy. But here at MOO, we’d much rather you’re absolutely thrilled with your order, so we go to great lengths to make sure that happens.

So what keeps MOO’s CS team ticking? Our very own Director of Customer Experience, Dan Moross, shares what it takes to build an award-winning experience based on strong customer care values.

Develop your core values

“At MOO we believe that happy employees make for happy customers. To achieve this, we foster a collaborative and engaging work-environment which encourages customer connectedness. After all, the link between employee engagement and customer success has been highlighted by lots of research.

Over the course of a decade, we found that the best way to foster a positive team culture is to empower our agents and develop a set of core values to follow (as well as plenty of ice cream and cake).  This provides a simple set of guiding principles to enable the customer service team to provide the best solution for each individual customer and their specific situation. You can’t make a rule that fits everything, so we personalize our solutions using the commandments to achieve a happy solution for the customer. We call them our “MAKEIT” values. Here’s the what that stands for:

Make it simpler: We’re here for our customers and we’ll do everything we can to keep interactions with MOO as effortless and simple as possible.

Always deliver delight: We’ll bend over backwards to make customers super-happy and try to surprise them with something truly awesome.

Keep it human: We’ll tailor the experience to each customers’ individuals needs – injecting our unique personalities to make the experience memorable and personal.

Every detail counts: We take great care of the tiniest of details to make sure customers get exactly what they want, when they want it.

Imagine it better: Things don’t always go according to plan (we’re human after all), but we always remain calm and reassuring – moving heaven and earth to put things right.

Tackle it together: We take great pride in where we work, so we support each other, push for the same goals and have loads of fun along the way.

MOO’s US Customer Service Team

Involve all your employees

We use customer experience journey mapping to highlight the front and back-of-house people and things that contribute to MOO’s customer experience as a whole. All employees (not just customer service) have an impact on what the customer experiences with a brand, so we take the time to join the dots internally before trying to resolve underlying pain-points at a specific customer touchpoint.

We focus on putting ourselves in the customer’s shoes. Employees tend to zero-in on their own areas and the business’ perspective, but looking at the experience through the eyes of our customers helps to breakdown team silos and uncover opportunities for improvement. Understanding why these problems arise and trying to fix the underlying issue is usually the best place to start—and it’s an exercise we do in all teams across the business.

MOO’s UK Customer Service Team

Make promises – and keep them

Our promise to our customers is that we’ll do everything we can to get it right – if the issue is within our capabilities then we’ll reprint the order, free of charge, until we get it right – or give them their money back.

The best form of defense is being honest with your customers and building trust. Nobody’s perfect, and the majority of customers are willing to accept that you can’t get it right 100% of the time. If they trust you, then they’re more likely to work with you when something doesn’t go to plan. After all, you have to treat your customers as you’d like to be treated and understand that without your customers, the business wouldn’t exist.”

What are your most important qualities for customer service? Share in the comments below!