Oh, packaging. This is a big deal for many brands, especially in the creative industry.
You know, I share my office/craft room with my boyfriend. He owns a small webshop too, but it has nothing in common with the feel and vibe of the craft room. There are industries and brands that don’t really need a mega branded, super cute packaging to stand out of the crowd and win a spot on some #unboxing video on social media.
But let’s be honest: we in the handmade, creative industry love beautiful packaging. Just take a look at Instagram or Pinterest.
For small brands like Indigo Craft Room, this can be a nightmare. Before I started my own company, I didn’t really care too much about the costs of packaging, not just in terms of money, but of environmental impact. I didn’t question whether the packaging seemed expensive or not, or if there was a lot of unnecessary stuff that was just waste.
In the past two and a half years I have changed my mind. I have become more conscious about the economic and environmental costs of packaging, not just as a business owner but as a consumer too. And I would urge you to reconsider your packaging habits/expectations as a consumer too.
Anyhow, I do believe we all deserve a little bit of beauty in our hands, don’t you? And I feel when you order something from Indigo Craft Room, you do it because you believe and are attracted by that #beautifulhandmadeimperfection I talk about over and over again (he, he).
So I have tried to come up with a packaging concept that is sustainable in both ways, economical and environmental, and yet as beautiful as any other packaging in this sector.
All my products are shipped in a cardboard box – some of them are even reused! Remember that I also order art supplies and other stuff for the craft room. Our small bathroom has basically become our storage room, always full of boxes ready to reuse.
To protect some delicate items I might use plastic bubble wrap, but only if it’s something I have leftover from another packaging I received. I have never bought plastic bubble wrap for my own packaging purposes.
In most of the cases, however, I reuse brown paper to protect the items or to cover the packaging boxes of my DIY Bookbinding Kits (they have pretty stickers you don’t want to get damaged during shipping).
Any time I need to close or seal a box or bag I go for colourful alternatives like washi tape and, for bigger surfaces, paper tape or glue, these last ones from the eco product range of the Tesa brand.
Wherever I need to print business cards or flyers I opt for a bio, recycled paper made out of agricultural waste. Although I am considering cutting off this (often) unnecessary expense. Once I run out of business- and thank you cards, flyers and co. I will reconsider this and look for a more environmental-friendly alternative. Because let’s be honest, how many business cards do you keep and how often do you really use them?
Ok, we arrived at the beautiful and colourful stuff and the way I make every one of your orders a small happy surprise – without going bankrupt or wasting resources.
I am especially proud of the packaging I designed and created for my DIY Bookbinding Kits. I didn’t want to put all the tools and materials in a box and that’s all. I wanted to bring a piece of the craft room to your places and make you part of the indigo universe.
My branded packaging is minimalist, handcrafted and unique. I reuse leftovers of my hand-marbled papers and other craft papers I use for my artwork to create labels, cardstocks and pockets that will keep your bookbinding tools in place and secure for the shipping and beyond.
I cut each piece of paper to size, round the corners with a corner punch and stamp it with my logo handmade by Inkan Stampstudio.
The more delicate tools, like the bamboo paper folder, the bookbinding awl and bookbinding needles, come in a hand-marbled SnapPap pocket, which is a kind of vegan leather.
This whole self-made packaging process isn’t always cost-efficient and if I would like to scale my handmade business, I would need to figure out an alternative. But I love it and it is part of who I am and what my business is like. So if you are considering ordering something from my shop, you now know you can expect a little happy party in your mailbox!
Your crafty fellow,
Karen