Both of them had very creative streaks every since they can remember and loved playing with colors and making things. When they met in college, they discovered each other’s passion for making cards. Often Aditee Bhattarai and Shrinkhala Shreshta’s friends and family would tell them to team up and start a business but they weren’t very sure about it. The Week caught up with them to learn about their journey that began from conquering that doubt to having over a thousand followers on Instagram today.
Starting out
An online store, Papertowns was launched on Mother’s Day 2016. The name, Papertowns, was suggested by Shrestha’s sister who was reading a book by John Green of the same name at the time of the launch. They liked the idea for they wanted to take over the town with bits of papers and their artistic abilities and it stuck. When one of their friends took them to Image Arc, they realized that all the prices there were higher than their products and so they decided to start something on their own and give their business a shot.
Ed Sheeran "over the moon" at birth of second daughter
Inspiration
“We surf through Pinterest a lot, and somebody or the other is always coming up with new ideas to express their love via cards,” said Bhattarai. “Although we don’t copy the exact thing, we do get inspiration from the DIY projects that people post,” she explained adding that, mostly though, people tell them what they want in their cards and then they design and show a rough sketch of it. When they finally like the design, the team moves on to making the actual cards. Sometimes, however, the team doodles around, inspired by something they saw somewhere and come up with an idea for a card, whatever occasion it may be for.
Types
They do all kinds of cards that you can think of. Just relay the idea to them and you will have it in your hands. However their specialties are the following types. Consider these before placing your order. All these cards use photographs that will make it a memorable gift. You can highlight your journey with your loved one and all you have to do is send them the pictures. They even print it out for you.
Waterfall Price: Rs 400
In this card, one of their bestsellers, you pull a strip of paper down gently, which rotates the flaps of chart paper that has your photos stuck on them. The gentle rotation makes it look like a waterfall and can become a source of endless amusement, making your gift an instant hit.
Box card Price: Rs 450
This is another card that sells a lot and has photos and designs stuck on the lid of a small box. When you open the lid, things pop out and when you close it, the photos and the designs are neatly stored away. This is ideal for storing and visiting old memories in a fun way.
Exploding box Price: Rs 500
It is very similar to the box card but instead of the photos and designs being stuck on the lids, they are stuck on layers of papers that spill out when you open the box.
Price: Rs 500 for a single layer card and Rs 50 for every extra layer
Quilt cards Price: Starts from Rs 300 depending on the design
“This is one of the safest cards to make as they hardly ever go wrong,” said Shrestha. Just make the outline and roll papers and stick them all in place with Fevicol. It really is as simple as that.
