What exactly is PapierRomantik and who is behind it? Why start a blog now?
My name is Tanja and I’m a media designer and founder of PapierRomantik, a small stationery manufactory for exclusive weddings, corporate events, and all other beautiful occasions. In my studio in Dachau near Munich, I create everything for my clients’ celebrations. Everything is handcrafted using the highest quality materials and finishes. I’m particularly proud of my hot foil stamping machine. But I’ll tell you more about that in another blog post.
When people ask me what I do for a living, they sometimes look at me a bit puzzled. Mainly because they can’t really imagine what it entails. Stationery, stationery designer, wedding stationery… – what exactly is all that?
But let me start from the beginning. After completing my training as a media designer for digital and print media specializing in media design, I worked in the profession for 6 more years. My main task there was to create print media for the IT and software sector. So everything was rather technical and not very romantic 🙂 and that, even though I am (in my husband’s words) the biggest romantic there is (or at least that he knows). Besides my love for typography and design, I had another passion. The love of flying. I fulfilled that dream in 2011 and applied to be a flight attendant. I was overjoyed when I was accepted and took the big step into the wide world. But I always wondered how I could combine both. Through my own wedding in October 2019, the idea then took shape. How wonderful it would be if I could not only design and create my own wedding invitations, but also make many other couples happy with my attention to detail. And so, during the pandemic in 2021, I decided to take unpaid leave and found my heart project PapierRomantik.
Although my romantic streak seems almost endless, the credits for the name PapierRomantik go to my husband 🙂 We scribbled for some time, played through different word combinations, and at some point while driving the car, he said out of nowhere: “PapierRomantik!” – And I was immediately on fire and all other names were instantly discarded by me. Within the next few minutes, the homepage domain and Instagram name were secured. I researched whether this name already existed somewhere, but fortunately didn’t find anything. I started building a portfolio and developing various designs, which I then photographed myself. So I have the utmost respect for flat lay photography, because I know from personal experience how much dedication and precision it requires.
On November 2, 2021, the time had come. I registered my business, put the homepage online, and wrote the first Instagram posts. And so everything took its course. I am incredibly grateful for how many great people (clients and service provider colleagues) I have been able to meet in this past year. Some of them have already become friends. Every day I enjoy wonderful projects that I am allowed to support with my work and sometimes I still can’t believe that so many people are interested in my work or my design style. If someone had told me that 1.5 years ago, I would have just shaken my head in disbelief at first.
And then came the idea to open a blog where I would occasionally report and inform about certain topics related to stationery, design, wedding themes, etc. There too, I thought it would be nice if it had its own name. You get 3 guesses as to who came up with this name. Chapeau! If I try hard enough, maybe I can even hire my husband as Creative Director for PapierRomantik 🙂 Perhaps I’ll write him a card from my newest collection…
Private appointments at our studio in Dachau’s historic old town are available upon request.
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