One Day : Sidonie Warren - Founder of Papersmiths
Photo : Karolina Wiśniowska for Lionheart magazine
Location : Hackney, London
Profession / passion : Founder of Papersmiths - Passion : stationary
Website : www.papersmiths.co.uk
Instagram : @papersid @paper_smiths
One Day is an ongoing project sparked by the Covid-19. In the days of isolation we would like to focus on what we do best; bringing people together. Read more about the project here.
We will be posting one new day of someones life every day until we run out of contributors. See our instagram stories to experience these peoples One Day in action.
A text, song or film that everyone should experience.
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
What is the story behind your profession/ passion?
Papersmiths began in Bristol in 2013. My business partner, Kyle Clarke, and I were running our graphic design studio from a space in the arts quarter. We didn’t have enough client work but our studio did have a shopfront and we saw an opportunity there. With five hundred pounds we turned half of our studio into a shop. I’m really into stationery and paper so the product choice was obvious. That’s how it all began!
How has the current situation affected how you work?
Revenue from our e-commerce store barely accounts for 5% of our total revenue as a business. We’ve had to temporarily shut our five shops, which bring in most of our income, so I’ve had an intensive fortnight of shutting down the stores, applying for a business interruption loan and temporarily shrinking down our team of 33 to just me. But now the silver lining is that I have an unexpected opportunity to focus on online. After years of slow growth, the online journey is accelerating. I’ve moved our inventory to the spare room at home in Hackney and I’m fulfilling orders and looking after customer service from here. I cycle to our London stores to collect extra stock as required. I’m back to looking after our marketing and accounts, too.
Analog or digital?
Three weeks ago I would have said analog all the way but I’m appreciating digital more now as means of communication. So both.
Your best trait?
I have good instincts. Once I had a dream that predicted the future. I dreamt that I went to a social gathering in black dungarees and a handful of other people were also wearing black dungarees. A week after this dream, in real life, I went to a wedding and wore my black dungarees to help set up. Two other people were wearing black dungarees. All I can say is, if you need to know what to wear to set up for a wedding and don’t mind making allowances for a substantial margin of error, I’m quite possibly your girl.
Seriously though, I do have strong instincts and that’s a helpful trait when it comes to decision making and relationships.
What traits do you treasure in other people?
Presence. When someone is really with you, I treasure that immensely.
Your most treasured possession?
My engagement ring is my most treasured possession, although it feels more of a symbol than a possession. It belonged to my betrothed’s Grandmother and it’s symbolic of our decision to spend our futures together. When I look at it, I think about our past together and what the future might hold. It’s going to be on my finger through everything now! I’m a believer in marking significant moments with an object or ceremony.
Quality or quantity?
Quality! Buy once, buy well.
Who do you miss?
This may make me sound like an awful friend but, honestly, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to miss anyone. I’m embracing video call and voice memos but at the moment these are few and far between.
How was your spiritual and religious upbringing and how did it shape you?
It was quite relaxed. As a family, we celebrated some Jewish and Christian holidays but sometimes we didn’t celebrate any. When I was eleven, I was lucky to have an excellent religious studies teacher who instilled in me an open-mind, an appreciation for religious ceremony and who taught me to keep a gratitude journal.
When was the last time you learned something new and what was it?
I’ve been working on overcoming a fear of going under water. Last month, I learned how to jump into a pool, swim under water and stand up on a paddle board. I’m 32 but better late than never!
Have you actively chosen to live in the city/town you live in?
Yes, I opened the Shoreditch Papersmiths so that I could live in London for a little while. I’ve ended up staying.
How do you relax?
I have many tricks up my sleeve when it comes to relaxation! Play with my kittens, draw a picture, meditate, dab some essential oils on my wrists. If I can’t calm my mind, some cardio exercise first usually helps. And if all else fails, I’ll mix a whiskey mac.
If you were forced to sit still for one month straight without pursuing your current profession, how would you spend your time?
I made the decision to furlough our whole company and I must admit that I let myself daydream about this for a few moments. I’d spend more time on my spiritual and creative pursuits: meditating; crystals; reading tarot; drawing; reading about philosophy, astrology and spirituality and reading fiction.
What does freedom mean to you?
Unconditional happiness.
Should calm come from within or be facilitated by the environment?
Oh, both. If you can’t find a place of calm within yourself, for example if you’re already too far along into a panic, then the environment can help. It might be an external person encouraging deep breathing or reading an opinion piece in the newspaper that shifts your perspective or perhaps, spending time watching the birds outside. Speaking from experience, sometimes we can access an internal feeling of calm in very trying conditions. But sometimes we can’t. We shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves for not being able to connect or stay aligned. I need to be a little more accepting of this myself.
Marcel Proust said nothing exists within itself. Are we brought to life by way of contrast?
Life wouldn’t be much of an experience without contrast. How can we know what we like if we don’t have the experience of what we don’t? For me, it’s a diversity of experiences and exposure to differences that are the catalyst for evolution and growth. Andreas Weber explores this concept in his (excellent) book Matter and Desire. In it, he describes the relationship between a river and a stone; ‘Only together do they reveal a meaning, only by altering one another do they become what they are - something much more than what they were before’ and suggests that ‘in this world there is something like an ever-active tendency in things to congregate and to bond together’.
Lastly, how do you wish to see this current situation have a positive impact on our lives?
The impact of the situation will be different for everyone. I know there are some people who have a lot of time on their hands now and are taking this as an opportunity to slow down, save money and learn new skills. I also know that, for many, life just got a whole lot more challenging. And some people are going to suffer personal losses. There will be economic losses too. I hope that everyone is able find a positive in this, I really do, but that will be harder for some than it is for others.
We don’t know when this will end and the lack of control over that situation is difficult to accept. But accept it we must. So, for those of us who find it hard to let go of control and accept circumstances as they are, this situation could be a good teacher.