How Papier redefined the stationery sector

As the business unveils a major rebrand, founder Taymoor Atighetchi shares how he’s spent the last six years building a category-defining stationery brand

Before launching card and stationery business Papier, Taymoor Atighetchi worked as an antiques dealer on London’s Portobello Road, and later as a management consultant. His family has been working in antiques for years – his surname translates to antique dealer in Farsi – and he describes the experience as cementing his deep love for art and design. Years working at a major strategy consulting firm also developed Atighetchi’s branding expertise and, he says, taught him key lessons about how businesses grow and develop.

All of this came together in 2015 when he launched Papier. Atighetchi describes himself as a long time stationery addict – “a paper person” – who’s always loved writing letters and the tactility of print, as well as shopping for stationery on trips overseas. “I think when you love art and design you love paper,” he tells CR.

After doing some research on the market he found, with some shock, that the world spends around $200 billion on stationery every year. “The more I dug in, the more I realised that there was a huge opportunity there – not just because the market was so big, but because there was no brand really owning and defining the category overall, or doing it in a way that’s relevant to the modern consumer,” he says.