Paperlink

Louise Tighe, founder and creator of Paperlink has always had a passion for creativity and art. Discouraged by the fact that art was so inaccessible and the realisation that the artists she loved so much had to be famous in the art world to be recognised, she embarked on changing this ethos. Working with unknown but hugely gifted artists, Louise set about capturing their talents and brought them to life on the first range of contemporary greeting cards of its kind.Once the seed of the idea had been planted, bringing it to fruition was another story altogether especially during a time when women in business was uncommon and greeting card publishing was covered by the big guys. With a combination of the help of her friends and family and her vision and passion for the artists she was representing she cemented an exclusive deal with the Athena chain creating ‘Global Image’, a range celebrating the world, nature and culture; the first of its genre.Whilst championing contemporary art, Louise’s rebellious and irreverent streak and wicked sense of humour was being fuelled by the new movement sweeping the comedy circuits and screens; inspired by this she sought to bring humour to life on cards. Collaborating with artistJamie Charteris, the iconic humour range The Bottomline was brought to life and over 30 years later still features in the bestsellers.Increasing the brand following in over 20 national account chains firmly cemented Louise’s position in the greeting card industry and with a fantastic sales team, some of whom are still with the company some 25 years later Paperlink continues to maintain fantastic relationships with more than 1500 independent customers nationwide.In addition to this, the people behind the scenes, some of whom have formed the backbone of the company for 30 years makes for a formidable team. Frankie Ellis now heads up the creative side of the business and shares her mother’s passion for design. Recognising the need to bring innovative product to all areas of the market, coupled with the continued company ethos of nurturing new talent, Paperlink still and will continue to break the boundaries.