Hi, I'm Aimee Richards AKA Miss Bespoke Papercuts.
I am a papercut and watercolour illustrator, and I live with my husband and three little boys in Portsmouth.
My style is typically British-quirky and romantic with humorous tendencies and stories are always the founding element in my designs-I want to make my customers fall in love, laugh, and cry with joy. Here you will find beautifully intricate paper cuts and eclectically bold paper goods, from bright children's prints to unique floral greetings cards, all of which originate from my hand paintings.
I have always been creative, heralding from a fashion and lingerie design background where upon I lived and worked in Hong Kong and London with jaunts in New York and Paris. Upon the birth of my second baby, I decided that I wanted to set up my own business with the aim of living a creative life whilst supporting my young family, so in 2014 my brand was born from a vintage postal bureau in my dining room.
I have an eye for detail and everything I create begins with my pencil. The majority of my paper cuts are hand drawn and hand cut with my scalpel, and the unique paper cut text on my prints and cards originates from my hand cut alphabet. I'm a little bit of a rebel so all of my paintings are mixed from pencil, watercolour and gouache, which I then scan in to create products from in the form of bright wall art and luxury cards that can be kept forever.
I am incredibly passionate about my craft which is why I have taught over 200 people the mindful art of paper cutting at beginners and advanced workshops in Portsmouth and Godalming, with the aim that they find it as mindful and relaxing as I do, and I have run workshops for the John Lewis Craft Partnership on their Leckford Estate.
In 2019 I collaborated with Not On The High Street and Birchbox for the February Valentines campaign called 'Let Love Grow' which as a small indie business has been one of my biggest achievements. The success of this has led me to start selling my prints and cards wholesale and I look forward to sharing full ranges of these later this year, from my brand new studio office, alongside digital products such as downloadable wedding invitations and paper cutting templates.
When you shop small with me, I promise to give you fantastic customer service alongside quality products that are kind to the universe which is why all of my cards all come naked, my paper cuts and prints are wrapped in easily recyclable vellum and paper tissue, my products are wrapped in biodegradable plastics at events and I have fully eliminated plastic from my workshop supplies.
If you have any questions or want to know more please feel free to email me at aimeemissbespoke@gmail.com
Work history
M
M
CEOMiss Bespoke Papercuts
Portsmouth, United KingdomFull Time
Papercut and Watercolour Illustrator.
K
K
Head of CreativeKanibal
- London, United KingdomFull Time
My role was the designer and brand developer for the brand which involved designing three hits per season plus a goodgirl/badgirl knicker bar. I also designed prints whilst sourcing fabrics and trims and creating mood boards and stories that were significantly for the Sista Shei demographic.
· I devised businessplans to expand the brand into plus size, swimwear and teenage wear.
· I organized, choreographed and styled the AW09 catalogue within budget, hiring and contracting everything involved. I also provided all copy for this and the website.
· I presented as the sales rep to all scales of buyers from small boutiques to TS and NEXT. I also had to research for national and international buyers.
· I sent out press packs and buyer packs to international buyers, reclaiming the communication and sales confirmation of B-Make in Japan and Patricia Field in NY.
· As brand developer I also devised a website and PR plan, as the PR became in house. This was vital for brand awareness overall, especially as the PR was sacked. I worked with stylists by lending pieces out according to their briefs, an example is the Loaded front cover for May’s issue.
· As well as my contracted job, I was also responsible for many other duties. These included;
· Being the buyer for the shop downstairs; “So Shop”. I not only handled the accounts which included ROSY, Simone Perele, Hot Milk and Sally Jones, but I bough them in to collaborate with us as a stockist to create higher brand awareness in the West End and create win for win sales. I negotiated offers such as working with the brand pr’s to create events such as a newspaper/online competition in the London Lite, press mornings in the shop and the contracts regarding sales or return stock. I also went to Harrogate and Paris to meet account sales managers.
· Changing the window displays every two weeks, by coming up with dynamic ideas that would create attention and merchandising backwards into the shop. I organized a Valentines sponsorship window with Charbonnel et Walker chocolates, and ‘Knickers for Africa’ with Hot Milk maternity.
· Installing a book that was used for the shop assistants to communicate with me as the buyer and merchandiser.
· My contract was terminated after I asked for my contract to be redrafted with these duties included.
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Skills
- Paper Cutting
- Watercolour Illustration
- Lingerie Design
- Blogging
Education
D
D
Contour Fashion BA (honsDe Montfort
Leicester, United Kingdom
Designing to brief for individual and client projects, researching trend cycles from all aspects of the fashion industry, building up a broad portfolio range.
· Strong in-depth knowledge of intimate’s pattern cutting and grading including asymmetric grading for plus size.
· Good sewing skills from toile to final make-up, construction sheets and working drawings.
· Trend prediction package development, taking four trends to push forward into a professional package.
· Modules in Swimwear and Maternity, adding to design and technical skills.
· Strong illustration skills combining hand drawn with CAD.
· My final major project was based on elements from personal adorations such as Pin-up girls and burlesque, using strong colour and mix and match shapes with future trend’s. I sourced luxury materials such as Solstiss fine lace and silk chiffons to create a flamboyant collection. I cut all the patterns from start to finish, and developed from toile to final piece, fitting and evaluating constantly.
· Some of my third year work was displayed at Harrogate S/S 2007 and I attended the Paris Interfiliere show.