Today I’m really excited to introduce you to a company which will be part of the Made in Germany giveaway on April 8th & 9th. I’ll be showcasing more of these companies as the event draws nearer, but that doesn’t mean that you should wait until then to go visit the e.m.papers website or etsy store.

And even though they specialize in printable wedding invitations, you should also be sure to have a look at their printable Valentine’s Day cards, holiday cards, and other printable items like banners and gift tags. They’re very affordable and you’ll never have to leave your house again to pick out a card. I also love that as an expat, you don’t have to worry about bringing back tons of cards with you for future events that are in English.

I had the pleasure of talking to Eleanor (the “e” of e.m.papers) who is not only a fellow expat, but just a fabulously nice person. But you don’t have to take my word for it — the raving reviews on their website also speak very highly of this innovative company.

Make sure you visit them elsewhere online too:

Tell us a bit about e.m. papers.
e.m.papers offers DIY printable wedding invitation and paper good templates. Each template is a PDF form which you can personalize and print at home (or at a copy shop). I leveraged my skill as a professional graphic designer to “scratch my own itch” and produce wedding invitations, thank you notes, save the dates and escort cards for my own two weddings (to the same guy in two different countries). I refined my products through this process, along with helping some of my girlfriends with their weddings. The templates and designs are “by a bride for brides.”

e.m.papers originally started as a wedding invitation business over 10 years ago by me, Eleanor, and my friend Molly. The first initial of our first names were the ‘e’ and ‘m’ in e.m.papers. The business is still primarily run by me, Eleanor, from Munich. Molly and my aunt Elizabeth (who also runs Good Form Design) contribute their designs to e.m.papers on the side as they run their other businesses.

What inspired you to begin your work, and what keeps you motivated today?
Even though I studied graphic design and worked as a graphic designer for many years as both a book designer and web designer, I found that my job was getting less and less creative. I was spending more time in Excel and PowerPoint than drawing, designing, working with type and doing ‘creative’ things that I liked. I originally re-started e.m.papers as a creative outlet and as a basis for some additional income (that I thought would be ‘passive’ – ha!) It’s not hard for me to stay motivated, I have a lot of ideas – it’s just hard to find the time to do everything (run the business, design, make time for family and friends, etc.)  But the sheer joy of seeing my fledgling enterprise succeed also keeps me motivated – that and wanting to help with the family budget the way I used to before I quit my day job.

What is most rewarding about running a small business?
Being my own boss, seeing my ideas go from dreams to reality, feeling like I’m making good use of my talents and freedom. Creative freedom, freedom to go where I want, when I want. Being an expat it’s also really important that I can keep things going whether I’m in Germany or in the states. Last year we traveled the world, and parked in California for three months. As long as I have an internet connection, a printer and a digital camera, I can work anywhere.

What are your hopes for e.m. papers for the future?
To grow the business enough to match or exceed the salary I was making at my corporate job. I also want to get to the point where all I have to do is design and interact with customers and do the the ‘fun’ marketing stuff. I hope to eventually outsource some of the tasks I don’t like doing (production, some of the more repetitive marketing tasks etc.) Lastly, I want to scale the business into other geographies. Right now we’ve just launched a European version of the site, and my husband and I still talk about coming up with a product line that would work in India. We have both worked there, and there is obviously a lot of potential for wedding products in the rapidly growing, middle-class and India is, of course, famous for spectacular weddings.

What is currently your favorite design that you use?
I really like the wedding circles design but my most popular design by far is Garden Party, which was based on the invitations I designed for my own wedding.

How much time goes into each design and where do you get your ideas?
Sometimes I get an idea and sit down and just crank it out, and other times I have to tweak it and fuss with it for days or weeks. There is a lot of production behind getting a new design launched. I have to extend the design to the entire suite (Save the Dates, Programs, Place Cards, etc.) then build templates for each one, print and test each item, take photographs, edit the photographs, write product copy, bundle the templates and upload them to the site (some of these last steps are the things I’d eventually like to outsource) It usually takes me about a month to bring a new design from idea to fully launched, ready to sell wedding kit.

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