The Souvenir Society

New stationery and wrapping designed by Kasia Gadecki and Allison Colpoys of The Souvenir Society.

You might recall many moons ago we ran a VERY popular interview with Melbourne book designer Alison Colpoys, who at the time was working at Penguin.  Alison's stunning work won her many accolades and awards during her time at Penguin, including being named Young Designer of the Year in 2009 at the Australian Publishers Association (APA) Book Design Awards.  She is one seriously talented book designer! Alison left Penguin last year to pursue freelance work and personal projects, and I must admit, I have since been quietly curious as to her next move!  SO I was very excited when Allison recently got in touch to introduce The Souvenir Society - a creative partnership with long term friend and fellow designer Kasia Gadecki!  Together these two talented designers have produced a beautiful debut range of stationery, graphic gift cards, wrapping paper and reusable wrapping cloths. Allison and Kasia met at uni whilst studying Multimedia Design back in 2000. Whilst Allison went on to design books, Kasia pursued product and packaging design for various beauty brands, both here and in the UK. 'We've been banging on about it for quite a while - probably since 2008!' says Allison of her collaboration with Kasia.  However, it wasn't until mid last year, after both designers decided to move on from fulltime work and go freelance, that The Souvenir Society finally got off the ground. 'Because we've been friends for so long, we have lots of common sources of inspiration' says Allison of her partnerhsip with Kasia. 'We love colour, and we're also really drawn to organic, abstract forms and experimental mark making. We're inspired by everything really!  For example our torn paper set was inspired by peeling posters around Melbourne'. One of the pair's most inspiring joint experiences was going to Japan together in 2005. 'We loved everything about it, the food, the people, the landscape, the culture, design and obviously the stationery!' recalls Allison.  Their mutual affection for all things Japanese has also inspired their 'Furoshiki' or Japanese wrapping cloths, which are a central part of their product range.  Inspired by the versatile, reusable nature of this traditional Japanese gift wrapping technique, the pair have included four Furoshiki designs in their launch range. All Souvenir Society paper products are made from FSC accredited, 100% recycled stock and are packaged in biodegradable cello sleeves.  The Souvenir Society debut range of papergoods and wrapping cloths can be purchased from their website which launched only yesterday! We're also super excited that The Design Files Open House will be The Souvenir Society's first official stockist!  Look out for their beautiful pieces when we open the doors in Melbourne next month...! 

Wrapping cloths by The Souvenir Society.

 

Wrapping cloths by The Souvenir Society.