As you can probably guess, there are three of us behind printintin. We are a close-knit team of friends and stationery lovers at the same time. Together, we complement each other perfectly, but at the same time we each bring a special energy to printintin. That is why we would like to introduce ourselves to you individually.
In previous articles, you have already met two of us - Anička and Martina. Last but not least, it was Kačka's turn. So sit back and start reading. 🙂
Hi, I'm Katerina. I like drawing, cats and fictional book/series characters that allow me to escape from reality. I don't like my name, winter and stereotypes, and my nightmare is to introduce myself. When Martina asked me to write a blog about myself this month, I managed to put it off successfully for 14 days at first... But finally, under pressure, I put a few lines together 😀
What are you up to at printintin?
My main job at printintin is to illustrate and design our products and to produce those that we create in-house. You would also find our entire warehouse in my little apartment, which means that I pack and ship all your orders for you :) At the same time, I replenish the stores where we deliver our products. I am also in charge of creating content for our social networks, mainly Instagram. In addition, I try to take care of advertising, take photos of our products for the website and social networks and do everything else that is needed.
What do you do besides printintin? How do you spend your free time?
Since I still have a full-time job outside of printintin, I don't have much free time left. Most of the time I can just turn on Netflix and draw. You could say that printintin is my after-work leisure activity. When I spare a day here and there for myself, I like to go to our cottage outside Prague to relax... I go for walks in the forest or relax in the garden.
Which printintin products do you like the most?
Notebooks and to-do sheets and now I'm looking forward to the new planners we sent off to print this week. Then I really enjoy making our stickers. I like being able to draw something and then immediately being able to see the illustration on a real product.
The happiest moment you experienced thanks to printintin?
Probably the baptism of our book. I'm a 100% introvert, but I still surprisingly enjoyed the event, and it was great to have all our friends and family together in one place. And then I like to remember how we created the first book together. Those moments at two in the morning after a full day's work, when you can no longer put one plus one together, but you are trying to create some meaningful conclusion so that you can send a burst of texts to the editors two hours after the deadline... those were beautiful times:))
Not everything is always sunny, can you tell us about a moment that didn't go well at printintin?
With my nature as a perfectionist, I try to act as a sort of catcher for mistakes, so that they happen as little as possible. Check everything three times and tighten up the details. But of course something often goes wrong. Nobody is perfect and we are learning a lot as we go. There is always the most when producing new products, searching for new materials and suppliers. But I try not to take these as mistakes, they are more of an investment in development and finding the best way to a quality product.
What motivates you the most?
Other creators. Small companies that can rise and establish themselves from absolutely nothing. I have a lot of favorite illustrators on instagram who worked their way up from smaller accounts with a few followers and eventually managed to turn their work into their own brand. They always give me motivation to keep doing what I'm doing.
What would you advise someone who also wants to start a company with their products?
Trying your best to combine what you enjoy with who you're creating it for. If you only do what you like and no one else likes, you have no chance of success. On the contrary, if you do what is successful with people, but you don't enjoy it, over time you will lose motivation and the work will not fulfill you. So map out the market and find some balance between it. And then I would advise arming yourself with patience and having the desire to learn new things. In the beginning, you will probably have to fill 10 roles at once and constantly learn and find ways to succeed. Having the finished product in hand is just the beginning.
Fast-paced in the end? Tell us your favourites:
Food – Spaghetti (or anything Italian)
Cocktail – Gin and tonic
Song – Medicine by Daughter
little book - The Solitaire Mystery (Jostein Gaarder)
Movie – Amélie of Montmartre
Actor actress - It changes about every month.. but of the regulars, for example, Cate Blanchett
Paper product – A notebook or any notepad in your pocket
Stationery brand – Riffle Paper, Muji
Stone stationery – Golden ship, Kartotéka store
Paper e-shop – Papiopress
Stationery – Pentel Sign Pen.. I will never let it go
Color – Neutral tones
Shop – Any small stationery or bookstore
Place on Earth – Our cottage, and to travel Italy (Tuscany, Rome, Venice...)
Illustrator – There are so many.. e.g. Polina Bright, Charly Clements, Madeline Kate Martinez, Madga Konečná, Maja Tomljanovic, Manon Louart, Bea Muller, Adrian Macho, Conrad Roset...