TO STASH WORLD AAAND BEYOND!
The Beyond Stash World series explores the humans behind the stickers and stationery that we have the pleasure of stocking. Learn more about what inspires your fave makers and where you can discover more of their creations.
Tell us a little about who you are what you consider yourself? A Designer, curator, business mogul ;) ?
Hi there, my name is May and I’m the owner of a small stationery business called May Paper Co. based in Adelaide! I specialise in planner refills for ringed and discbound systems and other stationery items including functional stickers and sticky notes, which are mostly minimalistic in design. I definitely see myself as a little bit of all three hahah!
Please describe your creative space – whether it's your art studio or the backyard.
A few months ago I made the big leap to move out from my dining room and lease an office space. I have a dedicated room for designing but have migrated over to the packing room to do design work since it has the best views at sunset! This is a pic of my packing station, it doesn’t usually look this neat!
What inspired you to start your business?
When I first joined the planner community, I was immediately infatuated by all the different planning styles. I tried different types of planner spreads from various different brands and ultimately could never find the elusive ‘planner peace’.
After not being able to find inserts that suited my needs, I started DIYing mine and posting them on Instagram. It was well received and I had lots of people ask where I got them from… and here we are now!
Tell us about the inspiration behind some of the pieces you’ve made.
A lot of my design inspiration comes from magazine or book covers. I’m a big lover of typography and find it beautiful that you can make art just from words.
Who’s your favourite singer or band at the moment?
That’s a tough one! I don’t tend to have a favourite artist/band as I love all different kinds of music. At the moment I’ve been listening to ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ and ‘Surface Pressure’ from the Disney film, Encanto. I’ve been so obsessed that I’ve actually been losing sleep because they’ve been stuck in my head on repeat!
Are you a stationery hoarder or user?
Definitely leaning more towards being a stationery user now. As a kid, I would hoard all the cute stickers, sticky notes and notebooks etc out of fear of running out of them and the fact that placing down a sticker can be so permanent (like, what if I find I decide later there’s a better place to put it). I’ve moved away from that way of thinking nowadays and have learnt they deserve to be appreciated and not be stashed away in a box somewhere.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not running your business?
I’m finding that it’s easy to fall into the trap of staying indoors and not getting enough sunshine when you’re self-employed. So, a couple of weeks ago I picked up a skateboard on a whim (I’m such an uncoordinated person so don’t know why I thought this was a good idea). I’ve been practising for the past few weeks in my backyard and yesterday finally had the guts to take it for a cruise up and down the beach. Just as we were about to reach the car to head home, I lost my footing and fell on my butt right in front of a busy cafe 
! Embarrassing, but no scratches, so that’s a win!
Of course, we have to ask, what’s your favourite piece you’ve designed?
I think this would have to hands down be my planner cover. It’s been my dream to have my own agenda cover line for years and finally having it in my hands and using it every day has been so surreal.
Where can we find you?
Website: maypaperco.com
Etsy (UK/ EU orders): etsy.com/uk/shop/
Instagram: @maypaperco
TikTok: @
Facebook Page: @maypaperco
Facebook VIP Group: May Paper Co. VIP