Meet the Maker

Hey, my name is Karla and I’m the full-time maker behind Paper by Karla. I’m 30 years old, originally from Brazil but I’ve been living in Ireland for five years now.

My academic background is in Marketing however, I’ve worked my entire life as an event producer and had the pleasure to been involved in events such as Brazil World Cup, Sales Convention in Cancun, Coldplay: Live in Sao Paulo, Tomorrowland Brazil, Volvo Ocean Race to mention a few. Yeah I know, exciting but also very stressful.

I was very succesful in my carreer but I wanted more, I wanted to travel the world. So I decided to move to Ireland to improve my English and start my adventure by traveling around Europe back in 2016, but little I knew back than. I could never had guessed that I would also find the love of my life during this process.

He supported me from the very beginning and he allowed me to be where I am today.

It was only after designing all the details of my wedding, I noticed that I had just discovered a passion for crafting and it made me realize that I wanted to share my love of all the things that make gifts special and unique to the world.

I found my love for paper in 2019 but since than I needed to adapt my business to the many changes COVID brought to the world.

I than decided to open up my own little Etsy shop to share with the things I simply couldn’t find elsewhere and decided to design and make myself.

I started by offering wedding stationery, but my shop after COVID has since evolved to also include giftware, home decoration, and business solutions and became much more than just paper, Paper by Karla now is a place where you can buy emotions.

I love being part of your special day, whether it’s your wedding, baby shower, bridal shower, or baby’s first birthday.

”When you support a Small Business you are also supporting a DREAM!”

One thing I learned from all of it is to enjoy your time and to make the most of what we have.

I won’t lie, being a small business has many challenges and having to compete with big enterprises like Amazon and Aliexpress can be a struggle but the advantages far surpass the stress.

Just keep working and believe in yourself and it will get you somewhere even if you don’t know where you are going yet.

What is a typical day like for you?

I get up at 6AM most days (I’m a morning person) and tidy my office back into order from the mess I leave it in every night. I always have the urge to organise my work environment before I start messing it all again.

There is a huge amount of prep work that goes on behind the scenes. My day can involve sketching designs, creating work, organizing deliveries, replying to emails and It can be very physical work like sanding products.

Where do you take your inspiration from?

Inspiration strikes me at any time. I generally get distracted by anything cute and quirky, especially colourful eye-catching things. My inspiration comes from the everyday things I see, Inspiration is everywhere — from the words of your favorite writer to the blooms and leaves on your morning walk. You just need to open your eyes, and breathe it in. 

What are you most proud of in your business?

I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved since starting my business and how my business has grown throughout this pandemic.