SaVonne Anderson, Aya Paper Co. - Meeting the moment with creativity through sustainability and representation

Jul 28

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This week, I spoke to SaVonne Anderson, Founder, and CEO of Aya Paper Co, a sustainable stationery brand that creates greeting cards and gifts to celebrate the people and moments that matter most.

From a young age, SaVonne knew she was going to be an entrepreneur. Her inspiration was born, as she keenly observed her father’s transition from being a public school teacher with a side hustle to becoming a full-time entrepreneur. She was intrigued by the fact that he could control his time, own multiple homes, and provide for her and her brother while being actively involved in their lives.

SaVonne’s journey began with a decision to change her major while studying at Fordham University. She started off as a marketing major and soon realized that it wasn’t for her. She switched to Media and Digital design to be true to her creative nature.

Two years after graduation she found herself at the top of her career. She became a head designer at a contemporary art museum. This great accomplishment boosted her confidence to launch out and start her own business.

Aya Paper Co was conceived in 2018 and fully launched in 2019. The name for her company ‘Aya’ was inspired by a childhood nickname. SaVonne has always been a lover of stationery and greeting cards. She always looked forward to celebrating her friends with handwritten messages from her heart to them on their special occasions. The first set of greeting cards by Aya Paper Co were actual messages sent between her and her friends.

“It is okay and important sometimes to put yourself as the face of the brand; it makes it relatable- people want to know who is the person that is creating the things they love.”

SaVonne wanted to owe more than another stationery company. She wanted her brand to be authentic and impactful to her community. At the forefront of this venture is her passion for environmental justice. She aims to empower communities of color to be mindful of their environment and how it impacts their lives, in turn helping them to live sustainably and conscious consumers.

Her dream for Aya Paper Co was for it to be large and accessible. She quit her full-time job in February 2020, then everything shut down a month later due to the pandemic. At that moment, she made a pivotal decision to go back to the drawing board; she revamped her website and increased consumer engagement on her social media platforms.

“I am someone that is driven by a challenge”

In May 2020, she went from 5,000 to 15,000 followers on Instagram, in June 2020 there was a surge of people interested in supporting Black Businesses due to racial insurgency. In the midst of the unrest, her business experienced an exponential increase. Aya Paper Co had its highest sales In June and by July, her products were in about 30 stores; both local shelves and big shelves like Macy’s, Nordstrom, Kohls, Tj Maxx, and Marshalls are stocked with Aya Paper Co products; her dream is definitely coming to fruition.

In This Episode You Will Learn:

Following her father’s footsteps into Entrepreneurship (3:03)
Mother Earth: The Inspiration behind Aya Paper Co. (5:58)
The Magic of Aya (10:16)
Milestones: Retail to Wholesale (11:39)
Exponential Business Growth During the Pandemic (15:34)
Bitter Sweet: Racial Emotional Trauma & The Highest Sales Week (18:32)
A Crash Course: Learning on the Job (29:04)
Staying inspired as a Creative (42:15)

Questions Answered:

How did you identify an opportunity and use it as a landscape for your business?
What was the first retail store that you secured?
How did you get visibility for your business?
How did the racial insurgency of 2020 impact your business?
What process did you go through to become retail ready?
How do you keep going even when people don’t understand your vision?
What are the biggest entrepreneur myths that you’ve encountered?

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