SaVonne Anderson
SaVonne Anderson
CEO/Founder of Aya Paper Co.
We got a chance to speak to SaVonne Anderson from Aya Paper Co. Aya Paper is a company based out of Newark, New Jersey. It is built around principles of sustainability and a genuine concern for taking care of the earth. Check out the conversation below and be sure to support Aya Paper Co.
Aya Paper makes it clear that sustainability is at the core. How did sustainability come into play?
Sustainability came into my life around 2017. I graduated college and moved from campus into my apartment. I had to think about my values. What businesses do I support? What food do I eat? I realized that a connection with the earth wasn’t part of those values. That didn’t sit well with me. Members of my family were sharecroppers after slavery ended. Our relationship with the land is something that goes back.
So Aya has a strong focus on the environment because it’s one of my values. It was my chance to show people sustainability can be incorporated into so many different things. So much of the problems that are existing around climate change have to do with business more than personal stuff.
How did you connect the dots between sustainability and stationery?
As a child, I always loved stationer. I remember going to the dollar store with my mom to buy cards and gifts for people. My dad would have me write the notes in the cards he gave people. I also studied design in school. My major was new media and digital design. At some point, I wanted to shift from digital to print. I started by making greeting cards on a personal website I had. People loved them and wanted to know what was next. I saw it as a chance to see sustainable designs and integrate blackness into a space that normally didn't feature us.
What are some obstacles you've faced while growing this company?
A lot of times there’s a fear to be upfront about our ethics, values, and morals. Anyone that works with us can’t make us downplay our values or our design using black faces. People can see it on the site and we’re not afraid to say it. It's hard to build the other way around. If you start general then, later on, you’re black, it doesn't work. People don’t like change. The challenge we’ve seen is about sustainability. People are used to doing things the cheapest way. We have a team of black women here in the U.S. who want to get paid fairly. We use recyclable materials so it may be more expensive than what companies are used to.
There can be this perception that in order get certain opportunities you have to sell out, and people need to understand that some things can be non-negotiable. I have to be okay with some people not reaching out because they want to use plastic packaging. It's really important to stand firm and be okay with people saying no. We have to be okay with not making ourselves smaller or palatable.
Talk to us about the messaging in the products. There are a lot of words of encouragement, and they don't seem random and without intention. How do you come up with them?
Everything is intentional. We don’t create anything as filler. The first few cards I did were based on messages I received from friends. I would take pics and save them. I didn’t know what to use them for, but I kept them. “You’re so strong and beautiful. The world is lucky to have you.” A friend sent me that when I was having a bad day. I design 80% of the cards. I contract other black woman designers for the others. I give them some creative freedom. I let them know what the intention, audience, and values are. We approach the design from that perspective instead of simply saying “draw this.”
What's the final vision for Aya. Paper Co.?
Accessibility. Wide reach is so important. Social media is the first step. Seeing the reach we have across the world is one thing. Making design and sustainability publicly accessible conversations is the next step. We'd like to ultimately get in more spaces so people can find our products. Everyone may not have access to go online and make an order. What about everyone else who just walks into Walgreens? We're also interested in creating more products for a younger audience. I’ve always wondered how different my life would be if I knew the impact of design when I was 10. The product is half and bigger ideas are the other thing. Getting people to understand the bigger ideas is a goal of ours.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Don’t get caught up in looking at what other people are doing. If you keep watching other people it may limit you. In the beginning, think about what you want to do differently. There's a tendency to feel like if no one has ever done it it's probably because it's not a good idea. I was able to get here because I didn’t think about those things and it gave me room to create outside of the box. Think big. Don’t be afraid to do what no one is thinking about. Don’t be afraid to work with other people and ask for help. If I was doing this all on my own it would be so much more difficult to add someone on 2 years down the line. I’ve always had a teamwork mindset. Problems that come up need multiple solutions. Someone else on the team may see a problem that you didn’t see. Team building is important. Don’t be afraid to experiment. I’m not afraid to try anything once. The worst-case scenario is that it doesn't work. It's okay to fail. Fail quickly. That’s how to get to success. Scared to do something will delay you.
You can support Aya Paper Co. Here!