After eight years of building a cult following through a robust online presence, homegrown lifestyle brand The Paper Bunny cut the ribbon at its first ever brick and mortar store at Takashimaya Shopping Centre in 2021. The opening was not only a testament to its success, but also a nod to the enduring efforts of co-founder Jaime Lee, who left her job as a lawyer to focus on the business.
“At that point, the brand was starting to gain traction, but we were doing everything ourselves. I was planning on having kids but knew that I couldn’t manage a full-time job, side hustle and children all at once. Because the brand still had so much more potential, I felt that I had to give it a good shot by fully committing to it even though leaving the comfort of a stable career was the scariest decision I ever had to make,” says Lee, 36.
Although it started out as a stationery company and largely retailed self-designed planners, notebooks and cards in its early days, it now also offers an assortment of apparel, bags and accessories. Imaginably, as their customer base grew, so did the demand for more “everyday pieces created with the same aesthetic”, and in 2018, it developed into a full-fledged lifestyle brand.
It helped that sustainability was incorporated into its DNA along the way. Apart from stocking a wide variety of reusable bags—whether bottle carriers or sandwich pouches—the brand now uses FSC-certified paper, which contains 70 percent recycled materials, for its stationery products. Plus, all of the inks used are made from soy as the ingredient is biodegradable and friendlier to the recycling process.
“We have always been offering pieces that add to everyday life, and when it comes to sustainability, the approach is the same— we make it accessible, fun and easy. We are far from perfect, but the easy-to-use and great-looking pieces make it easier for our customers to be a little more conscious in their everyday lives.”
Jaime Lee on the The Paper Bunny’s pivot towards eco-friendly products
Naturally, she has had her fair share of struggles in building a brand from ground up. And she is candid about a major one: managing cash flow. “I’ve had sleepless nights wondering when we’d ever get out of the rut,” she admits.
So how has she kept her nose to the grindstone throughout the past decade? It’s thanks to a sagacious take on failure.
“Failure is only truly failure if you don’t come back up from your setbacks. When we first started out, we received our first batch of pieces late, damaged and in the wrong specifications—and we had to launch at an event that week. I truly felt like I failed even before I started. However, I’ve realised that pressing on and problem solving is very much part and parcel of the entire entrepreneurial journey.”
Which explains why she flung open the doors to The Paper Bunny’s first store in the middle of a pandemic: since the timing was right, it was important to just do it.
“We opened it at a point where our product range was constantly growing and our customers really wanted to be able to touch and try the pieces. We wanted to be able to offer an omnichannel shopping experience where customers can really explore the pieces in person. As such, even though it was a very uncertain time, it felt like it was the right time to take the next step for the brand and we’ve never looked back,” she recounts.
Much as she’s a forward-looking entrepreneur, Lee concedes there is one thing she’d do differently if she could turn back the clock: ask for help or advice. She was initially afraid to do so.
“This would help me learn from the experiences of others, grow faster and make less mistakes. No one can be good at everything and owning that fact allows you to surround yourself with the right people who can support and complement you early on.”
Art director: Chia Wei Choong
Videographer: Alicia Chong
Photographer: Mun Kong
Photographer’s assistant: Alfred Phang
Hair: Rick Yang using Keune
Makeup: Aung Apichai using Tom Ford Beauty
