My Life Story: 'To illustrate pieces celebrating Ireland’s finest national treasure is humbling'

Kim Whyte grew up in Youghal, and her journey has been one of creativity, design, and innovation, as she has started her very own stationery company.

From collaborating with Guinness and even getting to work on one of Ireland’s most treasured artefacts, Kim has turned her passion for creativity into a living.

After studying Graphic Design at Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD), she moved to London and worked for years as a stationery designer, creating for clients who shared her love of the handwritten word.

On returning to Ireland and to the colours, words and places that shaped her, she founded Pawpear, in 2022.

Q: Tell us a little about where you grew up, and what you imagined your future might look like when you were young.

A: I feel fortunate to have grown up by the sea in Youghal, Co. Cork. Both my parents come from large families, so my roots run deep there.

As a kid, it had everything - when I wasn’t reading, writing, or drawing, I was down on the beach.

I knew I would likely do something creative, because it was always a compulsion, but I wasn’t sure I could make a living from it.

On Transition Year work experience, Creative Director Fergus Minogue, of Imagehouse Design Consultancy (then in Penrose Wharf) advised me to “aim for medicine” - in other words, aim high academically and the creative side would fall into place.

Youghal was home until I moved to London in 2010.

Q: Give us an overview of your career?

A: I’ve worked in the creative industry for more than 20 years. My first job after graduating from Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) was a graphic design position at CB Forms in Carrigtwohill, where I learned most of what I know about designing for print.

Later, I worked in London as a stationery designer, and then led a design team for a global not-for-profit.

I moved home and set up my own paper stationery brand, Pawpear, in the summer of 2022.

The name is a phonetic spelling of páipéar, the Irish word for paper, so that anyone in the world can say it.

I illustrate the places I love, especially the dramatic coastlines and sunsets, and everything is made by Irish manufacturers.

At its heart, Pawpear is about helping people connect more meaningfully.

Now in its fifth year, Pawpear is stocked in more than 100 shops across Ireland and beyond, and this year’s Christmas range is out now on pawpear.ie and in shops nationwide.

Q: What first set you on the path towards the career or life you have today, and was there a moment when you realised, ‘This is what I want to do’?

A: In late 2009, Heineken held a series of live art and music events in Cork, Dublin, and Galway. DJs played while renowned artists illustrated live with UV markers, and there was a print exhibition too.

I remember being there and thinking, ‘This is what I want to do. I want to be an illustrator - but I have no idea how to get there, or where to even start’.

Years later, having worked as a paper stationery designer in London, the idea of combining my love of illustration with my fascination with paper and colour felt like an itch I needed to scratch.

My partner and I bought a house in Knockanore, Co. Waterford, about 20 minutes outside Youghal. I applied for ‘Back for Business’ - a Department of Foreign Affairs-backed initiative for returned Irish emigrants - and I got to work.

By the end of the six-month programme, I had a live website selling Pawpear stationery.

Q: Every journey has obstacles. What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced, and how did it shape the person you became?

A: I moved to London with a portfolio of design work that wasn’t commercially sound. It needed work to get it interview-ready, so at first I took a job in a bar to pay the rent.

I worked 12-hour shifts, got the tube home after midnight, and then worked on my portfolio until three or four in the morning.

It paid off, and I got a job as a designer with a West London stationery company. I now have my own stationery company, so that period certainly shaped me.

My biggest lesson was that if you’ve poured everything into what you do, the presentation has to do it justice - otherwise the hard work goes unseen.

Polishing that portfolio unlocked every door that followed.

Q: Looking back, was there a particular person, opportunity, or decision that changed the direction of your life?

A: It has to be my parents, for encouraging me to go to art school and supporting me through my degree. It’s a hugely expensive endeavour, and it was never in doubt that I would go.

It changed everything for me. Studying graphic design at LSAD taught me to think laterally and to see things differently, and that still shapes my work today.

I will always be grateful to my parents for giving me that opportunity.

Q: Of everything you’ve achieved so far, what are you most proud of, and what makes that achievement meaningful to you?

a: My collaborations with Guinness and the Book of Kells. To illustrate pieces celebrating Ireland’s most iconic brand and its finest national treasure is humbling.

As someone who grew up drawing on whatever scraps of paper I could get my hands on, seeing my illustrations sit alongside names like those still feels unreal. I don’t know how I could top that.

Q: Your journey has taken you to where you are today, but what values, lessons, or sense of home have stayed with you along the way, and what advice would you give someone starting their own journey?

A: Graphic artist Anthony Burrill’s line “Work hard & be nice to people” will get you a long way. Never underestimate kindness.

Support local. I’m a firm believer that if it can be made in Ireland, it should be made in Ireland. We each have a responsibility to support our home-grown businesses as much as we can.

In all honesty, I hadn’t appreciated how beautiful this country is or how special our indigenous language is until I lived among other cultures.

Home for me will always be by the River Blackwater and where it enters the sea at Youghal.

If you’re starting out on your own business journey, your first port of call should be your Local Enterprise Office.

And if you’re starting a creative business, make what you love. At first, you are your own audience - if it moves you, it will move others too.