That Was The Year That Was!

2025 has been our busiest year ever - our first full year of running four shops in the city. We have learned a lot about running a bigger business, and have worked harder than ever to ensure that each shop enjoys a distinct style and range that reflects the areas of the city.

The Paper Tiger team are the key to making everything work, and I am fortunate to work with a group of passionate and determined people. They are committed to delivering excellent service to our customers, creating exciting and welcoming retail spaces for you to enjoy, and they are tireless in their efforts to make the thing we do better for the business, their colleagues and our customers.

Over the Christmas & New Year period we all get a day or two to reflect and recharge before we hurl ourselves into the New Year ahead. Your support ensures that we can deliver the best possible experience for our customers, but your custom pays the wages that pays rents and mortgages, buys presents and prams,  funds celebrations, feeds pets, and helps us to help our local cafes and shops in our communities. 

As a business, we are also indebted to the businesses that we work with. There are a host of local businesses that make Paper Tiger work; electricians, decorators, window cleaners, the team that maintain our alarms and fire extinguishers, book keepers, accountants, lawyers, carrier bag manufacturers, and our dedicated cargo bike couriers. They help to provide a stage for us to perform at our best. Shops are ever evolving spaces, and these companies and individuals have helped us to keep doing what we do - in some cases for decades!

Paper Tiger works with around 200 different suppliers over the course of year. Every year, we spend about three dozen days at trade fairs and industry events, talking to our suppliers, seeing their products and ranges, and carefully selecting the cards, stationery, wrap and gifts that we think are inspiring for us and for our customers.

We're fortunate to have long standing relationships with some amazing local suppliers as well as strong bonds built over decades with international brands. It's been particularly good fun this year to do so many collaborations and exclusives with so many different people, and we are very grateful for their support. Oh, yes, there's another exclusive launching tomorrow! 

All of the above would be in vain if we didn't have an army of loyal customers in Edinburgh, Scotland and beyond. We know from our research that although Paper Tiger customers may come from a diverse array of places and backgrounds, they are united in their exceptionally good taste!

Your support in the shops and online makes everything that we do possible, and we are very very grateful for the opportunities that provides to the business, the team and the people that we work with.

So please, as 2025 ends and 2026 begins keep Paper Tiger in mind. Shop with us, tell your friends, share this newsletter, and if you have time, we'd love you to take a moment and give us a quick review over on Google for our shops in Stockbridge, Morningside, the Old Town and The New Town.

Best Wishes for 2026!

Michael