#88 Blending Pencils and Purpose with The Stationer's Tessa Sowry-Osborne

In this episode I speak to Tessa Sowry-Osborne, founder of The Stationer - a beautiful online stationery collection curated by Tessa's expert eye and born out of a true passion for stationery. We delve into Tessa's fascinating journey from her early career aspirations in theatre, through to grappling with various temp jobs and eventually finding her calling in the world of high-quality, beautifully designed stationery. We discuss her initial determination to curate a selection of products from scratch, and how the sudden, tragic loss of her mother spurred her to take the leap in setting up her business. Tessa shares insights on juggling entrepreneurship with motherhood, how moments of unexpected virality boosted her business, and the balancing act between ambition and personal well-being. She also talks about a heartwarming project she did with her son, turning his drawings into stickers, which became a big hit. We touch on the therapeutic value of stationery, the power of physical, tactile items in a digital world, and how she's learning to be content with sustainable, steady growth. This episode is a testament to authenticity, resilience, going at your own pace, and the joy found in following your passion.  Find Tessa's website here  Find Tessa on Instagram here  Join the conversation with me on Instagram here  -------- This episode is brought to you by Victoria Whittington Financial Planning. Victoria knows how easy it is to put off sorting your finances. Life is busy. Work, family, and everything else always seem to take priority. That's why her advice is clear, jargon-free, and designed to fit around your life, not the other way round. Her role is to help you turn what you want for the future into a clear plan, break it into manageable steps, and give you the support to keep going until you get there. If you'd like to have a friendly, no-pressure chat about what financial planning could do for you book a no-obligation 30-minute session here.  Victoria Whittington Financial Planning is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James's Place Wealth Management plc which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the purpose of advising solely on the group's wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group's website www.sjp.co.uk/products.