Behind the Scenes with Stop the Clock

To celebrate the Stop the Clock x Kindred Cards collaboration, we caught up with founders Kathy and Erin to hear about their creative journey—one that began as a small idea between two friends and has blossomed into a beloved stationery brand.

Here, they share insights into their brand’s growth, creative process, and celebrations along the way.

Can you tell us about your journey from being university friends to establishing Stop the Clock? 

We set up Stop the Clock Design (in a shed!) in October 2008 after becoming friends at University studying Textiles and graduating into a world where real jobs were few and far between. What started as a “let’s make some cards to sell at a local Christmas Fair” quickly turned into something a little busier.

Once we had a few trade orders under our belt, our cards were out there and were quickly picked up by a fantastic group of sales agents… and we were off! We moved out of our shed and bought a pub (sadly not to be a pub, but our office and warehouse. We do still have the bar but depressingly it stores envelopes not pint glasses or beer!) We now work with a great bunch of people from our “pub” and design studio in a little village not far from Manchester.

Our brand is now stocked in numerous independent and multiple stores across the UK as well as being creatively licensed and exported abroad. We’re not sure where 16 years have gone (somewhere in a whirlwind of cards, marriages, babies, more cards and more babies) but we’re so proud of how far we have come and would like to thank all of our friends, family, agents and colleagues who have helped us along the way, as well as our wonderfully loyal, amazing customers.

What were some of the initial challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

Learning the business side of things was our biggest challenge. We both have arty, creative brains so the serious, numbers side of the business didn’t come naturally to either of us. We have definitely learnt a lot along the way. We purposefully grew Stop the Clock organically and slowly, carefully selecting achievable opportunities so that we never became too overwhelmed. We also learnt to delegate! It definitely helps having more brains working on ideas and solutions.

Are there any key milestones that stand out in your journey so far?

Getting recognised and picked up by independent sales agents was by far our first major milestone. Not only was it a confidence boost (waheyyy – other people actually like our products!!) but it also boosted our trade sales significantly overnight. The thrill of hearing the fax whir (yes- a fax machine) when the orders came through was a feeling that still makes us smile today!

The next big event off the back of the business being busier was our purchase of our first, real office (aka the pub). This just opened up more space therefore more opportunities.

How would you describe your Stop the Clock design style?

Our style has evolved over the last 16 years but I believe our textile background still shines through. Our designs are usually full of colour and pattern, often with a sprinkle of fun and quirkiness. We love a dog in a patterned jumper wearing a party hat! We are still quite traditional in our methods- we still draw, paint and collage on paper before we edit on the computer. We believe adds to our look.

We’d love to hear about your creative process? How do ideas evolve from concept to finished product?

It can be anything that inspires a new range! A colour palette, a pun, a pattern or even a new print finish! We usually start by making a bit of a mood board, developing some patterns and doing some doodles…and then just go for it. We usually have a few “false starts” (a design that doesn’t quite work yet) before we hit on something we can run with. When we love that initial design, the rest of the range evolves quite naturally. 

There are a few different collections within the Stop the Clock x Kindred Cards collaboration, from milestone ages to lovely festive designs. If you had to pick, which is your favourite collection, and why?

We love the original feminine milestone ages we created for one our first collaborations. These designs were reimagined and updated versions of some of our bestselling cards from a range that we no longer published. It was amazing to see the new and improved versions on the shelves once again!