For quick context if you are new here: Hi, I'm Sam, the creative mum behind Simple Prints. Since 2018, I've been creating Custom Illustrations and Keepsakes. Birth prints, house portraits, wedding stationery and more with the idea of redesigning life's most meaningful moments into something unique. I love what I do and feel so grateful that I get to call this my job, especially while having the flexibility to do it around raising my son.

The newest project I've been working on is a different kind of keepsake: a book called Twenty One Years of You. It'll be the biggest thing I've ever done in business to date. This post is all about the journey I've been on to get to where things are at with it so far.

Our son's first birthday was approaching. Having a mum who loved birthdays and being a sentimental person myself, I started looking for some traditions I could start. I loved the letter idea that was filling my social media feed, where parents would sit down the night before their child's birthday and write a letter to them. Every year, for twenty one years.

Knowing myself, I knew I would lose all the letters if they weren't connected. I love typography and graphic design, so I started looking into designing a book. I began looking at books in bookshops much more intently. Their cover materials, the page thickness, if the text was debossed or not. The interior page design came together fast, but it has taken a lot of iterations to get to where it is now.

The first thing that felt like actual development was getting our son's book printed and bound. I worked with two local Wellington, Aotearoa NZ suppliers who were incredible and supportive in guiding me to get the idea turned into a physical book. In a way, it became the first "sample." Although costing almost $300 NZD, it wouldn't be a financially viable option, haha.

Shortly after our son turned one, we packed up and moved to Melbourne. In between moving to different short-term house-sits while we applied for rentals, I spent a lot of time researching suppliers, putting together a spec sheet of what I thought I wanted the book's materials to be made of, and then sending lots of emails.

This period consisted of a lot of late nights after our son went to bed, but eventually a supplier came back with an achievable price point, and the first proper sample was on its way. This felt really exciting. We secured a rental after just over three months of applications, and the week we moved in, the sample arrived!

Excitement was quickly followed by disappointment as the lettering rubbed off when we scratched at it. Instantly we knew that it wasn't going to last twenty one years. Another two rounds of samples followed, tweaking materials and text finishes, and it's still not quite what we'd hoped for, quality-wise. The text was either not crisp enough, too transparent, or the cover finish would mark too easily.

It felt hopeless at this point, and I was feeling pretty defeated. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t understand what needed to change in order to produce the result I was after.

Our son’s second birthday is now approaching and we are both thinking about what we will write in his letter. It gave me the bit of motivation I needed to stick with this project. I decided to visit the Readings bookstore in Melbourne and took the samples with me. I looked at lots of the books and their finishes, and found some more suppliers I hadn't emailed yet.

Today I met with a new supplier and have hopefully made some progress. Next steps are a new quote, a new sample, and fingers crossed a winning book! The original goal was a September launch, but it looks as though it may have to be delayed, which I feel really gutted about. Ultimately though, I don't want to rush something so important, and the end result will be so much better if I get exactly what I'm envisioning. Thank you for staying the course with me. I really am so excited about where this is going.

If you have a child approaching one, sign up to the waitlist here for early access when the launch is ready! I won't be bombarding you with lots of emails, just simple development updates, and meaningful ideas on how to celebrate your little one's most important years.