Member Article

Wirral stationery business on the move

Launching any new business is tough, and even more so when you invest all you have in premises, equipment and resources.

Yet for Helena Pisani Wedding Stationery, which is has just opened in Greasby, Wirral, those challenges proved to be the easiest to tackle.

As if raising a young son alone wasn’t sufficient challenge, Helena has had to face – and overcome – a series of crises that would have sunk all but the most grittily determined of spirits.

Having ridden out redundancy and lost two beloved brothers in tragic circumstances, she then found herself needing urgent brain surgery – not once, but twice. Battling through a series of complications and medical set-backs, she did what only the truly tough do in such circumstances – she got going.

Helena picked herself up, moved back from North Wales to her native Wirral, and sat down to write a business plan. Then she invested all she had in buying the premises where she has now opened her fledgling business.

Blessed with a talent for calligraphy and an eye for fashionable design, Helena was already in demand, creating place-settings and other ‘finishing touches’ to smart occasions. Realising that this was the basis for a business, as any smart entrepreneur would, she began to research the sector.

She realised that she could offer a level of professional finish and expertise that would set her products apart from the crowd of homely ‘arts-and-crafts’ merchandise readily available elsewhere.

Investing in proven British technology – a versatile embossing machine - allowed her to create a range of bespoke stationery products that combine her unique artistic vision with a consistent, polished finish: top-of-the-range products to grace any high-end nuptials or similar celebration.

Now Helena has just realised her dream by launching the business that bears her name in Greasby Road.

As well as weddings, the Helena Pisani Stationery range includes items for 18th and 21st birthday parties, christening / naming ceremonies and other family events.

Said Helena: “I was in the situation of having to make a choice about what to do with the rest of my life. I could either give in and go under, or have a damn good go at making something work.

“It’s been a struggle, and I’ve ploughed all I have into getting the business started, but I have no debt at the bank, I own the property, and I have this chance now to make a real go of it.

“Demand so far has been strong, which is very encouraging. People seem to like something that is genuinely a little bit different, yet classy.”

The business may just be starting, but with the order books already starting to fill, Helena believes she has the staying power – and talent - to make it work.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .