Your Desk Needs Ocean Paper’s Cards and Notebooks

Our next stationery obsession is here, just in time for grad and wedding season.

April 26, 2017

Natalie Schack,

he sells seasell—. She shells—. See Sel’s—. ARGH!

OK, so we’re no good with words, which is why we have to rely on the paper our prose is printed on for our message to really make a statement. The latest leaflets we’ve locked our eyes on? Kaua‘i-based stationery brand Ocean Paper.

Photos: Courtesy of Ocean Paper

The pretty prints, cards and notebooks are 100-percent handmade by (engaged!) couple Josh Meneley and Michelle Marsh, with the latter painting precious, tropical designs that are printed onto greeting cards and pads. Her sweet, stylized aesthetic, reminiscent of children’s-books illustrations, will melt any Hawai‘i-lover’s heart: from an angelic pincushion protea to a serene coral reef to a playful beach umbrella. Bright colors in lively combinations abound, mermaids make appearances, and cheeky sayings are scrawled in hand-lettered type. Sea what we mean about charming?

While all of the Islands’ flora and fauna serve as fair game for Marsh’s inspiration, the sea holds a truly special place in her heart. As an accomplished free diver (she was part of Team USA in last year’s Freediving World Championships, where she broke her personal record with a five-minute-two-second breath hold), the name, Ocean Paper, was only fitting.

Which is why cards bearing the phrase “I love you like the ocean” are especially endearing, but we also get pretty swoony over the other cards’ sweet declarations: “better together” (sporting two side-by-side mussels), “you’re better than selfies, darling,” and “on to the next adventure,” to name a few. And don't forget those adorable mini notebooks—Marsh makes ’em in fresh floral, fern, rough stripe, seashell and pineapple patterns.