When Ashley Reynolds launched Cloth & Paper 11 years ago, it was a decision born out of necessity.
After nearly a decade in corporate finance, Ashley was ready to carve out a path of her own. However, as she searched for planning tools, she couldn’t find any that matched her styles. The stationery market was saturated with bright colours and multi-coloured prints, while Ashley wanted something more minimal and mature.
So Ashley took matters into her own hands. With no formal background in design or product, Ashley dove head first into creating her first planner on a Microsoft Word document. Little did she know that simple design would become the foundation of one of the most sought-after names in the organisational space.
The Minimalist Disruption
Today, Cloth & Paper has blossomed into a full-fledged luxury planning and lifestyle ecosystem. It checked almost every box: featured in Forbes, The Today Show, Bazaar, and often voted the best stationery and pen subscription services.
Its sales skyrocketed during the e-commerce boom of 2020, with revenue soaring by about 245% between 2019 and 2020. The business generates an estimated $90.1 million annually, making it an example of a successful direct-to-customer model. Its subscription boxes were also a key growth driver, bringing in seven-figure revenue.
The first ingredient for innovation, according to Ashley, was leaning into one’s own styles. “From day one, we’ve kind of always gone completely against what the industry was doing at that time,” she told Forbes. “When we started, everything was very floral, pink and bright. That’s not my style at all. I’m very monochrome and neutral even in the clothes that I wear.”
This instinct became the brand’s defining edge. From customisable notebooks to leather agendas, Cloth & Paper stands out for its sleek aesthetics, structured design and elevated materials. Its items are trendsetters: Crystal clear dashboard, modular planning system, and clear vinyl covers. In a market where quiet luxury is the new status symbol, Cloth & Paper’s products serve as understated statement pieces.
Building An Empire
The brand seems to have benefited from its founder’s finance background. For the first three years, Ashley operated a lean business while marketing directly to customers. “It’s like I’m just talking with my home girls,” she told the Side Hustle Pro podcast. “I was just so pumped to be able to talk to so many people that were into the same thing I was into, so it didn’t feel like marketing. We didn’t actually do our first paid marketing until year four or five in business.”
While some might hesitate in building a tactile product in the digital age, Ashley said being “hard-headed” was an incentive to entrepreneurship.
“I’m very business confident. I always says, ‘Hey, you never bet if you know you’re not going to win, right?’ At that time, I was working probably 18, 19 hours a day trying to make stuff happen.”
“If someone’s coming at me, and they’re saying, You can’t do this. I’m, like, I’m gonna show you,” she added. “I’m glad in that situation that I was a little bit hard-headed, because I wouldn’t have alongside my husband built the brand that we have today.”
“Now we employ 40 plus people. We have a 12,000 square foot warehouse. This wouldn’t be a thing if I didn’t test that theory a little bit.”
Contact
Website: https://www.clothandpaper.com/
Photos: Cloth & Paper
Words by: Nina Nguyen
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