Interview: Neal Whittington, Present & Correct

-by Milly Burroughs

Team Zetteler are all stationery-obsessed, it's one of many reasons why we love working with the paper people at G . F Smith and the type geniuses over at Monotype. Neal has known Sabine for ages, having been introduced by connector extraordinaire Henrietta Thompson once upon a time. If you haven't seen them already, you should check out the book they collaborated on called Remake It (there are two). 

We spoke to founder Neal Whittington, about making the leap from working at an agency to grappling with the challenges of being your own boss, in the hope of unearthing the secrets behind creating and growing one of London’s most-loved independent shops. 

I was a graphic designer in a branding studio (Winkreative), which I loved. I did seven years all up and that was plenty, I just wanted to do something else really. It was the internet that made me do it because I was looking at design blogs every day and seeing all these clever people making things and having fun for themselves and I wanted to give it a go. And I’ve always loved stationery so really it was a risky attempt at creating my ideal job. I did it from our spare room for 4 years and then mentally felt a bit of a loon so looked for a studio, but I ended up with a shop. That was the best accident ever. 

Present & Correct has gained popularity at an impressive rate, was this something you were prepared for? Did it throw up any challenges or unexpected opportunities? 

To me it feels like it has been a slow growth, but maybe from the outside looking in it is different. I never borrowed any money so everything has been gradual and there is still so much more I’d like to do. London can be massively prohibitive, financially, as any small business owner will know! Everything has been a surprise really, I feel very lucky. I work a lot, but always believe that what you put in comes back to you. I enjoy it, I hope that shows, which is not something you can make up. 

The shop was an unexpected opportunity, I was looking for a studio space but this shop was the same price. It’s a little side street with not loads of foot traffic so it was a challenge initially to make sure people know we are here. My challenge now is lack of space! 

The main reason was that I wanted to make my own things and sell them, the idea of producing cards, calendars, pencil cases was appealing. I wanted to be able to make something when I could/wanted and have a place to sell it. Also just to share all the things I like to collect. Working with clients for a long time, in quite an intense way, led to the desire to change but I do miss that side of things and would like to do more branding again as a Present & Correct sub division! 

The whole process has lived up to my expectations, it’s so enjoyable and I feel very happy as soon as I enter the shop each morning. It is hard work and you are never fully switched off but I think that is the price you pay when you are running your own business. I still have a list of things I would like to do with Present & Correct, which I think is an indicator that I’m still loving it. 

The identity is my taste and the tone of voice is me, so in that sense it’s easy not to deviate from it, because I’m not trying to make it anything else. The photos are taken by me and I just make them look how I want them to look at the time. There isn’t a plan, its often about what I can do in a time given and what I have to hand! If Present & Correct were bigger then it would be harder to maintain this I think. Over time the look of it has probably become more concentrated, as you learn what works and what pleases me the most as well as the customers. So I suppose I subconsciously edit as I go along. 

The products appear to all be from the same place because of the styling in the photos, I never use images provided by a company and I never just do a cut out on white. I like the shop to have character, online that’s achieved through the product shots. The products also have a homogeny because they all have a graphic thread running through them, so that binds them all together even if one thing is from Korea but the other is a 1950s notebook from Czechoslovakia.  

All of the new things come direct from the designer, and I usually find them through travel or seeing something online and hunting down the source (google image!). I tend not to go to trade shows because it’s so easy to end up selling the same as everyone else, and of course that is going to happen anyway but it’s nice to try and get things first! The vintage items come from trips overseas, usually Europe. There are around 10 markets I go to every year for things and then when we go on holiday we always look in old shops and flea market just in case there is something amazing to be had. The hunting is really enjoyable. I do buy from other collectors who contact me or who I meet at markets and also nowadays I get people writing who have found things and want to sell them. Thats a really useful development! Finding things has become harder but no less fun. 

I try to design a couple of things every year, sometimes more sometimes less. It’s important to me that we keep making Present & Correct things because it’s a point of difference and it makes me happy to make things. Even if its just 50 of something which sells and then ends, I find satisfaction in getting that idea made and out there in some shape or form. 

Social media is brilliant for small businesses, I love it. It allows you to do PR for free and each format brings its own different results. I would never want it to look like a strategy because it isn’t, its useful and fun and if that benefits the shop then great. 

I totally get that the day-to-day practising of it isn’t for everyone, and I firmly believe you have to keep it up for it to work. A post on Twitter every three days isn’t worth it. And if you hate it then don’t do it because it shows. I never made any calculated plan, I have a few rules which I try to stick to (don’t retweet praise, don’t repeat the same thing throughout the day, don’t moan, always reply to people) but that’s more etiquette than strategy. Basically I just like to share interesting, pretty and fun things and hopefully make people smile. Mixed in with Present & Correct stuff of course. If something mildly amusing pops into my head I’ll tweet it. 

I love Instagram! So addictive. Again though, no strategy just me taking pictures of things I like. It might be a drain pipe or a bunch of envelopes. Also I think its important to edit your followers, I mean cut out all the spam on a daily basis. No point having a million followers if only 100 are liking your images at a time. 

I always tried to look at social media as like a mini magazine with “features” you have regularly, and in doing so you sort of become known for a certain thing and then people will share their finds with you because they know you will like it. 

What’s next for Present & Correct? Any gossip you can share with us? 

I’ve got this space until the end of 2016 and then, ideally, I’d like a bigger shop, but that depends on a few other things really. Short term I’ve got an eraser exhibition for London Design Festival (200 erasers on a wall). It will be small but full! Ive also been working on a couple of projects with publishers (products) which will be out next year at some point and there’s a little side project called “Matchbloc” which I’m doing with my friends Maraid.  

Gossip. Hmm. I got caught licking a book cover once, it had a really nice spot varnish on it. But I bought it so thats OK and perfectly normal.