33 COMPANY PROFILE 4cr0eayteiavres orfeinvention Tara Strickland, Head of Design at SANTORO talks to Craft Focus about the enduring appeal of Gorjuss and Swing Cards and why continually creating something new remains at the heart of the business. Tell us a little bit about the company. Where are you based? When did the company start? SANTORO is a multi-award-winning boutique design house creating distinctive gifts, stationery, lifestyle products, and character brands. Founded in 1985, the company began in a small studio just off Carnaby Street in London, and today its products and brands reach audiences around the world. While our roots are firmly in London, we’ve grown into an international business, with an office in Austin, Texas, supporting our expanding presence in the US market. At the heart of SANTORO is a simple ambition: to make beautiful things. Whether through intricate paper engineering, distinctive illustration, or character-led storytelling, we aim to create products that feel special, memorable and a little different! Who founded the company and why? SANTORO was founded by husbandand-wife team, Lucio and Meera Santoro. Meera brought a strong creative vision and eclectic eye for design, while Lucio combined a fascination with innovation, design, and business. Their first venture came through a meeting with 20th Century Fox, which led to a collection of dramatic Hollywoodinspired prints. From there, the company continued to explore new creative territories, always looking for opportunities to combine design and innovation in unexpected ways. That spirit of curiosity remains central to SANTORO today! How has the company evolved? The business has changed considerably over the past four decades, but remains independently and family run so the philosophy has remained remarkably consistent: create beautifully designed products that give people a reason to stop, look, and engage. One of the biggest milestones came in 1994 with the creation of our Swing Cards, pioneering a new approach to 3D paper engineering. What began as an innovation within greetings has developed into an extensive 3D product portfolio encompassing Swing Cards, Pirouettes, and our award-winning Pop & Build range. Alongside our paper engineering achievements, we have developed some hugely successful character and lifestyle brands, most notably Bang on the Door, Gorjuss, and more recently Bangoberry and Harmonie Lane. Today, our portfolio spans gifts, stationery, crafts, activities, games, and lifestyle products, allowing us to reach different audiences while maintaining the distinctive SANTORO design DNA. What do you specialise in? Our specialisms really sit at the intersection of art, design, paper engineering, and storytelling. Our brands are built directly at retail, combining instantly recognisable visual identities with innovative, premium products designed to turn discovery into connection… and connection into collectability! 3D paper engineering remains one of our biggest areas of expertise. Our Swing Cards have been delighting recipients for more than 30 years, with more than 20 million sold, and the collection continues to evolve. We also specialise in character creation
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