Muriel Moukawem: How to create your own stationery line
This week on Creative Diaries meet Muriel, the courageous mind behind Mukagraf, a design studio revolutionizing greeting cards with a Lebanese twist. From identifying a market gap to expanding across the Middle East, Muriel's journey reflects not only her design prowess but also the bravery to bring her dream of celebrating local culture to life.
This is Muriel’s story in her words.
My name is Muriel and I am the owner of Mukagraf, a design studio that produces greeting cards. I studied graphic design since I’ve always been arty and always enjoyed printed material, especially stationery.
Some years ago I noticed a gap in the greeting card market in Lebanon and the Middle East. Most greeting cards in this market were made abroad and were not addressed to the local people. This is how my business idea started. I integrated the Lebanese dialect, with all its slang and nice expressions and created my own greeting card collection.
It all started with one little project that I developed. Since 2009, we have grown our footprint from just a couple of points of sale in Lebanon to almost 70 across Lebanon, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and KSA.
When I first decided to set up my studio I wanted a name that didn’t sound like a real word but would be quite personal. So this is simply how I came up with “mukagraf”. [Mu] and [ka] are both syllables taken from my name Muriel Moukawem and [graf] from the word graphics.
Muriel bringing her ideas to life
My creative process demands that I place a large amount of time and effort on brainstorming and research. I believe these are the areas that truely drive creative design. After this, I create sketches and ideas that I believe will be good sellers and fit the market at the specific time. I then finalize my artwork and create mock-ups. Once I am pleased with these mock-ups I move them into technical production. Once this is done, I am ready to start fulfilling orders. My creative process has now become very structured. It is split into separate stages and each stage is very well organized and independent to ensure the continuity of my business.
My view on marketing is that it is a very important tool for sustainable strategies. As a Lebanese designer and previously a university tutor I have been a guest on several regional TV shows to talk about my cards, explain my concept and display my products. I have been interviewed by numerous magazines in Lebanon, UAE & KSA and they have played quite an important role in my journey. Bloggers have also written about my work and this allowed me to continuously reach wider audiences. Social media is of course a must. I have created my own social pages and I collaborated with other accounts (retailers or brands) on special occasions or for specific campaigns. I have also made an effort to participate in several exhibitions, fairs or markets in Lebanon, Dubai, London, Hong Kong and Monaco. Having said all that, the best strategy in my business is definitely word of mouth. Every happy customer drives dozens of new ones our way.
Muriel with her final piece
To all creatives who are thinking of starting their own stationery line, I would encourage you to give it a try, even if it will take a few failures to succeed.
These are a few points I consider invaluable when approaching the project:
Consider your audience
Find high quality suppliers
Choose a niche
Create your own style, identify and brand
Be different and exceptional!
Promote your business line
It is true that we live in a very competitive world. Talent is important. But you need to add hard work, commitment, courage and patience into the mix. Just do your best, and the universe will take care of the rest.
You can find more of what Muriel is bringing into the world over on her Instagram and Facebook page. And don’t hesitate to DM her with any requests you might have.