24 Hours With Katie Lane of LaneLove Paper Co.

Between late nights with her letterpress and early mornings tending to her two daughters (and two puppies), it makes sense that Katie Lane, owner and creative director/designer at Plano, Texas-based LaneLove Paper Co., could use a little more sleep. “I’m a hit-snooze-10-times kind of person,” she says. Thanks to impressive time management skills and a Heidelberg windmill letterpress in her home studio, the entrepreneur behind the design and print company packs an impressive amount of work into her day, from corresponding with clients to updating designs for custom wedding stationery suites to die-cutting tags for a local retailer. Here, Lane takes us through 24 hours in her busy life.

6:30 a.m.: Our puppies, Max and Jack Jack, start crying to go out—this works better than my alarm. I get up and let them out in the backyard, then they run inside for their breakfast and I hop back in bed for a little more sleep.

7:10 a.m: I get out of bed and get my oldest daughter up for school. Scarlet is 7, and she refuses to wear what I pick out for her, so she gets herself dressed. I brush her hair, and then she has a quick breakfast.

7:40 a.m.: I get my youngest, Violet, out of bed, and with the two of us still in pajamas we make the two-minute drive to school to drop off Scarlet. She always looks back at me as I drive away, and we smile at each other. That’s one of my favorite parts of the day.

8:00 a.m.: Back at home, I put Violet back in bed while I get in the shower to get ready. My go-to outfit is high-waisted pants and a front-tucked or knot-tie blouse, and always a wedge or espadrille shoe. I do my makeup while sitting in front of my computer so I can skim emails and send any drafted emails from the night before. Then I dry my hair and I’m ready to go!

9 a.m.: I wake up Violet, who prefers to sleep in like her mommy, and get her dressed. She eats a CLIF bar for breakfast, I grab my laptop and notebook (I’m an avid list-maker), and we’re in the car by 9:15.

9:30 a.m.: I drop off Violet at the home of a friend who watches her during the week, then I head to the store. On the other side of the shopping center from LaneLove is a Fat Straws, so I grab a bubble tea almost every single day. My usual order is either a Thai tea or passion-fruit green tea with boba.

10:30 a.m.: I open the store for business and start replying to emails. I spend a good chunk of every day responding to emails and updating proofs. This week we have 8 weddings on the books—I think everyone decided to get married the first weekend of May!

11:00 a.m.: My first client of the day arrives, a bride looking for wedding invitations. I walk her through our custom and semi-custom books and we talk about print types and paper options. We service classic-traditional brides who have an eye for design and prefer a modern-minimalistic aesthetic.

12:30 p.m.: I put some envelopes on the printer for an addressing order, and while that runs through, I update proofs: a seating chart, graduation announcements, and shower invitations. Then I reply to more emails!

1:30 p.m.: Lunch arrives courtesy of Uber Eats (so I don’t have to leave the store) and I take a moment to watch Instagram Stories for some entertainment.

“I’m obsessed with the thought of keeping paper in the hands of new generations in our digital world.”

2:00 p.m.: Two sweet ladies walk in looking for custom thank you notes for their grandchildren. I’m obsessed with the thought of keeping paper in the hands of new generations in our digital world. There’s just something so special about receiving a handwritten note.

2:30 p.m.: I get back to the computer and put in some orders for paper, envelopes, and supplies for upcoming orders. Then I print some menus for a last-minute styled shoot.

3:30 p.m.: I leave the store to go pick up my little ladies. I have about a 45-minute to 1-hour commute from the store to home on a light traffic day, so by the time I get Violet and then Scarlet it’s around 5 p.m.

5:10 p.m.: We hang out in the back yard for a bit while the puppies run around and the girls play on the swing set. Then we head inside and I make the girls their favorite for dinner: macaroni and cheese (yes, from a box).

6:15 p.m.: Scarlet reads a book for homework, then the girls play/fight over their toys. I go to my home office/print studio and prep for a letterpress order. I have a Heidelberg windmill letterpress in the middle of my office that was dropped in through the front of the house with a crane truck. Let’s just say, if we ever sell this house, it comes with some very large printing equipment! Today’s order on press is some little letterpress then die-cut tags for a local shop.

7:40 p.m.: I take a break between the printing and die-cutting to get the girls in the bath. We brush our teeth and the girls get in bed. I let them watch television for about an hour before they go to sleep.

8:25 p.m.: I prep the press for die-cutting, which consists of cleaning off the press, removing the rollers, and putting on the metal jacket and die. I run each piece of pressed paper through and little tags are cut! Just over 1,000 of them, to be exact.

9:05 p.m.: I have a late snack and pour a glass of wine. I go back to the office and write my list of to-dos that need to be done tomorrow. Then I work on some more designs and updates. I like to draft all my emails late at night and then hit send in the morning so no one actually knows I’m up until midnight working on orders—until now!

11:35 p.m.: I call it a night and head for bed, where I watch Netflix for an hour or two (right now, I’m bingeing “How to Get Away with Murder”) before actually going to sleep.

Photograph by Carol Riell Photography. LaneLove Paper Co. is featured in The Scout Guide Plano & Frisco.