Anna Bond wants to infuse everyday life with joy. The Winter Park, Florida–based artist and co-founder of Rifle Paper Co. is on a mission to elevate ordinary items into functional works of art. “We’re always steering back toward the importance of beauty as a brand,” she tells Business of Home.
Growing up in Summit, New Jersey, Bond developed a love for painting, drawing, stamp collecting and letter writing from an early age. She studied graphic design in college, and after graduation she landed a job as an art director at a magazine that brought her to Florida. It was there that she began cultivating her distinct artistic style, blending hand-painted art into her work. “I began freelancing, and did everything from rock band posters to insurance company ads,” she says. “However, what truly clicked was when I started painting with gouache and designing custom wedding stationery. It was a full-circle moment from my childhood bringing together all the things I loved: stationery, stamps, paper, art and design.”
In 2009, she and her husband, Nathan, launched Rifle Paper Co., an e-commerce brand that debuted with a line of stationery—including greeting cards, postcards, recipe cards and personalized paper goods—inspired by her custom wedding invitations. “Around that time, I attended a stationery trade show and realized there wasn’t another boutique brand with a style like mine,” recalls Bond. “That gave me the confidence to keep going and develop a collection.”
Today, the company boasts a team of more than 100 employees, and offers everything from illustrated notepads and tea towels to fully upholstered bed frames. “The overall growth of the brand is far beyond what Nathan and I ever expected,” she says. “At the same time, I still very much feel like the same person as when we started—figuring things out as we go, learning every day, being scrappy and entrepreneurial, taking a hands-on approach to the art, design and product quality.”
Bond finds inspiration in a wide range of sources when creating her flowery designs. “I am a very curious person, so I spend a lot of time taking things in and then drawing those pieces,” she explains. “I’m obviously very influenced by florals, but I also draw a lot from my travels, interiors, folk art and nostalgia.”
Her designs often begin with a carefully curated mood board of images and hues, which inspires a hand-painted gouache illustration that is then scanned and transformed into a pattern. “Everything we create is an attempt to bring color and joy into people’s homes,” she says.
Collaborations with other brands have played a key role in the success of Rifle Paper Co. In 2018, the company partnered with Loloi on a series of indoor rugs and throw pillows, which has since grown to include more than 300 SKUs. “We’ve experimented with different materials and formats, like the new washable rugs or the more artisan wool-hooked styles,” says Bond. “Every rug pattern is based on original artwork, and it’s an interesting process working on what translates to a rug versus a journal or another product we’d make for our own line.”
The brand has also ventured into furniture in recent years, partnering with Cloth & Company on an array of upholstered pieces adorned in signature Rifle Paper Co. prints. “We love working with Cloth & Company, because everything’s made to order in their Chicago facility and it is a wonderful family-owned business,” says Bond. “You can pick your fabric and choose silhouettes and finishes, your piece is handcrafted, and it is shipped to the customer via traditional delivery services rather than the need to schedule freight.”
Bond is currently in the process of finalizing her latest wallpaper collection with York Wallcoverings, as well as a new line of bedding for The Company Store. “We’re also looking forward to opening our second retail location in Tampa, Florida, this fall,” she says. “We’ve dreamed of another dedicated Rifle Paper Co. store for years, and we can’t wait to debut a new space where customers can find joy and inspiration.”
