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About Us

ABOUT TIME

What’s the one precious thing we all never seem to have enough of?

Time. It’s our most valuable resource and yet we give it away so easily.

We’ve become obsessed with the notion of being ‘busy’, struggling with endless lists, scattered notes, productivity guilt, lack of clarity, mental clutter and digital overload.

We’ve forgotten to be in the moment and we never step back to evaluate how we’re spending our time and who we are spending it with. Getting clarity on when we are at our best, our values, and what brings us joy is key in ensuring we spend our time with intention, prioritising what’s truly important to us.

We’re HELLO TIME, we design timeless, award-winning stationery and we’re on a mission to take away the feeling of ‘never enough time’ with our planners, notebooks and desk pads that strip away the noise and gives you the clarity, focus, and space to get things done.

We’re also building a community that understands organising the chaos of modern life and planning your time is key to success and happiness.

We want to empower and support you to spend your time with intention and live a life by design, not by default.

Every HELLO TIME Planner is a book to be written in, a plan to be made, a goal to to be smashed, an idea to be born, a life to be lived and a story waiting to be told.

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once upon a time

Hello, I’m Sam Smith, founder of HELLO TIME and the creator of the HELLO TIME Planner.

Throughout my 30-year career, I have been obsessed with brands, great design, layout, and typography.

I have always loved stationery, and I am a total devotee of pen and paper; I love writing notes, sketching out ideas, and ticking off lists.

But in 2016 after a period of burnout and, in a state constant of overwhelm trying to do it all, I realised I needed to plan my time as a small business owner, much better. I got caught up in unhealthy habits like pushing myself too hard, working long hours, and not looking after myself. I was using a small diary to manage everything, and there wasn’t enough space and as a result I was carrying around several notebooks, to-do lists, and scraps of paper. It was chaos!

I went in search of a solution. I found expensive planners with prescriptive systems, lots of structure, overwhelming layouts with sections I didn’t need and a lack of space to write things down. There were also lots of online planning tools, diaries, notebooks, and planners telling me what I should be doing rather than telling me, why it was important and explaining the difference they would make.

I wanted to fix a problem that no other product, from my research and experience, was able to do. I wanted to keep everything in one place to omit all those notebooks and scraps of paper. I wanted the design to be minimal and smart to alleviate overwhelm and I wanted lots of space with a clean layout that wasn’t so specific to enable me to help as many people as possible.

We overwork our brains every day, worrying and overthinking. We need to free up space in our minds to tap into our creativity. I wanted the planner to act as a second brain, a place to declutter our minds, store notes, figure stuff out, a place where we never forget anything.

I didn’t want to feel overwhelmed and lost in the daily myriad of stuff that needed to get done anymore. Never feeling a sense of achievement or satisfaction. And that’s when the HELLO TIME planner was born.

Using the planner daily has helped me become more intentional with my time, I’ve got a more balanced work/life and I’m more organised. Being more organised has helped me be more focused, and being more focused has ultimately made me more productive, in a good way!

Not that 24/7 productive as I was aiming for before but productive with the time I have, when I’m working I’m working on the right things, a good mixture of the big stuff and the day-to-day. When I’m relaxing, I’m not reading a workbook, I’m reading a storybook. When I’m with people, I’m more present. I’ve been able to organise my time in such a way that means I can relax because everything is under control.

And I want to share this with as many people as possible, whether you are managing a busy household, running a small business (or large one), or climbing the career ladder. Planning obsessive and into the detail or you’re a conceptual, big picture, thinker. This planner will support you all.

Since it’s creation HELLO TIME has stood for creativity, attention to detail, and sustainability. Designed by me and made here in the UK by a small range of independent family businesses.

"Our mission is to take away that feeling of ‘never enough time’ with our award-winning planners, notebooks and desk pads that strip away the noise and give you the clarity, focus, and space to get things done."

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I AM A BIG FAN. BEAUTIFUL PRODUCTS & THE QUALITY IS ASTOUNDING.
HOLLY TUCKER MBE

before (hello) time

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A hands-on creative for three decades, Sam Smith has worked across many market sectors. Although Sam’s experiences are broad, her core specialism lies in branding.

Having started her career in London, spending several years working with start-ups and entrepreneurs, she moved to the East Midlands, design powerhouse, Linney Create where she creatively directed accounts for some of the UK’s biggest brands.

In 2009, Sam combined her creativity and marketing knowledge to set up her Worcestershire-based studio, Alilia, where she also launched her range of paper art commissioned by interior clients from across the globe and Heals, London.

Her design clients range from start-ups to multinationals such as Budweiser Budvar, Pizza Hut, Butlins, and The Royal Mint. She is now the founder of her own stationery brand, HELLO TIME.

This year, as well as running HELLO TIME, Sam launches a consultancy and mentoring business, Brand+Codes, built on her extensive experience.
She’ll share her expertise, experience, and knowledge to help and support women business owners in creating a memorable brand that speaks to their people. Think of her as a creative in your pocket, on hand to offer inspiring creativity, supportive guidance, and a sounding board with unwavering energy.

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COMMITTED TO QUALITY & CRAFTMANSHIP

Made in the UK

All our paper products are made in the UK by specialist printers & book binders chosen for their quality attention to detail & craftsmanship.

Casebound

Case binding is one of the
most robust methods of binding which is why we use this technique to bind our planners.

Unique Layout

Six unique sections designed
to manage multiple tasks in one place. Goals, Diary, To-Do’s, Notes, Plans & Ideas.

Bookmark

Our planners have three printed ribbon page markers to bookmark pages of interest or index popular sections within your planner.

No Fancy Box

Our planners don’t come in a fancy box you’ll end up throwing away. Instead arrive beautifully wrapped in our signature HT wrapping paper.

Planet First

We only use FSC certified paper from responsible sources & print using vegetable inks. See below for more details.
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COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABILITY

Our Printer

Our planners are printed by one of the greenest printers in the UK & bound by craftsman with over
3o years of experience.

Our other family-run printer is just down road from our studio, which helps to minimisie our carbon footprint. 

Our Paper

The paper in our planners, pads & notebooks is FSC Forestry Scheme Certification accredited and manufactured from mixed or recycled source material. The paper is printed using a reel-fed system which dramatically reduces the volume of paper wastage.

Our Ink

We use vegetable or water-based inks which are biodegradable. Soy ink is more environmentally friendly, they significantly reduce the amount of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) released into the air during the printing process.

Our Packaging

Our bookwraps & mailers are manufactured from 100% recycled & recyclable material.
Our eco-friendly tape is made from kraft paper using natural glues and we save and reuse packing where we can from other suppliers.

Our Studio

Our studio is based at my home in Worcestershire. Our team work from home or are local to, thus minimising our daily travel and carbon footprint.

Our Products

We have phased out plastic bag usage for pads and greetings cards in favour of paper belly bands and paper bags.