How We Started Little Difference

As of writing, Little Difference is an established Kiwi brand with around 250 stockists across Aotearoa. But our roots are not what you may think…

It was October 2014. Sophie and Pete had been travelling the world for a couple of years. 

The couple had carved out a living by travelling and producing media for Pete’s ski sponsors and anyone else who pay cash, product, accommodation or food. The year before they rode bikes around Sri Lanka to raise money for war and tsunami relief. A recent photo of Pete carrying a sheep had just exploded virally and now the couple were heading to Innsbruck,  Austria for the winter season. 

Pete had arrived early to Innsbruck and Sophie was still at her family home on the Isle of Wight, UK having a little more quality time with her family and old friends.

Sophie has a gift for making art that makes people feel special. Her genuine kindness and altruistic nature somehow comes through in any little doodle she does. A trait perhaps passed down from her grandmother who hand painted a greeting card for each of her 17 grandchildren every Christmas and Birthday. Her daughter (Sophie’s Mum) was also an artist and made her own cards. Sophie had just made some Isle Of Wight Christmas cards and sold some packs to her friends at home.

While Pete was in Innsbruck waiting for Sophie and dreaming ways to ski more and work less he had an idea. He asked Sophie to draw some German language Christmas cards and he would try sell them at the Weihnachten Markets (Christmas markets) that Innsbruck is famous for.

Sophie crashed coursed some German language greetings and whipped up 9 designs that she scanned and emailed to Pete. Pete found a local Innsbruck printer and did their very first sample print run. 

They did not know it at the time, but this was the first print run of a flourishing business that would reach hundreds of thousands of people around the world and fund the planting of 300,000 trees in 4 countries. 

Pete took the samples to the various Weihnachten market stalls and gift shops in Innsbruck and got orders for hundreds of cards! Suddenly they had a business but no brand name. In a hurry they settled on “Presents of Mind”.

Sophie arrived in Innsbruck in early December and by Christmas they sold enough greeting cards to pay for their accommodation for the winter and buy Sophie her season pass!

The combination of Sophie’s artist skills and endearing style combined with Pete’s business nous and shameless selling tenacity proved to be a successful combo. Pete’s selling knew no bounds, he even kept packs of  greeting cards in his ski bag and made sales while riding the ski lifts!

After the winter the couple took a trip to Morocco. After climbing a 4000m peak they were back on the coast. They now they had the foundations of something good, but they were not quite content with the brand name “Presents of Mind”. They knew from the start that want to do more than just sell product, they wanted to do good, make a difference. 

While out stand up paddle boarding in the Morocco sea (both of them on one paddleboard because they were too frugal to hire 2) they were tossing around brand names. Sophie blurted out “Little Difference?” and they knew that was that was it, that was the name they were going to build this business under.

After Morocco they returned to Sophie’s family home on the isle of Wight. Pete found a suitable printer and Sophie draw a whole range of new cards. Pretty soon they had about a dozen resellers on the Isle of Wight to add to the resellers they had in Innsbruck. 

But this was only the beginning…

Sophie and Pete would like to thank the dozens of friends and family along the way who supported them to create Little Difference. From couches to sleep on, to business advice, you all played an integral part and we want you to know that creating a better world remains at the heart of the business.