Our Story
In 2014 Sophie & Pete were living in Innsbruck, Austria for the ski season. Sophie had always hand-made her own thoughtful and beautiful cards for her friends and family, something her mother and grandmother had also done.
It was early December and funds were tight for Sophie and Pete in Austria. So, Sophie made some Deutch language Christmas cards and Pete set about selling them to local friends, shops and even to strangers we met in the gondolas between ski runs.
They made enough Euros to buy Sophie's season pass and pay their rent for the rest of the season.
Little Difference was born!
Pete & Soph
Sophie Stevens is a geology graduate and artist from the Isle of Wight, England. Pete Oswald was a professional skier and media producer from New Zealand. Sophie does all the artwork and Pete handles most of the boring stuff (like accounts and marketing).
After starting to sell cards in Austria we then based the business in England for a bit at Sophie's home where we lived on and off while chasing adventures.
We now live in Queenstown, NZ where the business is now also based. When we are not working on Little Difference we like to do all sorts of adventures in the beauty of nature like skiing, biking and all sorts of fun things that wild places offer, see the videos below. We started this business to do what we love and to fund our adventures, we also hope the art makes people smile too!
After having so much fun in nature we appreciate the world's natural beauty and all the amazing experiences it provides us, so we are doing our very best to run this business and live our lives in the most Earth caring way possible. At time of incorporating Little Difference we were working from the second floor of our Tiny House that we build ourselves.
Our appreciation for nature is why we have started our 1 Card = 1 Tree initiative where we pay for the planting, raising and protection of one native tree towards permanent reforestation for every single product sold which also helps to alleviate extreme poverty through fair wage employment!
Laura & Cam
In April 2024 our good friends Laura and Cam joined the business as part shareholders and directors.
They share the same values and have brought immense energy and an array of complementary skills that has allowed significant growth and increased our environmental and social impact.
After a very successful first year of partnership Cam and Laura have now bought in further to the business. Since 1st August 2025 Sophie Pete, Laura and Cam are now equal shareholders.
Our 2 families live close by in Tāhuna/Queenstown, we frequent tree planting volunteer days together and our kids are great friends. We look forward to growing Little Difference together and making big impacts.
Mission Statements:
+ Make the consumer and receiver happy and fulfilled with a uniquely designed product which signifies that they have made a “Little Difference” to the world.
+ Make a net positive social and environmental impact by regenerating the world's forests with each unit sold and paying fair living wages.
+ Sell a unique product to make profit with which we can live comfortably, fund our adventures and save for our future.
We hope you enjoy the designs. Please get in touch if you would like to buy anything, have any questions or just want to say hi!
Or just enjoy the videos below about what we get up to...
