At Paper Tiger, we believe everyone deserves an opportunity to gain valuable workplace experience. We are excited to announce that we are recruiting for Entry Level Retail Sales Assistants to join our team! This role is specifically designed for candidates with little to no previous work experience. We provide comprehensive training from day one, covering key skills in customer service, till operations, merchandising, and teamwork. Key Role Details: * Contract: 4 hours per week (primarily Fridays and weekends) * Pay: £9.50/hr (Under 18s) | £13.45/hr (18+ / Real Living Wage) * Requirements: A positive attitude, strong reliability, basic numeracy/literacy, and a willingness to learn. We welcome applications from anyone looking to build confidence and develop transferable skills alongside study, family, or other personal commitments. Know someone who would be a great fit? Tag them below or share this post! To apply: Please submit your CV along with a cover letter via the link in the comments.
About us
Paper Tiger: About Us Who We Are Paper Tiger, established in 1981, is a haven for design lovers in Edinburgh. We offer a curated selection of beautiful cards, stationery, gifts, and more, all chosen with love. We're proud to showcase the work of local Scottish makers alongside talented artists from around the world. What We Believe In Exceptional Customer Service: We put you first, making your shopping experience enjoyable and easy. Sustainability: We actively strive to reduce our environmental impact and source products responsibly. Meaningful Products: We curate unique and beautiful items that tell stories and spark joy. Supportive Team: We foster a positive and creative work environment where everyone feels valued. Community: We believe in giving back and supporting the communities we serve. Constant Improvement: We're always learning, growing, and evolving to be the best we can be. Wild at Heart: We embrace our independence, seek innovation, and celebrate creativity. The Power of Paper: We love paper and its endless possibilities, using sustainable practices to protect it. A Touch of Whimsy: We believe life's better with a little fun (and maybe some chocolate!). Our Story Paper Tiger is part of the Studio One legacy, which began in 1966 with John Johnson's passion for design and furniture making. Today, Paper Tiger and Studio One Furniture remain independent businesses, sharing John's core values of good design at great prices. Our Mission To inspire our customers with beautiful products and exceptional service, while fostering a positive and sustainable future. Visit Us! We invite you to explore our stores on Stafford Street and Lothian Road, where you'll find a world of creativity waiting to be discovered.
- Website
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http://www.papertiger.co.uk
External link for Paper Tiger Edinburgh
- Industry
- Retail
- Company size
- 11-50 employees
- Headquarters
- Edinburgh, Lothian
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 1981
- Specialties
- Cards, Wrap, Notebooks, Stationery, Pens, Books, Gifts, Toys, Tintin, and Moleskine
Employees at Paper Tiger Edinburgh
View 13 employees at Paper Tiger Edinburgh
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Locations
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Primary
Get directions
53 Lothian Road
Edinburgh, Lothian EH1 2DJ, GB
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Get directions
6a/8 Stafford Street
Edinburgh, Lothian EH3 7AU, GB
Updates
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Have you spotted our new displays across all four Paper Tiger shops yet? 👀 We have launched the delicious new range from @shortbreadhouse, featuring incredible flavours like Sicilian Lemon and Dark Chocolate with Ginger. They look mouth watering, taste even better, and make the most effortless gifts around. 🍪 Whether you are catching a show in town or hunting for the ultimate Scottish treat to take home, we have you covered. 🎁 Which flavour are you trying first? Let us know below, then pop in store or shop the collection via the link in our bio! ☕️ #PaperTigerEdinburgh #ShortbreadHouseOfEdinburgh #ScottishGifts #TasteOfScotland
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Paper Tiger Edinburgh was fortunate to visit the Shortbread House of Edinburgh bakery earlier this spring, and I was treated to amazing shortbread and a masterclass in local provenance and authentic manufacturing. In a world dominated by automated production lines and mass packaging, watching the Laing family and their skilled team handroll and handcut every batch of shortbread in their Edinburgh bakery is a powerful sight. It highlights the exact ethos we champion at Paper Tiger: sustainable, long term partnerships built on shared values, local terroir, and uncompromised quality. Our relationship with Shortbread House spans many years. We do not just see them as a supplier of 'products'; they are a vital part of Edinburgh’s vibrant creative and innovative business ecosystem. When independent retailers and traditional makers collaborate closely, we protect local heritage, support skilled jobs, and offer our customers a product with a genuine story. As the Edinburgh Festivals season fills the city with locals and visitors seeking authentic Scottish experiences, we are proud to showcase a partner who represents the absolute best of Edinburgh’s independent business community. Visit us across our four Edinburgh locations or shop with us online!
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This July, Paper Tiger turns forty five! Since opening our doors on Stafford Street in 1981, we have been quietly obsessed with bringing extraordinary design, gorgeous paper goods, and joyful gifts to Edinburgh. From lovely greetings cards that say just the right thing to ethical local treats, our passion for good design at sensible prices remains unchanged. Whether you are shopping for a thoughtful birthday gift for a close friend, looking for beautiful stationery to brighten your workspace, or picking up a sweet treat for yourself, we make finding something special effortless. You can browse our curated collections (here!) online, or pop into any of our four Edinburgh shops. Thank you for being part of our story for forty five years. Come and celebrate with us today, explore our latest collections, and let us help you find the perfect gift!
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We’re bringing a trophy back to Auld Reekie! The Paper Tiger team headed down to London this week for trade fairs, supplier meetings and...The Greats Gift Retailer Awards! We are absolutely delighted to announce that we won Best In Store or Window Display 2026! In a room full of the most creative High Street retailers and independent shops from across the UK, it was a real honour to see our Edinburgh business recognised. Our shop windows are how we project who we are to the world, and we take that responsibility very seriously. Whether it is a carefully constructed Christmas display or a showcase of local illustrators, we simply want our shops to be a bright spot in your day. This award is a huge testament to our whole team. Every single person at Paper Tiger spends part of their day creating and maintaining the displays in our shops. From the initial product curation and the merchandising on the sales floors, through to the creation of visuals and the final installation by our resident creative whizz, Vicky, the whole team works tirelessly to make our shops look magical. We also want to thank our incredible suppliers who collaborate with us to bring these displays to life. Their enthusiasm for what they do makes our jobs so much easier. Most importantly, thank you to our customers. We curate, we decorate, and we obsess over the details because we want your visit to Paper Tiger to feel special. We love what we do, but we can only do it because you choose to shop local and support independent businesses. If you are in Edinburgh this weekend, please come by and see the award winning displays for yourself! #PaperTiger #TheGreats2026 #EdinburghBusiness #ShopLocal #HighStreet #VisualMerchandising #IndependentRetail
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We’re hiring 🚀 Come and be part of our growing data team: https://lnkd.in/e8v4jx43
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Artist and Printmaker Angela Harding has been perfecting her craft since 1982. At Paper Tiger, we’ve been doing something similar since 1981, and Angela's work has played a part in our commercial journey for a significant chunk of that time, firstly with Art Angels Publishing who brought her work to our attention many years ago. Flame Tree Publishing also produce amazingly popular notebooks and stationery for Angela, and they have been flying off our shelves in recent weeks. It takes a specific set of skills to translate fine art into a successful commercial collection without losing the soul of the original work. With the latest ranges of Angela's work, our long standing suppliers MUSEUMS & GALLERIES LIMITED have provided a masterclass in how brand licensing should be executed. We're so grateful for their enthusiastic support - thanks again Sophie Bylina-Williams. By taking Angela’s intricate depictions of the British landscape and applying them to high quality stationery and practical gifts - such as the iconic Puffin umbrella - Museums & Galleries has created a collection that meets what we call the "Rare Trinity" of retail: 1. Mastery of Technique: Intricate detail that honours the artist’s heritage. 2. Artistic Integrity: Products that maintain the depth and resonance of the original work. 3. Commercial Impact: Designs that translate into high demand, covetable items. A successful retail partnership is built on more than just shelf space; it is about a shared vision between the artist, the publisher, and the retailer. At Paper Tiger, we don't just stock products; we curate experiences that drive brand awareness. Our capability in the sector is built on decades of identifying and nurturing talent. By dedicating our four Edinburgh shop windows to Angela Harding’s work, we provide a high impact physical touchpoint that digital only retail simply cannot replicate. We invest in the skills, the time, the props and the shelf space, and we try to present the artist’s world through large scale visual merchandising. It signals quality to the customers, and it reinforces Paper Tiger Edinburgh’s position as a launchpad for world class design. We love printmaking, and we are proud to play a role in the commercial success of British letterpressers, linocutters, and lithographers. If you are in Edinburgh this Bank Holiday weekend, I invite you to visit our stores and see how we are bringing Angela’s vision to life! #PaperTiger #AngelaHarding #MuseumsAndGalleries #VisualMerchandising #printmaking
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Watch or listen to the Edinburgh Business Stories podcast featuring Michael Apter talking about Paper Tiger and his forty year journey through the world of retail.
It was a privilege to join Alan Smith and Alex Richards for a bit of a ramble down memory lane on the Edinburgh Business Stories podcast. We covered a lot of ground, from my early days at Tesco and Booths, to my formative years as part of the HMV success story - Top Dog On The High Street - in the ’90s. However, the heart of the conversation was the (almost) twenty nine year journey I’ve shared with Paper Tiger Edinburgh. When I talk about Paper Tiger, it is very important to me to honour the original vision of our founder, John Johnson. John was a retail pioneer; he established the Studio One Shop in the West End in 1966, and later created Paper Tiger in 1981. During an intense period of retail creativity, John opened cook shops, upholsterers, furniture shops, galleries, and even a record shop in St Stephen Street! A whole array of Edinburgh Originals. He has undoubtedly changed me, and he changed the High Street in Edinburgh, creating a retail legacy that has now lasted for sixty years. I began my time here as a franchisee, working closely with John to grow the business. Since taking over ten years ago, I have been proud to protect those "founding principles" he established: good design sold at sensible prices in stylish shops. In the podcast, I mention that we are "nice people in nice shops, selling nice things made by other nice people, to nice customers who want to give nice things to the nice people in their lives." Nice? "Nice" is a greatly undervalued adjective; it can sound a bit glib, but it is basically true. Maintaining an independent business for over forty five years isn't just about the 'nice things' on the shelves; it is about the hard retail graft and the great people required to stay relevant. As Paper Tiger celebrates its 45th anniversary this summer, I’m immensely proud of how we’ve grown: - Expanding to four physical locations, including our new shops in Morningside (that's John & I outside the shop in 2023) and in Stockbridge. - Building a robust e-commerce presence that ships across the UK. - Continuing our commitment as one of Scotland’s first Living Wage Foundation employers. It is an honour to continue the legacy John started, and a joy to see our original sister business, Studio One Furniture, still trading in Morningside today. In fact, it’s really nice. So is the podcast! You can watch and listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/ebH2E2ns
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Huge news for Paper Tiger! 🐯🏆 We are incredibly proud to announce that Paper Tiger is a Finalist for The Greats Gift Retailer Awards 2026 in the 'Best In-Store Or Window Display' category! The Greats are widely considered the "Oscars" of the UK gift retail sector. While we’ve been around since 1981, this marks our first ever nomination in this specific category - a significant milestone for our wildly independent business. Visual merchandising is the heartbeat of our shops. This achievement is a direct result of our amazing team's dedication. They do it all: ✨ Creating stunning, head-turning window displays. 📦 Planning and developing our unique ranges. 🎨 Designing bespoke posters and point of sale. 🧼 The essential daily work: replenishing shelves and keeping our Edinburgh shops looking beautiful. As a proud real Living Wage employer, seeing our team’s diligence recognised at a national level is truly rewarding. Our displays are designed to do more than sell; they tell stories, support local makers, and inspire everyone who walks through our doors. We also want to say a huge thank you to our suppliers - your collaboration allows our team to create the "fruits" (and right now tomatoes) you see across our social feeds! Congratulations to all our fellow finalists. We look forward to celebrating the best of UK retail at the ceremony in London this May! 🥂 Read more on our blog: https://lnkd.in/exfdHktv #TheGreats2026 #GiftRetail #RetailExcellence #PaperTiger #EdinburghBusiness #VisualMerchandising #IndependentRetail #LivingWage #ShopLocal
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Too beautiful to eat? (Almost!) 🪺 We’ve championed The Chocolate Detective since the very beginning. Founded by the legendary Chantal Coady, these realistic praline eggs are a Paper Tiger customer favourite! 🐯 The eggs look so realistic, they're nestled in cute egg boxes, are wrapped in beautiful Madeleine Floyd illustrations, and they taste spectacular! 😋 I'm buying these for my wife (because I get to share them) and for my Mum this Mother's Day - they’re a delicious blend of art and indulgence. 🥚 Make your Mum’s day - shop The Chocolate Detective collection today! #papertiger #shoppapertiger #mothersday #chocolatedetective
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