Rick Shaefer started out as a fashion photographer when he came to New York right out of art school. The world of pop-ups and paper engineering kind of snuck up on him when he and a set designer friend decided to do some pop-up cards of New York City as a lark. Despite their rather off-handed beginning, the cards became an immediate hit and the two suddenly found themselves in the greeting card business. Over the years the company they started became synonymous with pop-up design, winning Shaefer a slew of industry awards for his whimsical creations.

Shaefer and Leap Year are now partnering to develop an extensive range of new and creative product. “I’m excited about this because I’ll be working on a wide variety of possibilities and concepts beyond just pop-ups. I think we can do some really innovative products together and push the edges a little of what is thought of as the stationery market. This is going to be fun.”