About Us

Who We Are

Discover how a diverse team with a shared passion for creativity and kindness revolutionised personalised gifting.

Wunderstar was created in April 2022 by a group of individuals, each having a unique skill set, with the aim to make Wunderstar into the most innovative and loved personalised gift brand on the planet. A very big aim but we wanted to shoot for the “stars”! 

We don’t come from a traditional gift industry background so we see things very differently. Our base skills are in interior design, building websites, graphic design and delivering a great customer experience. We’re unusual in that our aim isn’t driven solely by commercial success; we are all driven to work in an environment that spreads positivity, kindness and love.

From this unique starting point we had one simple question to solve...

"How do we create a range of gifts that are truly unique in a market with such a huge range of choice?"

We needed to come up with a range of designs that showed people that their gift was created with thought, imagination and a true understanding what what they loved. This had to be at the very core of everything we do.

We felt the best way to achieve this was to offer the buyer the ability to create their own, personalised designs specifically for the person they wanted to buy for and then offer high quality, beautiful products on which to print the design.

Having come up with our concept we moved to how this would actually work - we had to ensure that our customers were able to create great designs quickly and simply and see the results there and then.

We started to build our website from scratch, despite it being simple idea we needed to create our very own web platform. Our developer set to coding and our small team of designers started to create our unique “Toon style” of people and every breed of dog and cat in the world!

We also started on the creation of the many design templates in which customers can choose to feature the wonderful “Toon” pets and people in. This then led to the light bulb moment for our brand...

Wonderful and thoughtful designs featuring our unique “Toon” people and pets as the “Stars” ...our name was born...so after thousands of working hours, lots of laughs, a few tears and the occasional hug we’re very proud to present to you...“WUNDERSTAR”!

Happiness Over Profits

Learn how Wunderstar prioritises joy and positivity, aiming to make a meaningful impact on people's lives through heartfelt, personalised gifts.

When we started Wunderstar a big ambition was for it to be more than just a business. We had all experienced high levels of stress and negativity in our careers over the years, with Wunderstar we want to be part of something that has a positive impact on people’s lives. This would make us feel good about what we do and have a genuine pride in that we’re making people feel happy and loved.

One of our first orders was for a framed picture of four Collie dogs which was a gift from a daughter to her father. Three of the four dogs were no longer alive having been family pets over the years with the fourth dog being their current pet.

He was a typical proud Yorkshire man who while being a very loving Dad showed little emotion on the surface. The family videoed him opening his present and were delighted to see the tough, no nonsense Dad really touched by the image of his much loved dogs all in one picture simply saying “he’d got them all back”!

Needless to say his wife’s favourite picture over the fireplace was soon swapped with his pride and joy - the picture of his of his family dogs over the years and the happy memories they represent. Seeing the video made us all feel we’d played a small part of this joy and it was a great feeling!

Spreading Love and Positivity

Discover how Wunderstar gives back, donating 10% of profits to support local shelters and to fight Parkinson’s disease, making a positive impact on our communities.

We also wanted to put ourselves in a position where we can give back to the good causes that have had a positive impact on our lives over the years. With this in mind we all agreed that we would give away 10% of profit to a good cause chosen by ourselves.

For 2024 we’ve selected two good causes...

The first is the “The Ark” which is a dog and cat shelter close to where we live in the beautiful Derbyshire Dales. They do an incredible job of providing shelter to dogs and cats for rescue and rehoming.

We very much hope to be hope to provide the team with a big cheque at the end of the year and then witness the money being put to great use throughout next year. We’ve pledged a minimum of £500 but very much hope to be able to give much more!

Ashbourne Animal Welfare

Charity No. 1014249
https://ashbourneanimalwelfare.org/donations

Our second beneficiary is Parkinson’s UK which is a cause very close to hearts with one of team losing his Dad recently from this terrible disease, again we aim to be able to send a nice big cheque to them at the end of the year and have pledged a minimum of £500, with your help we can achieve a lot, lot more!

Parkinson's UK

Registered charity in England and Wales (258197) and in Scotland (SC037554)
https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/donate

Keeping our world wonderful!

Wunderstar is committed to protecting our planet by using local suppliers, sustainable materials and ensuring all products and packaging are eco-friendly.

It’s vital for us to be kind to our planet and this means a lot to us all so we sat down as a team and set ourselves a set of eco-friendly rules to help us protect our wonderful world!

Rule 1 - Only using British based suppliers

To reduce air miles all our products are shipped from the UK direct to your home bringing products closer to you and thus significantly reducing our carbon emissions.

Rule 2 - Using sustainably sourced wood and paper only

The wood and paper used in all our products is sourced from sustainably managed forests that specifically meet the needs of wildlife and support the livelihoods of local people.

Rule 3 - We want to be plastic-free where ever possible

Due to the huge amount of time it takes for plastics to biodegrade, we aim to avoid using them in our products wherever possible. Where this isn’t practicable, we aim to use environmentally friendly plastics, such as biodegradable OPP bags as well as plastic bags and bubble wrap that can be recycled at special collection points.

Rule 4 - Only using suppliers that are environmentally responsible

We source suppliers that actively strive to reduce their own impact on the planet, listed below are some of the innovations from our chosen suppliers...

• Saving water in all our print facilities with the installation of tap aerators
• Not allowing the use of single-use plastic water bottles on-site by ensuring easy access to tap water for refilling reusable bottles
• The installation of water-saving devices in all of our toilet cisterns to help conserve more water 
• The use of movement-detector LED lighting to help reduce and optimise our electricity consumption.
• Installation of solar panels to minimise the amount of energy taken from the grid
• Implementation of recycling processes to dramatically reduce waste including the use of balers for recyclable waste compaction and for non-recyclable waste to be compacted and collected by a certificated refuse agent for responsible disposing
• As a minimum, all of our suppliers must provide traceability for all core raw materials.

Rule 5 - Only using products and packaging that are environmentally responsible

• All our paper products and packaging are made using pulp sourced from sustainably managed forests wherever practically possible. 
• We don’t allow the use of solvent inks in any of our prints
• We only allow the use of neo pigment or eco solvent inks in our prints
• We will not allow the use of plastic cling film in our packaging and we prototyping eco- friendly alternatives to bubble wrap.

NB: All our suppliers are ISO 14001, ISO 24000 or ISO 26000 compliant

A Promise We Keep

We ensure respect for everyone and prioritise partners using renewable energy and strict labor practices.

We believe in treating everyone associated with our business - customers, direct employees, and third-party workers - as we would wish to be treated ourselves. This guiding principle influences every decision we make, particularly when it comes to choosing our suppliers.

We rigorously screen our suppliers to ensure they meet strict standards for fair labor practices and sustainability. Our partnerships are only formed with suppliers who demonstrate conscientiousness and kindness, ensuring that their values align with ours.

Additionally, we prioritise working with companies that opt for renewable energy sources over conventional grid electricity, furthering our commitment to environmental stewardship.

At a minimum, all of our partners are required to comply with strict regulations against child labor and forced labor. They must also provide full traceability for all essential raw materials, ensuring transparency and accountability in our supply chain.