The story of Alison Fargason and Mattye Woodcock began just like any other modern friendship fairy tale: Mattye sent Alison a DM on Instagram. Their oldest children were still babies, and Mattye came across Alison’s post about an upcoming move to Birmingham. “I messaged Alison to connect because we were both creatives and new moms,” says Mattye. “Then, we ended up in the same small group that fall, and the rest was history!”
Photographs courtesy of Alison Fargason/Wells Lee Paperie
Mattye, born and raised in Houston and a small town in Tennessee, moved to Birmingham—where her dad also lives—after a stint in the Midwest for her first post-college job. “I was transitioning from Indianapolis to Birmingham and met my husband, Woody,” she says. The two got married in 2012 and made their home in the Magic City. At the time, Alison—who graduated with a BFA in graphic design from Auburn in 2010—was still living in North Carolina with her husband, Luke, and working as a design director for a Charlotte-based nonprofit. The Fargasons moved to Birmingham in 2017, and that’s when Mattye saw that fateful Instagram post.
Fast-forward a few years, and the friends now parent six children between them: Mattye has Fox (7), Mae (5), and Hampton (1); Alison is mom to Shiloh (7), Samuel (3), Shepherd (20 months), and a 15-year-old golden retriever “who still thinks she’s the baby of the family,” says Alison. Along with raising their families, the two continued pursuing various creative avenues. “I am a freelance copywriter, illustrator, and co-founder of Namesake Celebrations, a line of high-end, quality keepsakes for baby, child, family, and home,” says Mattye, who has been drawing and writing since childhood. “For as far back as I can remember, I’ve used words and drawings to tell stories and make sense of the world.”
For Alison, the appreciation of her deep design roots came a bit later. “From a young age, my father [an accomplished artist] taught me the principles of design and helped foster a love for art, but it wasn’t until a senior high school art class that I realized how much I enjoyed creating,” she says. “I declared graphic design as my major and never looked back. My education was fine arts-based, very hands-on, with a focus on typography and design principles. Though my passion has always been branding design, I also love bringing strong, creative marketing design to business owners desiring to grow their companies.”
Photographs courtesy of Alison Fargason/Wells Lee Paperie
It’s inevitable that these two, with so much in common, would eventually merge their individual talents. After a decade in the creative industry, in 2022 Alison knew it was time to venture out on her own and formed her graphic design company (alisonfargason.com). Since her third baby was born in summer the same year, Mattye (mattyewoodcock.com)—who designed her family’s Christmas cards alongside a graphic designer friend each year—had found herself drawn to watercolor. “After creating a watercolor invitation for my daughter’s birthday last year, I really wanted to try to watercolor our family Christmas card,” she says. “I worked on a couple designs and thought other people might want them, too. I snapped a few photos to send Alison and see if she’d want to collab on some holiday cards, and she loved the idea. It took some back and forth to figure it out, but we couldn’t let the idea go, and Wells Lee was quickly born from there!” Quick it was, as the two launched Wells Lee Paperie—named after their youngest sons’ middle names—in fall 2023 with a line of custom, classic yet whimsical designs that included gift tags and holiday cards. A bespoke Valentine’s collection followed earlier this year.
On top of their family and freelance responsibilities, Alison and Mattye manage to brainstorm Wells Lee design ideas and often find their visions are already closely aligned. “We’ve always shared similar taste in art and design, so we tend to gravitate toward similar things,” says Mattye. “We have an iPhoto album where we share inspiration, otherwise we just (mostly audio) text ideas. I usually start with the watercolor illustration, and Alison brings it all together with typography and beautiful composition.” Alison draws inspo from all over, including gardening, kids’ art, children’s literature, old books, music, antiques, and interiors, to deliver the final product.
Though both women have (very!) full plates, there are no plans to slow down. “We have lots of fun plans to create meaningful paper goods that you and your family can use for all major holidays,” says Alison. “We’re your go-to gals for celebrations throughout the year.”
To see more, follow Wells Lee Paperie on Instagram (@wellsleepaperie), or visit alisonfargason.com/wellsleepaperie.