A Chat with Lynx Point Creative Founder, Sarah Jane Starcher Germani

Tell us about Lynx Point Creative - what inspired you to start it?

Lynx Point Creative was founded in 2020 and really grew out of the Covid pandemic. My background is in classical and church music. The performing arts were especially affected because of social distancing. I was very lucky because as a church musician I was still able to work in music playing for livestream Masses. However I still found my creative output greatly curtailed. I went from going into my office at the church nearly every day to only playing for one Sunday Mass. I had always enjoyed doing web and graphic design so I started taking some online courses with my extra time. I have a very entrepreneurial mindset and I thought well I’m pretty good at this - why not start a business. It seemed more stable than the performing arts at the time, especially as web presence was becoming crucial for small businesses.

Where did the name Lynx Point come from?

I wanted a serious name that was also fun. My cat is a Lynx Point Siberian. He and his sister are the most wonderful companions. The Lynx has connotations of being swift, precise, and is a beautiful elegant animal. Lynx Point refers to the markings that lynxs’ and some other felines share, including an M shape on their forehead and little tufts of fur on their ears. They are incredibly poised, elegant animals. Now that I’m pivoting the business away from design projects and into planner design the name is still apt. Felines are known for their remarkable management of energy and time.

"Felines are known for their remarkable management of energy and time."

You bring up the pivot from design to creating a planner. Why the change?

My life changed! I became a mom and in this era of my life it’s very important to me to be as present as possible for my family. I am looking for a better balance that allows me to create high quality, beautiful, useful things but with more control over what that means in the day to day.

So much is digital and app based now. Why a paper planner?

I actually first designed what will now be the Lynx Point Planner back in 2020. I wanted one product to have my weekly and monthly schedule and to keep my running to do list. I tried so many planners, journals, notebooks, Google Calendar, the list goes on. Despite experimenting with both paper and digital, nothing was ever quite right. So I ordered craft supplies and designed the first prototype using  cardboard, binding rings, and tape. I’ve been refining it ever since.

For me, I find digital planners very difficult to use to plan. When I have a paper planner, I sit down, pick up a pen and think “ok here are all the obligations I’ll have for this week, things I have to do for life in general, things I need to do for this business, etc”. But then there is this space where I can sit back and say “what are my goals for this month? What are the things that are really important to me and how am I going to prioritize them?”. That space allows the planning to become about what works best for my priorities. I’m not drawn into checking emails, social media, ordering supplies etc. Paper planning can become self-care. It’s a form of self respect to say to yourself “my time is valuable enough that I am going to buy a special book to organize it and then I’m going to sit down and think through where I am now and where I want to be at the end of this month or week”.

"Investing in something to use daily that will lift your mood and help you achieve your priorities is a beautiful form of self-care."

Have you always had this belief in the power of planners?

No but I’ve always been drawn to attractive stationery products. Growing up I loved going to Staples and looking at the office supplies. Colored pens are something I still have an obsession with. The first time I experienced the power of paper planning was in my freshman year of college. I started studying music at Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins. During orientation classes a professor gave a talk about organizing your schedule to avoid burnout. Music school is very hectic with all the hours of practicing your instrument. I would often practice around six hours per day. Anyway she said to buy the Franklin Covey Planner and write down every single thing for each day at the beginning of the week. I tried it and I couldn’t believe how much I could do when I organized my time. That started my love affair with planners.  I was a Franklin Covey devotee for a few years and then tried several others. The planner in a binder system was hard when I lived in Manhattan and needed to take the subway and taxis everywhere, so I switched to a very minimal Moleskin but then I needed up needing an additional notebook. I tried using calendars on my phone but I always got very distracted and ended up on social media or answering emails. This led to me creating a planner prototype!

I’m very excited for the launch of the first collection of the Lynx Point Planner.  It’s a totally different type of system from anything else currently available. It’s designed to be an all-in-one product created with beautiful high quality materials. I think it will help a lot of people to create an empowering planning routine. Due to the high quality of the materials and the complexity of the product it will be on the higher end of the price range for planners. Keeping it affordable, but at the same time creating something that would be empowering and inspiring to use was important to me. So often women hesitate to spend money on the ordinary things around them that they use every day. I believe you are worthy to surround yourself with beautiful, high-quality things you will use on a daily basis.  Investing in something to use daily that will lift your mood and help you to achieve your priorities is a beautiful form of self-care.

What should we expect in this upcoming launch?

There will be two versions of the 2027 planner. One with a beautiful vegan leather cover and one that will be very on brand for Lynx Point Creative.  Each version of the planner will be a limited edition. Both will have high quality paper and amazing new to market - not available elsewhere features. I also am very excited about the beautiful, high quality box the planner will come in.  It will make a perfect 2027 keepsake box.  The official launch date is October 1. The collection reveal will be early September and there will be an opportunity to preorder for subscribers to the Lynx Point mailing list.