At Cozy Creative Design, we know what it’s like to be underestimated, overlooked, and invisible.
We live in a world that moves too fast and demands too much—and for those of us who are autistic, that world can feel like a daily test. We’re expected to adapt and to explain everything while trying to hold life together. Responding daily to this challenge creates an inner strength and resilience of caring deeply, navigating hard things, and showing up anyway. Whether it be for family, work, school, or life in general- we honor this spirit in every person that we see it in. Neurotypical or neurodivergent- we see you holding your world and other people’s worlds together!
That’s what inspired our 10 design Paper Tiger Collection.
A Different Perspective- Reimagining the Term “Paper Tiger”
The term paper tiger once meant something that appeared strong but was, underneath it all, weak. We see it differently. (Go figure….:P)
Think about paper—how easily it bends, how sensitive it is to pressure. And then think about origami: with just a few folds, that same fragile paper becomes a crane, a fox, a fortress. The challenges become the folds. The creases shape us. And before long, that paper isn’t fragile anymore—it’s precise, purposeful, and nearly impossible to tear.
That’s the kind of strength we’re talking about.
Paper Tiger isn’t about pretending to be tough. It’s about the strength that comes from caring deeply, navigating hard things, and showing up anyway. It’s about facing overwhelm and still making beauty out of it. It’s about resilience not in spite of our sensitivity—but because of it. Life is often overwhelming for the neurotypical– autistics have the same outside challenges with a constant misunderstanding and expectation in addition to everything else.
Rooted in Our Story, Open to Yours
At Cozy Creative Design, we are autistic designers, thinkers, and creatives. We are building this brand to reflect what we experience every day—a deep need for emotional safety, a sharp sense of the world around us, and a drive to make space for others like us.
Bailey, our dog and brand mascot, represents that safe space. She’s calm, grounding, and absolutely loyal—just like the kind of support we all need in a world that doesn’t always understand us.
Paper Tiger is our fierce side. It honors autistic people who care so much it hurts, who mask and unmask, who script conversations and still show up with full hearts. But it also honors anyone—neurodivergent or not—who lives with that kind of quiet fire.
If you’ve held it together for someone else while falling apart inside…
If you’ve stayed kind in a world that made it feel like weakness…
If you’ve chosen to show up, even when everything in you said hide…
You are filled with this Paper Tiger spirit!
Caring Isn’t Weakness. It’s Evidence of Internal Grit.
Every Paper Tiger design is a visual reminder that there’s power in vulnerability. That empathy is not a flaw. That the folds in our paper aren’t damage—they’re the pattern of something extraordinary being shaped.
We created this collection to speak from the inside. Not as a cause we support from afar, but as people who live this truth.
You don’t need to roar to be powerful. Sometimes caring is the roar.
Why We Chose to Start with Paper Tiger
We hope this post brings clarity to why we chose Paper Tiger as the foundation of our very first designs.
This isn’t just a style choice—it’s a message we believe in with our whole hearts.
If you believe in it too, please help us share it.
Wear it. Gift it. Talk about it.
Your support helps us spread a message that deserves to be seen—and felt.
🛒 Explore the Paper Tiger Collection
📸 Share your story: #PaperTigerStrength
🐾 Stay cozy. Stay strong. We see you- help others see us by sharing this.
— The Cozy Creative Design Team (Our family and Bailey)
Leave a Reply