{"id":4179,"date":"2025-09-09T09:46:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T09:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/?page_id=4179"},"modified":"2025-12-12T09:59:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T09:59:36","slug":"our-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/?page_id=4179","title":{"rendered":"OUR STORY"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our story, heritage and history<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In August 1991, while Estonia declared the restoration of its independence, history was in motion. That same summer, during a visit to Helsinki, \u00dcleoja found himself \u2014 by pure coincidence \u2014 in the back room of a stamp manufacturing workshop.<\/p>

The stamp-making process reminded him of something very familiar: developing photographs from negatives. In that moment, an idea sparked \u2014 Estonia needs this right now.<\/i><\/i><\/p>

On the spot, a major investment was made. He returned to Tallinn with a full set of stamp-making equipment: machines, inks, UV emulsions, and all the materials needed to begin.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Our very first major client was \u2014 and still remains \u2014 the Estonian government<\/span><\/em>, our longest and most loyal partner. We quickly built a reputation for uncompromising quality and speed. Decades ago, Leopard was the only company in Tallinn that could deliver a stamp or print within one hour of ordering \u2014 and even today, flexibility and fast turnaround remain our hallmarks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Leopard moves to its current location on Roosikrantsi street.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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As digitalisation reshaped the industry, the demand for traditional seals and stamps declined. Leopard responded by investing in digital printing and engraving technologies. This allowed us to serve notaries and professional offices with modern solutions while still maintaining our heritage craftsmanship. We never relied on heavy advertising. Instead, our good reputation, word-of-mouth, and loyal clients sustained us.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The secret to Leopard\u2019s success has always been simple: quality and speed<\/span>. These values, combined with an ability to adapt, have kept us relevant across decades of change.<\/p>

Today, we continue to see growing demand for both heritage products and modern design services. Stamps, seals, and prints may fall quiet from time to time, but they never truly vanish \u2014 they always return. For our design and event ventures, the trajectory is only upward, inspiring us with new opportunities and challenges. We remain open, adaptable, and driven by the same spirit that sparked Leopard\u2019s founding in 1991.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Before founding Leopard, our story began with the remarkable career of a multitalented, self-made man \u2014 Mr \u00dcleoja<\/span>. <\/em>He spent three years at Tallinnfilm<\/i>, Estonia\u2019s oldest surviving film studio, followed by four years at Estonian Television<\/i>. From there, a whirlwind of 25 years at the famously known Eesti Reklaamfilm<\/i> shaped his path, where he worked as Deputy Director. It was through these decades in the film and advertising world that his passion for radically changing and challenging the world of communication was born.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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From the very beginning, work poured in. Clients ranged from small local businesses to the Estonian government itself. The first free elections in Estonia since World War II created enormous demand: stamps for the Constitutional referendum in June and the parliamentary elections in September 1992.<\/p>

Within a year, Leopard was producing over 1,000 stamps per month. Renowned for premium handmade seal and stamp handle quality, Leopard also began exporting stamp heads to Finland, Sweden, and Germany. Leopard was employing eight people at the time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Though digitalisation changed the landscape, the need for stamps and seals never truly disappeared. Institutions like g<\/span>overnment offices, customs, travel companies, medical institutions, notaries, and car repair shops continue to require stamps and seals. Increasingly, private clients seek to elevate their wedding invitations, event branding, and product launches. At the same time, our design and event production services have widen to meet the ever-increasing demand with creativity and precision. Handover of the business within the family during 2017 to 2019 fueled this new approach of speedy development in untouched fields.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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And our story continues as we are going towards the inspiring 2026 ahead.<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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History of the name Leopard<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The search for a name led to Tallinn\u2019s libraries and old heraldic books. It was here that \u00dcleoja discovered something fascinating: Estonia\u2019s national coat of arms \u2014 with its three lions \u2014 could also be interpreted as three leopards.<\/p>

According to heraldic rules, a lion was depicted seated, while a leopard was shown standing or in motion. Leopard in coat of arms also represents business entreprise. The name Leopard<\/i> was chosen for its strength, universality, and ease of translation worldwide. By November 1991, Leopard<\/b><\/span> was registered, and operations began.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Our locations through time<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Leopard\u2019s journey through Tallinn has taken us to several remarkable addresses, each marking a chapter in our growth.<\/p>

Our very first home was Raekoja Plats 15<\/b><\/span>, in the heart of Tallinn\u2019s Old Town, where we shared premises with Reklaamfilm. The first stamp forms were hand-engraved by former Reklaamfilm employees, whose craftsmanship and photo-negative expertise laid the foundation for Leopard\u2019s reputation in quality.<\/p>

From there, we made a brief stop at Rataskaevu Street<\/b><\/span> during the early years of rapid growth, before moving to M\u00fc\u00fcrivahe Street 17<\/b><\/span>. Here, operations expanded across three floors with a dedicated team of eight, and Leopard thrived for a full decade.<\/p>

Since 2001, our home has been Roosikrantsi Street<\/b><\/span> \u2014 a historic building designed in 1911 by renowned architects Armas Lindgren and Wivi L\u00f6nn for the Head of State of the Republic of Estonia, Friedrich Akel. More than just a location, it is a patriotic address that we still proudly call home today.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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CASE LENNART MERI<\/b><\/p>

Read about our this case soon.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Our story, heritage and history 1991 In August 1991, while Estonia declared the restoration of its independence, history was in motion. That same summer, during a visit to Helsinki, \u00dcleoja found himself \u2014 by pure coincidence \u2014 in the back room of a stamp manufacturing workshop. The stamp-making process reminded him of something very familiar: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4179","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4179"}],"version-history":[{"count":64,"href":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4335,"href":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4179\/revisions\/4335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leopard.fi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}