Paper Talk

We chat with Chantal Larocque about how she has become such a successful paper flower artist, and how you can navigate business decisions as well as she has.

How do other paper florists grow their businesses so quickly and so well?

Everyone makes mistakes along the way that you probably don’t see, but the most successful business owners do make the right decisions most of the time. So how do you do that? While each person’s journey is unique, you can learn from other paper florists who have had to make tough choices. Your decisions may differ in details, but the principles behind those choices can guide you.

In our latest episode of Paper Talk we invited Chantal Larocque of Paper and Peony to chat with us about how she has built her thriving business. She’s been making cardstock paper flowers for over a decade now, and looking back you can see how many right decisions she made along the way. 

She shared many stories behind those choices and her best advice for making the right call each time. Listen to the episode to hear everything she had to say. In the meantime, here are a few of the principles that can steer your business down a successful path.

► How to position yourself for commercial work.

► The secret to good photos of your products.

► What a graphic designer can help you create for your branding.

► The process of photographing, writing and publishing a book.

► How to navigate a name change and rebranding successfully.

► BONUS: A sneak peek at Paper to Profit’s chapter about shipping and packaging, including advice on how to protect your products, which extras are worth paying for, how to brand your materials, and more.

Make Changes

Chantal first started selling her flowers under the name Dragonfly Expression. That’s a perfectly lovely name, but when her graphic designer pointed out that it didn’t explain what she did, Chantal felt a name change was in order. 

This was scary! Would Chantal lose clients? Would people like the new name? Would all her work be worth it? Despite her fears, Chantal’s business actually doubled following the name change to Paper and Peony. New opportunities opened up for her, and she was able to grow in ways she hadn’t anticipated. 

Change can be difficult, but if you never change, your business will never grow. Take those leaps of faith. Try something new. Change things up. The worst thing that will happen is that it won’t work and you can try something else. 

You can hear more about how Chantal navigated this big change in the episode.

Say Yes

You should be selective about which projects you take on. You don’t want to burn out or work with a client who treats you poorly. That said, keep an open mind about new opportunities. 

In the episode, Chantal shared several instances about saying yes to something she hadn’t done before. When she was approached to make crepe paper flowers for Canada Post stamps, she didn’t know quite how she’d do it since her medium of choice is cardstock. But she knew that this was an opportunity she couldn’t turn down. She said yes, figured out how to make the flowers, and ended up producing a beautiful series of gardenia stamps that were seen by millions. 

 When you say yes to something that pushes your boundaries, new opportunities will open up. Listen to the podcast to hear about the doors that opened for Chantal, as well as how she decides whether a new project or client is a good fit for her.

Be Generous

In the episode, Chantal and Jessie both shared moments when another paper florist helped them, and how that generous support ended up being crucial to their journey as artists and businesses. 

Our entire reason for starting Paper Talk was to help our community grow and become stronger together. Chantal put it this way:

“That’s what is lovely in the paper flower community, because we can help each other with our designs and sometimes when we have to create new flowers.”

Accept help from others, and be generous yourself. All of us have other people who have made us what we are today. One of the best things about our industry is that it isn’t cutthroat. We help each other, and since a rising tide lifts all boats, we all benefit from our collective generosity. 

Join our weekly meeting on Clubhouse on Thursdays at 7pm PST/10pm EST, and join our Facebook group where you can share, connect, and grow with us. Please also consider supporting us on Patreon for even more great content like this.

Learn about The Wild Mother’s project to commemorate the Greenwood Massacre of 1921 and how you as a floral artist can get involved.

Have you heard of the Greenwood Massacre of 1921? 

If you haven’t, you’re not alone. Quynh, who was raised in Tulsa where it happened, didn’t learn about this tragic event at all while growing up. In short, one of the most thriving black communities in America was decimated. Dozens were killed, hundreds injured, and thousands displaced—but this history has been covered up and denied for a century. 

In our latest episode of Paper Talk we chatted with Lauren and Leah Palmer of The Wild Mother. They are fresh florists in Oklahoma City and have been very busy planning for the centennial commemoration of the Greenwood Massacre. They spoke powerfully about a central tenet of their business: art is medicine. They are working tirelessly to provide healing through their artform, and we are so excited to join in their efforts. 

Many people are coming together through different avenues to support the commemoration of the Greenwood Massacre. We want to harness the power of our paper flower community to help do just that. Here are three ways you can help:

Use #sendflowerstogreenwood

Starting May 10th, The Wild Mother team will start using the hashtag #sendflowerstogreenwood to post pictures of arrangements made specifically to commemorate the Greenwood Massacre. They’ll also be putting up three big installations around Greenwood for the centennial commemoration events, which you can hear all about in the podcast. 

They have invited other artists to use the hashtag alongside them. Join in and show your digital support from May 10th to June 7th by making something for the centennial and posting it online. We can’t wait to see what everyone creates! 

Follow them on Instagram at @thewildmother to see all of their creations for the commemoration.

Make a White Lily

We are calling on paper florists to use our free White Lily Tutorial to make and send a flower for the opening of the Greenwood Rising museum on June 2nd. This is one of the three big installation projects that Lauren and Leah told us about on the podcast. Since it will be indoors, it gives us paper florists the perfect opportunity to contribute with our artform. 

We need the lilies to be as similar as possible, so we ask that you use Quynh’s tutorial. We recommend shipping domestically (U.S.) no later than May 17th, and internationally no later than April 26th. Sign up here to be added to the Facebook group and to get all of the information you’ll need to participate.

Quynh and a small army of paper florists will help to install the lilies onsite before the museum opens. 

Donate

Lauren and Leah estimate that they’ll end up donating $50,000 in time and materials for the three big installations that they’ll be spearheading. They planned on donating their efforts from the very beginning, but they would appreciate financial support from those who are willing to help pay for lodging, food, and materials.

To learn more about what kinds of donations they are looking for, as well as how to send money, visit their #sendflowerstogreenwood FAQ page. Lauren and Leah also talked more about how you can donate in the episode.

We are also raising funds to pay for room/board of the 3 volunteers who will be on the ground installing the white lily memorial installation. You can support our very first Paper Florists Against Racism initiative through our GoFund me Page.

Here’s what you’ll hear when you listen to our conversation:

→ How the florists behind The Wild Mother discovered their passion of healing through art.

→ The history of the Greenwood Massacre of 1921.

→ Why it’s important to create space to remember events like the massacre.

→ The projects, installations, and events that will commemorate the massacre.

→ More details about supporting The Wild Mother’s commemoration work through art, time, or money.

Remember to join our weekly meeting on Clubhouse on Thursdays at 7pm PST/10pm EST, and join our Facebook group where you can share, connect, and grow with us. Please also consider supporting us on Patreon for even more great content like this.

Nora Fradin shares her paper flower journey and how she got the help her business needed to be successful. 

How do you know when your paper flower business needs help? 

Small business owners like ourselves have that entrepreneurial spirit, which is fantastic! We do have to be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that we have to do everything by ourselves, though. 

We’re so used to handling everything, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a boost from others who are a little further along their journey.

In our latest episode of Paper Talk we chatted with Nora Fradin of Lilac and Blush Paper Garden. We got to know Nora at our workshop in Toronto, and through our Paper to Profits online course last year. She talked about the benefits of getting help for her business early on, and it’s been wonderful to be a part of her paper flower journey.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about how Nora knew when she was ready to start a business and how she navigated a name change. She also had lots to say about Paper to Profits from a student’s perspective if you’re still unsure if it’s right for you. Here’s a little taste of what she had to say about getting help for her business.

Accessible Expert Advice

One of the things Nora loved most about Paper to Profits was how easy to understand it was. 

Our online course is bursting with all the information you need to get your creative business up and running. That means that we cover somewhat dry topics like taxes and invoices, but Nora felt that those things were presented in a friendly and digestible way.

“You guys have had all these experiences already, and it’s something that is new to a lot of us. We’re just swimming along, not quite knowing where we’re going. To have experts who can present that information in a way that’s really easy and relatable, but also really helpful and informative, has been really nice. And it definitely lived up to my expectations in terms of comparing it to your Toronto workshop.” 

Useful at Any Stage

Nora signed up for Paper to Profits because she felt ready to take a leap into business. But as she pointed out in the podcast, you don’t have to be at the very beginning of your business journey in order to benefit from our course. 

There are gems of information throughout that will help you no matter how far along you are. Only beginning to think about starting a business? Paper to Profits will help it happen fast! Already been in business a couple years, but you’re struggling with things? We can definitely help!

The breadth of information available means that there’s something in our course for everyone, plus our Mastermind group sessions will give you the opportunity to ask us questions and dive into anything not covered.

 We’ve made some big changes to our online course that will make it even easier to successfully build your creative small business. 

Can you build a successful business when you’re an artist at heart?

Yes! We know you can! You can learn to be an entrepreneur. You can love your job. You can have the right tools.

 How? With Paper to Profits. We’ve put together all of our knowledge about building creative small businesses and made it easy for you to be successful from the very beginning of your business journey. 

 In this latest episode of Paper Talk we talked about the big changes we’ve made to our online course and why you will benefit from it. Listen to the episode to get a sneak peek into the kind of content you can expect from Paper to Profits, plus how to apply for a scholarship.

If you can’t listen right away, here’s a rundown of the changes we’ve implemented—because we’ve had so many questions about what Paper to Profits will look like when the doors open in May.

Learn more efficiently

You won’t find anything else like Paper to Profits out there. We both have six plus years of experience building paper flower businesses, plus backgrounds building other businesses and educational experience in law, finance, and business. And we’ve packaged all of this in one place specific for creative business owners. 

You will save an incredible amount of time by having this info all together and by avoiding issues before they creep up on you unexpectedly.

As Jessie said,

“You can’t Google what you don’t know.” 

Our students last year loved the amount of information they gleaned. That said, it is a lot to take in. We get it. Staring at a computer screen and learning about taxes is not most people’s cup of tea. To make it even easier for you to learn efficiently, we’ve made Paper to Profits more visual and accessible. Our artform is visual, so we understand that taking in a bunch of text is not always easy. Now you can learn easier than ever.

Be accountable and finish

Last year some of our students struggled to finish the course. They didn’t reach the end in time to schedule their mentorship session with us. We loved meeting with our students and troubleshooting problems together. So this go around, we asked ourselves, how can we help more people get through the information and get their business running in high gear sooner?

We decided to scrap the mentorship session at the end and build in accountability throughout Paper to Profits. You’ll have assignments to finish during each chapter, and you’ll submit any questions you have about the section by a certain date. Then we will meet in Mastermind groups to address questions and learn from each other. 

We’re giving you manageable, small deadlines along the way instead of one big one at the end. These will keep you on track and make it easier to finish the course—and ultimately build your business more successfully.

Learn all about intellectual property law with lawyer Bradley P. Hartman, including how creative small business owners can navigate trademarks and copyright. 

Do you understand intellectual property law?

If the answer is no, you’re not alone by any stretch. There’s a reason why lawyers specialize in this particular area of law—it can be really complicated. For artistic souls like us, it can feel overwhelming to just think about copyright or trademark law, let alone try to do anything about it. 

But we’ve got your back! On our latest episode of Paper Talk we chatted with Bradley P. Hartman, an intellectual property and corporate lawyer at Hartman Titus. Besides being very knowledgeable about IP, he was able to explain copyrights and trademarks in a way that is easy to understand and very applicable to creative small business owners like us. 

We can’t possibly summarize all of the amazing information he provided, or explain it as well as he did. You’ll have to listen to the episode to glean all of those insightful details. In the meantime, though, if you feel intimidated about calling up a lawyer for help, Brad talked to us about what to expect when working with a lawyer and how you can make the process as smooth as possible. 

Choose the Right Lawyer

Lawyers specialize in different areas of law. Search for someone who is an expert in the field that you need—for copyrights and trademarks, that’s going to be an intellectual property lawyer. There are websites out there that will let you search by specialty.

Another thing to consider is location. Most intellectual property law and filing is done on a federal level. That means that an IP lawyer from any state can help you register trademarks, help you understand your legal options, etc. If you do end up filing a lawsuit because of copyright infringement or if you are writing up contracts, you will want a lawyer who is local to the applicable location. They will best know the intricacies of local law and be better able to help you. 

When you call up a lawyer’s office for the first time, they will also make sure that they are a good fit for you. A secretary, paralegal, or sometimes the lawyer themselves will ask for some basic information—what your issue is, who the other party is, etc. They’ll check for conflicts of interest and will let you know if you should find a different lawyer. Don’t worry—they legally have to keep any information you provide confidential.

Understand the Cost

Right up front, make sure you know what a lawyer charges for an initial consultation. Some, like Brad, provide a free consultation. He’ll listen and determine if it’s something that he can help with before charging anything. Some lawyers will do these consultations for a flat fee and a block of time. Ask up front what they charge for the initial consultation.

After the initial consultation, lawyers charge in different ways. Some will provide a flat fee for a certain service. Others will give a ballpark number. Some will only quote an hourly rate. Before signing on as a client, make sure you understand how they charge.

Many lawyers are also willing to work with you on the cost issue. You can ask them what you can do to make things more affordable—for example, if you provide very clear evidence up front of a copyright infringement so that a lawyer doesn’t have to spend time digging through someone’s website. You can also ask about putting a cap on the total cost. Once the lawyer reaches that dollar amount, they will stop and let you know.  

Be Prepared

This is Brad’s advice:

“The most important thing when you finally do talk to a lawyer is to be prepared. Go to the meeting knowing what is the information that’s important to share, what is it that you’re concerned with, and what is it that you want to accomplish.” 

Because lawyers usually charge by the hour, you don’t want to eat into your time with them by getting off track or providing information that isn’t useful. If you go off on a tangent about how you started your business, you’ll literally end up paying for it in the end. Save that stuff for your Instagram followers. Have everything ready to go before meeting with your lawyer and be succinct. 

Now for the nitty gritty details about intellectual property, listen now to the podcast. Our discussion was absolutely jam packed with information that will help you navigate IP. Seriously, your business needs this IP 101 crash course. 

Here’s what you’ll hear when you listen to our conversation:

What copyright and trademarks are.

How to protect your tutorials and workshop materials from being resold.

When to use copyright or trademark symbols.

How and when to register copyright and trademarks.

What you should do to protect your intellectual property internationally.

Advice on choosing a name that can be easily defended legally if needed.

Bonus tips from Paper to Profits about Instagram and shadowbanning.

To make things even better, you can join us and Brad on Clubhouse to ask questions and get even more amazing advice on March 25 at 7pm PST/10pm EST. You won’t want to miss out!

Also remember to join our Facebook group where you can share, connect, and grow with us, and please consider supporting us on Patreon for even more great content like this.