Paper Talk

It’s nearly impossible to make paper flowers and not have heard of Lia Griffith, the internationally renowned designer, educator, and author. When we started our crepe paper flower journeys years ago, Lia’s lifestyle website was one of the few that provided paper flower tutorials for crepe paper.

As a leader of the craft industry, Lia’s business model has evolved to a subscription model to provide consistently amazing handmade craft projects for “a handcrafted lifestyle”. She’s partnered with some big brands such as Joann’s and Cricut; she has a line of her own craft tools with Fiskars; and she has her own line of crepe papers, frosted tissue papers, paper flower kits.

In addition to creative projects, Lia’s team consistently pumps out easy, quick, and beautiful paper flower tutorials for beginners and ultimately provides a popular “gateway” into paper flower art for many crafters and artists.

From her studio in Portland, Oregon, Lia’s goal is to teach and help others “find joy in crafting and reopen the door to their creative soul.” Lia’s first paper flower book, “Crepe Paper Flowers: A Beginner’s Guide to Making and Arranging Beautiful Blooms” is now available for sale on her website and on Amazon.

Listen to Lia as she talks with Quynh, Jessie, and Priscilla, about Lia Griffith and her goal to “handcraft your life”! 

You can learn more about Lia and her team by following them on Instagram at @liagriffith, and their website: www.liagriffth.com.

Some of you may not be aware, but Amity Libby of Flower and Jane (formerly Florabeane) was highly involved in The Paper Florist Collective when the idea of organizing an international community of paper florists was in its infancy. At the time, she was known by her maiden name, Amity Beane. Now, she’s more focused on her family and spreading the word of paper floristry in another way and by doing what she does best - teaching. She has built a successful business through her online courses (and fresh flower farming) while living in a small town in Maine.

Listen to Amity as she talks with Quynh, Jessie, and Priscilla, about her recent elopement, her comfort in going Live, and her ambitions to live in Portugal.

Let’s first get to know Amity a bit:

1. Who is Amity Beane/Libby and how did you discover paper floristry? 

My name is Amity Libby. Now, as I got married in May, mom of one, Maine-based global citizen! I discovered this lovely art via the Design Sponge Instagram feed. I fell in love with all the featured artists and soon ordered my own paper to play with! I was about four months pregnant when I started and it was a wonderful way to spend that time. 

2. How did you find your branding style? How has your brand and style evolved to what it is today?

I’ve been playing with branding styles since I started my first business in the seventh grade (Ami-Tees, tie-dyed shirts). It’s always been fun for me to think of names, slogans, and what fonts go with what. I’m a bit of a style stickler, years of teaching yearbook. I studied book arts in college, at UMaine Machias, and even owned my own Kelsey Excelsior press at one point. When it came to Florabeane, I wanted my brand to be strong, minimal, and natural. I’m toying with a change of name this year to recognize I’m no longer the Beane in Florabeane. I’m also not just a paper florist. My flower farm grows year by year!

3. What are some of the challenges you've faced during your paper florist career?

Well, there are certainly many things others have helped me overcome. Tiffanie Turner was instrumental in encouraging me to get work into a gallery and kind of coached me through the process last year. It was a challenge for me to take that step and she helped! Finding space and time to work are challenges for me. I’ve been so so fortunate to have the support of patrons through my studio subscription. I was able to rent a church last year and this year I’m in a tiny room but it’s all mine and has air conditioning. And now we have daycare! My daughter has a wonderful daycare she attends that allows me to actually work in long spurts of time. 

4. How have you made your paper flower voice stand out in the crowd?

Teaching others is the way people get to know me and my work. I think creative people gravitate towards my coloration processes and all my little hacks for doing things, developed because I never had enough time before when my daughter was a baby. People remark on the realism of my paper sculptures. That’s always been my goal.

5. How would you define your customer base?

I have two types of customers. Those that collect beautiful things and those that make beautiful things. My collectors have a clear profile. They are all go-getters who purchase my work to elevate their own environments or businesses. My makers are a little different. They are eager to learn, and they are visual learners. They want to see it and do it!! Often they come to the craft for a special occasion (like a wedding or a party) and they get hooked.

There are more men involved - yes, guys make flowers and good ones! And I have a huge diversity of nationalities who learn from me which makes me so happy. It feels like we are one big global group of makers. My biggest joy is hearing from a maker that something I shared with them allowed them to have a breakthrough. That right there motivates me. I just had an artist message me that she had a very successful weekend of sales. She said it had everything to do with the confidence she had gained after taking my master class. I mean, does it get any better to hear that? 

6. What advice would you give to a paper florist that is starting out today? And one that is about to give up?

If you are just starting out, remember to make twelve of a thing to really get the knack for it. Don’t make one rose, make twelve. You’ll see such a difference by the end. As for one about to give up? Hey, sometimes you need to pivot. You’re not giving up your creativity, you’re just putting down the scissors for a spell. Be still, and make room for the new things coming your way. It’s okay to quit.

7. Do you have any paper flower making tips to share with our listeners? 

Use a stapler to keep paper in place when you batch cut. Use a baking sheet to cut and organize your projects. It keeps things tidy and you can stack them. To really sculpt petals, use a painter’s paddle to smear the thinnest layer of glue over the petals and wait for it to tack up before manipulation into a final shape. And above all else ventilate your workspace and take care when using colorants.

8. What would you say is your signature flower?

I just love seeing the ranunculus from Pure Romance Studio Florabeane out in the world. I see it and instantly recognize it as my design. I can’t say that about all of my other flowers, a rose looks like a rose, so let’s say the ranunculus is it!

9. Do you have a favorite tool you use on a daily basis?

My brain. It helps me know when to say no and when to say yes. My heart would have me say yes to everything. But I trust and love my brain and it comes up with some great ideas in this business.

10. Anything else that you’d like us to know about you?

I’d love to know from your listeners what they would like to learn more about - feedback, it’s so important!

Want to learn more about Amity? Follow her on her social media:

WEBSITE | www.flowerandjane.com

INSTAGRAM | @flowerandjane

Most of you know Kate Alarcon’s work through her IG account, @cobralilyshop, and her unique paper flower tutorials on Design*Sponge. This week, we are sitting with our friend to discuss her art and her forthcoming paper flower book, Uncommon Paper Flowers: Extraordinary Botanicals and How to Create Them, now available for purchase and to be released October 15, 2019.

Listen to Kate as she talks with Quynh, Jessie, and Priscilla, about her paper flower art and her book.

Let’s get to know Kate a little bit first:

1.  Who is Kate Alarcon?

I'm a paper artist, plant geek, and mom/dog mom.

2.  What are some of the challenges you've faced during your paper florist career?

Besides some intense health stuff in the last few years, the challenges for me are probably the challenges we all face. On the business side of things, it's tough not knowing what's coming down the pike: what opportunities will arise that I feel I can't turn down but will require me to drop everything so I can do an impossible amount of work for outcomes I can't fully predict in advance? (I bet most of us have had the experience of turning our lives upside down to do a project that falls through or barely gets promoted.)

How much money is coming in this month (how many pieces will sell?  how full will the workshop be?)  What's my forecast for the next year? The next five years? Will the paper flower trend eventually start to wane, and what will I do then?

On the creative side of things, Instagram is a blessing and a curse. I love the way it connects us and has allowed us to build a community of paper flower artists. It’s been the single biggest factor in helping me establish myself as a flower maker. And I find the process of posting work and getting immediate, measurable feedback very motivating, but at the same time, it's hard not to work specifically toward numbers of likes and comments.

I think doing that makes it harder to develop a very specific voice and easier to get discouraged when something doesn't "hit." More than once, I've felt excited to explore a new idea, posted a pic of my progress, got crickets, and then (unwisely) scrapped the idea. But honestly, that stuff pales in comparison to the pressure of seeing so much unbelievable work just pour out of my phone every single time I check Instagram.

Sometimes it feels like all the ideas have been taken, everyone's better than me, and there just isn't room for or need for my work. I can tell myself all day long that every artist has something unique to offer and I shouldn't compare myself to others, but that pressure and anxiety is real, and it can be really hard to shake.

3.  How have you made your paper flower voice stand out in the crowd?

I think the things that made me stand out initially were topic (unusual plants) and range - I did cacti, succulents, mushrooms, carnivorous plants, fish, etc. I also have a kind of in-betweeny style that is realistic-ish but also stylized.  My flowers are a little bit stripped down to the main idea rather than hyper-realistic.

4.  How would you define your customer base? 

I'd say they're women from their twenties to their sixties who are serious about doing something lovely for themselves. It gives me so much joy to be a part of that. One of my favorite types of customers is the retiree who has spent her whole life juggling stuff and taking care of everyone, and now it's her turn to enjoy the interests and passions that have been on the back burner.

That lady deserves an awesome workshop. There are so many pressures on women not to take time for themselves. To teach someone who has broken through all that (whether we’re talking about childcare or eldercare responsibilities, work crunches, social anxiety, etc, etc.) is an honor. I take that very seriously.

5.  What advice would you give to a paper florist that is starting out today?

Enjoy the beginning! Hitting my first hundred followers was every bit if not more exciting than hitting 10k. Getting a like from a flower maker I looked up to. Getting my first repost, getting my first order. Don't wait to feel like a serious, established flower maker before you can be proud of yourself and savor what you've accomplished. In the beginning, there’s a lot more freedom to make whatever you want, and that is precious and will likely diminish over time as you start needing to make specific flowers for specific jobs.

6.  And one that is about to give up?

 I feel really strongly about this: it's ok to quit! Making the decision to quit can be harder and braver than hanging in there when something is not working.  It's ok to walk away and try something brand new - maybe paper flowers have helped you build skills and self-knowledge that will set you up for your next big adventure. But there can also be different levels of quitting - do you need to quit wholesaling?

Teaching in person? Posting to Instagram? Trying to rely on your business for a full-time income? Trying to make money at this at all? Are there parts you still like? Is there a way to nurture that without hanging on to every part of running a paper florist business? What if you took a break and just sort of sat with the question?

Let's be real, trying to do any kind of handmade business involves some serious downsides - working alone a lot of the time, not knowing what your income is going to be, having projects and supplies and equipment all over your living space, worrying about hurting your hands, often terrible hours, the kind of feast and famine thing that happens with creative businesses that makes work/life balance tough, a broader cultural attitude that we should happily work for free for "exposure," not having employer-provided health insurance or retirement plan, not having a clear path to advancement. I wish we could talk about that stuff more honestly rather than squelching it with "don't quit your daydreams"-style boosterism.

But sometimes the desire to quit can be a passing mood that’s tied up with insecurity and discouragement. When I feel like the world does not need my art, and I should just stop because it isn't a good fit any more blah blah blah, I try to ask myself whether I would be feeling all this if I had a REALLY good day on Instagram. You know those days where everyone gets what you were trying to do right away and is blown away and happy for you and the likes just keep rolling in? Usually, the answer is, if I had a day like that, I’d be in a completely different headspace. I’d feel happy with my work and confident as an artist. That helps me see the bigger picture a little better.

7.  Do you have any paper flower making tips to share with our listeners?  

 If you use a bone folder and a ruler to score crepe across the grain and then fold along that score line, you get a nice crisp fold. I discovered that while making a cactus, and it has served me well!

8.  Do you have a favorite tool you use on a daily basis?

I love my awl!

Kate’s book, Uncommon Paper Flowers: Extraordinary Botanicals and How to Craft Them, is now on sale!

Presale on Amazon

Presale on Barnes and Noble

Presale on Waterstones

Presale on Indiebound

This week, we get to know Stine Evensen, the artist behind the IG account, @tabletakes!

With only watercolour paper and paint, Stine is able to create these wonderfully intricate wildflowers and common flowers that she sees every day around her surroundings. Her IG account is filled with bright and beautifully photographed images of her creations. She was a bit of a mystery to us as she seldom (if ever) shares much of her personal self on social media so it was a joy to finally meet her face to face (albeit virtually) and get a chance to hear her talk about herself and her art.

Read and listen to Stine as she talks with Quynh, Jessie, and Priscilla, about her process, her inspiration, and her art.

Let’s get to know Stine a little bit first:

1. Stine, tell us a bit about your paper flower business.

I make wildflowers based on plants I find growing freely in my neighborhood. If I’m traveling, I photograph plants and make them later. If someone needs a specific flower, I love making that too, and I even enjoy coming up with the occasional fictional flower.

2. How would you describe your paper flowers and/or your aesthetic?

The flowers I make are made from watercolor paper and watercolors. Give me some floral tape and some metal tread - and I would have no idea what to do with it! I really like Tiffany Turner’s book and to see what crepe paper- or other paper florists do, but I’ve never followed a tutorial. I like to come up with my own ways. Just like with cooking. It means we sometimes eat failed food, but usually, it works out fine. I also have fun with expanding the field a little, for example by making lichen growing on small paper stones; they are simple, everyday objects that feel magical when you look closely.

3. What do you find the most challenging and rewarding about having a paper flower business?

What I love most is how this practice has put me in contact with all these fantastic makers and flower lovers out there. The continuous search for new flowers has also made me feel at home in my own city. Now I know all these hidden corners of green treasures. Designing standardized objects and approaching markets outside of my circle of friends and family is challenging. Working with the display is also not a favorite thing of mine, but I make a lot of self-standing flowers- and stone objects. They can sit on their own on a desk or a shelf.

4. What advice would you give to new paper flower artists?

Work from real models whenever you can, even when realism isn’t your main goal. It’s such a rewarding task to highlight our immediate, natural environment.

5. What’s one tool you unexpectedly fell in love with and now use regularly?

What I like most is that I have so few tools needed. All I use can fit in a small box. That said, they are usually spread out in a big mess.

Want to learn more about Stine? Follow her on her Instagram @tabletakes to continue to see her amazing paper botanical art.

Join us this week as we discuss how we consult with potential clients/brides that approach us for unique commissions. Each of us has varying but extensive experience with wedding inquiries, so we often get questions about how we go about communicating with our clients, what issues to address and confirm during our communications from the initial contact to delivery, and what questions to ask so you don’t get burned.

We all approach our consultations slightly differently, but we all agree that there are a number of topics that must be part of the discussion early on. We hope that our frank conversation in this Episode of Paper Talk will enlighten anyone who has to speak with a client - any type of client - about a commission or sale.