About two months ago as I was logging onto my Etsy account, I saw an eye-catching item on the front page. It was a rose made out of vintage music sheets. It was so incredibly beautiful I just had to take a closer look at the shop.
I was in complete awe of all life like flowers and plants that this amazing artist, Jenny, could create from paper! My favorite item of all, that I hope to make mine one day, is this poppy ring.
I just had to have Jenny as a featured artist, so I contacted her and she has graciously agreed to take part in this month's giveaway which will follow in a few days. Pull up a chair and something warm to drink as you get to know, Jenny of The Crimson Poppy.
Tell us a little about yourself:
the crimson poppy and I have come a long way in the last year. When I remarried in May of 2009, I decided I’d tackle the flowers using the internet as a how-to guide; while searching for instructions, I found kusudama flowers. They made a lovely, whimsical wedding, but I wanted a realistic paper flower how-to.
I still like to play with whimsical flowers for cards and wedding favors, but my passion is hand-crafting incredibly realistic paper flowers.
I love making a connection with my customers, whether we’re finding the right flowers for an arrangement to gift or building a work-of-art bridal bouquet that fulfills dreams held since childhood. The current work-in-progress for tcp is DIY wedding favors and paper flower kits, about which I’m very excited. It’s wonderful to bring a little beauty into someone else’s day!
While I still balance a “day job” with my passion for paper flowers, I’m hoping to change that soon. I can hardly wait to work on all the creative flower ideas I don’t yet have time to develop, and I want the freedom to attend my daughter’s Friday morning school assemblies or have lunch with my husband once in a while. They’re incredibly supportive of all the paper bits throughout our house and the late hours I have to work right now, and I want to be there during the important moments in their lives.
How long have you been creating handmade paper products?
Eighteen months and fourteen days. :D I still have the e-mail I sent myself on April 19, 2009, with a link to kudsudama instructions on foldingtrees.com. I sat down and made my first paper flower that same evening.
What items have you created in the past?
I'm particularly fond of the winter wreath with pine boughs, holly leaves, and pinecones, although I thought I might never finish it! :) Bridal bouquets, cards (which I rarely make any more), and all sorts of gift/custom orders like photo roses, arrangements for special occasions, and holiday decor.
What other items would you like to create?
I'm working on DIY kits that include easy-to-follow instructions with great photos, plus all the materials you need to make the flowers so they'll look just like mine; you'll only need a pair of scissors. They're perfect for today's cost-conscious, handmade-appreciative culture, and I think crafty brides are going to love them.
My biggest goal with the DIY kits is to make them available at cost (or better yet, get them donated) to public schools. So many schools have no budget of art supplies - lots have no art program at all! - and teachers are looking for art projects they can work into curriculum and lead on their own. I love teaching flower-making to elementary school kids and their teachers! :)
I'd love to have time to make new and different things with my paper flowers: mobiles, garlands, more jewelery, hair accessories ... I have all sorts of ideas running through my head, but no time to experiment with them!!
What made you decide to open up a shop?
Lots of flower requests, small-town attitudes about pricing that didn't support the cost of time and materials involved in each bloom, and realizing that I love this so much I want to do it all day, every day. The only way to make that last one happen is to replace the income from my "real" job, so I thought long and hard and decided I loved paper flowers enough to make them a business venture.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I'm an office manager/event planner/administrative specialist at a state university by day. My gorgeous green-eyed, freckle-faced daughter is nine going on twenty-four and lights up my life; my incredibly supportive husband has taken over a big chunk of the household stuff so I can spend weekends and evenings trying to keep up with flower orders.
What first made you want to become an artist?
I was talking to my daughter's art teacher last year and she introduced me to another parent as a paper artist. Until then, the thought had never occurred to me! I admit to an internal struggle about the title; I have a bit of an inferiority complex when I compare myself to "artists" and "cool" artsy people I know, but I'm perfectly comfortable thinking of myself as an artisan. I've always been creative in one form or another.
Please describe your creative process
I don't know that I have one, exactly. I tend to have several projects going at once and whichever grabs me, I obsess over until another distracts me. I have to focus more on organization than creativity so I meet customer deadlines.
Where would you like to be in 10 years?
Paper flowers all day long, with the freedom to adjust my schedule for important things (although I want to be there in a year, before my daughter stops thinking I'm cool) - teaching flower-making classes regularly - book (series?) on how to make paper flowers published
My daughter says she wants to open a "wedding shop" together when she grows up: she'll make cakes with sugar flowers and I'll make paper flowers for the weddings. I like that idea, even if I'm not ready for her to be that grown up! :D
Check back on November 10th for the giveaway!
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