The Paper Fold

60:12

Kate Smith of Kate Smith Co.

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Many of us talk for our dog, but for Kate Smith, voicing the thoughts of her French Bulldog Frank became the essence of her wildly popular From Frank range of greeting cards and gifts. She introduced it in 2012, and very quickly she had 11 licensing partnerships, including one with Recycled Greetings, who placed some cards in Target's vaunted card aisles, as well as a book deal. But Kate would learn that marrying your corporate brand to a living breathing creature can be difficult. So she reinvented

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67:16

Keli Spanier of Colette Paperie

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

I often talk about makers who run their businesses with key support or partnerships with relatives, but for Keli Spanier of Colette Paperie, her Mom nurtured her business in a completely different way. While Keli was caring for her Mom as she was battling cancer, Keli saw the cards her Mom was receiving and realized she could do a lot better. Why send a sad card to a sad person? she wondered, and the seeds of Colette Paperie were planted. Later, Keli's inheritance from her Mom enabled her to leave

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67:46

Alice and Doris Lieu of ilootpaperie

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Stationery businesses are uniquely suited to the family operation. Over the years, I've become acquainted with brands comprised of mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, several generations, and, in the case of ilootpaperie, sisters. The lovely & talented design duo that is Alice and Doris Lieu launched their pun-a-rific brand in 2010, and these days you'll find this sister act living together and running their biz from their Pasadena, California, home studio, with key support provided by canine

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66:31

Victoria Venturi of Paper Epiphanies

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

If you think you know stationery, stand the F back, because my guest today will turn all that on its ear. Victoria Venturi has been raising eyebrows since 2014, when Paper Epiphanies was born in 30 square feet of her LA apartment. At that time, people were shocked to see swear words exquisitely letterpressed onto greeting cards — but over time it became crystal clear that this publicist and aspiring comedienne innately understands the dynamic space where vulnerability, authenticity and humor

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65:33

Molly Hatch

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Chances are, you are already smitten with Molly Hatch's work, you may just not know it. Over the past decade or so, the charming wares of this prolific potter have graced over 500 home and gift items created exclusively for Anthropologie. As a result, her distinctive brand — defined by the tagline 'modern heirlooms with everyday charm' —has received star billing on an exquisite retail stage most makers only dream of. But for Molly, the daughter of a organic dairy farmer and a painter, that big break

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44:49

Erika Firm

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

So, you've created an amazing product, but if you've ever wrestled with how to style it, you should have a quick word with my guest today. Erika Firm describes herself as an "artist, surface designer, graphic designer, brand builder, magazine hoarder, kitty squisher, wife, and mother," but that doesn't begin to scratch the broad scope of her experience and expertise. Erika's stationery range, Delphine, differentiated itself from the many other letterpressers at the time by approaching paper as not

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48:47

Lindsay Henry of Inklings Paperie

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Succeeding as a small stationery maker is not easy, but over the last eleven years or so, Lindsay Henry has definitely made it appear that way! She founded Inklings Paperie with the understanding that the bests moments in life happen offscreen, and her tactile, tangible keepsakes surprise and delight as they celebrate life with those we cherish. As such, you never know what unexpected element will appear on her cards: scratch-offs, secret decoders, confetti and even flowers that make opening every

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77:25

Sarah Sloboda of Heirloom General Store

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Creatives have traditionally been told to avoid working with animals and children, but apparently family photographer Sarah Sloboda never heard that! For over 25 years, she has been capturing moments and relationships and distilling them into photographs for posterity. Mary Ellen Mark described her work as "very joyous," but what goes into preserving these moments in film, and then distilling them into stationery? Sarah discusses everything from what makes one photograph more compelling or memorable

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45:51

Lucia Saisse of Lucy Loves Paper

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Lucia Saisse of Lucy Loves Paper is living the stationery version of the American dream. The Rio do Janeiro native opened her Etsy shop in 2013 after her corporate graphic design job went South. Lucia's first personalized offering was wedding invitations bearing the couple's faces, but it was her charming custom portraits that distinguished her talent for capturing likenesses on the sprawling site. This past holiday season, Etsy featured Lucy Loves Paper in its own commercials and emails, and it was

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70:55

Antiquaria’s Emma James & Bailey Rivera

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

A brand doesn't always evolve in a straight line. Just ask Emma James and Bailey Rivera, co-founders of Antiquaria. Over the last decade or so, these two stationery It Girls have maneuvered their brand down a path that from the outside may have appeared somewhat circuitous — but each step was as carefully considered as the charming calligraphy curlicues that are a signature of this exquisite range. Thus the Antiquaria story includes chapters during which the duo generated a fantastic vintage

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41:49

Catherine Hildner of Kitty Meow Boutique

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Stationery is filled with makers who have taken a risk and started their own brands. Catherine Hildner launched Kitty Meow Boutique with the idea that every glam offering she puts out into the world, be it card, coaster or pencil, should make others feel special. Divided into witty and sweet offerings, the look is posh and the vibe is smart in every sense of the word. Unlike most makers, Catherine also sees her brand as a catalyst to help others take similar risks. Catherine offers various

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62:25

Jill DiNicolantonio of Parse & Parcel

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

If you create any conceivable item using paper, and are not yet taking advantage of Parse & Parcel, you're not accessing the "super power of print design." For years now, Jill DiNicolantonio has worked with clients to elevate creations from acceptable to awesome at Millcraft, a paper merchant not unlike Dunder Mifflin — except instead of being in Scranton, it's in Cleveland. Drawing on those experiences, she's distilled her expertise into several exquisite tools to serve as design wing men on one's

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45:36

Amy Loewenberg of NY NOW

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

If you're anything like me, most of your visual stimulation these days is limited to your house, your neighborhood and whatever it is you're looking at on various screens. Hopefully Instagram figures in there somewhere, but if you are not following @amy.atnynow, the riveting feed of my guest today, Amy Loewenberg, Relations & Partnership Development Manager for NY NOW, you are not doing that platform correctly! You never know what fantastic shop in and around New York City and its environs that Amy

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54:30

Joanna Alberti of PhiloSophie's

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

For every Mary Engelbreit or Anna Bond, there are hundreds of smaller makers who are not only sustaining themselves by staying small, but wearing it as a badge of honor — no household name required. Joanna Alberti of PhiloSophie's got a huge boost early in her career, in 2005, when she was named one of Business Week's Top Five Entrepreneurs Under 25. That same year, she and her cards literally put themselves on the industry map with their catwalk debut at the LOUIE Awards gala, held at Manhattan's

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59:18

Suzanna Loesch of Mockingbird Paperie

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Most retailers have had a difficult 2020, but for Suzanne Loesch, owner of Mockingbird Paperie in Ithaca, New York, her summer of 2019 featured a terrifying, headline-grabbing troll attack that plunged her life and business into a waking nightmare. It all began when a customer took a photograph of a few of Suzanne's greeting card offerings, a series of Sapling Press letterpress cards designed to play on political humor. The customer posted the image along with her store's information on a Pro-Trump

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48:19

Leslie Moak Murray of Murray's Law

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

While you may not immediately recognize the name of my guest today — Leslie Moak Murray — you've likely laughed at her cartoons. Leslie is the creator of Murray's Law, and over the past several decades, her award-winning and prolific body of work has appeared on cards, napkins, note pads, paper plates, newspapers, books — really, anywhere cartoons and jokes can be placed. Leslie's zany humor has repeatedly struck our cultural funny bone in precisely the right spot, as evidenced by the rather

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46:09

Janine Kwoh of Kwohtations

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Every once in a while, a card maker comes along who strikes a cultural chord at exactly the moment it needs to be struck. If I'm lucky enough to spot the range early on, sitting back and watching the world fall in love with it is truly a wonder to behold. I saw this when Emily McDowell and her magnificent empathy cards came on the scene several years back. And now, although 2020 has completely sucked, it's not a complete wash for me as I've stumbled across Janine Kwoh of Kwohtations. Janine's

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57:07

Liz Scott of Troop Lovely Somethings

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Closing a store is incredibly painful, but my guest today, Liz Scott, is here to share that that difficult decision may just be a badge of honor in disguise. Liz was the proud proprietress of the paper & gift shop Lovely Somethings in Bath, Ohio, for several years before closing its doors at the end of 2019. But, her industry story doesn't end there. Freed from a costly lease, she reimagined and reconfigured her business into the Troop Lovely Somethings brand. If there was a course in how to create

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41:24

Pei of The Paper and Craft Pantry

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

Today's a first for TPF, namely, I’m dropping this episode in conjunction with a product drop — but this is no ordinary product. In fact, it’s more of a special project. It’s a collaboration, but it’s not like the ones where you see one brand with a little x between them and whoever they’ve partnered with. Like those, it’s limited edition, but unlike those, it brings nine different makers from all over the place together to submit stellar card designs that are unified by colorway and format, as well

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48:17

Jason Arbuckle of J. Falkner

The Paper Fold ·

2021/09/23

International travel may be off the table for now, but for the first episode of our new season, Jason Arbuckle of J. Falkner swings by America to chat from London! J. Falkner may be the only range I've come across that so closely associates itself with a city: in this case, colorful, sunny Palm Beach. Receiving one of these cards is the card equivalent of catching up with a dear friend over cocktails in some glamorous locale. The brand is really a reflection of Jason himself: he's amazingly dapper,

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