1. Meet the Maker: Jess Weymouth – Illustrator & Watercolor Artist

    Each month, we love to feature an independent maker that you can find on the shelves in-store or online at papersource.com. This month we celebrate Jess Weymouth, the illustrator and watercolor artist who is the maker of the 2024 Flora & Fauna calendar, available in stores and online. Find out more about the influence behind her designs, personal style, and hobbies here.

     

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  2. Card Designer Spotlight: Dear Hancock

    The Card Designer Spotlight is a series featuring independent makers whose greeting cards you can find in Paper Source stores.  Meet and be inspired by a new designer every month on our blog!

    Wendy Mason and Earnest Merritt, wife and husband duo, formed Dear Hancock in 2010 as a way to combine their love of painting, drawing, and paper goods. Dear Hancock’s painterly aesthetics and narrative details represent a mix of nostalgia, humor, and everyday life. Mason’s and Merritt’s art backgrounds are evident in this unique brand, notably in Hancock the Punny Rabbit, a beloved character who is depicted hopping around humorous situations with a steadfast expression.

     

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  3. Card Designer Spotlight: Cards by Allie

    The Card Designer Spotlight is a series featuring independent makers whose greeting cards you can find in Paper Source stores.  Meet and be inspired by a new designer every month on our blog!

     

    Cards By Allie is an ‘unapologetically corny’ and visually appetizing brand that was built on artistic passion, challenging one’s creativity and an expression of our card designer’s punny personality.

    How did you begin your card-making career?

    This story really comes full circle and has a lot to do with Paper Source.

    My adult career started by interning all over New York City. My first internship was down the block from a Paper Source…the first I was ever in! I would walk to and from work and stop in at least once a week just to browse. I would recognize local New York City artists on the shelves with envy.

    Fast forward about 3 years, I graduated college and landed my first full-time corporate job.  Every Holiday season, the company would host an in-house fundraising event. For the event, the creative employees all donated hand-made goods to sell in a ‘market’.  At the time, I was a ‘non-creative’ employee surrounded by a ton of talent! I was insecure that my job title didn’t reflect my artistic passion. I usually sat on the sidelines for these events, but that year decided I would doodle some greeting cards to put in the market. Long story short, the cards were well received by our employees, and I was hand-drawing the same illustrations over and over…and over and over! After that, I posted them on Instagram and people began requesting them in my DM’s. That’s when I realized I might be onto something!

    My mind INSTANTLY went to Paper Source. I knew if I were going to see this through, my goal would be to sell my designs in Paper Source. And that’s just what I did.. Paper Source was Cards By Allie’s first customer!

     

    Where do you draw inspiration from? Food? Pop Culture? Timeless Motifs? Playful Puns?

    Food, obviously. Cards By Allie has a delicious card for every occasion! Additionally, I can’t make a card without a shameless pun. Cards By Allie represents my passion for drawing and my unapologetically corny sense of humor.

    What does your day look like as a card maker and designer?

    Always different!

    Some days are creative. There are tables full of paint, paper, and pens. Late nights drawing and accidentally drinking paint water. Some weeks are intense with busy production lines. When Cards By Allie gets bigger orders, it takes A LOT of work to get them filled. These weeks consist of long hours, cramped hands, and towers of boxes. In between creating and production, I am busy formatting/editing cards, reaching out to customers, filling orders, checking inventory, marketing, bookkeeping, and everything in between! Small business ownership is very BUSY, I have learned so much on this journey.

      

    What is your preferred medium?

    MICRONS! I love to draw with pen. I love to crosshatch and sketch. My comfort zone is in black and white. For the cards, I add watercolor in addition to my pen drawings. The juxtaposition really helps the illustration to pop!

    What does your creative process look like?

    I have a wall of inspiration Post-It’s in my apartment, neatly aligned with very rough silly sketches. Whenever I think of a pun, I write it down. Some days I glance at that wall and come up with an idea on how I want to illustrate a pun. On other days, I’ll scroll through Instagram and see a delicious sandwich, and then soon enough I’m drawing a delicious sandwich! Once the drawing starts, I lose track of time. This piece the process is like therapy! After the drawing is complete, I scan the artwork into the computer and format it for print!

    What are you most proud of as a creator and card maker?

    I am proud of so much. I never imagined I’d be able to achieve building a small business on my own. Looking back, I am so proud I that I didn’t give up because Cards By Allie brings me so much joy. For a very long time, I was scared to peruse art/creativity in a job. I was scared because I thought it would take the magic away and make it too serious. I was afraid of rejection and judgment. Card design gives me a safe space to create. Cards By Allie’s brand identity grants me permission to make bad jokes and silly drawings! I am just so happy I get to draw and that there are people who like what I am making.

    I also recently designed a line of cards with my mom. She illustrated a mini-series for Cards By Allie called “The Masters Series”. I couldn’t be prouder to share these moments with my mom!

    Any personal tidbits? Or special talents/fun facts that you would like to share with us?

    My Cards-By-Allie fun fact: My boyfriend is a Chef and I run every illustration past him before sending them to print. I love to get his feedback on how the food illustrations look, he gives great feedback on color and texture!!

    I would be remiss not to shout out my family and friends here! Building this brand has meant calling in a lot of favors from my loved ones. You all certainly know who you are!!

     

    Find Cards by Allie’s Cannot Resist You Love and Brie Mine Valentine’s Day Card at your local store or online at papersource.com. For more inspiration and behind-the-scenes action, follow @cardsbyallie on IG.

  4. Card Designer Spotlight x Yeppie Paper

    The Card Designer Spotlight is a series featuring independent makers whose greeting cards you can find in Paper Source stores.  Meet and be inspired by a new designer every month on our blog!

    Jim & Jen are the brother-sister duo of Yeppie Paper that took an entrepreneurial leap into the greeting card world. Taking the word ‘Yeppie’ from their South Korean heritage, the brand translates to “cutie paper” which perfectly pairs with their playful card collection.

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  5. Card Designer Spotlight: ILOOTPAPERIE

    The Card Designer Spotlight is a series featuring independent makers whose greeting cards you can find in Paper Source stores.  Meet and be inspired by a new designer every month on our blog!

    Alice and Doris launched their business in 2010 when they took daily inspiration, a punny sense of humor, and their Chinese American heritage to collaborate on designing cheeky greeting cards that share a bit of magic every time you get them in the mail. 

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  6. Card Designer Spotlight: Posterity Paper

    The Card Designer Spotlight is a series featuring independent makers whose greeting cards you can find in Paper Source stores.  Meet and be inspired by a new designer every month on our blog!

    Tiffany wanted to honor her grandmother’s legacy of kindness through cards.  When she couldn’t find the sentiments she wanted to share, Posterity Paper was born.

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  7. Card Designer Spotlight: Nicole Marie Paperie

    The Card Designer Spotlight is a series featuring independent makers whose greeting cards you can find in Paper Source stores.  Meet and be inspired by a new designer every month on our blog!

    Nicole Marie, after becoming obsessed with perfecting her craft as an artist rather than an actor, applied her time and talents to illustration and card design with the goal of helping connect people with one another and creating special moments.

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  8. Meet the Maker Feature: Colleen

    Want to learn more about our whimsical and fun window displays? Meet the Maker and behind-the-scenes creator of our eye-catching displays in the month’s feature. Colleen is not only crafting her career at Paper Source, but also shares her heartfelt hobby with us here: 

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  9. Meet the Creators behind The Human Being Journal

    The Human Being Journal will help you practice mindfulness and achieve your goals through  guided pages that touch on every aspect of your human being. 

    The creators, Sheba and Genevive of Mahara are inspirational leaders in health, body, and mind with fascinating backgrounds. They take wellbeing, rest, and relaxation to a whole new level. Learn more about them here and find their Human Being Journal online and exclusively in-store, only at PS retailers: 

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