Our paper florist friend from New Zealand, Wendy Anderson, chats with us about building her business with a support network both in person and online.

How do you build a paper flower business all by yourself? 

The answer is, you don’t. Even if you’re the only paper florist in your entire country, you need a support network to help you grow as an artist and a business owner. That’s the entire purpose behind our work with Paper Talk: to share, connect, and grow our paper flower industry no matter where you may be.

Wendy Anderson of Just Imagine knows all about forging a paper flower business without a robust local industry to support her, as she lives in New Zealand without any other known paper florists in sight. But she still doesn’t go it alone! 

In our latest episode of Paper Talk we chatted about how she has built up her virtual, familial, and friend network to support her paper flower journey.

Finding an Online Community

We first met Wendy...

Listen to our guest from the UK, Rosie Wykes, as she discusses her paper flower journey, how she manages clients, and where she sources her crepe.

Our paper flower community truly encompasses the globe, and we love to share, connect, and grow with all of the paper florists out there. 

A huge benefit of gathering together virtually is that we can solve problems. Many of our listeners in the UK have encountered a similar problem: sourcing crepe paper. So when we spoke with paper florist Rosie Wykes of Soul Binding in our latest episode of Paper Talk, we knew we had to ask her where she buys her crepe.

We had so much fun discussing Rosie’s journey from crafting handbags to paper flowers, and getting a peek into how she is building up our industry across the pond. She specializes in weddings, and she had many insights about how to promote a paper floral business in the wedding industry and how to prevent surprises from cropping up while working with clients. We of course...

Our Facebook admin Christina Funderburgh hasn’t been in the paper flower business long, but her artistry and business has taken off at an incredible pace. We chatted with her about how she has grown so successfully, so quickly.

You’ve jumped into the paper flower world. You know that you want to turn this hobby into a business. Where do you start? How long will it take?

Christina Funderburgh proves that you can build up a successful paper flower business without waiting years and years. She has always been a DIY, creative soul, so it felt natural for her to create flowers for her wedding even though the medium of paper was new to her. That was only a couple years ago, and since then her artistry as a paper florist has improved by leaps and bounds. She’s been able to use her artistic background to build her business, Fleur-ish Paper Flowers, into a distinctive brand that we know will only keep growing.

In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with Christina...

Stephen Brooks talks about the many facets of running a paper flower business: how to take great photos, which craft shows to enter, how to trademark your name, and more.

If you’ve been lucky enough to see pictures of Stephen Brooks’ amazing paper roses, you’ll know why we were so excited to have him on the podcast as a guest. We love the aesthetic of his paper flower business, which was strong enough to carry over through a business name change. We’ve been following his work for years now, and he is an admin of our Paper Talk Facebook group. 

In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with Stephen about his recent business name change and the steps he took to trademark that name to avoid legal trouble in the future. This is a topic that we ourselves have wondered about, and hearing how someone else has navigated it was enlightening and encouraging. 

Our conversation also covered many aspects of running a paper flower business, including pricing...

Susan Bonn is an admin for our online group, teaching all of us with her wealth of knowledge about paper flowers. Learn more about how she teaches, calculates prices, and keeps customers happy.

If you’re part of our Paper Talk Facebook group, you’ve heard of Susan Bonn. She runs the monthly Makers Meetings where we join together with paper florists from around the globe to chat, share our projects, and elevate each other's paper flower artistry. 

Susan also facilitates our group’s monthly paper flower challenge. You can take a look at the banner on the Facebook page and see last month’s incredible creations from our members. It’s a stunning and creative lineup! If you can’t tell, we love our group and would love for you to join us.

We’ve loved working with Susan the past couple of years. Besides her stellar work as our Facebook admin, she is an incredible paper florist and teacher. In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with...

Paper florist Sara Kim shares how she makes her brand instantly recognizable on any platform and how she’s successfully transitioned her business over the years.

You know branding is important, but that’s easier said than done. How do some creators make their brand instantly recognizable, even across different platforms: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, everywhere?

Sara Kim of Handmade by Sara Kim is one of those amazing creators whose work you can identify with a glance because of her incredible branding work. In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with her about the winding journey her business has taken and how she’s kept her brand consistent through changes and across platforms. As Sara said, “It’s the little details that no one really notices.”

She had lots more to say on the subject, and you won’t want to miss out on any of her helpful advice for small business owners. Here’s what you’ll learn when you tune...

Listen to mixed-medium artist Ann Wood talk about her international exhibit and how she keeps herself inspired and challenged with her art.

Have you ever found yourself in a creative rut? Found yourself no longer joyful with your work, but simply slogging through? Maybe you’re having difficulty even imagining a different way to do things. Maybe you have a dream to chase, but the risks seem too big.

If that sounds familiar, we have perfect inspiration for you! 

In this episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with Ann Wood of Woodlucker studio. She is the amazing mixed-medium artist behind a plethora of hyperreal insects, feathers, vegetables, fruit, and flowers. These incredible creations have been featured in many publications including Martha Stewart Living, as well as NPR’s Cultivating Place podcast. Her dream to create a massive botanical wall led to her current exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in the Netherlands.

Here’s what you’ll learn...

Although South Korea did not formally implement a lockdown, South Koreans were encouraged to practice physical distancing and to wear masks in public spaces. Most of their economy is back to "normal" and we thought it would be interesting to speak to Jasmine Sing of Merremade about how she went about re-commencing her in-person workshops in South Korea, as it would be equally relevant in other countries once the physical distancing policies start to loosen up.

If you want to know more about Jasmine, be sure to check out Episode 15 where we first spoke to her about the paper flower industry in Asia.

First, let's learn a bit about Jasmine:

1. Tell us about yourself Jasmine!

The Asian with big dreams, and the brain & hands behind Merremade. I am born and raised in Singapore but moved to South Korea 7 years ago. Still trying to learn & adjust to this not-so-new environment. Everyday is an adventure and I have so much I want to achieve. I am usually...

1. Tell us about yourself! Who is Anna Chedid?