Q: What led you to give up your job at an architectural firm and become an entrepreneur?
A: I wanted to get out of corporate America and move back out toward my family.
I worked in publishing and marketing for close to 10 years and did a lot of freelance wedding stuff on the side for friends from college. I didn’t launch my business until May 2008, but this year really kicked up with the wedding stationery. It’s sort of a recession-proof industry. People’s budgets may change, but for the most part, people are always going to be getting married. My parents had owned their own business in Kansas City for 23 years, so entrepreneurship is not new to the family.
Q: What makes your wedding stationery different from others?
A: We offer whatever printing method the bride prefers, with their design.
It’s a hand-done process for the most part. There are some companies that have automated that to a high degree, but most of mine are still hand- or foot-pedal presses. Most of mine is either hand-done or photographic illustration, or we’ll start with a photo and then break it down into layers or into an actual illustration. I’ll source old artwork for people too.
Q: What sparked your interest in fine art, paper and typography — and where do you draw inspiration from?
A: I started at the University of Tulsa with the idea of going into English literature, and took a photo class, which got me into the art building.
Once I was in there it just exploded. Then I studied abroad in Montone, Italy, my sophomore year in college. I lived in a town of 500 people in the hills of central Umbria. It was an amazing experience. I studied drawing, painting and photography where I developed film in the bathtub of my apartment. That cemented my path as far as art was concerned.
Also, I live in a 1930s farmhouse with four acres, two horses and five dogs. I have a really good view of the mountain range, and behind me is about 1,200 acres of uninhabited land. A lot of my designs are nature-inspired or animal-inspired.
Edited for length and clarity by Sara Castellanos.
