Rebecca Grant shares how she built an incredibly successful and well-respected wedding planning business, in large part due to networking. Many of us rely on word of mouth to advertise our paper flower businesses. Clients are going to trust a friend’s or event planner’s advice over a random ad any day. But where do you start? How do you connect with people who can recommend your work? In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we talked with Rebecca Grant of New Creations Weddings. She is a very...

Susan Beech shares how she knew that being a paper florist was the right career path for her. Plus, hear about the publishing journey of her new paper flower book.  Do you ever worry that you’re committing time and money to the wrong job?  Even if you know that you love paper flowers, how can you be sure that you’re in the right specialty within our industry?  How can you avoid investing too much in a path that is ultimately a dead end? In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with...

Learn from successful paper florist Eileen Lim about how she transformed from bitter to blooming with happiness by following her why. Do you feel excited to start your day?  Do you look forward to your work? Do you feel fulfilled?  If you answered no to any of those questions, you need to follow your why back to the person you want to be.    In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with Eileen Lim of Miss Petal & Bloom. She was a delightful early guest on this podcast. We...

Jessie and Quynh discuss the various weights of crepe paper, including their strengths and limitations. We share lots of tips for how we use them and how to experiment with crepe.  The world of crepe paper has grown so much in recent years.  Paper florists are being seen and celebrated outside our industry, and supplies are becoming ever more accessible. That includes changes to which crepe paper is available. In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted all about the foundation of our...

Marlena Colazo shares how she learned to create felt flowers when other artists weren’t open to sharing knowledge. Hear how she used personal experience and connected with other industries to grow. How do you learn when no one will talk to you?   How do you build up an industry when no one trusts one another?  In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with Marlena Colazo of Blossoms by Marlena. We are always so struck by her confidence. She shared all about the challenges that have...

Deane Bautista shares her paper flower journey and how the winding path was essential to finding what sparks her creativity and joy. Is it taking longer than expected to find your why?  Is your paper flower business growing more slowly than you’d like?  Do you feel like you’re making too many mistakes? Maybe it’s time to stop and smell the roses. In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we spoke with Deane Bautista of Deaney Weaney Blooms. Her paper flower journey has been a winding path, not...

Learn how Amy McGee has mentored us on our paper flower journeys and helped us refocus why we run creative businesses. Where do you go from here? What’s next for your paper flower business? How do you want to grow? If your mind goes blank or you feel anxious when thinking about these questions, it might be time for an outside perspective.  In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted with Amy McGee of Botanical Brouhaha. She’s been a guest on the podcast before, and she’s been an even...

Learn about The 100 Day Project and how Quynh is participating, plus the strategies that are helping her achieve her goal. How do you stick to a goal and see it through to the end?  It’s really hard! We all want to build new habits and skills, and we all have projects we want to finish.  In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted about how Quynh is participating in The 100 Day Project. It was founded by Lindsay Jean Thomson as a way to commit people to working on a specific project...

How can you stay true to the why behind your art and grow your business at the same time? Janna Willoughby-Lohr chats with us about how she’s done both.  Artists need to eat.  While we create paper flowers because we love our art and touching people’s lives in a unique way, we also have bills to pay. Can you do both? Yes! In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we talked with Janna Willoughby-Lohr of Papercraft Miracles. Starting back in her college days, she set the rules for being an artist...

Juggling multiple brands as a small business owner can be tricky. Listen to how Laura Richey manages marketing, aesthetics, and customer service with her paper art brands. You have a fantastic new paper idea. It’s innovative. People are going to love it.  The only problem? It’s a little off-brand for you. It relates to your paper flower business, but it’s different enough that you’re not sure if you can market it all together.  You might need a brand new brand.  Next problem? How in the...

We chat with Chi-Chi Nnakwe Whitley about her journey from biology to paper flowers and how her unique skills has helped her succeed and build our community. A lawyer, a biologist, and a marketing and finance specialist sit down and talk about… paper flowers? If you’ve been in our community for a while, this won’t sound shocking. But if you’re newer, you might be surprised at just how wide ranging paper florists’ backgrounds can be. While many of our stories about discovering our love of...

Ashley Reagan chats with us about how she finds and chooses which shows to sell her paper flowers and other art at. Learn how to choose the right audience and diversify your income. As this pandemic has stretched on, paper florists and artists like us have had to become more flexible than ever before.  Revenue streams that we relied on have dried up. Guessing what events will look like in a month’s time feels as accurate as guessing what they’ll be like in fifty years.  Now more than ever,...

Learn more about how trying many different things will focus your purpose and bring you happiness on your paper flower journey. Understand the reasons behind your why. What will bring you happiness and fulfillment as a paper florist?   You won’t know until you try it!  In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we discussed the importance of trying new things in order to find your why. Finding your why is the entire focus of Season 5, and we’ll be helping you better understand the purpose in...

We discuss how to find the why behind our creativity and our businesses. Learn how to get back to the joy and fulfillment you first found in paper flowers. Is the joy that you first found in creating paper flowers missing? Does the stress of your business override the fun that you used to have as a paper florist? You need to refocus on your why. For this new season of Paper Talk, we’re getting back to the heart of our purpose: our whys. When you focus on your why, you’ll be happier. You’ll...

We reflect on the past year of the podcast and our paper flower businesses. Learn how we’ll focus on the heart of our craft moving forward, plus what goes into building a successful partnership.

We reflect on the past year of the podcast and our paper flower businesses. Learn how we’ll focus on the heart of our craft moving forward, plus what goes into building a successful partnership. Season 4 is over! We can’t believe it! Thank you to our Patrons who have made it possible for us to keep making this podcast. In our last episode of Season 4, we reflected on what went well and what didn’t last year, as well as what kind of changes we’re planning on making for the podcast and our...

Dive into the details of what it really takes to offer paper flower kits to your customers. We talk packaging, shipping, client expectations, and more.

Dive into the details of what it really takes to offer paper flower kits to your customers. We talk packaging, shipping, client expectations, and more.  Many paper florists end up teaching our craft. People want to know how you created that amazing paper flower! And once you start offering tutorials or classes, you are inevitably going to be asked about where to source our specialized materials like a crepe. One answer to this issue? Offering kits with your tutorials. In our latest episode...

We share our best tips for packaging and branding products and how to safely ship paper flowers. We also check in with a longtime friend of the podcast, Mike Benson.

We share our best tips for packaging and branding products and how to safely ship paper flowers. We also check in with a longtime friend of the podcast, Mike Benson.   As the holidays near, everyone’s got shipping on their minds.    How do you package your paper flowers to withstand being tossed around in the back of a truck? How do you save money on shipping costs? Just how bad are these shipping delays we keep hearing about? In our latest episode of Paper Talk, we chatted about all...

Kristen Kong joins us to share how she launched her YouTube paper flower tutorial channel, and how she creates weekly content to engage followers. Videos are uniquely suited to paper flower tutorials. But they can feel daunting to produce! Where do you start? How do you get views on a platform like YouTube? How do you avoid failing spectacularly?!?

Kristen Kong joins us to share how she launched her YouTube paper flower tutorial channel, and how she creates weekly content to engage followers. Videos are uniquely suited to paper flower tutorials. But they can feel daunting to produce!  Where do you start? How do you get views on a platform like YouTube? How do you avoid failing spectacularly?!? In our latest episode we talked with Kristen Kong of Campbell Workshop. In under a year she opened a shop and started a YouTube channel with a...

Learn how to time a sale, what to offer at a special rate, why newsletter lists are so powerful, and how to promote a sale like Black Friday or other holiday promotions. With a slew of holidays around the corner, we’ve got sales on our minds.

Learn how to time a sale, what to offer at a special rate, why newsletter lists are so powerful, and how to promote a sale like Black Friday or other holiday promotions.   With a slew of holidays around the corner, we’ve got sales on our minds.    People are primed to shop right now. As creative small business owners, days like Black Friday are a fantastic opportunity to promote your products and get a boost in profits before the end of the year.  That said, special sales take planning....

Arlene Rust shares her journey from paper florist to running a brick and mortar shop, plus the benefits and challenges of owning a physical store.