I'm back!

Gilbert and me with his handmade Easter balloon

Anyone who has kids knows that the transition to parenthood is quite something: lots of intense emotions (deep love, tremendous excitement, anxiety), a whole lot of sleep deprivation, a radical shifting of priorities, a steep learning curve regarding your new role and pertaining to the baby's behaviour, health, nutrition and development, and a new set of challenges with regard to time-management and organisation, baby-proofing, etc. etc. etc. I'm still in the midst of all this, of course, and I'll never cease to learn, but I've also somewhat gotten used to the fact that there's this new person in my household now, have developed a wee bit of a routine, and carved out chunks of time to dedicate to Paper Turns again. In other words: I'm back!

 








What's new? I'm working on a few new designs, but I'm also getting ready for Mother's Day, and with that, my first craft show of the year. I look forward to returning to the Spring Artisans' Market at SickKids Hospital; my fourth one - it's that great a market! Come and visit me on Friday, May 11, 10 am - 5 pm in the SickKids Atrium at 170 Elizabeth Street, Toronto.

I've also been working on a few special commissions. For example, a grandma-to-be contacted me recently with the request for a woodland-animal-themed card for her first grandson. I played around with a few of the animals she suggested, including owls, rabbits and bears. You can see both one of the drafts (on uncut card stock), and the version she ended up ordering. I really love creative challenges like that, and I'm excited to work on the next ones, which I'll show you in June. 

 

Finally, I've joined other Canadian Etsy sellers in offering free domestic shipping for part of this month. If you order any of the cards in my Etsy shop to an address within Canada between May 1 and May 14, shipping is on me. You're welcome! Time to celebrate the snail mail revolution.

About those Turns in Paper Turns

Performing with PushPULL Dance in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Photos by Raph Nogal and SVPhototography.ca

Today is World Ballet Day, and numerous ballet companies and aficionados share their passion for dance all day. It seems a fitting occasion to tell you a little more about my own passion for dance, and about how ballet turns inspired Paper Turns. The idea of founding my own greeting card label had been on my mind for quite some time before it became reality in the fall of 2014. Several factors led to it, but the reason it happened then and there, has much to do with a dance company called PushPULL Dance.

I have been dancing since I was eight years old, and it saddened me that after college you were expected to resign yourself to a life of drop-in classes with an ever-changing roster of students and instructors, if you wanted to keep dancing but didn't want to do it professionally. What I loved about dance school as a kid and teenager was the build-up to a performance; the fact that you didn't just dance for yourself, but also with your friends, and for the entertainment of others. Part of what allows you to improve in skill and grace is the fact that you can share it with others whom you get to know intimately, and who grow with you and encourage you. This is what's absent from your average drop-in class. Constantly new faces, and you rarely build towards anything let alone something you can share with others. But then I discovered PushPULL Dance, a company of dancing professionals, not professional dancers. Everyone in the company is so passionate about and dedicated to dance that we meet two nights a week to take classes together, improve our technique in numerous styles of dance, develop choreography together, and create an annual show, in which everyone participates. I auditioned for and was accepted into PushPULL Dance in September 2013, and I have just started my fourth season with them. Becoming a member of this amazing company was one of the best things that happened to me since I moved to Toronto. But what does this have to do with greeting cards?

Well, you see, PushPULL Dance is full of incredibly versatile, creative and successful people. The dancers come from all walks of life, and several of them have gone through a number of career changes and down numerous creative avenues. Not that I was looking for a change of career -- I am still very happy as a professor of English literature and cultural studies -- but my professional identity is only part of who I am and what fulfills me creatively. Being surrounded in my dance company by people who are constantly pushing creative boundaries and willing to go the extra mile to achieve something they're passionate about*, made me realise how much I wanted other creative outlets to be part of my life, too. And that's when I knew that it was time to found my card label as soon as my first PushPULL show was in the bag. So I did.

Conceptually, dance has always been an important part of my card making, even when I was still doing it purely recreationally for friends and family. It was, after all, physical movement that allowed me to turn paper into a greeting card as opposed to an academic essay. Bending, creasing, folding, cutting and gluing paper transformed it into shapes that were beautiful to look at. Paper, in this process, is like the twisting, turning, contorting body of a graceful dancer, moulded into whatever shape the choreographer/designer sees fit. Knowing that my creative passions -- dancing, card making, writing -- all came from the same well, it seemed apt to reflect that in the name of my brand. That's how the idea of "Paper Turns" was born.

My dance bag with the little pile of origami paper that always travels with me

While I typically don't create a lot of dance-related cards, my card making and my life as a dancing professional have intersected in two ways. One, I do a lot of origami in the dance studio during rehearsal breaks. If you have ever held one of my cards that feature origami, chances are that the shape was folded while I was sitting on a dance floor and wearing my ballet slippers or jazz oxfords. Two, I occasionally make thank-you cards for dancers or patrons, which I like to connect to our show costumes. Let me show you a few examples.

Thank-you card tied in with the 2015 "The Art of Dreaming" show

In 2015, the company received a generous donation from one of our patrons during the run of our 11th annual show, "The Art of Dreaming". The main characters in this show wore very distinct costume colours, which were also featured on our poster, and many of the choreographies included masks. I subsequently replicated these features on a thank-you card.

Our 12th annual Toronto production, "Can You Keep a Secret?", in 2016, saw my debut as a choreographer. I created a funky ballet to Michael Jackson's song "Bad", which told the story of a number of professionals in a variety of jobs, whose secret to a great work-life balance is dancing. I was really pleased with how the number -- our show opener! -- shaped up. To say thanks to my gorgeous cast who transformed my vision from scribbles on paper to an engaging performance, I made cards featuring their individual costumes.
 

"Who's Bad?" from the show "Can You Keep a Secret?" (2016). Performance photo by SVPhototography.ca

We have just started rehearsals for our 13th annual show, which we will be presenting at the Al Green Theatre in Toronto in June 2017. As always, it will contain a mix of styles (Contemporary, Ballet, Jazz Dance, Hip Hop, Folk Dance, Modern...), and I look forward to choreographing a new number for this show as well. What this show will bring in terms of paper crafting inspiration, we shall see, but I have no doubt, that new dance-inspired cards will emerge as the season progresses. 

If you would like to receive updates about future dance shows I am involved in, I recommend joining the PushPULL Dance mailing list. Happy World Ballet Day!


*In order to get a better understanding of what I mean, check out this Toronto Star article about the costume designer of PushPULL Dance, who is also successfully running her own interior decorating and design business. 

Cards, more cards, and wedding stationery

Just because I love sharing photos from craft shows, here's one from the Spring Artisans' Market at Sick Kids earlier this month.

And now that Mother's Day is behind us, Father's Day around the corner and we're in the midst of wedding season, you can probably guess what sort of cards are currently dominating my work desk. Sneak peak at a work in progress:

A photo posted by Paper Turns (@paperturns) on May 25, 2016 at 2:07pm PDT

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!

I will soon be adding a Wedding tab to this page, where you'll be able to find lots of information regarding wedding stationery offers and custom-design options. If you have any questions about invitations, place cards, thank-you cards, or paper decor in the meantime, please email me at paperturns [at] gmail.com.
 
But now back to work!

Want an awesome and totally unique card? Let me design it for you!

Is there someone in your life who deserves an extra-special card? Maybe your best friend has a big birthday coming up, and you just can't find the perfect card? Or you'd like to give your significant other a card that reflects special memories or particular interests - things that aren't on your average store-bought card, or that you don't know where to look for? Maybe your brother is getting married, and you think he deserves so much more than the cliché wedding card that's available in stores? Or you need to say thank you for something really awesome, and flowers just won't do? Perhaps you're looking for a card with a birthday wish in German, Japanese, or Russian and can't find one where you live? I am here to help!

In addition to the card lines that I sell on Etsy and at craft shows, I create one-of-kind cards for individuals who approach me with special requests. Whether it involves merely making a small change to a card that is already in my shop - altering the colour, size, or text on the cover - or designing a completely new card from scratch, I welcome creative challenges and would be happy to design a card for you.

To give you an idea of the possibilities, let me show you a few examples of custom-design work that I have done in the past. 

1. Birthday card for a young woman

One customer asked me to make a special birthday card for a dear friend who loved bright colours, had just taken up gardening, and was proud of her first home-grown sunflowers. On the basis of this brief, I created origami sunflowers, and played around with my flower-print card stocks and my brightly coloured special papers. Once I had two basic ideas with some additional design options, I sent the following pictures to the customer for feedback. 

The first two basic suggestions to play around with

Finished result 

After emailing back and forth a little bit, and trying out a variety of small changes to the placement of the individual components of the card (always documented by photographs), the customer decided on a final version. I never glue the individual design elements of a customised card until the customer is happy with every small detail and I have received final approval.

Once the customer had approved the ultimate design, everything was glued, and the card was then placed - together with an envelope - in a plastic wrapper and passed on to the customer.    

2. Birthday card for a customer's father

First and final version of the card (before gluing)

When a customer approached me with the request to create a birthday card that would reflect the recipient's interest in playing cards and his love of whiskey, I came up with a card that combined a store-bought set of mini playing cards (from the scrapbooking section) with a whiskey glass and decanter that I made from vellum paper, golden brown layers of washi, and white paper. I placed these elements on textured Japanese card stock in a wood tone to create an overall vintage theme that would correspond to whiskey and aging. Seeing the first version of the card, the customer then expressed interest in an adding a toast to the birthday wish. The photos show the first and the final version of the card.

3. Wedding card for a gay couple

Upon browsing my Fall 2014 collection in search of a wedding card, one customer stumbled over a birthday card that featured a chain of cranes in rainbow colours and decided to request a custom-made wedding card featuring rainbow colours instead of purchasing a more conventional "Congratulations" card. The request also included tying the card to the grooms' interests in musical theatre and dance as well as books and baking, respectively. I was also aware that the couple had a connection to Jane Austen. 

Rainbow-coloured wedding card with ribbon woven through

Following this brief, I created a card that would open in the centre, with a ribbon woven through that could be tied into a bow to close the card. Each side of the card was dedicated to one of the groom's interests. The left side featured a Fosse-inspired bowler hat (card stock & satin) and tap shoes; the latter were made from black craft foam with textured silver foil for the taps and black thread sewn on to create laces. The right side featured a cake (black card stock, white paper & silver foil) as well as a handmade miniature edition of Pride and Prejudice, which contained, in still-legible mini print the first two chapters of Austen's novel. The rainbow backdrop was created with velvety momi paper from Japan.

4. Diwali card set

Set of 6 Diwali cards

The cards I design for religious holidays most often reflect my own Judaeo-Christian cultural roots. That said, I am also always happy to design cards for other religious holidays and cultural festivals.

One customer asked me to create a set of small Diwali cards that would feature a diya, and that could be distributed among friends to wish them "Diwali Mubarak". The customer picked the colour of the card, approved the design of the diya, and then received a whole range of finishing options, some of which are depicted below. I am very pleased with the final result and so were the customer and, as I was told, the recipients of the cards.  

Different design options tried out on the Diwali card before settling on the final version

5. Christmas card set with wishes in German and English

A German customer ordered Christmas cards from my 2014 Holiday Collection but wanted only three of the requested fifteen cards to contain the English Christmas wish, "Merry Christmas". The remaining twelve cards were to feature the same wish in German, "Frohe Weihnachten".

 

Christmas Wreath card set in two languages: English and German

The text says "happy birthday!" in German

Sometimes, custom design is as easy as switching the language! This applies, in fact, to all of my cards. Would you like one of my signature crane cards or any of my other cards with a wish in a language other than English? Let me know!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

You wonder: how do I place an order, how much does it cost, and how long does it take?

If you would like to order a custom-made card, there are several different ways to get in touch:

• Send an email to paperturns AT gmail.com
• Send me a message through this blog (on the right)
• Send me a message through Facebook
• Request a custom order through the Paper Turns Etsy Shop 

Don't worry if you lack ideas for the card. We will work something out together, and I am always happy to provide a range of suggestions.

Even though my customers are receiving unique works of art that are specially designed according to their wishes, the cards are affordable, too. The cost of each individual card depends, obviously, on the materials used and the amount of time involved, but I am very aware that nobody wants to spend $20 on a card. For most of the custom-ordered cards to date, I have charged between $9 and $15 (everything included, except shipping). Small customisations of cards in my regular collection (e.g. mere language changes on text labels) are cheaper, and I also offer discounts on card sets. Once I have rough specifications for a card (size, detail, time frame), I can provide you with a quote. You can pay by credit card (through Etsy), e-transfer (Canada and Europe), cheque (Canada), or cash (Toronto).

The time frame depends primarily on four factors: how early we settle on a design; how much work the individual card details require; whether I have all the requested materials in stock; and how full my work schedule is. The turnaround is usually between 2 and 5 days, but at busy times, it can be 2-3 weeks (or longer if I need to order special supplies). This does not factor in shipping times. I therefore recommend getting in touch as early as possible, especially if you require international shipment.

Do you have any questions that I have not yet answered? If so, please write a comment below or send a message. I look forward to working with you!  

P.S.: I also design wedding invitations! A future blog post will feature this topic. In the meantime, I can provide samples and quotes for invitations upon request.