The Papernut: Diverse Art

The Paper Nut has been one of my favorite Etsy shops for quite some time.  What first attracted me to Jeanie's art was the fact that she often created pieces feature brown-skinned adults and children.  The art is simultaneously modern and vintage, colorful, and stunning.   I'm excited to share this fabulous company with my readers!

Meet Jeanie:

I'm a mother of 3 sweet and crazy little girls and living with my husband in Spokane Valley, Washington. I'm originally from Provo, Utah, where I earned a BFA in graphic design at Brigham Young University. I started The Paper Nut as an Etsy shop in 2008 while living in Seattle. I have an all-consuming passion for design and a feverish obsession with mid-century modern graphics and illustration. I feed my hunger with a hearty breakfast of Pinterest finds, and sketch new ideas in a dozen or so notebooks tucked around my house. The ratio of work-I-have-actually-created to ideas-I-have is ultra frustrating, but I plunk along as best I can in my cluttered basement workspace. I have ambitions to expand my little art print line, design textiles, and eventually illustrate children's books, but for now things are snail-paced.

What I think sets me apart is my focus on the design world outside of Etsy. I have a fear of ever falling into the trap of just making what will sell or getting too caught up in the Etsy marketplace. I have turned down requests for certain custom designs because they didn't hold true to the overall vision I have. My ultimate goal is to expand The Paper Nut much further than where it is now. I know my customers are attracted to the sophisticated standard I aim for, and ultimately I have landed some licensing work from larger companies like Target and Hallmark. I absolutely love being part of the Etsy community, but I always try to stay aware of the world beyond that.

I think my experience as a professional designer allows me to offer a level of quality that is lacking in a lot of the independent sellers on Etsy (don't get me wrong, I know how many exemplary sellers are on Etsy who I look up to for inspiration and expertise). Besides affecting the actual look of my art, my past professional training has a major impact on my ability to oversee the quality of my products (paper selection, print quality attention to detail) as well as customer service. I have made a lot of mistakes, but I keep striving for a higher level of service. I try to be as hard on myself as I can stand.

Follow Jeanie on Pinterest, and contact her via her Etsy page. 

 

White Sugar, Brown Sugar readers can get 10% off their order by entering TENPERCENT at checkout.