From Hobby to Paper Flower Business
What started as a simple hobby making paper flowers just for fun slowly grew into a full-time career I never could have planned, but am so grateful for.
When I first started, there was no Pinterest, no Instagram. Just Facebook. I’d post my crafts on my personal feed after work, purely for fun, while I was working full time as a music teacher. I wasn’t building a brand or chasing a business dream yet, I was just creating because it made me happy.
It all began with handmade cards. I used to make them for my boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband 🤍). Eventually, I started adding little paper flowers on top of the cards… and that’s where my first paper flowers started.
Those first paper flowers, I still have them! I think it’s important to see where things begin, so glad I kept them. They weren’t perfect. They weren’t polished. But they were mine.
From there, I experimented with everything, jewelry making, sewing, and all kinds of random crafts. That creative curiosity eventually led me toward weddings as a side hustle. I was at that stage of life where everyone was getting married, and I was planning my own wedding too, so it felt natural to focus there.
My First Big Break: Wholesale & Weddings
One of my proudest moments was landing my first wholesale contract with Anthropologie’s wedding line, BHLDN.
My wedding accessories and paper flowers were sold in their stores across the country, and I made everything by hand in increments thousands at a time. Seeing something I made by hand being sold nationwide was surreal. It was the first time I truly thought, Maybe this could be real.
My Instagram feed was full of bridal accessories I made + paper flowers
Choosing Paper FLOWERS (Again)
After I got married, something shifted. I found myself wanting to simplify and return to what I loved most paper.
There’s something magical about creating something beautiful out of such a humble material. My favorite reaction has always been: “Wait… that’s paper?” Yes. Just cardstock paper.
For a long time, I believed paper couldn’t be “valuable” enough to become a real business. I was wrong.
Companies that believe in my art
Once I fully leaned into paper flowers, opportunities started showing up in the most unexpected ways. I starred in a Michaels commercial. I began working as a content creator, partnering with brands and creating tutorials.
All those years of trying different crafts, sewing, jewelry, DIY projects ended up being an advantage. They made me versatile, adventurous, and confident saying yes to creative opportunities.
Thank you so much Bruno from MPZ Films for this video below about my paper flower journey and of course I got my makeup/hair by my bestie who knew me before this website existed @Sharonypark.
Video by MPZ Films + Makeup/hair Sharonypark
Where my paper flower business is now
Today, my business looks very different than it did at the beginning. I now focus on:
Teaching paper flower workshops
Creating YouTube tutorials
Partnering with brands through paid collaborations
Selling digital paper flower templates
Mentoring creatives through education and community
One of the things I’m most excited about right now is reopening Papertalk Mastermind. My podcast cohosts and I host twice-monthly live calls where we guide artists and entrepreneurs in growing their creative businesses. Inside, I share how to land brand partnerships, how to improve your social media presence, how to build sustainable, full-time income as an artist, and so much more.
If You’re Just Starting…
If you’re at the beginning, posting your work just for fun, unsure if it could ever turn into something more, I hope my story encourages you.
Big creative careers don’t always start with a plan. Sometimes they start with a piece of paper, and the courage to share your work anyway. 🤍
