Hey 2018! After a month off we are so excited to re-start introducing to you to our makers each and every month. We are kicking things off with Ashley Aranda from Papyrusaurus (currently based in Long Island New York)! Ashley is originally from Pennsylvania and has also spent some time in Savannah, Georgia while attending The Savannah College of Art & Design. She's obviously always been the creative type, but adulting and being a mommy to two boys took up a good chunk of her time until one day she sat down and started "tinkering with some paper crafts."
What she came up with that day was a beautiful ornament made from book pages. Ashley really liked it and decided to make more, friends encouraged her to open an Etsy shop, she got an order from a large gallery the second year in, started doing shows, and the rest as they say is history. Ashley says, "I kind of really stumbled into it." We hear from a lot of makers that they start in this unknowing kind of way and love hearing the success stories that come from picking up and doing something that they love and are passionate about! The name of her business came in a random way as well. Ashley and her boy were watching Dinosaur Train (specifically the Dinosaur Alphabet episode), with paper in her hands the name popped into her head as she was signing along.
Some of her favorite parts of having this business are shopping used book stores and flea markets for supplies, and brainstorming new ideas for the holidays! Papyrusaurus is Ashley's "full-time-blood-sweat-and-tears-gig" and we're so happy she does it + sells her amazingly handcrafted items in our shop. They are truly one of a kind! You can shop Papyrusaurus items by stopping in to our shop, visiting her online by clicking below, or following her on social media to find out what show she'll be at next (she does A LOT).
