Happy April, friends! A new month is here and we are excited to introduce you to the duo that is Papillon Press. This small biz is operated by a father/daughter team - Vernon Wiering and Madeleine Wiering, and from different parts of the country no less (but we’ll get into that later). Vernon has been a book binder for over 20 years, and got interested in the art of printmaking when he and his wife moved to New Mexico to begin teaching jobs after college. Madeleine was born and they returned to Michigan. With the teaching prospects looking a bit bleak, Vernon decided to pursue bookbinding full time from their home basement.
As a child Madeleine spent a lot of time with dad in the studio collecting scraps and using them to make her own creations. As she got older was was able to help more, she started working side by side with her dad. She worked for him throughout high school learning the trade and says, “Vernon was a great boss; gracious yet particular.” They say that Vernon came up with the name Papillon simply by dreaming about the world, he already had it top of mind, and it just stuck as the company name as the business grew. They launched a website in January of 2019 and say that’s when Papillon was “born to the public.” The pair traveled to expos, began wholesaling, and setting up at craft shows.
Since then, a lot has changed in their lives and within the world. Madeleine was unable to work at her full-time job in the restaurant industry at the start of the pandemic last year, so she poured herself into the business re-doing the website and working on other admin tasks. Due to her taking on these types of tasks, Vernon was able to keep working on the creative spectrum and produced new ideas and designs. Madeline got engaged last summer and relocated to St. Louis, Missouri with her fiancé. Now Madeleine and Vernon do their parts to run the business from separate states. They still chat on the phone almost daily it sounds like in order to make sure all is running smoothly.
Both of them love the hands-on approach to printmaking and have always enjoyed researching the patterns and the history behind them. They say that their most popular item with customers are notebooks (which combine printmaking + binding), linens, and greeting cards. Check their events calendar to see where you might be able to find them popping up next, stop in to our shop, or click the link below to get your very own Papillon Press items!
