. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Le Papier Studio. In Vana's words:
SouleMama: What inspired the beginnings of Le Papier Studio?
Vana: My son Nikolas was the inspiration and the reason I started my own business in 2008. I wanted to find an outlet that would allow me to create and be home with him at the same time. I started small and grew my business organically. I started selling things I loved making and soon I discovered there was a market for it. Selling on Etsy helped me be part of a crafty community as well as develop my niche, specialty. As things progressed, so did the business. In 2009 I opened my e-commerse website offering an easier shopping experience for my customers.
SouleMama: Tell us about your background. What path led you to where you are today.
Vana: Being professionally trained as an architect, I have always had an eye for design and artistic things that go together. When it came to using the softwares I currently use for all my illustration work, Architecture school had done all the work for me. So I felt I was ahead in the game.
SouleMama: Tell us about your book Silhouette Art.
Vana: When Chronicle Books approached me to write this book, I jumped to the opportunity. I wanted the book to be a simple yet elegant DIY format which can teach someone the basics of making a silhouette but also a tool so to speak for crafty people. My intention behind the book was simply to give silhouette lovers the opportunity to create modern heirlooms with very little skills required.
SouleMama: How do you manage to find balance between your career and family?
Vana: I am always looking for ways to balance creative work and family. I truly believe taking care of your family and yourself first is the key in order for you to give the best you can to your business and others. Recently I moved my studio outside the home into a physical location. This has helped me tremendously in that I can now separate work time from family time. There are still the occasional nights when I have to work from home but I am happy to say that most of my productive work is done in the studio.
SouleMama: Tell us what you envision and dream for the future of your business.
Vana: It's been a true blessing to see how far Le Papier Studio has gone - from a home based business that started as a hobby to a brand that is growing each day. It is my goal to grow Le Papier Studio to a nationally known brand while still keeping it small enough to it connects with its customers in a deeper and personal level.
For today's giveaway, Le Papier Studio is generously offering the following to TWO winners:
~ a $35 gift certificate to the shop!
In addition, Le Papier Studio is offering Soule Mama readers 15% off all orders through February 15th, 2011. Use the coupon code: SOULEMAMA211 when checking out.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thank you to Le Papier Studio!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8:00am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.
Comments closed! The winners are....
Love the silhouettes!
Posted by: Crafty Farmer
I am in love with those rings!!
Posted by: Kristen Powell
