Stacey Papp shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Stacey, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Have you ever been glad you didn’t act fast?
Absolutely! I’m a fixer by mature so I’m prone to try to find a solution to something right away but overtime, I’ve learned that most situations (that aren’t life-threatening or dangerous) often work themselves out with a little bit of time, space and stillness. It’s a practice I struggle with everyday. If I can remember to pause in the middle of a situation that looks like it may need a solution and, it often works itself out.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am the owner and creator of Paper Iris, a small business focused on delivering a big of magic, joy and whimsy through hand-designed, artisanal stationery. Over the past three years, my mom who is not only my best friend but also my business partner, have focused on bringing our love of stationery and all things paper to people through intentionally designed notepads, planners, journals, cards and stickers. Our hope is that when you use one of our stationery treasures that it makes you smile, prompts you to take a breath and reminds you that there is beauty in everything. We truly love what we do – the people we have met along the way have been incredibly kind and supportive often turning into friends.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Recently, I found a picture of myself when I was about 3 years old. I was at Sea World (if you know, you know) with my parents and was sitting next to my dad with my mom behind the camera. I had on a little red terrycloth short set and pigtails with white ribbons tied in them. The look on my face was one of complete wonderment…and not because I was seeing some incredibly large sea life for the first time in my life. Reflecting back on that image, I was a child full of wonder and creativity. I was in awe of a lot and was always curious. Not much has changed from 3-year old me but the world has added a different lens to that wonderment and curiosity. I think it’s natural for humans to look at things now and ask themselves, “is there a risk here?” or “what happens if I do this?”. I find myself making small risk assessments here and there which can feel really logical at times but can often steal a bit of that curiosity. I find that especially hard when I sit down to create new stationery designs and remind myself that the only risk in this situation is the one I don’t take.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
This is a really interesting question! Everyone in this life will experience some sort of trauma, wound or upset that impacts them on levels they didn’t expect. That trauma or wound can be small or really big but how we define it is what interests me about this question. By day, I work a corporate marketing job. I love everything about marketing and knew from the moment I attended my first marketing class in college that this was the path for me. Well into my career, I found my unicorn job – I loved everything about it (even the parts that I really didn’t enjoy) and it was special to me. It was the first marketing job I had where I could spread my wings a bit and really dig into the different areas of marketing and how it impacted people. I was there for three years when we were acquired by a larger company. As a result of that merger, our location was closed and about 200 people were without jobs including myself. It really shook my confidence in a lot of a ways and made me hyperaware; I never saw it coming and didn’t know what to expect. It’s been 7 years since that happened and it took me a while to heal my heart – sure, losing the income and health insurance was scary but the hardest thing to reconcile was that I was no longer able to do what I loved with people I really enjoyed. It’s taken a lot of work on my end to realize that life has a path and no matter how you try to anticipate and plan, it doesn’t always work out the way you thought. Starting Paper Iris has been a huge catalyst in healing for me. It’s given me the ability to find the confidence I once had and also taught me that those plans I have often get thrown out the window because something better is just on the horizon. I’ll always be a planner, that’s just my nature but being able to sit down with my iPad and draw, having an idea of what I want the end result to be but maybe not getting there in the way I thought I would has taught me that trusting the journey is the ultimate plan.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
There are two people who really awe me on a daily basis. The first one is my mom. She is completely authentic and genuine in everything she does. She has taught me the value of hard work, of never giving up and seeing the good in people. I always tell her that I am 99% her (sorry, dad) and that is one of the best gifts I could have ever received. She’s made up of everything good and makes everyone feel like they matter. The second person is my friend, Steph. She runs a small business in our town and over the years, I have learned so much from her. From the way she managers her daily operations to how she interacts with her customers, she’s always just herself; no false pretenses or facades with her. She has an incredibly innovative mind and real knack for business while being insanely creative in so many ways.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
It sounds simple but I find my soul exhaling when I’m sitting outside with a good book and the neighbor’s cat curled up next to me. Nature is truly a balm for anything and being amongst trees, flowers and animals reminds me that nature is imperfectly perfect and beautiful in every way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.paperirisstationery.com
- Instagram: paper_iris_
- Facebook: paperiris
