Welcome to the SimplyNCgoods “Meet the Maker” blog series! We can only fit so much NC-based goodness into our subscription boxes each year, so these posts are another way for us to share North Carolina small businesses with you.
Papermill Creative
Lori Melliere, of Durham, NC, is the artist behind Papermill Creative. A long-time watercolor painter, she first got the idea to turn her hobby into a side business while working full-time as a librarian in the Chapel Hill area.
Papermill Creative is now Lori’s full-time work. She creates items ranging from tea towels and magnets to suncatchers and stickers. Lori also has a line of seasonal greeting cards, and told us there’s “something new is always in the works.”
How Papermill Creative Got Started
Lori shared the following about the early days of Papermill Creative:
“The idea for Papermill was born during a brainstorming session at a brewery in Saxapahaw. I wanted to create art that was charming, meaningful, rich in details, and a little bit humorous, and we began producing reproductions of my watercolor paintings of Durham, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro.”
North Carolina Appreciation
We’re giving all our “Meet the Maker” blog guests an opportunity to share something they appreciate about North Carolina. Here’s what Lori shared:
“North Carolina is the perfect place for Papermill Creative. I seek inspiration for a lot of my work from local history, architecture, and our local flora and natural landscapes, and there are so many communities across the state that offer something unique. I live in a place where I can draw the art deco architecture of Asheville, the warehouses of Durham, and the beach houses of Carolina Beach? What a dream.”
Getting Yourself Some Papermill Creative
You can learn more about Papermill Creative, and even purchase your own, using the following links:
The “Meet the Maker” series by SimplyNCgoods is another way that we can share NC-based artisans with our readers and followers. We strive to highlight creators who may not have yet had an item featured in a SimplyNCgoods subscription box, or who may create items that are not a great fit for shipping. We hope that you will use the links shared to connect with these folks and #SupportLocal as you look for products.
If you are a North Carolina artisan and would like to be considered for a future “Meet the Maker” post, please complete this survey and we’ll follow up with you.