Boulder Based Paper Botanical Design Company By Stephanie Redlinger

I met Stephanie last fall when I photographed her family in Boulder, Colorado, at Chautauqua Park. While we chatting during our session (because I am a motormouth when I work), I learned that Stephanie runs her own paper flower company. Of course I was instantly intrigued! What Stephanie didn’t mention is how AMAZING she is at her craft. Recently, she let me visit her home studio and I was privileged to capture her at work (that is until my camera broke, of course). Still, I was so happy to visit and watch her at work. Keep reading to learn more about The Florasmith and see her fricking beautiful paper flowers.

Who are you and what do you do?

I'm an artist working primarily with paper. My current focus is botanical art. I make tributes to the plant and flower world.

Why do you do what you do?

I love that flowers seem to have a language that everyone can understand - their beauty is almost universally appreciated. I am constantly inspired by plants and flowers I have never seen before, and I love that making flowers forces me to look more closely at the ones I'm already familiar with.

How do you work?

I work primarily while my kids are sleeping, so my time blocks for creating art are relatively short. But I like to pack as much work as I can into those hours. My workspace is a large spare room in our home that I do a mediocre job of keeping clean. Specifically in regards to how I make my botanical art, working from a live model is always best, but not always possible, so I do a lot of research in terms of size, color, and form of the plant or flower. I will usually make a few models exploring how a specimen feels in paper before settling on a method. But nothing is ever set in stone - I am constantly refining my process.

What is the best part and what is the worst part about what you do.

The best part of what I do is overcoming the seeming limitations of such a modest, ephemeral medium (paper) to make plants and flowers that bring the same sort of joy as the real thing. I love the challenge of creating difficult flowers. The worst part is cleaning up my work space after each project. I would much rather be creating than cleaning, but it's essential for me to start each new project with a clean slate.

Describe a real-life situation that inspired you.

I am constantly inspired by the plants around me. I lived in California for many years before recently relocating to Colorado, and the amount of plant inspiration available year-round in California is amazing. Colorado is much more limited, but it makes me look more closely at the everything. I never fail to bring home clippings while out on walks to use as inspiration in the studio. Recently I've become aware of and inspired by the palette of the landscape as a whole, and I'd love to start incorporating that more into my work somehow.

What superpower would you have and why?

I would love the ability to understand and speak every language - human, animal, insect, plant ... all of it. Perhaps that's why I work with flowers - everyone understands flowers on some level.

Name something you love and why you love it.

I love the act of creating - creating art, creating toys for my kids, creating a garden. Bringing a vision to life feels essential to my being. Making is like a compulsion for me - I love it and I can't not do it.

What is your dream project?

I would love to work with an adventurous client on an installation or a series exploring seasonality. I love the idea of showcasing many points of time in the same work. Birth, growth, ageing, dying - all of it all at once.

What song inspires you right now?

I'm always inspired by Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise by the Avett Brothers. And the Beatles are on almost constant rotation in our house.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

I had a meaningful conversation with my dad when I was in College. I was struggling with feeling that I wasn't doing anything important with my life. He told me, in essence, that you don't have to do anything grand for your life to be meaningful. It's enough to be a good person and to do your best.