A look inside the Authentique Paper craft room...

I thought it would be fun today to switch things up a bit and give you an up-close look at our brand new Authentique Paper studio craft room!

We started the company a few months ago (sometimes it feels like we've been in business forever, and then I realize that we are a tender new company and I am suddenly brought back to reality) and we are thrilled with our new office space. We found a great warehouse/office park close to home, and we were fortunate enough to be able to build-out our space to our satisfaction. We wanted an open environment, high ceilings (all the way to the rafters - exposed beams and duct work), concrete floors (painted a rich chocolate brown), a brand new *clean* bathroom (shower included!), work spaces for everyone (with room to grow - which we've already out-grown!), ample warehouse and storage space (yep, we've outgrown that space too)...more photos to come in another blog post.

(this is as you walk in the front door in the main office)

The latest edition to our space (or studio as it's been referred to, which makes it sound so artsy, I love it!) was a craft room where we could escape and actually play with our products. I'll be the first to admit that Monday was my first official creative experience in the craft room. It's simple...small...but cozy and functional. It's not totally complete, but it's useable, and quite honestly, I kind of love it! My interior design background cringes to even post these photos, but whatever...I figure half-way done is better than nothing! A step in the right direction...

(the lighting is not great, but these photos make it look way worse than it actually is)

(this shelf is not actually in the craft room, it's in my office)

I snuck away Monday morning - just me, our brand new Gathering Collection, and a box of orange soda (not to drink, but to transform into a Gathering-inspired masterpiece). Was I able to create a "masterpiece", not really - but what I did make, I think, is pretty darn cute. I left my cell phone and laptop on my desk - on the other side of the office-space, far enough away so I couldn't hear my phone ring or my email accost me as it usually does on a Monday morning. Bret and Melodee had NO idea where I was, and they didn't think to look in the craft room. Ha! Joke was on them! About 12:30pm, I appeared out of nowhere, parched and a tad-bit exhausted. Seriously, I have had no time in the past few months to sit down and actually make something...with our OWN products! I am so glad I put my own foot down and forced myself to exert some creative energy.

(this was my main project - simple, yet so fun!)

Our new "Gathering" Collection is one of my favorite's to-date. I love the rich blue/teal/brown/cream with the pop of orange. When I created the color palette, I instantly knew it would turn into a beautiful Collection. Butterflies. I was in heaven.

Since we print (everything in the U.S.A.) on a heavy-weight textured cardstock, the papers are a dream to touch, and the colors have a depth that is unique to Authentique Paper. You can literally hear the scissors cut through the paper - it's a sound that is rare in this industry these days. Give it a try, you'll see what I'm talking about!

Our die-cut elements are printed on super-heavy weight cardstock, and of course, we went the extra mile and printed on both sides, so, if you aren't in love with the word-phrase or image on the front, you can always flip it over and use the shape for layering in your project. There are so many possibilities with our die cuts, and best of all - they are affordable. Yep - all of our die cut elements and stickers retail for either $1 or $2 - everyone has a buck or two, and we know how to stretch that dollar farther than you can imagine!

Okay, back to the craft room...I've been asked by a couple of people to write a blog post, or series of posts, giving you all a virtual tour of our *studio, so today I thought the craft room would be a good place to start and then over the next few weeks I will snap some photos and share the story of how this all came to be. If I knew how to video-blog, or whatever it's called, I'd share a video, but I don't know how...so I'll do my best to learn, and maybe someday you can have an actual virtual tour of our fabulous office space. For today, a few photos of the craft room will have to do.

I'd love to see what you've created with Gathering - and if your LSS doesn't carry Gathering yet, please ask them to bring it in! I will let you in on a little Authentique insider-information - over the past week or so, we've sent samples of the new Collection to our current customers, and we are trying our best to continue to reach out to stores who don't carry our products yet.

Note to self: We are a new company, 5 months old...it doesn't happen overnight, keep calm and carry on - keep spreading the word and eventually all of our loyal customers and fans will have a place to find our products.

Alright - I hope you all have a tremendous Tuesday - share the love and spread the word - Autumn is here and it's a perfect time to Gather with friends and family to create some unforgettable memories!

xoxoxo,

Sam