Meet Ruth Angrand of Papyrus Treasures

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth Angrand.

Hi Ruth, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I can’t remember when exactly I started crafting. Perhaps, it came from my love of journaling and the need to write everything down. However, the most vivid memory I have is after I got married, I got into scrapbooking. I remember the whole dining room area was filled with papers and books and photos. There was nowhere to sit or step. From there, my love of paper and crafting something beautiful from paper really began.

Fast forward to over a decade later, It’s the era of Covid. Everything feels chaotic and the boredom is kicking in. I jump on YouTube and browse around video after video, when suddenly I come across this video about junk journaling. I had never had that term before, but I watched one video out of curiosity and then another and another and before I knew it, I was binging all things junk journaling! In simplest terms, junk journaling is creating a journal out of recyclable materials or things that would normally go in the trash. I was obsessed!

One day my sister calls me, and tells me she needs a journal, but everything is closed. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to make a junk journal so, I offered to create a journal for her. I asked her what her top, five, favorite things were and then I got working. It was gorgeous! So much so, I didn’t know if I could give it to her – haha- but I did. I remember posting pictures on my Instagram about it and then she called me after receiving it. She told me it wasn’t what she was expecting, it was overwhelming, and it was beautiful, but she was hoping for something simpler. Since then, I’ve gotten that response quite a bit; overwhelming, beautiful, and unexpected!

After creating that very first journal, I went on to make a dozen, maybe about a hundred more. It was my sister and my friends who encouraged me to start selling them. It took some coaxing, but I finally gave in and wow! I’ve had this business now for three years and it has been nothing short of an adventure. Being able to go to craft markets and meet people who also have a love for paper or journaling or memory keeping is the best part. When they leave with one of my creations, I feel like they’re leaving with a piece of my heart, in a good way.

Creating journals is an art within itself and it’s also therapeutic for me. It’s my getaway. It’s my heart’s desire to put interesting textures and pages into a book and make it less daunting for someone to write in. A lot of people would say that writing in a blank journal is scary and they don’t know where to start. Well, it’s why I think the journals we create is a great place to start because it’s filled with pages that aren’t only blank but full of content to inspire the writer to look, to reflect, to write or draw or use however their heart’s desire. However, journals aren’t the only thing I create, I still create scrapbooks, as well as greeting cards, and paper accessories.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I believe with any goal or dream the road isn’t easy. It may start out as such but along the way there are hurdles and struggles. One of the struggles I had to overcome was comparison. It’s easy to compare myself to someone else’s work and think their way of creativity is better than mine and it very well may be. However, what I forget to take into consideration is that they too had to start from humble beginnings. They had to practice progressing their craft. I believe once I realized that I’m now able to admire someone’s work without comparing myself to them.

The struggle I continue to have, is I don’t have enough arms to craft my ideas, and I feel time is not on my side! Perhaps, if I was single or only had my husband, it would be doable but that’s not the case. I am a mother of three, and one of my children relies heavily on me. Anytime he’s home, my craft time is non-existent but it’s okay. He’s not going to be young forever or in that needy stage (hopefully) forever either.

Another struggle is photography. Photography for me is not a natural skill and can be challenging when I need to take shots of the products to upload to the website. I’ve taken some classes, read some books and watched YouTube videos but it’s still a learning curve. If money was no object, I most definitely would hire a photographer!

Last but not least, the other struggle is pricing. Pricing is by far the most challenging. I don’t want to price too high where it’s a turnoff, but I don’t want to price too low where I’m insulting myself or the other artist who does what I do. Even though I’ve developed a formula out of all the things I’ve taken into account, it’s still one of my biggest ongoing struggles.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Papyrus Treasures is a small business that creates handcrafted goods like greeting cards, journals, and scrapbook albums as well as paper knick-knacks. Each item is thoughtfully designed to inspire creativity, preserve memories, and celebrate meaningful & mundane moments. In other words, we like turning paper & recyclable materials into cute and functional treasures.

We specialize in designing and creating unique, handcrafted paper goods; transforming paper into functional and decorative stationery items.

Most of our inventory comes from secondhand shops or are donated to us by the community. If we have to buy, we buy at a discount so we can practice being sustainable and keeping our prices fair.

I believe what sets us apart and probably what were known for is for our junk journals. In the city of Raleigh/Cary, when we go to craft markets, people always want to know what junk journals are and how we create them and most of the time they don’t believe they’re made from trash or recyclable materials!

I’m proud that were able to use recyclable materials to create our products and that we’re able to see discarded items from a different and positive perspective.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
A lot of the podcast I listen to are podcast that inspire me to grow in my faith as a Christ-follower. I also do enjoy a good book. I’m currently reading an interesting book by James L Rubart which is also faith based but fictional.

I also enjoy crime stories like those from the podcast “Criminal” with Phoebe Judge. Lastly, I’m fascinated by the “paranormal” and people’s experiences with them. I listen to a podcast called “Spooked”.

YouTube, of course, has become a place of inspiration. There’s a woman named Natasha, she’s considered the junk journaling queen – so to speak. Her Youtube channel is Treasure Books and she has a lot of inspiring ideas.

Lastly, there’s another sweet woman on YouTube that I follow because of her slow, intentional living. It inspires me to want to slow down and be intentional. Her name is Paola and her channel is called The Cottage Fairy.

Pricing:

• Our journals prices between $20-$150
• Our Scrapbooks prices between $25-$60
• Our paper accessories start’s at $2.50

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.papyrustreasures.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/papyrustreasures/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@papyrustreasures