Guess what time it is! It’s New Series Time! That’s right, I’m bringing in a series I’ve been wanting to write for ages and I’m so excited about. I just opened my own Etsy shop and I often fall in love with fellow handmade creatives. So now I’m going to start highlighting and showcasing my favorites. I’m so proud to say that my first showcase is not only a fellow shopkeeper, but they’re also my friend! Introducing: Rocky Lawton of White Dragon Paper!

White Dragon Paper: The Interview

Tell us a little about yourself!

I’m a 24 year old college student studying Environmental & Social Geography at The Ohio State University. I’ve always been artistic and creative, but what I work with has ranged from pencils and paint, to wood, and more recently paper. I am owned by several furry critters including a beagle, guinea pig, rabbit, and a rat.

When did you first decide to start making papers and inks? What got you on this path?

I started making paper maybe 4 yours ago. I just got bored one summer and found some simple directions online. After messing around with the basics, I started tweaking my recipes and techniques to produce better quality paper. I soon had stacks and stacks of paper with nothing to do with them. On a lark, I tried selling the papers, and found they were popular enough to pay for my tuition at community college. Since then it’s been a dream of mine to work full time making my papers, envelopes, and inks, as well as any additional products I come up with.

What’s your favorite part of the paper-making process?

My favorite part is pulling the crisp, dry papers off the drying rack and seeing a stack of a couple hundred clean sheets. That is the perfectly balanced moment between seeing my hard work finished and knowing it will soon be sent off to someone else as the materials for their project.

You have so many different kinds of papers! Where do you get the inspiration from?

Mostly I get my inspiration from my available materials and customers. If I have a pile of colored paper to recycle, that’s where the inspiration to make red or blue or teal colored papers comes from. Occasionally though I get a request from a customer for paper that I don’t currently have available. Once I make the product, if it turns out to be a good product, I’ll offer it regularly in my shop.

I love the name White Dragon Paper – where did it come from?

Well, my first papers were plain white because I mostly used recycled computer paper. The dragon comes from my favorite mythical animal, and paper…well, that’s pretty self-explanatory! I tried a few different arrangements of the words, but liked White Dragon Paper the best, and stuck with it, using a white dragon resting on top of a stack of paper as my company logo.

And finally… What’s your favorite piece in your shop right now? What do you hope to have more of in the future?

My favorite item in my shop is the original white paper. I love how clean it looks, but upon closer inspection it has so much depth, and each batch has a slightly different flair to it depending on what was put in as the recycled material. In the future though, I hope to have more colored papers, and a steady supply of them. The plan is to team up with some local schools to collect their recyclable papers, which will hopefully give me a steady supply of colored flyers and folders that I can use to make a rainbow of papers in various sizes, and hopefully matching envelopes.

White Dragon Paper: Featured Products

Hope you enjoy our new series and don’t forget to check out White Dragon Paper on Etsy!