Spaces // Anastasia Marie

As you may have noticed, I've tried to share a weekly peak into various designers + illustrators workspaces, but lately it's not quite weekly. Have no fear -- I'm doing my best to share some really great creatives with you! With that said,  I'm excited to introduce, Anastasia Marie to you, for today's Spaces feature! Anastasia, is a paper queen. And as you'll see her studio is FULL of everything you'd need for crafting. It's beautiful -- check it out!

Tell us about yourself as a creative.

My name is Anastasia (but I usually go by Stacey) and I'm a full-time stationery designer in the Portland, Oregon area. I focus mainly on layered papercut cards which I assemble by hand.

Describe your creative journey.

As a kid, I wanted to be a nurse. That backfired when I took a graphic design class in high school just to fulfill an electives credit. I was hooked. I already had an artistic bug since I had been hand-making cards for my friends and family as a hobby for years, so it all flowed together so perfectly. 

I pursued graphic design in college and eventually became a freelance graphic designer -- still maintaining my little hobby of hand-making cards. When I got engaged, it was a no-brainer that I'd design my own wedding invitations. I embellished them with layered flowers and gold ribbon, and had a blast, believe it or not. When my friend asked me to help her with hers some months later, it dawned on me that I could actually do this for years and years and years. I began focusing more on that side of my creative world, but really wasn't getting anywhere.

A year later, someone quite brilliant stumbled upon my cards, became my mentor, and helped me turn my hobby into a real business. He taught me about the business world, the importance of having a solid brand, and so on. I still occasionally work on a business card or letterhead here and there, but for the most part, you'll find me working away on just cards and wedding stationery.

Share a little bit about your space.

My space is the second bedroom in the condo my husband and I rent. I just recently redecorated it too so it could actually become a creative space for me. I dreamed of having white furniture, but since it is so hard to keep white spotless (at least for me), I opted for a mix of raw wood and metal. My husband and I repainted the walls, replaced my old corner desk with raw wood tables and cabinets, and spent way too much time at World Market and TJ Maxx looking for cute organizational pieces. And yes, the raw wood smells absolutely divine. Waking up every morning and walking into this room has become something that I look forward to rather than groan about.

What's your favorite thing about your space?

I pretty much live in this room. Choosing one thing that I love most was actually harder than I thought it'd be, but I'd have to go with my ribbon-tied jute string filled with pieces from other artists and some of my own work to keep inspiring me.

What's one thing you think every creative needs in their space?

Great lighting! It's a big mood booster. Also, bits and pieces of things that inspire are a must. I'm constantly shifting things around in my space to fit my creative mood -- and if something starts bothering me, I hide it in the closet until my mood shifts and I bring it out again. And I guess little things like having a constant supply of snacks and hot tea don't hurt either.

Photos by Angela Shae

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