Emily McDowell of @emilyonlife (Part 2 of 2)

The Paper Fold

Paper nerds, here's the second part of my interview with this one-of-a-kind stationery innovator and disrupter! @emilyonlife and I kick off discussing The Long Table Collective. The collective provides invaluable mentoring for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian artists & creative entrepreneurs as it attempts to even out the design playing field.

Five ultra-lucky artists receive one year of professional mentoring in a small-group format, meeting virtually twice per month with Lisa Congdon and Emily. If you are interested in being a part, get on it: Applications close May 8!

Through the collective, Emily has mentored Carlos Carmonamedina of The Culture Curious. This "citizen of the world" creates stationery that focuses on the universality, not specificity, of card-sending occasions, with utterly vibrant, heartfelt results.

This direction ties into a trend both Emily and I are seeing, where one card speaks eloquently to several occasions. This flexible approach ties into our collective desire to simplify as we authentically connect with others — but mastering it as a maker is more challenging than you may think.

Whatever role you play in stationery — from maker to disrupter to frequent card sender — miss my audience with Emily at your own risk!

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