The Art of Crepe Paper Flowers
With no travel photos to share, I posted my crepe paper flower photos and you reacted very positively to this new passion. So I opened a second Instagram account to share my creations with you. It will be a fleeting passion because I need a lot of materials that I won’t be able to take with me when travel resumes. But at least until the end of 2020, you’ll see more creations.
First off, subscribe to my new Instagram account @mehach.flowers
Since I’ve been getting questions here and there, I’ll group them together in this FAQ, to introduce you a bit more to this art that is still relatively unknown in France. Maybe it will inspire you and give you business ideas?
Are crepe paper flowers your new passion?
No, it’s not new. At the end of middle school in Vietnam, we had to choose a vocational track. I think that was a thing in France in the 60s but it’s been abolished since. But in Vietnam, it’s still a thing. We had a choice between several trades, and since Vietnam exported quite a few handmade products, here’s the list: electricians, seamstresses, cooks, and crepe paper flower makers. Naturally, all the boys in my class chose “electrician” and the girls chose among the feminine activities. Let’s just say we were really happy to have that choice because our parents no longer taught us manual skills, and it was our chance to learn something hands-on, for free.
So in Vietnam, I had about twenty hours of classes where I learned to make waxed paper flowers. The materials were pretty hard to find, so the teacher also sold us flower kits, really cheap. I think we learned about ten flowers, and at the end, the exam was on a “surprise” flower, and I got 9/10 😀
Several years later, I stumbled upon Lia Griffith’s blog, the guru of paper flowers (crepe, craft paper, or tissue paper). I made a few flowers, then stopped because I didn’t have enough vases ahahaha
Why paper flowers now?
Well, I wanted to decorate the apartment with fresh flowers, but due to lockdown, no florists were open, so I thought, “why not make my own flowers?” Not having a vase, I used Schweppes bottles 😀
Does it take a lot of patience to make them?
I thought so too, but it takes me much less time than paper cutting ! Examples of paper cutouts that took me between a day and a week:
And it’s much less tiring (paper cutting requires a lot of concentration; one wrong cut and everything goes in the trash). The details you admire so much in my flowers, actually, mostly come from the properties of the crepe paper I have. To curve the petals or create a gradient effect, it’s ultra simple. Just stretch the paper (it’s stretchable up to 250%) and the gradient effect comes from papers that are already dyed with a gradient. You just need to cut the right section of paper to get the desired gradient effect.
There are 3 factories in the world that still make quality crepe paper: one in Italy, one in Germany, and one in the US.
As an example, here’s an extremely beautiful rose, but you can see it doesn’t require tons of technique or time to make. The video isn’t mine.
How do you make realistic flowers?
The best is to start with a real flower and observe its shape and color. Lacking real flowers, paper florists make do with Google Images photos, that’s all.
The second secret is achieving a realistic color. Flowers aren’t made of a single color. The simplest technique would be to use two papers with close colors to create a kind of color nuance. The inner petals will be made with a darker color, while the outer petals will use a lighter paper. You can go up to 3 color shades per flower for a realistic effect without too much effort. The rose has green traces on the outer petals, something you can create with paint. So to get realistic flowers, it’s better to take the time to paint petal by petal.
For successful flowers, it’s recommended to make the same flower 12 times in a row. That way, you know each petal by heart and master all the steps before moving on to the next flower.
Can you make money with it?
Clearly! In France, less so, but in the US, where people are used to giving flowers for every imaginable holiday and throwing birthday parties with an Instagram-worthy flower corner, it can become a full-time job. There’s even a community of “paper florists” with a podcast, a Facebook group dedicated to learning together how to:
- make realistic flowers. Each month, there’s a “challenge” where the whole group learns to make a new flower
- learn to turn it into a business
- promote your work
The best of the best, elevated to artist status by making ultra-realistic flowers, is Tiffanie Turner.
When I compare prices in France vs. the US, I think it will be harder to make a living solely by selling flowers in France.
Most paper florists in France offer paper flowers for weddings. They offer:
- either a copy of the bride’s bouquet, but in crepe paper
- or the bride’s bouquet itself + an identical or smaller bouquet (to toss to the single ladies)
- boutonnieres
- table decor
- giant flowers: for rent by the day, or for purchase
- workshops: for individuals or for bachelorette parties
In my opinion, if you’re an English speaker, it will be more interesting to sell tutorials. English speakers are quite willing to pay $30 for a well-explained course. The tutorial is either in photos or video. A PDF is provided with the petal templates, which students can print.
What’s even more appreciated is being able to provide petal templates in SVG format, because American women are super equipped and they like to have an SVG to cut directly on a cutting machine like the Cricut.
Do you plan to sell your flowers?
Yes, I’ve opened a temporary shop on Etsy, where I sell my flowers until the end of my stay in France. There’s little choice for now because I only sell the flowers I perfectly master making, and there aren’t many, aahhaah. and I haven’t sold anything at all.
On Etsy, it’s hard to stand out. Handmade products mix with industrial ones. When a seller provides 20 fabric roses for €2.5 and I cost 10 times more, apart from the love of handmade and craftsmanship, I don’t see why people would buy from me.
Most people want free shipping. Flowers aren’t that fragile and send very well via La Poste. However, to avoid crushing them, we have to go straight to Colissimo, with a large box. And the large ready-to-ship Colissimo box already costs me €13. To get more margin, I’d be better off selling bouquets. That way, I still pay €13 for shipping, but at least there will be 4-5 flowers and I can sell them for more and have a better margin. For that, I need to master more flower varieties, to offer for example a bouquet of 2 roses, 2 peonies, and lots of leaves.
When selling on Etsy, I pay: €0.20 per listing and 5% commission on both revenue and shipping fees (if I ever decide to pass them on to customers). That’s very reasonable vs. Amazon, which has a dedicated handmade section, but takes at least 15% commission + application review to determine it’s really handmade.
Have you thought about selling kits?
Yes, but I calculated the costs and came to this table, so NOPE!
If you’re interested in this Excel file, feel free to ask me in the comments or via the Contact form.
However, there might be a business opportunity in becoming a reseller of Gloria / Doublette crepe papers from Werola, a German company. They deliver from 1000 units and these are crepe papers a bit smaller than A4 size, they fit perfectly in an A4 envelope and as tracked mail. Very few resellers distribute them and there’s high demand in the UK, Europe, and the US because it’s the perfect paper for making roses. Its stretch is perfect for creating the perfect curve, and its double color recreates exactly the colors of rose petals. Count €1/unit for a resale price between €3 and €3.6 including tax.
I think if I stay much longer, I could make something of it, and become paper florist part-time. We’ll see by the end of July if I manage to grow this activity a bit more (note September 2020: nope, nada ahaha)For now, it relaxes me and calms me down, it decorates the apartment, and that’s the most important thing.
Other
With that, I’ll leave you with the list of books & materials I recommend (beginner/intermediate/pro level)
Crepe Paper Flowers by Lia Griffith (€17.55, Amazon link) and €16.77 Book Depository link
Flowersmith: How to Handcraft and Arrange Enchanting Paper Flowers by Jennifer Tran, €17.4 (Amazon link).
Paper Flower Art by Jessie Chui, €30 on Amazon (link) and on Book Depository
The Fine Art of Paper Flowers: A Guide to Making Beautiful and Lifelike Botanicals by Tiffanie Turner, €24, Amazon link or €17.55 Book Depository link
More info on the materials to buy here
Here are some photos of my flowers
