We recently connected with Carly Frei and have shared our conversation below.

Carly, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I have had the honor of creating book art decorations for a few weddings and one in particular stands out as incredibly meaningful. The bride’s grandmother had recently passed away and was looking for a way to honor and remember her grandmother on her wedding day. They both shared a love of books and the bride asked if I could use some of her grandmother’s books to create flowers for her wedding. She decided she wanted some hair clips made with book paper flowers on them. This was something I had never attempted before, however, I was joyfully up for the challenge. I started by making the flowers from her grandmother’s books and then I figured out how to attach them to a hair clip. The result was beautiful and so special for the bride to be able to wear and cherish beyond her wedding day. It was wonderful to be able to bring a part of the bride’s grandmother into her momentous day. My grandparents have always been such a big part of my life and it was important to have a part of my grandparents who had passed as part of my wedding day. To be able to help someone do the same for their special day, was so meaningful to me.

Carly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I was a middle school art teacher I started folding the pages of old books to create unique designs as a way to destress after a long day of work. I have always been environmentally conscious and I learned from our school librarian that they would discard books that hadn’t been checked out for a significant amount of time. I figured I could reuse some of those books for art projects in my classroom instead of them being thrown away, so I began collecting these old books. Sometime later, I made the difficult decision to leave teaching and I decided to take the opportunity to jump into something that I loved doing, making art! That was the beginning of my book art business, Fiction Reshaped, where I expanded my book art to include not just folded books, but flowers, book prints, and more.

I have been a full time artist since 2018 and create many different types of art. The folded books I make are created by folding each individual page to slowly shape a symbol. For example, a heart, ampersand, or a word. I also create flower bouquets where I cut, curl, fold and glue book pages to create flowers. The other work I create are punny book prints, stickers, magnets and greeting cards for any book lover.

I also love creating custom art. Whether it is folding someone’s name into a book, designing a unique print, or creating special flower bouquets for someone’s wedding, the possibilities are endless. One of my favorite things about book art is that every book has different fonts, sizes, illustrations, or even different stories, so every work of art I make is truly unique and one of a kind. This allows me to have fun when creating designs since each page and book tells a different tale and can be shaped into extraordinary art pieces that highlight those distinctive stories. I love feeling like I am continuing a book’s story through the physical manipulation of the materials. Hopefully people can appreciate the whimsical elegance that my recycled pieces bring to any space.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have always been passionate about the environment and my impact on the world around me. There are millions of new books that are printed on a daily basis and so many old books that are thrown away because no one wants them anymore. It can actually be quite challenging to recycle books because of the glue that is in the binding. When I realized this, I started to think of ways I could reuse these books before they are discarded and that’s when I started folding books. I like to think of it as giving new life to an old book.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part about being an artist is that I get to do something I love, and actually believe I’m good at, every single day. Because I get to do something that I have so much passion for, it doesn’t feel stressful or taxing. I choose to create art for myself and for others to enjoy. I have had the pleasure of meeting so many great artists who have inspired me and supported me through my own journey as well. I find myself energized by bouncing ideas around with other artists, motivating each other, and learning and growing together. Seeing other artists thrive and grow keeps me excited for my own future potential.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fictionreshaped.com/collections
• Instagram: Fiction Reshaped
• Facebook: Fiction Reshaped