We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zoe Pappenheimer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Zoe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I started creating hand-painted paper dolls during the pandemic. It was a way of coping with my feelings of being cooped up. The more I worked on these dolls the more I enjoyed them. Because it was a personal project, I could be as outrageous as I wanted. I made outfits that were very silly (sunny side up egg bra) and others that were cute (doggie fanny pack).
I like how fashion can subvert our ideas about gender and transform a body into a creative statement. Not long after I started making the dolls I went out and bought a giant piece of metal to put in my office so I could make the dolls into magnets and change their outfits more easily. Not long after that I submitted a proposal to Chronicle Books. To my amazement they got back to me within a few days and they will be publishing the dolls in 2025.
Zoe, 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?
I didn’t start out in a creative profession. I had the strange notion when I was young that going into the arts was self-indulgent. I graduated from NYU and went into the Peace Corps with the idea that I could help people in some way. I have always loved painting, so a lot of my two year stint in Bolivia with the Peace Corps was spent painting murals.
It wasn’t until I worked unhappily at a desk job for a few years that I realized I needed to be doing something creative in order to feel satisfied. It was this realization that motivated me to apply to Pratt where I ended up getting a Masters in design. It was one of the best decisions of my life!
The journey to owning my own business came later. I moved to a small town in western Massachusetts where there were very few places hiring designers. I didn’t think I was ready to work for myself, but the lack of options kind of made the decision for me. A lot of cold calls and networking events later I had a consistent client base and felt happier than ever with my work.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Learning graphic design and illustration is like learning many other trades. It doesn’t require a college degree but it does require a lot of practice. I didn’t need to go back to school to become a successful designer, but I did need to work really hard.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
My favorite jobs are the ones where I feel like I can tap into my own unique sensibility and personality as an artist. I love it when a client wants to see what I will come up with and doesn’t try to dictate how the final product will look.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zoedesignworks.com, www.hellopaperdolls.com
- Instagram: @z.pap