We were lucky to catch up with Annie Howe recently and have shared our conversation below.

Annie, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

After graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Fiber, I worked in community arts for many years, creating and contributing to the Baltimore art community with large-scale puppetry and shadow puppets. As my love for storytelling grew through this large medium, I found my focus as an artist shifting from large 3D objects to that of the smaller more intimate medium of paper. I founded Annie Howe Papercuts in 2010, creating handmade papercuts for businesses, publications, and private collections, and have not stopped papercutting since!

I gravitated to papercutting because the materials I was using for making shadow puppets were also the materials I could use for papercutting. I used an exacto knife and paper. I began by making papercuts for gifts for family and friends. Baltimore is an incredibly supportive and creative city and people encouraged me to share my work at craft shows and businesses and learned as I went and was thankful to find a network of helpful and experienced small business owners to run ideas past.
I also like to tell people that you don’t have to know how to do everything but if you can figure out who you know to ask or where to reach out to get answers on how to do something that is a huge part.
For example, the first time an art directre reached out about doing book illustrations I had never done any work like that before but I was able to ask contacts I had with those questions. I also like to share any information and things I have learned along the way if people ask.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a multimedia papercut artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. My papercuts are used for a variety of projects including illustration, product design, and public artwork. Select Clients include: Anthropologie, Great Arrow Graphics, Southern Living, Visit Baltimore, T. Rowe Price, Country Living Magazine, Hudson Seed Library and MAG Partners.

I blend the traditional roots of my art form with a contemporary approach to design, application, and materials. When combined with various fabrication methods and materials, I have found paper cutting to be a versatile and flexible medium. No matter what the project endpoint is I always begin with a hand-drawn, hand-cut paper cut and then use digital tools like Adobe Illustrator to expand the scope of the project. I delight in working with fabricators, installers, and designers to transform my papercuts beyond their original form.

I have transformed my original papercuts into wayfinding stencils for high foot traffic streetscapes, Wall Vinyl decals, cut-out murals for exterior brick walls, and most recently decorative architectural elements like porch railings. These projects have been created with teams of stakeholders Individual clients and on my own as a studio artist.

From textiles to greeting cards, logos, and brand collateral, my papercut work translates beautifully into diverse products and processes.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I find it so helpful and inspiring to connect with other artsists/makers/illustrators on lots of levels. I belong to several professional groups that help foster best practices in the industry and help artists think through pricing, best practices ect.
It is just helpful to have places to share ideas, learn from and to see that how you conduct yourself in business and as an art brand not only impacts you but also your colleagues. Working in a studio can feel very solo but I love connecting with fellow small business owners to talk about successes and challenges.

So for illustration and Papercutting
I am a member of The Guild of American Papercutters- this has a ton of great resources for anyone interested in the art of papercutting
I am also a member of The Art Brand Alliance. It is a dynamic global community and online resource center, designed to serve entrepreneurial visual artists at every stage of their business growth.

I also think that The Graphic Artists Guild is an amazing resource and their THE GRAPHIC ARTISTS GUILD HANDBOOK: PRICING & ETHICAL GUIDELINES is always helpful!

I also attend love attending trade shows like NY Now, Atlanta Gift Show and Shoppe Object to see what the world of retail is looking like.

I am also a member of our local small business owners association and we work to strengthen the Brick and Mortars along our Main Street in Northeast Baltimore.

Links
https://artbrandalliance.com/
https://graphicartistsguild.org/the-graphic-artists-guild-handbook-pricing-ethical-guidelines/
https://papercutters.org/
https://shoppeobject.com/
https://nynow.com/
https://www.americasmart.com/Markets/Spring-Market?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_id=21000358008&utm_source_platform=&utm_term=&utm_marketing_tactic=&utm_creative_format=&agency=defero&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw6yuBhDrARIsACf94RWXsPdIE1–KgTqPGgPhAZRx3hC7u7EgaJHU2jspyDU7jpkhA2esowaAtUiEALw_wcB

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Pricing Pricing Pricing. I know I am not alone in struggling with this. So many artists are challenged by pricing and by asking for what their artwork and time are worth.
I try to remind myself that my pricing not only impacts me but also the other artists in my field.
I try to be honest and transparent about my pricing and I am always reinventing the wheel.

Contact Info:

• Website: anniehowepapercuts.com
• Instagram: @anniehowepapercuts
• Other: My favorite way to connect with my audience is my newsletter! I hope that everyone will subscribe. I send it out once a week and really like putting care and though into it. Sometimes I am sharing behind the scenes on new projects I am working on, sometimes I am sharing new products and sometimes I am sharing adventures beyond my studio. Here is a link to subscribe https://anniehowepapercuts.com/contact

Image Credits
Vivian Doering, Jeffrey Totora, Laura Chase de Formigny,