Pulp and Papercuts: Featured Zibbeter

Featured Zibbeter - Pulpa

Erin Groff has been making paper for over ten years. It is one of the ways she works at making our planet Earth greener.

Erin uses up newspapers, yellow pages from the phone books, dryer lint, and that pesky junk mail we all get and turns it into beautiful paper.

She uses her own handmade paper to create cards, journals and all the other Pulpa paper products you will find in her shop.

Please enjoy the interview, leave Erin a comment, and then use the Share tool so others can read it, too. Share the Zibbet Love!

Tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Erin Groff and I am the owner/artist of Pulpa Paper Products. In the fall of 2003 I graduated from Columbus State Community College with an Associate of Arts applied in English. I soon realized this was insufficient for my increasing interest in getting my hands dirty, cutting things up and sticking them back together, or in creating something interesting and beautiful from scraps of plain white cotton.
Over the years I have accumulated and built the various tools needed for handcrafting paper. I have had time to experiment, invent, and most importantly play. Now I am hoping to share what I have learned in the hopes that you enjoy the fiber/paper art as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Pulpa is a sustainable paper products company. Commercially made paper is made from wood pulp. By using mostly cotton fibers, other plant fibers, and many other recycled fibers and papers Pulpa is able to help reduce, reuse, and recycle!!!
Pulpa’s vision is to combine natural and recycled elements, with an imaginative and eco-friendly approach, in order to offer high-quality, handcrafted paper products and works of art that are not only beautiful; but also beneficial.
Apart from being ‘creative’ what do you do?
I am a closet karaoker. Sometimes we pull out an old disco light, I apply some red lipstick, and we pretend we are rock stars for a night!
Travel, Travel, Travel! I’ve been fortunate enough to start traveling these last few years. I love doing new things, meeting new people, and taking in the foreign and exotic. Novelty is the spice of life they say! My out of country travels have taken me to Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the Caribbean. We can all use a little fun in the sun! Especially, after a long, Ohio winter.
Outdoor movie nights with the neighborhood are a blast, and I cannot wait for warmer weather so that it permits us to begin doing this again. We haul out speakers and the projector and many cushions and chairs. We hang a white sheet from the trellis and either watch a movie or sometimes we even watch an Ohio State Football game or two. Go Bucks!
What inspires you to do the kind of work you do?
Beauty and Space. I live very close to the countryside. My family lives on 20 something acres with horses, dogs, pigs, rabbits, and a goat named Anna Belle. On my drive out to visit them I cross hills covered in beautiful grasses and pine trees. Sometimes I am lucky enough to see the sunshine light the hillside just right, you know? A spiritual moment alone in the car . This beauty and space reminds me that we have all have a responsibility (a world to protect), not only for ourselves, but for our children, their children, and so forth.
I am able to create many beautiful works of art and paper products that do not take more than can be returned. I can recycle and up-cycle, make good use of otherwise unnecessary and space hogging items, and make it beautiful, fun or funky, and at times moving.
Do you look up to anyone? Who? Why?
I look up to other artists such as yourselves. Lost in a sea of commercially, mechanically, and soullessly stamped out products (that resemble those items that take time and effort; “Blood, sweat, and tears” as they call it) are our “babies”. Our creations take time to make and are wonderfully, unique. Sometimes people have so many options abound at the local mass-producer, where quality and creativity is NOT the goal but keeping prices at their lowest is, they forget or are uneducated to the fact of the time and cost you put into creating that item by hand. I have found believing in oneself and supporting other artists is a key to all of our future successes.
What other passions do you have in your life?
Paper making, book binding, book arts, Art, literature, and novelty. Moon bathing and fairy watching. Epicureanism at its finest. Great food and intoxicating spirits. Warm conversations and heart felt laughter.
What do you like most about Zibbet?
Zibbet is a relatively small and new online marketplace. There are so many things to like about Zibbet. The low fees to be a premium lister is one great reason. Also, the easy transfer from Etsy to Zibbet was a big help in saving me time for more important and demanding papermaking tasks.
What ‘new’ things would you like to see added to Zibbet?
I would be interested in seeing more information on the front pages, whether the shop page or the account page. Number of views, visibility of users who favorite an item, more payments options, are to just name a few. It is possible some or all of these things exist and I just haven’t found them yet. If so then I would suggest easier functionality of using and finding this information.
Otherwise, Zibbet is pretty awesome!
How do you promote your work?
These are different avenues of promotion I use: Website, Facebook Fan Page, and Blog.
My paper can be purchased @ 4 mid-Ohio shops and I just had a shop in San Francisco pick Pulpa up as their new seed paper supplier!!! These shops can be found @ www.pulpapaperproducts.com under Shop Pulpa!
I do around 10 art festivals, craft shows, and gallery shows throughout the year to stay active in the community and personally promote my artwork by meeting people.
I also teach a few introductory papermaking and bookbinding classes. I find many people are interested in learning this very old and almost lost technique.
How would you recommend other Zibbeters make the most of Zibbet.com?
I upgraded to the Premium Account recently and have noticed an increase in my views. The fees are minimal in comparison to most other online marketplaces so I believe the cost is worth the extra exposure! I have yet to make any sales on Zibbet, but have only been part of the community for a couple months. I look forward to increasingly more successful days in the future for all of us!
In the future I’d like to be…
A Rock Star! But my karaoke skills are telling otherwise.
But I do… look forward to getting my business to a level online where I may never have to leave my studio again! I plan to become more involved in educating myself and others around me the benefits of recycling and up cycling and the beauty that comes from initiative and ingenuity.
Peace, Love, and Handmade Paper,
Erin Groff w/ Pulpa Paper Products