I’d like to thank Alexa, one of my Summer interns, for coordinating the Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx interviews for the summer. Alexa contacts the artists I want to interview and makes sure that I get my answers and images on time. There’s a lot of work coordinating these interview…lots of back and forth…and I appreciate the help.
Today, I am sharing my interview with Cathe Huynh-Sison of Feterie. Feterie is a line of paper goods including wedding invitations, gift wrap, notecards and more. You all may remember Feterie from here—I used some of Cathe’s lovely wrapping papers to make my butterfly mobile. I just love Cathe’s fresh clean designs and I’m sure you will too!
Learn more in my interview with Cathe below.
1. What’s the name of your business, what do create and sell and how did you get your start?
Feterie (Etsy Shop)- I design and manufacture stationery and paper goods, though I think I’m known more for my patterns and wrapping paper. Feterie is a personal passion of mine that came into fruition in 2003. At the time that I first launched the business, I designed a line of tailored wedding stationery that was a result of not finding what I was looking for for my own wedding stationery. It became a focus for the business until I expanded into non-personalized stationery and paper goods. As an Art Director and Designer, designing the wedding stationery line was natural. It turned into a 10+ design collection!
2. What are your inspirations in your art and life?
I tend to find inspiration everywhere and in mundane things. It could be as simple as walking along the street and seeing a color palette from a grouping of flowers or being fascinated by the negative/positive space of an architectural detail. I often find inspiration when I am traveling and outside, doing absolutely nothing creative-related.
3. What’s your favorite comfort food and why?
Comfort food – I have to say, anything that my mom makes. She’s a vegan but somehow she still manages to makes the best Vietnamese food (non-veggie version) without even tasting it. I love it especially right now since I am expecting my 2nd baby in the New Year. Morning sickness and new food aversions has made it difficult to enjoy any foods, except for the comfort food from my mom’s kitchen!
4. What’s something you’ve learned as an adult that you wish you knew as a kid?
Numbers and Math – they are so very important. As a kid, I used to think that as a creative type, I didn’t need to really needed it much. Oh, how I was wrong then! You will always need numbers and math is so important in everyday life! Don’t ever forget that!
5. What blogs and mags do you read and what shops do you shop at?
I have a lots blogs that I read, but the ones that I always come back to on a regular basis are the following:
pancakes and frenchfries (Jules cracks me up with her daily stories that I can relate to)
cafe cartolina (I love Fiona’s aesthetic and she has a good eye for finding treasures)
paisley wallpaper (Lori’s blog is very inspiring – from a designer’s point of view as well as a working mother. I love reading it knowing that I am not the only person going through a crazy day)
a little hut (I love Patricia’s work, so I love seeing what new things she is working on professionally and her personal projects)Magazines that I love: I loved Domino (and was just crushed when I found out that they were closing down!), I also read on occasion: Everyday Food, 7×7 magazine (it’s a SF-focused publication), and just about anything that grabs my attention.
Shop: I love, love, love Anthropologie. Sometimes, I just go in there to soak up all of the visual eye candy. When I shop, I concentrate on very particular pieces that I accent with my minimal wardrobe (I’m a huge fan of black!) and have been drawn to indie designers for the last several years. I think it was a result of my wandering the streets of the Saint-Germain and Marais in Paris, discovering little boutiques that made me become more drawn to indie designers.
6. What are you reading, watching and listening to?
I’m mother to a very active little boy, so free time to read is something that I rarely have. When I do have a chance, I like to read magazines since they are fast reads. I listen to alot of NPR while I work, though sometimes I find myself in a certain kick for a certain music group or artist, such as Johnny Cash, or Iz (when I am in a tropical Hawaiian mood), or retro-Duran Duran!
7. What’s new? Any products or projects you’d like to share?
My biggest project for the last several months has been the re-launch of my online shop. It’s going to be live very, very soon! The shop will be stocked with not only my wraps, but stationery and personalized bookplates. I always have several projects in the works at different stages of development, but one of these that I am very excited about is a new line of wedding stationery that features many of my patterns (existing, just in new colorways and new ones, too!) – it’ll be a completely coordinated design collection: save-the-date, invitation suite, program, escort cards, place cards…the works! It’s been awhile since I came out with my first wedding stationery line and I am super excited about it!
Cathe is truly talented. Way to go!