Paperie Boutique started on July 18, 2009, with this simple little post:

“Welcome to the new Paperie Boutique blog. This is an expansion on my popular “Fit to Print” set on Flickr where I have shared 3 years worth of new products, marketing materials, packaging, and how-to assembly demos for professional photographers…”

I never dreamed that in just two short years we’d have crossed the 1-million visitors milestone and have over 10,000 comments. Nevermind that just under a year after launch that we’d be featured in Rangefinder Magazine and I’d start writing for Professional Photographer Magazine (eventually being promoted to technical, then contributing editor and also tapped to write for the “Web Exclusives” section of the website).

There are so many people who have made this all possible – and without them, there never would have been a Paperie Boutique. First and foremost my amazing husband Todd who buckled up in his computer chair and learned his job on the fly. For over a year he has been handling most of the backend of the website communications and advertising. I would never be able to get through the volume of e-mail we receive without him! Stacy for taking this blog design’s code out back, showing it who’s boss, and keeping things afloat over on the technical side. And Hosting Matters, our host of almost 10 years now, for supplying the bandwidth and dedicated server space that makes it possible for us to stay online.

I also need to thank our loyal vendors who have kept the site stocked with amazing content in addition to supplying countless prizes and giveaways. They not only keep you coming back, but wanting “more! more! more!” This has been a place to share, showcase, window-shop, and educate. And then last but certainly not least, our loyal readers who have patiently stood by during the health-hiccups I’ve had along the way, and always came back to help us plow forward. You have always been there to teach and inspire, to “pay it forward” to your fellow peers, and you make this all worth it every day / week / month / year.

We can’t wait to see what the next year has in store!

And many more…
-Robyn & Todd

P.S. More giveaways will be posted tonight. Keep refreshing the page!




We have another new advertiser we’re excited to welcome into the Paperie family: Handmade Paper Album Boxes by Leah Gibbons Photography.

Handmade Paper Album Boxes by Leah Gibbons Photography – Shop my brand NEW Album Boxes for photographers page! Here, you’ll find handmade paper boxes that are eco-friendly and gorgeous! All boxes are quality made, sturdy & archival safe (acid and lignin free). Offered in two very versatile colors, they have a gorgeous natural look, and are earth-friendly! They’re quite lovely all by themselves but are also very easy to “doll up” with ribbons and/or accessories to match your branding!

The boxes are made with all handmade and eco-friendly papers, recycled board and organic glues. They are strong, heavy weight and perfect for book & album packaging. I’ve been searching for high quality and eco friendly album packaging myself for quite some time and am so pleased to offer these to other photographers! Visit them at: leahgibbonsphotography.com/albumboxes/albumboxes.html

And check this post for a birthday discount code from this vendor.

Click over here and see what you’ve missed. A special sale, a teaser of the great giveaways to come, and more were posted over the weekend!

P.S. Vendors, if you are interested in being a part of the birthday celebration, e-mail me at “robyn AT paperieboutique DOT com” ASAP!

A beautiful “green” packaging feature / guest post, and a special lab contest, on tap today…

My name is Brittany Langfeldt, of B. Langfeldt Photography, and I am a custom on-site photographer from the Chicago area.

I have always tried to keep my business as “green” as possible and had previously begun using organic and natural materials for my albums and CD cases. But once I saw Caroline Ghetes’ article featured here on Paperie Boutique I was truly inspired. I began trying different ways to package my products and quickly realized how difficult it can be to find organic or recyclable materials.

I bought a copy of Caroline’s resource list and felt like I hit the jackpot! I ended up using a lot of the same vendors or types of materials and ideas that Caroline uses but the only exact item we share is the CD box. I love all the natural products not only because they are eco-friendly but they also have such a unique and beautifully simple look to them.

My albums are made of all natural materials. They are packaged in this beautiful slipcover with a beaded closure.

For my prints I use black recyclable folders in various sizes wrapped in ribbon.

I tied up 2 tags in the ribbon; 1 stamped prints and 1 stamped with my logo.

My CD cases are made of all natural and organic materials not to mention they are gorgeous! I package them in the same box that Caroline uses and again tie them up with ribbon and 2 tags and add a sticker to the lower left corner.

I stamp my info directly onto the CD.

I include a hard copy of my print license printed on natural handmade paper in a matching envelope. I also have a secondary envelope containing proper storage information, business cards and my refer-a-friend program.

View of the print license.

Everything all put together!

Although I didn’t use a lot of the same items as Caroline, I did use a lot of the vendors provided to me through the resource list she sells. Therefore I can’t disclose my vendors, but I can tell you if you are interested in this style of packaging you should definitely buy a copy of her list! All the proceeds go towards funding for mission trips!

Thank you Caroline for the wonderful inspiration!

(And thank YOU, Brittany, for sharing such lovely packaging with our Paperie readers!)

We’d love to feature your packaging here as well! Please e-mail robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule.




Color Inc. Pro Lab is having a Facebook Photo Contest. Photographers can send in their favorite image of a child / baby and they will add it to an album on their Facebook page.

The image with the most “LIKES” wins a $300 Color Inc. lab credit.

• Contest started Wednesday, March 9th
•  Entry deadline is Friday, March 11th
•  Voting Ends Monday, March 14th
•  e-mail to send images to:  contest@colorincprolab.com

Learn more about the Color Inc. Facebook Photo Contest here!

Well that was fun now wasn’t it? Sorry for the LONG gap in posting and returning Paperie-related e-mails! Juggling a business, a website, and magazine duties proved to be more than one person could handle in a holiday pressure-cooker (especially while my assistants were in finals) — and that meant this place was the first to give.

But my last client cards and packages have finally been shipped and hand-delivered, so now I can get back to the fun stuff. Like the final entries in the “business packaging / holiday packaging contest“! I’ll be posting these as I can individually. Please make sure you scroll to the previous entry each time you visit so you don’t miss anything!

Up next is Lauren Shinn of Shinn Shots Photography…

After a year of having a “photography business on the side,” I decided to update and upgrade. The most important piece of this was branding. I chose colors, look, and a feel that I wanted to represent my business. When it came to packaging, I wanted to incorporate all those things. The challenge was that I also wanted to go green. It’s hard to go green without going kraft brown! But I managed to do it. (I hope to come back here to Paperie Boutique and post about it, but in the meantime, you can read a little bit about my regular packaging at shinnshots.com/blog/beinggreen/green-packages/).

This is my first year to have holiday packaging since it’s really my first year for packaging at all! For the holiday packages, I wanted to be consistent with my brand so that it would still be recognized as Shinn Shots Photography. I dropped the blue color and added in the red, but the look and feel stayed the same. I used red ribbon from Michael’s. (In future years, I hope to use recycled ribbon from Nashville Wraps.) I switched out my typical blue paper raffia ribbon for green paper raffia ribbon. I kept the quotes that I have on the tag in the middle of the ribbon, but I replaced the typical quotes with more holiday-type quotes. Then I added little white puff-balls to add to the holiday feel. (They are actually little pieces of giant chenille pipe cleaner from Michael’s…that way it matches the fluffy white stuff used to hold the ornament on the bag!)

I kept my regular bag for the holidays since it’s mostly green already. I am in love with these bags! They are made from jute. Very green and very reusable. I have a coordinating bag in a larger size for larger items as well. (They come from 1-800 Gift Box.) I replaced my typical gift tag with a wonderful holiday ornament. It’s a wood block with 6 photos covered in mod-podge. Beautiful, and non-breakable…a must in my ornament collection! I made the ornaments myself, but there are several crafty people out there who offer them (such as Live Simply and January Hart Designs).

I hope some of these packaging links can be helpful for anyone trying to go green. I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from my clients!

Here’s to another great year full of beautiful portraits!

Thank you for being patient with me getting this posted, Lauren! I just love the quotes and the ornaments!

Merry Christmas everyone!
-Robyn

Last fall I put out the call for photographers who had “gone green” with their packaging, but unfortunately received no response. Since then I’ve had multiple viewer requests to feature a guest post by a “green” photographer. The problem was finding one, or them finding me. Until now.

Green or not, this packaging leaves me saying “WOW!” It’s simply perfection. So sit back and enjoy the eco-friendly packaging of Caroline Ghetes Photography.

Inside the photo proof box. The box is 100% biodegradable.

Another look at the outside of the photo proof box all wrapped up.

I hand-stamped my logo on this really neat handmade paper. Then I hand-stamped the word “photos” on these recycled chip-board hang tags. I’ve attached all tags & wrapped the boxes in 100% natural raffia ribbon.

Here’s a look at the CD my brides get. A photo is printed on a label and then adhered to the CD.

I use these natural hemp CD cases from Loktah. I LOVE their stuff!

The CD’s are placed on a bed of Natural Coarse Wood Excelsior, inside this 100% biodegradable black box.

Then the CD box is wrapped with Raffia ribbon and more hang tags are attached.

And there you go!

A little peek at the envelope which contains the reproduction release & lab recommendations.

An overall look of the finished product. The shopping bag is a 100% recycled Euro Tote.

Because of her extensive research into green boutique packaging, Caroline sells her vendor and product list rather than sharing it online. The cost for this collected information is $25.00 USD. You can read more of the details at her blog.

“100% of every transaction will be donated to support my missions trip to Romania in 2010, in support of my father’s evangelistic travels. It will involve church revivals, visiting & helping orphanages, remodeling for poor families, photography for the needy & of course some documentary photography as well…In addition to telling you the resources I used to make my own packaging, I will include some more names in there that I did not use, but may work for you.“

Thank you, Caroline, for proving it can be done—and that it can be done to perfection!

There’s much more in store for this week and we’re only half-way through. Don’t forget to check in daily!

If you’re interested in having your own business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).