IN STUDIO: La Familia Green

This week, IN STUDIO focuses on the dymanic duo of Mollie Green and Andrew Miners, the creative force behind La Familia Green. Since 2005, the company has produced a whimsical line of cards and journals that are each uniquely handmade. Mollie uses templates and scissors to create their cut-paper designs. And, being a night owl, she has tremendous patience in constructing each card, a single layer at a time. Not only do you get great design, but the handmade quality of each card makes them each a valuable little art piece. Mollie explained, “Cards are intimate. There’s something interesting about my making a card and someone else buying it, adding their own thoughts to it, and sending it to a third person, who responds both to my work and to the message of their friend.” It’s a card as performance piece.
Andrew scoures flea markets, eBay, and thrift stores for VHS tape boxes, used postcards, and album covers. From these, the pair make a line of journals. “The authenticity of the material is really important,” says Andrew. With these very appealing journals, Andrew has taken a discarded object and reinvented it as a boutique item.

The studio, as you can guess, is an exceptionally creative space, bright, interesting, and filled with objects that inspire. And all of their production tools fit nicely onto a tall set of shelves! Seeing this, you really understand the individual effort that's required for each of their cards. There are no big die-cutting machines or screen print presses here. Just small hand tools and an exceptionally talented team. What’s Next? Mollie explained that they are open to exploring collaboration with others. Secondly, they are always working to tighten the production process and improve efficiency. Finally, they’re interested in the growing community of etsy and offering original cut paper artwork or prints there. In the immediate future, you can catch La Familia Green at Paper Doll in Chicago on October 27 and at Greer Chicago in December. See their website right here.