Jennicakes' Interview with Donovan Beeson

I can't imagine working for The Sampler without having a pretty intense love for stationery, since so much of it goes through Sampler Town every month. And ever since Marie the Bee provided me with a box of Polaroid Flats with which to correspond with our Media Contacts, I've had a huge embarrassing crush on the paper creations of Donovan Beeson, which you can find at both donovanbeeson.etsy.com and the 16 Sparrows shop!

So, in order to find out more about the woman behind the wonderful paper products, I e-mailed seven probing questions to Donovan. And this October Super-Mega Contributor was super-helpful: check it out!

Donovan is a good singer. Are you named after him?

Sadly no, although I do enjoy his music (My most favorite song he does is "Museum".) My name is a family name. It is my Great Great Grandmother's maiden name. Fun name fact: "Donovan" means "Dark Warrior." Cool huh?

You Contributed to The Sampler this month as both Donovan Beeson and 16 Sparrows - can you tell us more about that?

16 Sparrows is run jointly by the fabulous Owner and MasterMind Kathy Zadrozny and myself. Kathy started 16 Sparrows all by herself and she worked very very hard and made it successful. I moved to Chicago and, by chance ended up being her roommate. One thing led to another and when she left for grad school, she asked me to take over the day-to-day production and shipping and whatnot. Most of the 16 Sparrows products are Kathy's designs and my manual labor with the occasional clever suggestion or two; hence my title: Directress of Production and Clever Ideas.

In contrast to the 16 Sparrows items, which are more graphics based, the products I sell under my name are more focused on handicraft and one-of-a-kind items.

As someone who also sells profane items, I really admire your choice to make a "Get Up off Your Ass" to-do list and a series of greeting cards featuring the f-word. Why is cursing so important to you?

The Effin' line is all Kathy's brainchild. When she launched 16 Sparrows back in 2003, her whole mindset behind them was that there were just no cards available for sarcastic, cynical, and quirky folks. Overtime, the market has grown and so we've introduced new products to stay ahead of the trends. Honestly, people tell me that when I curse, it sounds like someone saying "muffin," to which I respond, "Muffin-A."

I am a proud member of the Letter Writers Alliance, which you started with Kathy Zadrozny. Why was it important for the two of you to create something like that, and what sort of things does the LWA do?

And we are pleased and proud to have you as a member! I am so jazzed for the Letter Writers Alliance. So jazzed, in fact, that I'm seriously considering kicking my full-time pay-the-bills job to the curb just so I can spend more time on LWA. Kathy and I love letters, and there are people out there who do so as well. Who doesn't love getting an honest-to-goodness letter in the mail? It's just so rare now with email and phones to make a tangible connection with another person.

There is so much in the works for LWA. Right now, LWA members have access to exclusive products and a PenPal swap system. Kathy and I are working on letter writing kits and a letter writing book. I'm brainstorming about a log book for letters sent and received.

Are you extremely well-traveled, or just really into maps?

I'm into old paper, and a lot of old paper is available as map. Plus, the graphics in maps are just beautiful. I have some framed on my wall as the art that I believe them to be.

Thanks for penning a very comprehenisve Zombie Idenitification Guide! Where did you get such an impressive Zombie education? And have you ever seen I Walked with a Zombie?

My zombie knowledge comes from two sources: 1) my intense fear of zombies and 2) my brother Gary. I feel that I really must be prepared for the coming apocalypse and the only way to do that is to watch as many horror movies and read as many books as possible. When I work out, my mantra is, "I run so that zombies won't eat me." And no, I haven't seen I Walked with a Zombie but I did read The Serpent and The Rainbow. I will though.

Do you have a favorite item to make, or is there any Donovan Beeson creation no one should be without?

My favorite items right now are journals that I cover with library cards that I've typed a reading or book-related quote on. Over at 16 Sparrows, my favorite new stationery is called Paddingken, which is a full letter-size sheet of paper, folded booklet style with a different design on each page.