Today we’d like to introduce you to Chandra Kananen.
Hi Chandra, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I took graphic design class in high school which lead me on the path of graphic designing, from there I spent 10 years designing spiritwear for college and resorts. Once I started growing my family I knew I needed to stay creative but most importantly to be a stay-at-home mom, so I started doing wedding invitations, Christmas cards, birth announcements for friends and family. Once my work got out there and people started talking about it, I blew up. So I started taking orders and using a printing company to print my orders. I did this for a couple years, Until two years ago when in my busiest Christmas card season yet my printing company print quality went to crap. So I was left with unhappy customers and no clue how to proceed. I always thought in the future (like 5 years out when my youngest was in kindergarten) I would look into doing the printing myself and really dive into this as a career. But when I was thrown into my busiest season and no good options I looked into other print companies but their prices were so much higher and I couldn’t ask my customers who had been enjoying high quality prints with competitive pricing to then ask to pay more and expect less. So I took a leap of faith and bought my own printing equipment. It was a learning curve to say the least, That christmas card season was a mess. but my customers were so understanding and patient with me as a honed my printing skills. and by the next year I had updated my equipment and was ready to pull off my biggest season yet. Once I bought my own equipment is when I created my official business, Paperbarn and built a studio inside my huge red barn. That is where the magic is designed and printed.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I talked about my biggest struggle on the previous prompt. But on a personal level I still struggle with work life balance, I have four kids and a very supportive husband, but my priority is them. My busiest time of year is christmas card season so from oct-dec, I will pull 80-90 hour weeks, so throughout the year I try to maintain about 15-20 hours of work. with that being said I will never turn down a job.
I also struggled with infertility which is a personal but is also a large part of my story. I had 7 miscarriages as I fought for my family and through God’s grace I have four babies here with me. But earlier in the same year that I I took my big leap of faith I found out I was in premature menopause due to ovarian failure (30 years old)., so I knew my family was complete and I could then shift my focus from growing my family to growing my business. So it was perfect timing and meant to be.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Christmas Cards is for sure my bread and butter, I custom design every order. The customer sends me their photo(s) and the verbiage they want on it and if they have any design inspirations and I create a unique one of kind card. I don’t use templates that don’t work for every picture shape and size or limit wordings. I create it to fit exactly that they need/want. Then I send back design proofs and they can request any changes until it’s perfect! This is a service that I am most known for, all my feedback is it makes the ordering process so easy and stress free. No more trying to fit your picture into online templates and such. I do not charge for design work and my customer enjoy competitive pricing, high quality prints.
I also do a lot of wedding and event stationery. It is the same process for designing, pricing doesnt change because you add the word wedding. I dont upcharge for different events. its all the same and all has complementary design work
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love my little community of small businesses, I have connected with many other businesses in the area that do events and such similar to me so we pass on eachothers info and recommendations and it’s fun to work with other small businesses. I love being a small part of a business or event! I forgot to add that I also do marketing materials, business cards/flyers etc.
Pricing:
- 150 5×7 custom design and printed wedding invitations or christmas cards is $95, double or single sided, coated or matte cardstock
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paperbarnllc/
- Other: https://forms.gle/37WNxC6ieo5L1xds7
