Behind every artist is a group of influencers. They may be past artists, current pop-stars, brothers, sisters, actors, friends, best friends, dogs, cats, fish, trees, cities, grandparents, cousins, moms, dads, etc. The list goes on. I'm personally influenced by trees. I was also influenced by my deceased Dad.

In honor of this upcoming Father's Day, two teammates tell us about their fathers and how they've influenced them and their art. Happy Father's Day to all the dads both alive and deceased. Please continue to inspire!

A tribute to my father!

By SandrineBJewelry

My father has been an inspiration to me. He nurtured my creativity and incited my love for nature. A lot of my jewelry pieces are reminiscent of my childhood and inspired from nature.

I grew up in the urban city of Lyon in France. As a child my father would take my sister and I on short trips over the week ends. He would drive us for a day to the beach three hours away or to the countryside where we would spend hours venturing into the forest and gather flowers.

My father enjoyed gardening and he and I would spend time together in a community garden. I learnt so much about fruit, flowers and vegetables. To that day I love gardening and always thrive to find an outdoor area in New York City.

He also was a talented drawer. He loved watching westerns and I vividly remember his drawing of a cow boy for my German language class. A beautiful drawing! His free spirit and creativity are a true inspiration.

My father was very encouraging of my jewelry making. I designed a custom signet ring with his initials for his 80th birthday: a ring commissioned by my mother and sister. A pretty hefty ring that took weeks to make. One ounce gold!! The weight of the ring and the steps on the ring's top are reminiscent of the ancient Ashanti people of Africa.

I am so happy to have been able to gift it to him before his death.

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Because I Said So

By Sara Stroman, S2 Stationery & Design

Days before my dad passed away, I woke up from my sleep because I heard his voice say my name. I knew he was dying. I went to work the next day and told my boss I needed to take time off to go spend with my dad in the hospital.

A month after he passed away, I found myself in Rome, Italy running the marathon. I ran it in his honor. My dad was always proud that his daughter was independent and traveled the world. We bonded over episodes of "Globe Trekker" on PBS. My time after running the marathon was spent traveling around Italy, trekking up to Barcelona for a day to spend with a good friend, and ended in Paris, cheering a good friend on her race in Paris. I also had a small amount of my dad's ashes to sprinkle in the town his mother had been born in, Orleans.

That trip was epic. It is still one of my absolute favorite trips of all time, but what made it truly special was a dream I had while visiting Cinque Terre. In my dream, I opened an envelope with a note. I don't recall the note; in fact, I never saw the message on the note, I only saw that the envelope was lined with a pattern similar to a pair of tights I owned. I woke up, startled, and said out loud, this is what I'm meant to do!

Days later, while stopped in Montpelier, France to catch a connection train to Paris, I came across what became my real sign - I was crumbling up a bag my lunch had been in and as I turned it, I noticed a small logo on the bottom. It was a recycling symbol around a tree and it said "Le Papier c'es la vie!" or "Paper is Life!" I tore that piece off of the bag and on the train to Paris, devised my plan for starting what is now S2 Stationery & Design. In those moments, I knew my business was meant to be; that the Universe had brought it to be.

It has been eight years since my dad passed away and I started S2 Stationery & Design. It has been a long journey and an exhausting one, but I know that my dad is shining down wishing me well and supporting me. And I also know that he's helping me along. There is not a day that I don't remember that story and his influence. And I know that every day, he's watching over me, gently whispering to me, "Because I said so," a phrase he would tell me whenever I asked him a question questioning him.

"MEET the ARTISAN" is a blog series that spotlights Etsy New York Team artisans and their craft. In this feature, we learn more about Sara, the creator of S2 Stationery & Design.

Q: What is S2 Stationery & Design? Can you briefly describe your business for us?

A: S2 Stationery & Design is truly a company that uses "design" as a way to usher in communication in all aspects of our lives - personal, business, and everywhere else in between.

Q: Some artisans develop their products to meet consumer needs, while others craft products based on things and/or experiences that inspire them. What is the inspiration behind your business?

A: This questions could take this entire post. My inspiration is (and has been) largely based on experiences in every day life and while traveling. S2 was decided years ago in my youth (although I had no idea of it at the time), when I loved playing with paper. It came full circle after my father's death in 2009 while traveling around Italy after running the Rome Marathon. A dream woke me up at 3am one morning and I woke up knowing that this was my calling; my passion to pursue. It helps that I was in Italy, one of the most beautiful countries in the World and the colors, food, smells, and people inspired me daily.

To a degree, though, consumer needs is also an inspiration, although not the focal point. My stationery is not a life style brand. I'm hardly interested in keeping loyal customers, although I do love them and appreciate them! For me what is important is that a card or set of stationery inspires the customer to write and communicate their emotions. In other words, if a customer buys one card from S2 Stationery & Design and it allows them to be vulnerable and share sentiment that they might otherwise not, that is worth more than continuous sales from products that aren't necessary and are a strain to the environment. Should they return to me because the quality is top notch, or they really like my product, then great! But the idea that a card sale can turn into a potential pencil set sale, or an annual calendar sale is not my inspiration.

Q: Oftentimes, each artisan has a different strategy and objective for their business. What are the next steps for you and your business?

A: There are a lot of steps I want to take. My big goal for 2015 is the Stationery Show at the Javits Center. It's huge and the real deal. I'm also working on positioning my Etsy shop a bit more and separating the custom work from the social stationery. While custom work fits into the social stationery category, it is a different monster and requires a lot more effort and work. I'd love to have them parallel in building S2, but not as closely tied as they are now.

The other big thing is that I'm working on ways to integrate large scale communication. When I was a child we had pen pals and I loved my pen pals. While not trying to bring back pen pals, I'm thinking creatively on ways to bring about peace and acceptance through communication, food, and social stationery. In other words, 2015 is going to be busy!

Q: As many artisans look to grow and further develop their businesses, do you have some advice that you can share with fellow artisans?

A: Take it slow. Running a business is a lot of work. When I started, I thought I could do everything quickly and easily thanks to technology, but it's a lot of work. It can be overwhelming sometimes - so much so that a person can end up burned out fast. It's also important to know the difference between part-time and full-time business running. I quit my job earlier this year to focus on S2 full-time and it's been exhausting, frustrating, and at times I've almost called it quits. Yet, something has kept me fighting and that is the understanding that it all takes time. People who have relatively easy success had struggles, too. Just remember to breathe and if know that if you have the heart, you have the stomach.

Special thanks to Sara for sharing with us. You can find her products showcased on her Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/S2StationeryDesign. And, details of her special product GIVEAWAYS are below. Please enter for your chance to win one of three "My Thankful Space" paper place mats!

A gorgeous decorative piece (and keepsake if food and water damage are minimal) to any Thanksgiving table, the "My Thankful Space" place mats are delicate, but sturdy and a great gift to give those giving thanks in your home. The larger, patterned paper is artisan paper from China. The top layer is a text weight (32lb) metallic paper to compliment the back layer. It is best to use a marker such as a sharpie to avoid smudging and for immediate drying. Each place mat is cut to approximately 12"x18" and assembled by hand.

Enter to win here! To enter simply, like the"S2 Stationery & Design" page on Facebook and/or this blog post, along with a comment with three things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Three (3) winners will be selected randomly for one of three sets of paper place mats. (Marker not included!)

One set of the white and silver place mats has 8; one set of blue and gold place mats has 10; one set of red and gold place mats has 10. Please include in your comment what color placements you prefer. Winners will be notified within 24 hours of being selected for shipping information. Good luck!

Published by Susan Ng / www.NaturallySusans.com / www.NaturallySusans.Etsy.com