Artisans
Irene:
Animated and talkative Irene brings a cheerful presence to the studio. An Artisan for one year she enjoys all aspects of the work, but most appreciates seeing the beautiful finished products she has helped create. She feels that the hardest thing for her to learn was the intricacies of getting the pulp just right and making the paper sheets. Irene thinks of assembly, turning sheets of paper into finished products, as her specialty.
Irene sees her role as being a member of a team, everyone working together for an end product, each doing their part. In the future she sees the business growing and expanding to increase production and provide more jobs.
Janice:
Taking pride in her work, Janice spends mornings pulling just the right sheet with carefully perfected edges. Each day over the past four years at WomanCraft, she has aimed to "take care of business" and "be proud of her work." Janice comments, "I love making paper! It keeps me focused. I enjoy working." All the effort is worth it when a satisfied bride comes in to thank the artisans for their work.
Janice foresees the business becoming more automated. Although she enjoys her current work, she would like to someday return to teaching elementary school. Janice notes that she could even teach papermaking.
Susan:
Susan enjoys everything about WomanCraft, Inc., the paper, the people, the board meetings, she thinks it's beautiful. After eight months as an Artisan she feels her specialty is making the paper. Whenever she sees a pattern that the petals are making in the paper she tries to develop it and bring it out so that others can see it too. Susan likes working at WomanCraft, Inc. because it's good to have a job to go to and do something you enjoy.
She sees the business growing larger and believes it is well planned. She feels that the Artisans take pride and joy in their work and when people see the paper they love it.
Sydni:
Sydni has been an Artisan for 8 months. She enjoys the entire process of papermaking from beating pulp to adding pigment and pulling the sheets, and takes pride in making a good sheet. She feels her biggest accomplishment at WomanCraft, Inc. has been discovering that she liked making jewelry and perfecting her skills.
Sydni believes WomanCraft, Inc. is successful in two ways. It helps women to better themselves and keep a job. The business is also successful with the products it makes because it gives the clients what they want.
Donna:
Laughing and joking with the other artisans, Donna says that it's her supervisor and peers that keep her coming to work every day. An artisan since November 2006, Donna's specialty is wet production – handcrafting the paper from pulp into sheets. Having previously worked as a press operator and in housekeeping, Donna has found the most challenging part of working at WomanCraft to be tying the perfect bow. She chuckles, "I can do the knots, but not the bows! Everybody tries to teach me, but I don't have the patience…they just hope that one day they'll wake up and I'll be able to tie them!"
Donna's goals are to keep a stable home environment and stay employed at WomanCraft. She foresees more customers buying from WomanCraft because of its focus on recycled paper and the environment, and maybe one day expanding the business to a downtown location…on State Street!
Terry:
Terry has been an artisan for just less than a year, and feels that learning to tie the perfect bow has been a great accomplishment! Having had previous experience in banking, Terry has enjoyed learning the papermaking process, especially wet production. She enjoys working with her hands for the first time, and is proud of the scholarship she received from the Mayor's Office to get her certificate to become a cardiology technician.
Terry appreciates the time and care that her coworkers put into WomanCraft, and sees WomanCraft being known throughout Chicago in the next five to ten years.
