When I began making mobiles in 2007, I tried to avoid using white paper for any mobiles. Most white paper I had come across yellowed with time, and I didn’t want my customers complaining that their beautiful white mobile had turned yellow after two or three months. When customers requested an all white mobile I would cringe at the thought of it – but as I have learned from first hand experience – it’s important to give customers what they want.
My History with White Paper and Origami
My first recorded sale of an all white crane mobile was on August 14, 2009, it’s possible I sold one before this date, but I didn’t write it down anywhere. After some searching I found out about acid- free paper, and how it shouldn’t yellow. Unfortunately, I now know that even white acid free paper changes color slightly with time. Not only can the sun discolor paper, but fluorescent lights can too! So far, the only white paper I have found that doesn’t change color is white Fadeless Paper, but this paper isn’t a true white – it has a blueish tint to it. So I am still on the hunt for the perfect white paper…
Besides the white paper issue, I also didn’t like selling all white mobiles because most of them where purchased as nursery decor. A white mobile hanging from a white ceiling doesn’t do anything for a baby’s vision or brain, and was determined not to hinder the visual or mental development of anyone’s baby. Being a first time mother in 2009, I had strong (albeit hormonally influenced and inexperienced) opinions on what a baby needed in his/her nursery. It was not a good time for my business.
Experiencing How “the Customer Is Always Right”
One customer wanted to order two all white mobiles for her nursery, and I convinced her to add some colored cranes to the mix. This backfired as the shade of blue I used didn’t match the blue in the room, and I ended up making her an all white mobile after all. What’s worse is that she never did buy the second mobile, as she was upset with me over the whole ordeal. Imagine – two hormonally charged women at odds over how a nursery should be decorated. I wish I had just made her the white mobile in the fist place – it was her nursery after all! I would probably have made a customer for life, but instead I had a lesson for life. That was a difficult learning experience, and it has stayed with me, always reminding me to work with the customer to create something that they want.
An Intriguing Customer
Last year I had a customer order an all white mobile from my Etsy site, but something about this customer caught my attention. The label was addressed to a Photography studio, and my curiosity led met to look it up. Kansas Pitts Photography and Design Studioblew me away! Kansas is a portrait photographer like no other – her photos are a work of art, and she is skilled at taking breathtaking photos on the beach at sunset. You have to visit her site to see her work – it’s absolutely amazing! Well, needless to say, I became an instant fan of her work. I found through her blog that she was documenting the process of preparing her new baby’s nursery, and that she planned on tagging everything in her nursery on her Baby Hudson Pinterest Page.
My Paper Crane Mobile in PopSugar
As the nursery came together, Kansas blogged about it and shared the details of where she got different things for the nursery. Soon there was a link to my all white crane mobile, as well as several gorgeous photos of the nursery with my mobile in the center of it all. Because the nursery featured navy and brown walls and a gray ceiling, the white birds stood in stark contrast to their surroundings. I was so excited and honored that my work was a part of this beautiful nursery. Her nursery was even featured in a PopSugar article about a DIY Rustic Baby Boy’s Nursery. I didn’t know about the PopSugar feature until recently when I mustered up the courage to write Kansas an email asking her for permission to use her photos on my site and social media. I was overjoyed when she responded and shared all this new information with me.
Seeing is Believing
Seeing the all white mobile in Hudson’s nursery has made me a believer that a white mobile can work in a nursery – and not just that – it can make a nursery complete. Its’ simplicity and elegance speaks for itself, and wether it hangs in a nursery, a lake house, or an office, it will always be a timeless work of art.
