Paper floral artistry
may have had a humble
beginning because of its
virtual non-existence,
but it is now in high
demand and in full
production mode thanks
to our friend and artist
Khrystyna Balushka-
Whitehead, aka.
Balushka. Balushka’s
genuine and kind
demeanor radiate
through the words of
her story-telling of how
she is truly living her
dream, and how she has
risen to success. Her
gentle spirit is humbling
and touching.
She need not a lengthy
introduction or eloquent
historical biography – she does
that for us and our readers in
this delightful interview that I had
the pleasure of conducting. Without
further ado, here is Balushka, the
creator and inventor of Paper Floral
Artistry…
Urbanette Magazine:
Share with
us some background about yourself
and your business – What inspired
your vision for paper artistry? How
did you get started, and when
and where did you establish your
business?
Balushka:
I’ve been around paper
my whole life. My parents have a
printing business in Ukraine. I grew
up folding paper and helping my
parents. I have also loved to create
clothes ever since I was 12 years old.
There was no opportunity to study
fashion in Ukraine. Instead I attended
and graduated from the Math Institute.
It seemed like a logical degree that
would give me plenty of opportunities. I
decided I could focus on my passions in
my spare time. I think the creative and
analytical aspects play into the paper
flowers.
I traveled to Alaska and met my future
husband who is American. That is
another story in itself. After living
together in Ukraine for a year we
decided to move to America so I could
finally study fashion. While in school
one of my professors asked me to make
paper flowers for a backdrop for an
advertisement for a bridal line. I had no
clue how to make them. The first flower
took four hours. But I realized that
making paper flowers makes me happy.
I felt like I had traveled to “flowerland”
and this is how I realized that this is
what I wanted to do. This is how Paper
Floral Artistry was born. Having an
eye for photography, I realized the
paper captured light in a very unique
way when it is folded and darted in
flowers. It is a great backdrop and
they should be everywhere. I decided
I will paper flower the world! I made the first flowers a year ago
and I decided to make it a business. I quit my full time job in July of this
year to give all of my time to flowers.
I am based out of Houston, TX, but I
have customers worldwide.
Urbanette:
Is your business geared
toward brides and their weddings or
other and do you plan to expand your
vision or stay focused on brides? Also,
do you have a studio where clients
come or do you send your creations to
your clients?
Balushka:
I work for brides and style
weddings. My work also decorates
office spaces, retail stores, galleries,
nurseries, birthday parties, corporate
parties, bat mitzvahs … any special
occasion and home decor.
I work from my studio, but I rent and
sell flowers worldwide. I just came back
from New York where I decorated a VIP
area at the Electric Zoo Festival using
plastic flowers. I am getting ready for a
trip to Miami to decorate a bat mitzvah.
Local customers do come to my studio. I
deliver and set-up installations and I am
always ready to travel for an installation
worldwide.
All of my flowers are handmade in
my studio. I make paper flowers, but
I can also embellish flowers with:
vintage lace, pearls, veil netting and
crystals; fabrics which I can hand-dye
such as silk, vintage lace; I can emboss,
do custom stenciling which is great
for wedding dates, and hand paint
paper. I will attempt to do pretty much
anything requested. As I mentioned
above, I work with plastic to make
flowers. These are good for outdoor
occasions and add a different palette
of colors. My future plans are to work
with clay and metal. I would like to get
into exterior design for houses.
Urbanette: Give us and our readers
insight into your process.
Balushka: I started off using paper
from my local art store. I now use
high-quality, textured paper. I use
industrial hot glue to create the
flowers.
I create all flower patterns from scratch.
I get inspiration from nature and have
huge geometric influence from my
mathematical education. Depending
on the design of the flower, it takes
anywhere from eight to 48 petals.
Flowers range in size from one inch to
60 inches (this is not the limit! It is just
what I have done so far). One flower
can take up to six hours depending
on the size and the customization
requests. But I would say the average
time is 2 hours.
Urbanette:
Do you do custom orders,
or do you have standard items you use
and make?
Balushka: I have basic items and
packages for purchase in my Etsy
store. I primarily do custom orders.
Different personalities can be
reflected in the flowers, and I cater
to all budgets. Basic paper flowers
are cheaper but are still exquisite. A
customer can order 5 flowers or 500,
I am always trying to grow and
develop, and recently I started doing
arches and backdrops. I have also
done centerpieces, cake toppers
and boutonnieres. I am really
trying to add an artistic element by
incorporating flowers into different
“scenes” in vases with other pieces
of art.
I can work in any color. Sometimes
I add color or embellishments in
the centers to create something
personal. I send samples for large
orders so customers know the
quality and size of flowers.
