Recently I met with, Sarah Barrett, a designer of cards and photo albums in Los Angeles. When I first heard she specialized in handmade cards, I wondered if Sarah’s designs were really that unique. Let’s face it, handmade cards are beautiful and fun to receive, but they are a dime a dozen these days. That is…until I saw her complete collection. Sarah doesn’t just create handmade cards, she designs photo accessories that you’ve never seen before.

My absolute favorite item is her photo tins. At only 4″ x 6″ the are small enough to fit in a small handbag and oh so cute! They retail at $25, fit nine wallet-sized pictures of your hubby, kids or dog and Sarah will customize the look to fit your theme, favorite color or anything you have in mind. This is what Sarah had to say about them: “

I think the photo tins are what I’m most proud of. I love the idea of being able to carry pictures of those you love in your purse and not worry about them getting bent or destroyed. I felt especially proud of the HOPE tins since it was my way of giving back…20% of each tin went to Susan G Komen for Breast Cancer Research.”

Here is a little more of my interview with Sarah:

What inspires your paper creations?

Different things inspire me. My kids…women with cancer, the incredible way a happy design makes people smile and feel warm. In terms of my designs, I can see certain colors together, see a pattern on some paper or see shapes while I’m out walking…anything can inspire me and then I just go back to my desk and play!

Where are you when you aren’t working?

Well, lately I can usually be found volunteering at my daughter’s school. Partially because of my former life as a teacher and partially because I love that sparkle I see in Emily’s eyes, I feel it’s essential that we support our teachers and schools as best we can…

Do you have a favorite boutique shop? If so, what?

I haven’t been doing a lot of shopping lately, but when I was looking for unusual and wonderful gifts, I would always go to Zipper. They were on 3^rd Street in Los Angeles and then they opened a shop in Brooklyn , NY . A month or so ago they closed their store here and opened in Sonoma , CA . So Cal ’s loss is No Cal ’s gain! At least I can still find them online!!

I had a great time getting to know Sarah and I was more and more impressed with each creation she pulled out for me to see. We’ll be watching her closely to see what she does next! To see for yourself, click here to visit her website.