About
– Whispering Paper –
Welcome to Whispering Paper; the one-woman-business I (Marthe van Herk) started back in 2012.
The start of my business happened somewhat by accident; after Art School and teaching art to high school students, me and my husband decided to move our family (with our daughter who just turned 1) to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
One day I saw an image of a papercut in a magazine and I tried to recreate it with my own image. I found out I had feeling for this new found technique; I naturally knew what I needed to cut away to get a clear image, while leaving enough, to keep the papercut together. I went on and sourced better materials (I moved away from the initial Stanley Knife quite quickly!) and developed my own highly detailed style.
Zoe wrote:
“From the initial email enquiry to the final delivered piece, her communication has been fantastic and her ability to turn a garbled idea into a beautiful masterpiece is amazing!”
In Kuala Lumpur friends noticed my work and I got more requests for custom pieces. With all these very different requests, I mastered listening between the lines and define what a person is actually looking for.
In the years after our adventure in Kuala Lumpur we moved back to the Netherlands, had another baby girl, and moved away again to Qatar, Cambodia and Mexico. Whispering Paper began to thrive and grow organically.
I was able to make papercuts for exciting businesses (pieces for tv shows, magazine illustrations, ceramic designs and photo shoot backdrops) and many pieces for weddings and anniversaries, celebrating new babies with custom birth announcement cards and special remembrance pieces.
The personal stories are what I love most about creating a custom piece. I like to take my time to get to know my customers, so I can best create a meaningful piece to celebrate their significant moments, while matching their personality and personal taste.
Molly wrote:
“When I reached out to her, I expected a lovely product, but I was not prepared for the beauty of this keepsake, or the mastery and precision she brought to the task. She’s truly talented and perfectly captured this special passage.”
Would you like to have your personal story or significant moment turned into
a meaningful one-of-a-kind work of art?
Just contact me for an informal chat; I’d love to hear from you!
