One December day, worried about being “planner-less in 2016,” I set to the task of finding a reasonably priced, cute planner. After browsing through Etsy and Pinterest, I saw nothing I liked and gave up. Feeling completely defeated, I went onto the Vogue magazine website, as I usually do when I am procrastinating, and came across an article titled, “For Your Hyper- Organized Friend: The Best Planners of 2016.” Of course I clicked the link, curious as to see what Vogue considered to be the best planners. Perusing through the pictures, I came across a white marble and gold planner and completely fell in love. As soon as I saw the beaut I knew I needed it to organize my upcoming 2016 schedule.

A short time after ordering it, I received my planner in the mail. The planner exceeded my expectations and came with 2 additional postcards with the French phrases, “Note pour vous” on them. But it wasn’t until recently that I decided to look up the company and research what they were all about. On the Ferme à Papier website I found an “About” tab and began to read all about the creator, Cat Seto. Her story fascinated me and I knew I must to know more, so I contacted her for an interview. The oh so cool artist, author, and mother got right back to me and answered the questions I had about her and her brand.

My interview with Cat Seto of Ferme à Papier:

Q: If you were to describe your collection using only one word what would it be?
A: Paris-meets-Brooklyn
Q: What do you consider your biggest accomplishment so far in your career?
A: Being able to have artistic freedom and create things that we genuinely love.
Q: When did you start Ferme à Papier?
A: Ferme à Papier started in the spring of 2013
Q: Has art/design always had a huge influence on your life?
A: I would draw obsessively as a child…sneaking paper onto my lap during dinner and creating paper cities with my siblings :).
Q: Where is your favorite place to visit in Paris?
A: I love the Marais neighborhood. It’s intimate and vibrant with beautiful bookshops, patisseries and galleries.
Q: What is your favorite thing about San Francisco?
A: I am invigorated by the creative community in San Francisco. We have a studio shop we work from and we open doors to the community so that we can interact and be inspired by them on a daily basis.
Q: What is your favorite item in your collection?
A: This is a tough question… I’d have to say that our current favorite product are the Yearless Planners. We designed them to be minimal and efficient to use.
Q: What & where is your favorite museum to visit?
A: I love visiting the Tokyo de Palais museum in Paris. It is open until midnight and it’s amazing to visit the installations and exhibits in the evening.
Q: What makes your collection unique?
A: The color palette is darker than most…we think of Navy as our black.
Q: Who is your favorite artist? Have they influenced you in any way?
A: Each collection there are a number of artists that influence my illustrations and designs. I visited the Gauguin exhibit at the NY MOMA which really helped to inspire our “Tahitian Parisian” collection.