Our Story

A love of watercolor, rooted in the garden

It starts in a garden

Mary's story begins in a garden. Growing up, the backyard was filled with basil, rosemary, zinnias, strawberries, an overgrown fig tree and her sister's chickens. She would watch her mother pick the juicy tomatoes or cut swiss chard from their own garden to make a beautiful meal for the family. And if it wasn't grown in their own yard, there was always a neighbor's farm stand nearby where you could find watermelon, peppers or blackberries. The garden was simply always around. Maybe that is why, when Mary sits down with a blank page, she still paints lemons, herbs, berries, and carrots.

Falling in love with watercolor

Mary has been painting for as long as she can remember. Although she took classes in pastels, pen & ink, and calligraphy, watercolor was always her favorite medium. Early on, she fell in love with mixing her own colors to find that perfect shade of pink for a radish or the exact green of summer basil. She still mixes each shade herself for every painting today.

The happy cards

At Berry College, where she studied art history and received the Troy/Gardner Endowed Award for her work, painting was still just a passion. Mary made delightful cards for friends and family, and that was enough. Then, in the last semester of her senior year, her roommate convinced a professor to write her into an entrepreneurship class. For her business project, Mary signed up for a booth at Berry's Spring Market and spent that semester designing her first collection of cards and prints. She painted what she knew and loved: fruits, vegetables and flowers, the colorful things you find at a farmers' market. The night before the market, she hand-painted her booth backdrop, a piece of scrap canvas fabric with her name surrounded by carrots, beets, lemons and radishes. Visitors crowded around her table, calling her cards "happy art". The name stuck, and so did the feeling. That one booth led to her cards being carried at shops in downtown Rome and a regular vendor at a local farmers' market.

From an idea to a painting

Every design begins with an idea. Mary may be thinking about arranging a pattern of leafy greens or the way tomatoes hang on the vine. She starts with a sketch, then mixes each shade by hand to carefully paint in the vines, leaves, and finishing touches. Sometimes the finished artwork feels perfect for a card. Other times, she imagines it on a plate, a tea towel or another piece made for the home.

The garden-to-table life

Every design comes back to the small, good things: a ripe strawberry, a handwritten note, fresh flowers on the counter, a table full of people you love.

That is what the garden taught Mary. The best things are grown slowly, made by hand and meant to be shared.