Friday, November 4, 2011

The Pink Pagoda



I am thrilled to welcome Jennifer Beshears of The Pink Pagoda, also known as TPP, as a Premier Sponsor of Chinoiserie Chic. Jennifer's stunning Chinoiserie art has filled a real void in the world of Chinoiserie interior design. Those of us who are drawn to the modern approach to Chinoiserie - a bolder, simpler, more graphic, and more colorful version of Chinoiserie, have been at a loss to find affordable, yet elegant and sophisticated Chinoiserie art. The Pink Pagoda brings to the interior design world a fresh and whimsical approach that works beautifully in any room of the house and in any home. Chinoiserie has the amazing ability to adapt perfectly in a traditional, modern, country, urban, or beach setting - you name it, it adds instant whimsy, style, and sophistication. TPP offers a wide range of subjects and colors and the ability to select custom colors. Her giclees include blue and white Chinese porcelain, Ming vases, pagodas, Chinese Chippendale, monkeys, and elephants. They work beautifully paired or grouped.

If any of you have photos of art from The Pink Pagoda that you have framed for your home, I would love to have you email them to me for an upcoming post. Your home will be featured on Chinoiserie Chic.

Now, please enjoy my interview with Jennifer and some of my favorites from her collection, including the Limited Edition Chinoiserie Chic Pagoda she did for my pagoda series. Be sure to visit Jennifer's interior design blog, a favorite of mine, and her Etsy store frequently, as new giclees are introduced all the time. You will find the link in my sidebar. Also new is a beautiful set of Chinoiserie foldover notecards that will make a perfect stocking stuffer.


Q - What is your background as a graphic artist?

A - I taught myself how to use Photoshop twelve years ago when I wanted to make my daughter's birthday party invitations.  That developed into a business, and I've been doing various graphic design projects since.

Q - When did you start TPP?  

A - I opened The Pink Pagoda in October 2010.

Q - What was your motivation to start this business?

A - I was a middle school teacher before my daughter was born.  Since then, I've enjoyed having a business I could run from home.  The idea for The Pink Pagoda was simply from a grouping of prints I made for our breakfast room.  I was familiar with Etsy, and thought I'd open a store to sell what I love and see what happened.

Q - Why specialize in Chinoiserie?  

A - I've had a thing for Chinoiserie ever since I can remember.  My sister and I went antiquing with my mother growing up, and I was always drawn to fretwork on Chinese Chippendale style pieces, pagodas and blue and white porcelain.  The fanciful nature of Chinoiserie is so appealing.  I love both traditional, ornate Chinoiserie and the simple more graphic Chinoiserie we're seeing now.

Q - Where does your inspiration come from for your giclees?  

A - I'm inspired by traditional Chinoiserie, bold graphic art, and lots of color.

Q - Your gicless have such gorgeous deep saturated color. Is the trick in the paper, the inks, the printer, or is it a trade secret?  

A - I went through lots and lots of fine art paper in my search for what would produce the most vibrant color.  Everything I tried seemed to just miss the saturation I saw on my monitor.  Finally, I discovered that printing with Hahnemuhle paper produced the vibrancy I was looking for.  I love clear, bold colors, but I know that many prefer more muted shades.  I do custom colors for people all the time.

Q – Your giclees seem to be popping up everywhere!

A -   I've been very fortunate to have many incredible bloggers like Chinoiserie Chic notice my work and feature me.  With so many fabulous stores on Etsy, it can be very hard to get noticed.  You found my store the first or second day it was open and featured my prints.  Because of that I had immediate sales and great momentum.  It was also exciting to have one of my ginger jar prints featured on the style page of the winter 2010 edition of Virginia Living.

Q – Any plans for expansion of your line into more products?  

A - The best ideas for new products come from requests and suggestions from my customers.  I'm working on developing place mats, coasters and dish towels.  I have a space in Lost Antiques in the Dallas Design District where I sell fun, colorful Chinoiserie accessories.   I'm considering adding these to my website.  Just yesterday I started adding foldovers to my store.  In the next few days I'll add more options.  These are great to purchase for yourself and also make thoughtful gifts or stocking stuffers.













Limited Edition Chinoiserie Chic Pagoda


3 comments:

  1. Nice interview. Now am going to Lost here in Dallas to see her stuff. Those note cards are right up my alley!

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  2. I LOVE TPP...a school teacher? Who knew? I would be curious to find out if Jennifer's daughter likes creating?

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  3. Thanks so much for this great interview! I really enjoy the Pink Pagoda designs and Chinoiserie Chic for bringing us such great inspiration!

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