After 40 years of creating everything from corporate marketing campaigns to a published cartoon (yes, really), I found myself in a new town, an empty nester, and asking the very reasonable question: what's next?

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Turns out, the answer was right outside my window.

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Life on Dymer Creek in Virginia's Northern Neck has a way of demanding your attention — ospreys with a morning fishing agenda, bald eagles being quietly dramatic, and if we’re lucky, every summer dolphins will find their way up the creek. With all that inspiration, I grabbed my sketchbook. And then my slightly quirky brain took over.

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Here's the thing about my art: nature is the starting point, not the destination. An osprey might inspire a card, but by the time my pen is done with it, that bird has opinions, possibly a catchphrase, and will definitely be a different color. My work is a little offbeat and driven less by what I see outside my window and more by whatever my imagination decides to do with it. If you're looking for Ansel Adams, this may not be the right spot — but if you want something that makes you genuinely smile when you open the mailbox, welcome!

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Dymer Paper & Pen launched in 2023 as a way to pair my creative obsession with my secret identity as an entrepreneur. Today, that means original-artwork notecards, journals, and, new this summer, The Write Occasion curated gift boxes — sold at local farmers markets, in shops across the Northern Neck, and right here online. Every design we produce — the pink bird, the watercolor sheep, the flowing fish, the modern flowers — is made to ensure that the person who opens your envelope feels immediately and unmistakably delighted.

 

Our goal isn't to just help you communicate, it's to make someone's day better for having heard from you. Because everyday life deserves a little joy. And maybe a bird with a personality.