This week, we are shining the spotlight on one of our member consignment artists, Hanna Hoffman! Hanna owns SparkMarks, a brand that creates unique and individually made bookmarks.
Hanna’s journey in making bookmarks began through passing down the value and importance of reading to her daughter. She said, “I read to her every night when she was very little and it was some of the best bonding time for us.” Hanna was a young mom and passing this down to her daughter was the one thing she knew was essential to do. The first time Hanna made a bookmark was actually a present for her daughter.
“I sat in her room one day while she was away at camp and contemplated a thoughtful surprise for her return home. I cut up some construction paper and used fabric paints to create a fun bookmark that said ‘I love when you read’, decorated with colorful designs all over it.”
Her daughter really liked this and started requesting more bookmarks for each new book she had. So Hanna decided to share this inspiration by making and selling SparkMarks. She said that she makes these because personalized aesthetic art can make reading books more fun.
These bookmarks come in all different styles for the unique and aesthetic tastes of their owners. The book marks are thick and sturdy, they are made from either acid-free paper or paper formed from the renewable fibers of the Lokta plant. Each bookmark is topped with different colored tassels, ribbons or a simple design.
Hanna was lucky enough to find WNYBAC right around the time she started making her bookmarks. ” I was amazed to find something so cool even existed,” She said. “I immediately got a membership and saw it as the perfect venue for the bookmarks.” Hanna explained that it is important to her to align her personal values with her business and WNYBAC fully serves that purpose in Buffalo’s local art community, so that is what really drew her to bring her business here.
The SparksMarks business is not Hanna’s primary job, so it hard to find a the balance and time to work on it. But she still is inspired to keep going through her daughter and her own love for art. She hopes her bookmarks can inspire creative thinking and the simple charm of settling into a good book for anyone who buys them!
Stop in our store or check out the SparkMarks Etsy page to get some unique aesthetic bookmarks!