A Wee Interview

Today I'm featuring something a little different and new here in my little corner of the internet.
But, before I do that, I have to take a minute to thank all of you or all of y'all as we say here for your heartfelt and touching comments about my sweet Scout's passing. Whether you wrote just to let me know you were sorry to hear of her death or told me your own story of pet loss, it was truly comforting to read and so appreciated.

I'm pretty sure I've never done this before, but I thought that today I'd bring you an interview with one of my blog sponsors, Saral Paper Corp. I've crafted several projects using their terrific transfer papers including this and this. And I've recently sent off a project which I can't show here, but will be appearing in a publication later this year that uses Saral paper to transfer text to fabric. So I though it might be fun to find out a little bit more about Saral from Dick Lamley, president of Saral Paper Corp. It didn't dawn on me until just now that a photo of Mr. Lamley might have been a welcome addition to this interview. In lieu of his actual photo, I'm including this image:

                                 
 Let me know, Mr. Lamley, if this is not an accurate representation of you and I'll change the picture.
Enough silliness. Let's learn a little more about Saral Paper Corp.

 MD: Why don’t we start with you telling my readers a little about the products you all offer.

DL: We make a product known as transfer paper, or sometimes graphite paper.  Its purpose is to allow you to transfer a design from a pattern or template to any surface, including fabrics.  Saral is a wax-free product (and always has been) which allows you to erase or wash out your transfer line.  This wax-free characteristic allows you to paint over it or ink over it with no separation.  Saral Transfer Paper comes in five colors: graphite, white, blue, red, and yellow.  White and yellow are great on dark fabrics, and graphite is the basic, all-purpose color that seems to work for many projects.  We package our paper in different quantities, for example, a Sampler Pack with one sheet of each color, or our 12-foot rolls, which are 12 inches by 12 feet of an individual color, or Sally’s Artists’ Graphite which are graphite sheets, 18 inches by 24 inches, 12 sheets packed in a box.  For more information on all our products, visit the products page on our website: http://saralpaper.com/products.html

MD: I read in the Saral Story that there have been improvements made over the years to Saral Paper. I’m curious, what kind of improvements have you made?

DL: Well, in many ways, we’ve offered the same quality products for over fifty years.  For example, our products have always been wax-free, and the formula for our ink was refined and perfected in 1954.  One area where we have made major improvements is in the quality of our paper itself.  Saral Transfer Paper has two parts: the paper base and the transfer inks that are adhered to it.  Our current paper is a high quality, light weight, carbonizing tissue which is durable, and doesn’t tear easily.  It can be used over and over, and allows the user to make very fine transfer lines.

MD: What are your favorite ways to use the transfer paper?

DL: To ship it out the door to you!  Just kidding.  We at Saral are constantly impressed by the artists and craftspeople who find new ways to use our products.  As a product, it is incredibly easy to use and versatile.

MD: Saral Paper is almost 60 years old, what new products might we see in the next few years?

DL: We are very happy with our current staple of products, and do not have immediate plans for any product expansion.  We have found that the colors of Saral Paper we currently sell cover virtually everyone’s needs.  It is our mission to continue to serve our customers by providing the best quality transfer paper in the world.