PPB March 2019

F or Lauri Felson, it all started with a zippered, pad-printed coconut. The entrepreneur and founder of Santa Fe, New Mexico-based supplier Symphony Seed Papers, Inc., accompanied her husband Joseph (Bud) Felson—owner of supplier Okina Sales, Inc., a custom packaging manufacturer—to the PPAI® Expo in 1994. Having recently left her position as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines, Felson attended the show to help her husband in his trade show booth. She initially sought a gift for her daughter, but quickly noticed that many products at the show were made of plastic or were manufactured overseas. It was then Felson landed on an idea—to offer USA-made, easy-on-the-earth products. A year later, she joined her husband at the show again, adding the zippered coconuts to his booth. She sold 100,000 in her first year, with one of her clients including CBS’s Survivor reality series. It was shortly after that she founded Symphony Seed Papers, Inc., a manufacturer of 100 percent recycled, recyclable and biodegradable paper embedded with flower, vegetable, herb or tree seeds. When gifted, recipients can simply soak the paper in water, cover with a fine layer of soil and watch it grow into a beautiful plant in two to four weeks. The popularity was evident—her first order was for 10,000 seed cards. Nearly 30 years later Felson still makes her seed paper domestically, designing and handcrafting it in the factory she shares with Okina Sales, Inc., making it easy to collaborate on custom seed paper boxes and packaging. All the seeds used are locally-sourced, organic and laboratory-tested, and contain plant material taken directly from nature, like petals and pine needles. No trees are cut down in the process and no toxic bleaching methods are used, as Felson exclusively uses secondhand materials, like paper, cotton t-shirts, coffee grounds and even shredded dollar bills, to make the paper. Lauri Felson of Symphony Seed Papers, Inc., creates recycled, biodegradable seed paper products for her clients. by Danielle Renda Lauri Felson Message In A Planter 98 | MARCH 2019 | CONNECT