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Meet Elizabeth, one of the founders of the Chasing Paper! Chasing Paper creates beautiful, high-quality removable and traditional wallpaper. While they're best known for their incredible collaborations, Chasing Paper just launched their first in-house collection of wallpapers - and we couldn't be more obsessed! Read on to learn all about Elizabeth and her fabulous company.
I’m Elizabeth Rees, the Founder of Chasing Paper. I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, spent my 20s and 30s living in Washington DC, Paris and NYC. I launched Chasing Paper in the sparkling twinkle of New York City but its roots were always in the Midwest, having always produced the wallpaper here in Milwaukee, and brought the business back in 2018. It was then, that my younger brother Mike, came on board full time and the company really started to spread her wings - we made a big investment into our website, adding traditional stock wallpaper (meaning the kind you use paste with!) and started intentionally building and our trade program. Since then we have been focused on what we do best – creating one of a kind collections with partners with personality and point of view – our hope is that once one of our prints gets into your mind it will be impossible to settle for something else.
We had a big milestone birthday last year - 10 years in business. A decade working slowly and surely along - we have had so many exciting moments along the way from being covered in the New York Times, celebrities using CP in their homes, being invited to speak about Chasing Paper all over the world…but mostly now its being able to show my young daughters what it means to work hard and love your job. It’s such a gift to lead my amazing team and get to do a job that fuels my creativity everyday.
I think as I get older I love traditional motifs and foundational elements but layering with more modern elements such as art, fabrics and textures.
The first thing that drew me to the Marian Swivels was the depth of the seat - I very much wanted these to be chairs that were not only beautiful but a place that was comfortable to spend time in. With the room being so long and narrow we needed substantial chairs and these fit perfectly.
I also loved being able to add a contrast welt! The fabric has a lot of natural dimension and texture to it already which I love - it’s a solid that almost has the look of a subtle print and the maroon welt accentuated the stunning lines of the chair and also picked up the warmth of the details of the room. The quality of the chairs blew me away - nearly everyone who comes into our home asks about them!
in Ringo, Sapphire with Ringo, Plum Welt
We actually just launched our first collection that our team designed - we just celebrated 11 years in business so it's quite funny that we have spent the last decade licensing and only started to dip our toe in design until recently.
That said, our Heritage Stripe is a personal favorite because having been in wallpaper for so long, I thought that there wasn’t possible to do a stripe in a way that hasn’t been done but I really love what we came up with! We wanted a stripe but in a softer, more delicate way - we loved the idea of mimicking a lacelike detail that you might find when crocheting. A nod to our Grandma Jane’s tables at Easter, but done in a more modern Ikat hand.
I love our living room - it feels like a cozy hotel lobby. A mix of prints and patterns and textures create an atmosphere that transports you and also encourages you to read or chat or relax a little longer.
Being in the world of wallpaper of course I am drawn to wallpaper and fabric - I believe that investing in small textile artists brings such a special story to a home - brings art, print and color into a home in such a special way.
I am currently working on a project with a Sunbury Yellow kitchen which I am thrilled about! It’s a jolt of color but has some green undertones that I think gives it a more natural feel – I am just not a white kitchen girl (or white wall for that matter)!
Travel - big cities or small towns - all equally inspiring to me. Travel has gotten a touch harder to do independently with a young family but I try to tack on a day or afternoon to work trips to walk the streets of NYC, LA or Chicago – pop into museums or eat at a beautiful restaurant.
The Lawns, Summer Thornton Designs and Fermoie.
We are still in our infancy with travel with the girls since they were both born in pandemic times - but last year we went to New Mexico and stayed at Los Poblanos and it was truly magical - the farm, the animals, the incredible food and things to do on property was the perfect speeds for a family with young kids. I also grew up going to my grandmother’s home in Snowmass, CO and I took my girls last summer for our first ever girls trip (a tradition I hope to keep the week before school starts) and we sent the week finding our own little groove in the mountains away from schedules and work – spending our days exploring and making art. It was incredible to see a familiar place through their eyes.
I just finished Hello Beautiful which I loved! Also anything Kristen Hannah! I have always been an avid reader - but lost the ability to finish books while I had babies - I couldn’t remember what I read (ha!) and have absolutely loved getting back into it. The girls and I do weekly library visits after school and keeps me reading.
