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Miranda (Mindy)My love of art manifested itself in many ways throughout my life; graphic design, fabric arts, paper craft, and now cookies. Mindy is my childhood nickname and using it as part of my brand reminds me to never lose that curiosity and keep experimenting!
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Miranda has always been an artist, putting creative beautiful touches into everything she does. Here's a little bit about her story and the Mindy Paper Art Studio where she creates outside of the kitchen.
The Mindy Paper Art StudioComing out of my art studio are many paper creations using folding, cutting, and book binding techniques while integrating hand lettering, letterpress printing and paper-making.
Design Experience• Marketing Consultant for The Museum of Printing
• Graphic Designer for Greater Boston Stage Company • Volunteer Librarian for The Museum of Printing • Web Designer for local Massachusetts marketing firm • Graphic Designer for SUNY Oswego • Salutatorian at Cazenovia College of Art & Design |
Delicious cookies, beautifully decorated by a professionally trained artist and skilled designer in an MA certified kitchen.
Mindy Paper Cookies is all about keeping a little bit of childhood wonder alive into adulthood. Invite back that mischievous smile, a skip in your step, or a frivolous melody to secretly hum. Feed Your Imagination! |
Mindy Paper Haverhill Life Article
Sweet Expressions
Cookies and paper become works of art in the hands of this creator Miranda “Mindy” Mitrano is an artist who juggles mom life while operating her two specialty businesses out of her Haverhill home. Her cookie business is booming in its second year with her approach to ephemeral, edible art, and she’s finding a renewed passion with reclaimed materials for her paper business. She owns Mindy Paper Art Studio and Mindy Paper Cookies. Both reflect her personality and showcase her graphic design background. Mitrano has always looked to express and keep her creative mind alive through art. She’s been able to create whimsical and resourceful art. Her passion for the euphoric bridges the gap between the different mediums. Cookies and paper are her way to never let curiosity and wonderment fade. The themes of her businesses draw heavily on a favorite childhood movie, “Puff the Magic Dragon.” “It’s my way of keeping my dragon alive and keep a creative spark as an adult because we all know adulting can be hard,” Mitrano says. “It can really bog you down. You have to remember to enjoy the little things and keep that little dragon alive.” An appetite for art A picture tells a thousand words, but for Mitrano, it’s a cookie telling the story — that’s how much detail you’ll find on one delectable treat. In a dozen cookies, unicorns run wild for birthdays or a sunset is painted to announce a birth. These are a few of the original designs — and works of art — that Mindy Paper Cookies has baked up. However, the breathtakingly, exquisite scenes and characters are only visually enjoyed for how long one’s stomach and nose can resist the mouthwatering scents. “It’s art that’s ephemeral,” Mitrano says. “It’s not made to last. It’s made for the joy of making it.” And the taste matches the artwork. Lauren Merrill has been a customer of Mindy Paper Cookies since being surprised with a batch for her baby shower. Now she’s hooked. “She gets better and better,” Merrill says. “And when you see the cookies and how they look, you assume that the taste isn’t there, but they are delicious.” The cookies have also evoked childhood memories for Merrill when she consumes them, reminding her of having tea and cookies at her grandmother’s house. Mitrano launched her successful cookie venture in September 2020, but the concept took form a year prior as a way for Mitrano to spend time with her son and keep her artistic drive alive. At her then-part-time graphic design job, she towed along her infant, Henry. She was informed though that when he began to crawl, she couldn’t bring him. Mitrano started to weigh her options. A lightbulb went off after she was gifted an online cookie-decorating class for her birthday. “I took this class and thought, this is another way to do art,” Mitrano says. “Look at this artwork I just made on a cookie. Then I started thinking, can I do art on cookies and sell them?” Mitrano gave herself a three-month window to prepare her kitchen and figure out if she could make this venture work. “Within less than a month, I was inspected and I had my permits,” Mitrano says. “I go way too fast for myself sometimes. Then I put the brakes on. You can’t bake 500 cookies a week and still play with your son. We are taking it slow.” Cooking up creativity Over time, Mitrano has built a following for her cookies, which are all baked in her Massachusetts-certified residential kitchen in Haverhill. Mindy Paper Cookies offers two signature flavors: browned-butter and dark chocolate. Custom flavors, including the popular strawberry lemonade made from dehydrated fruit, are available upon request. The browned-butter cookie pays homage to her mother’s baking with hints of almond, while the dark chocolate flavor is made with Ghirardelli chocolate bits and espresso. “It’s more decadent,” Mitrano says of her chocolate cookie. “You definitely need a cup of coffee with it.” Each batch is baked with an extra cookie for her delight. Henry, now 3, gets to enjoy her baking, but Mitrano says that drying cookies are hidden from his sight. The cookies are all miniature works of art with precise attention to detail. She hopes their fantastical feel evokes happiness for the brief time they are enjoyed. Mitrano teaches her own cookie-decorating classes locally and virtually. She enjoys seeing the excitement of the participants when trying their hands at decorating. And if they fail, it’s easy to make the evidence disappear. “People get so excited to see the cookie examples, and they say, ‘Oh, I’m never going to be able to do that,” Mitrano says. “Then at the end of the class, they’re proud of this piece of artwork they made. And if they aren’t proud, I tell them, just eat it. Who needs to know?” Aspiring at-home artists can also order blank-canvas cookies and kits from Mitrano, including coloring-book-type cookies delivered frosted with royal icing and stenciled to fill in with edible watercolors. This fall, Mitrano has been busy developing seasonal holiday designs and kits for families to enjoy together. Some of this year’s designs include a “Thankful Turkey” centerpiece cookie and a “Santa & Friends” mini dozen. Mitrano offers a gingerbread house kit small enough to sit on the edge of a coffee cup. The kits, which come with “walls,” icing and sprinkles, have been popular, with customers finding it easier to assemble than a typical-sized gingerbread house. Last year, cookie reindeer “flights” were available and included nine flavors. Cookie Advent calendars are also a big hit. Past holiday flavors have included ginger and pumpkin. Repurposed passion While her paper business came first, Mitrano knows it sometimes takes a back seat to cookies. But time spent volunteering at the Museum of Printing has rejuvenated her love of all things paper. Staff at the Haverhill museum has even helped her with letter-pressing that she incorporates in her work. Most of Mitrano’s for-sale paper products include recycled and reclaimed materials. She calls her craft “paper manipulation” because she’s molding paper into unexpected forms. This includes recycling everything from cards to toy box packaging to pretty gift containers — all for a later use. Her stockpile is a plethora of endless possibilities. “My studio is filled with stacks and stacks upon stacks of reclaimed paper,” Mitrano says. “It feels really good not to have to buy new materials to make something. That is important to me.” Tiny books are her latest inventions. These leather-bound and sewn 2-inch books can hang on keychains or purses or be made into necklaces. “You can still have that little smile in your pocket to help you get through the day,” Mitrano says. Mitrano says that half the fun of the tiny books is personalizing them, which she sees during her pop-up classes and her kit offerings that come with a You-Tube tutorial. “You can sew it yourself and work through that process,” Mitrano says. “It’s much more fun to make something than it is to just buy it.” For the holidays, Mitrano will have tiny-book paper ornaments along with watercolor greeting cards that demonstrate her fine arts training. She’s also dabbling in making her own paper. Mitrano is also cooking up new concepts both for cookies and paper. She’s developing gluten-free and dairy-free treats. And a “Harry Potter”-inspired tiny book series is in the works — one for each Hogwarts house. |
Mindy Paper & Cookies GHAA Interview |
Mindy Paper Cookies
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Mindy Paper Cookies chats with Angela at Cake Angel |
Mindy Paper Art Studio Boston Voyager Interview
May 22, 2018
Today we’d like to introduce you to Miranda Mitrano. So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. It all began in NY, not far from my hometown on the shores of Lake Ontario. Once I graduated with my design degree from Cazenovia College, I immediately put together a DBA under the name MDW Design. With a little encouragement, I set myself up as a graphic design and vinyl lettering business. Living in a rural area in upstate NY I was content to keep my business small and more of a hobby than a driving passion. I attended local craft shows and submitted my work into small regional art shows but I was missing that satisfaction. Something was off. I dropped the vinyl lettering and focused on just the paper art – working with reclaimed materials and eventually working up to my very own single-artist gallery show. That’s when everything changed. A devastating divorce threw my life into a tailspin. Sitting back at “go” and licking my wounds I was determined to make my life exactly what I wanted it to be. I laid out the parameters: 1) specific dedicated days a week to just my art, 2) a partner that supported my goals, 3) and a mantra to never let fear hobble me again.* Over a decade after establishing MDW Design, I left it behind in NY along with my old married last name (Miranda Dee WHITMAN). Welcome to Massachusetts! Here I am. I start over again, but with renewed purpose. DBA Mindy Paper is born with a focus on paper manipulation, letterpress printing & hand lettering. I’m networking like crazy, experiencing all the benefits of being so very close to a major metropolitan area, and saying no to Fear. I will be my passion, I am Mindy Paper. Mindy Paper is a combination of my childhood nickname and Jackie Paper from Puff the Magic Dragon (He loses his imagination and creativity as I briefly did during my dark decade in NY) We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you? Easy is relative. My biggest hurtle has been Fear – I’m a perfectionist. And everyone knows NOTHING is perfect. But after the divorce knocked me out of the rut I was in, I came up with this mantra to remind me to stop dragging my feet. It starts with a quote from a C.S. Lewis novel “Courage, dearheart.” and continues with my own carefully chosen words to myself. “Courage, Dearheart.” I will live my life fully, actively pursuing my personal goals. I will embrace the ups without fear of retribution. I will acknowledge the possibility of the downs but I will not let fear hobble me. I will live my life fully, including immense joy and soul-searing sadness. We’d love to hear more about your business. Mindy Paper focuses on paper. I’m a “paper manipulator” (and proud of it!) transforming reclaimed, recycled, and new materials into something so much more. In general terms, I have 2 areas: paper sculpture & lettering. Paper Sculpture: Includes elements of origami (folded paper), kirigami (folded and cut paper, limited use of adhesives- instead using intricate folds, slices, and pockets in construction), diorama & collage. Lettering: Includes hand illustrated typographic posters and letterpress printed pieces. These 2 areas tend to intermingle as my process progresses. I’ll start mocking up a paper flower and once I have the form where I want it, I’ll integrate it into a larger piece. From there I might sell the original or photograph it for sale as a print or integrated into another project. I’m most proud of my use of reclaimed materials: I try very hard not to be a pack rat, but I’ll see a piece of packaging and think “That would be a perfect box to create my next diorama inside!” or a brightly colored piece of cardboard box and immediately say “That would be perfect for a seascape collage!” I’m in fledgling mode right now with an Etsy store and Facebook page as my main venues for public interaction. But as I join more local art associations (Greater Haverhill Arts Association, Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Boston American Institute of Graphic Arts) and continue my networking, I will find just where Mindy Paper fits! In the meantime, I’m loving being part of this diverse artistic community… so many opportunities to create. What were you like growing up? I was always creative as a child, drawing, crafting, sewing. I have piles of sketchbooks in my studio from that time that I sometimes use as inspiration. I loved to read (and still do!) and create strange new fashion designs — sometimes I even wore them in public. I got a little bit of press for creating a “robot” at home when I was under 10 (I actually just modified the outside of a remote control car to look like a robot- ha!) I participated in band, chorus, Girl Scouts, church and sailing. I frequently walked through the woods and on the beach, in fact – I greatly miss going to sleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. When I got to high school my parents restricted my focus to academics but you could still find me in the art room after school. I even helped paint the senior mural when the rest of the students lost interest. Once it came time to visit collages, I was amazed they had art buildings and immediately set my heart on an art degree (much to my father’s dismay. He asked me, “What happened to being a marine biologist?!”) I compromised with him and agreed on a graphic design degree since it was the most likely to earn me a “good living”. Once in college my grades excelled – I was finally studying something I cared about and would frequently do projects over again for a better grade. |
