The Maypaperflower Story: A Journey to a 300-Year-Old Hue Village and a Former Banker’s Venture into Artisanal Paper Flowers for Export.

Phan Ngọc Hiếu (born 1989, Huế, Vietnam) is a graduate of the University of Economics in Đà Nẵng and has 8 years of experience in the banking industry. In 2020, Hiếu made a bold decision to leave the industry and embark on an entrepreneurial journey, founding Maypaperflower – a unique paper flower brand inspired by a 300-year-old traditional craft village.

Thanh Tiên, a village in Phú Mậu, Huế, is renowned for its 300-year-old tradition of handcrafted paper flowers. Hiếu, a former bank employee, stumbled upon this village during a trip and instantly fell in love with the vibrant red and yellow flowers crafted by skilled artisans.

The art of making paper flowers is a intricate and laborious process. The transformation of stiff paper into delicate blooms involves numerous intricate steps. Hiếu describes how artisans carefully select and split thin treetips to form the stems, while the stamens are crafted by “hollowing out” cassava stems.

“What makes Thanh Tiên’s paper flowers unique is their environmental friendliness and deep-rooted tradition. I asked myself how we could spread and develop this flower-making craft further,” Hiếu recounts her initial fascination with the village.

Hiếu also shares how the paper flower-making craft in Thanh Tiên is intimately tied to the village’s tradition of worshipping the Kitchen God. Every year, in the tenth lunar month, the village’s “flower season” commences. Due to the unpredictable nature of this livelihood, many families in Thanh Tiên relied on it as a secondary source of income alongside farming.

“After that visit, I started experimenting with paper flower-making, drawing inspiration from Thanh Tiên but adding my own creative twist. At first, it was merely a hobby, and I gave my creations to friends who complimented my work. That’s when I got my first ‘customers.’ It was purely a passion project,” Phan Ngọc Hiếu recalls.

Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, prompting Hiếu to return to her hometown of Huế with her daughter. This unexpected turn of events presented her with an opportunity to delve deeper into the world of paper flowers.

“I decided to leave my banking job and focus entirely on paper flowers. It wasn’t an easy decision, as my parents disapproved, preferring me to stay in a stable career. However, my husband and sister supported my choice. So, I continued to explore and innovate, striving to blend modern aesthetics with traditional techniques in my flower creations,” Ngọc Hiếu reminisces.

Maypaperflower became the commercial name for her artistic paper flower products, inspired by the craft of Thanh Tiên. “May, which is the English word for the month of May, is also my daughter’s name. When I started making paper flowers and building my brand, I decided to name this flower line after my daughter.”

Maypaperflower’s creations showcase exquisite attention to detail, from the delicate stems and leaves to the creative fusion of traditional and contemporary art elements in the flowers’ designs. This blend of old and new not only bridges the past and present but also infuses ancient values with modern colors, romance, and artistic flair.

Hiếu recounts: “It may sound unbelievable, but I started my business with just a pair of scissors at home. With each sale, I reinvested the profits into buying more materials and creating new products. Maypaperflower’s designs are inspired by Thanh Tiên but with a modern twist.”

In 2020, Phan Ngọc Hiếu and her sister, Phan Ngọc Hương, entered their Maypaperflower brand into a provincial innovation and startup competition in Thừa Thiên – Huế and won the top prize. The following year, in 2021, they established INNODIR Trading and Services Co., Ltd., specializing in the production and trade of traditional paper flowers.

After establishing the company, Ngọc Hiếu returned to Thanh Tiên to meet with local artisans. She sought their feedback to refine her products and discussed potential collaborations on specific production processes and strategies for accessing larger markets.

Simultaneously, Ngọc Hiếu began hiring and training employees, providing them with social insurance and long-term employment contracts. She also invested in machinery to support semi-automated production processes, ensuring efficiency and consistency in fulfilling orders.

“I took my products to shops and fairs to introduce them to the market. Fortunately, Maypaperflower was well-received from the start. Several major shopping malls in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as hotels, offices, and businesses, placed orders for paper flowers as gifts or decorative items. This positive response fueled my passion to continue creating, innovating, and expanding my reach. And to my surprise, my first international order came from a customer I met at one of those fairs,” Hiếu recalls.

The destination of that first international order was the United Kingdom. As Hiếu rejoiced at the prospect of her paper flowers blooming overseas, she soon realized that exporting brought a new set of challenges and requirements.

“To meet international standards, we had to ensure the highest quality in every aspect, from the origin of our materials to the working conditions of our artisans. Therefore, Maypaperflower sources paper from sustainably managed forests (FSC-certified) and prioritizes eco-friendly and low-waste production practices.”

However, Maypaperflower’s first export batch encountered a hurdle when it was flagged as “Red” during customs clearance. In the context of import and export procedures, customs authorities employ a color-coded system to manage and facilitate clearance. The “Red” category indicates that detailed inspections of both documentation and physical goods are required.

“I was terrified because it was our first export experience, and we were unfamiliar with the process. The customs officials explained that the scrutiny was necessary since it was their first encounter with a paper flower export. Thankfully, after a day, our shipment was cleared,” Ngọc Hiếu recounts.

As of now, Maypaperflower has successfully exported its first orders to five countries: the USA, South Korea, the UK, Australia, and Italy. Hiếu considers these initial steps into the international market as significant milestones, showcasing the talent and value of Vietnamese artisans, particularly those from Huế.

“Maypaperflower officially began in 2021 with a humble 4-square-meter room and just two members. After a long incubation period, May has blossomed, now occupying a 350-square-meter workshop and employing nearly 20 talented individuals,” the proud founder of Maypaperflower reflects.

In late September, Phan Ngọc Hiếu, the founder of Maypaperflower, organized a series of events titled “The Paper Flower Weaver: From Traditional Craft Village to Modern Times.”

At the opening seminar of the event series, artisan Trần Phú, with over 50 years of experience in the paper flower craft of Thanh Tiên, shared his insights: “Paper flower-making in Thanh Tiên is a year-long arduous process, braving sun and rain, only to sell our creations during half a month. The value of these flowers has grown beyond their traditional use in worship and spiritual practices. Now, they grace upscale spaces and are exported worldwide, thanks to the innovative spirit of the younger generation.”

Today, Maypaperflower boasts 107 unique product codes, catering to a diverse range of customer tastes across ages and regions. Their collection includes roses, chrysanthemums, peonies, daffodils, sunflowers, lilies, African daisies, American chrysanthemums, safflowers, lavender, carnations, white and pink lotuses, and more. The brand has received positive feedback from both domestic and international customers.

“There’s still so much I want to achieve and improve upon in my business, as we’ve only been operating for three years. The key to Maypaperflower’s success lies in our deep respect for tradition and our unwavering commitment to excellence in everything we do,” affirms Phan Ngọc Hiếu.