Finding a perfectly crafted greeting card can be a bit of an arduous task, especially when you require such finer details on the card for a special occasion. Zulala Rahman specializes in personalized handmade cards in interesting floral themes. She has been making cards since the age of 16, and she started off with making them as souvenirs for her friends at school.

Apart from designing and crafting birthday cards and invitations, she also does cards for weddings, special occasions and festive holidays. Recently, she’s taken to making table décor such as napkin rings and place cards in different themes in addition to wall frames, bookmarks, gift envelopes and pop-up cards.

Aged 24, Zulala is also passionate about teaching children and she followed a course in Montessori training at MMI, where she worked there. “When I started out, all kinds of material would go into making my cards. I would use all kinds of buttons and ribbons. Now, I mainly do floral punch crafting and paper punchers are my most essential tools. Apart from those, I use paper and cardboard. Until February this year, I made cards only for family and close friends. After my work was displayed on Facebook, a few orders have been trickling in but I’d like a better response,” she explained.

Per order differs with the order itself, as it depends on the workmanship of the product. If the workmanship is intricate, then it takes a longer time. Zulala did all her wedding stationery from the crafted 2500 flowers to the invitations, favour boxes, gift boxes, thank you notes and mehendi invitations all in under 3 months.

She admits that she had stopped working by then so she was able to put all her concentration and effort into the work. “If it’s a wedding order, then I need a month and a half or 2 months prior notice. Generally, customers have a look at my cards and tell me which one they need and if they require any adjustments done, I can take care of all that. There have also been orders where I have to create a card from the customer’s idea or pictures and then I need 2-3 days to make a sample and once the approval for my sample is given, I make progress with the order,”

Zulala will be doing Christmas cards this year and she has already started planning and designing her Christmas portfolio. She undertook several orders for gift envelopes this Eid. She delivers orders to customers based in Dehiwala and Colombo 3-6, and charges a nominal delivery fee.

When she isn’t making cards, Zulala volunteers at an orphanage. If you wish to check the cards and décor out, visit Zu’s Handmade Creations on Facebook. 

Interviewed by Sarah Kellapatha