NEW YORK – Millions of stamps, designed by a celebrated New York City artist, decorate postage stamps circulating throughout the United States.
The Brooklyn neighborhood inspires flower painter Kim Parker
One spring stroll through the brownstone-lined streets of Carroll Gardens is enough to understand why Kim Parker is always thinking about flowers.
“For me, the garden is a metaphor for community,” she tells CBS New York’s Hannah Kliger.
Birds chirp and lilacs bloom as she sits down with her paintbrush. Within minutes, the buds and blossoms on the paper reflect the aptly named neighborhood outside her front door.
“For a flower painter, you are actually in your element. And I take walks, I call them flower walks, with my husband and my dog,” she says.
Artist Kim Parker approached to design Forever stamps
A classically trained flutist – Parker, an artist, designer and teacher, decided to lean into her love of painting instead. She turned it into a career spanning more than 30 years, best known for the vibrant floral prints that adorn the clothing, tableware and furniture of her home.
“After many jobs in various aspects of the fashion industry, in my early 30s I decided to work for myself and set up my own design studio, Kim Parker Designs, where I sold my own floral patterns and florals under a name. patterns and stripes on silk and paper for the entire fashion industry,” she says.
Her designs reached many major retailers, hospitals, films and TV shows.
Last April, the United States Postal Service approached her to design two of this year’s new stamps.
The result was panes of bright flowers in ink and gouache paint. A two-ounce stamp with the name “Wedding Blooms” and the “Celebration Blooms” design are now featured on a Forever stamp.
USPS says more than 250 million of these stamps have been printed to date and they are designed to send a subtle message of joy.
The next time you receive a special piece of mail, you might have a little Brooklyn garden in the top right corner.
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