Karen Saró Troeger
	Originally from Texas, I have a BA in Communications, but began my artistic career about 25 years ago working in a fine art supply store and frame shop in Springfield, Missouri. It was a wonderful training ground as I studied calligraphy and lettering, watercolor painting, and many various art forms. I loved all the art materials around me and helping students and teachers with their supply lists because I learned so much at the same time. I finally attended a huge Calligraphy Conference in Illinois where I took my first papermaking and bookbinding workshops. From that time on, I knew I wanted to be a professional creative bookmaker and make colorful journals for people to write. I moved to Portland, Oregon to study Book Arts and work at Oregon School of Arts and Crafts. I was assistant and student to many excellent teachers and became educated to the value and distinction of fine art crafts and craftsmanship. I then studied bookbinding, papermaking, letterpress, and creative book arts as a summer apprentice at Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, New York. When I returned from this summer, in 1987, I began my business full-time as a craftsperson, making handbound journals with my painted paste papers on the covers, and selling them at craft fairs and bookstores. I was a teacher of book arts for 8 years in the Oregon Artist in Eduction program and also taught at all the local book art conferences til recently. I'm presently taking a break from teaching others and reinspiring myself by working in my new studio and creating new products for my customers. I live in the beautiful Columbia Gorge, in Cascade Locks, Oregon, with my husband Harry and our three cats, Stormy, Raindrop and Sunshine near the Columbia River. The books you see displayed are created individually in my Columbia Gorge workshop. I paint paste papers, experiment with new techniques and materials, and bind books in creative ways. My work is extremely functional and durable, yet also colorful and attractive. Hopefully, it will inspire the owner to record special thoughts and occasions in an artful way. I strive for traditional craftsmanship and simple, elegant design. Many of my books are handsewn, all are handbound by me. All cutting, folding, punching, gluing, etc. is done in my studio by hand. I paint my own Paste Papers for the covers of my books (a bookbinder's technique of adding pigments to paste and painting it on paper) and have been making decorated papers for over 20 years. My husband, Harry, is the maker of this website. He produces all of the great packaging for my products like the collage kits, book necklaces, business cards, and so much more. He is a tireless seller of my products at art shows and Saturday Market and my customers love him. They enjoy his wonderful German dialect which begins many conversations. Harry takes care of our house and studio with his woodworking skills and one of my favorite projects are the type drawers he built for my many odd drawers of old letterpress type. Harry comes from a long line of printers in Marktredwitz, Bavaria. His grandfather was a "Buchdrucker", a book printer, and there are still several of the antique printing machines in the back room of their modern printing shop now. His father, Heinz, and brother, Max, still carry on the family printing business very successfully. Harry's mother, Waltraud, is retired now, but worked in the printing since she married Heinz, over 40 years ago. Harry has the equivalent of a Master's degree in graphic design from the Free Art Academy in Stuttgart, Germany and a master craftsman cerificate in typography, Hauchler Studio Biberach, Germany. He has designed wonderful typefaces! He accepts freelance design jobs when there is time and is especially talented at webpages. If you should need an artful, unique, well-designed one or a new corporate identity for your business, contact Harry . His customers appreciate his attention to detail and his dedicated work on their behalf.