“The people really mean a lot to me, and their stationery does too. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to assembling everything and making sure it’s all absolutely perfect for them.”
SHANA WANCO
IRIS + MARIE
Columbia, South Carolina
As a child, Shana Wanco crafted greeting cards for family members, inscribing each with her “artist signature.” Ensuing summers spent with her grandfather—a stained-glass glazier, oil painter, and woodworker—nourished her nascent creative spirit through other mediums. And in college, when dabbling with a professor’s letterpress, her spark for stationery rekindled.
“Every job I looked for after college had to involve letterpress,” she says. Although she never imagined owning a company, in 2016, a late-night perusal of a classified ads website uncovered her future business partner: a 1920s Chandler & Price letterpress, dubbed “Iris” for her grandfather’s favorite flower. Encouraged by loved ones, she founded Iris + Marie, with the latter half of the moniker incorporating her middle name.
The next seven years introduced Shana, primarily a wedding stationer, to dozens of brides and grooms who became like old and dear friends. Her process begins with “dream meetings” or rounds of intentional questioning to envision the perfect creative suite. “I usually know that it’s a good meeting when I have tears in my eyes,” she says. “I feel lucky that they feel comfortable enough to open up to me.” With rapport established, the artist lets instinct guide her hand, painting and
