Today we’d like to introduce you to Winnie Park.
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
Chicago was the first American city that I called home. I immigrated with parents from Korea when I was two-and-a-half years old and we landed in Chicago. We eventually moved to Tennessee, where my father established his medical practice in the small town of Whitwell, outside of Chattanooga.
As children of immigrants, my sister and I knew that we were here for the opportunity to learn. My parents wanted us to learn how to think critically and give back to our community in a meaningful way. They wanted us to aspire for something we loved. Not just domestic and personal ambitions, but something that would allow us to contribute to society more broadly.
I faced a lot of discrimination growing up, based on race, gender, the Southern stigma, and even my petite stature. My passion for learning helped me push through these challenging experiences and informed my decision to do my undergraduate work at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs. With Wilson School cemented my interest in nonprofit work and in studying international languages and cultures.
I had been lucky enough to live and study in Paris and London but when the opportunity to live in Japan came up, I couldn’t resist. I deferred business school and spent a year studying at Kyoto University, teaching English, and learning how to make traditional Japanese pottery with a hand-powered wheel. It was an incredible year of growth for me and brought me to Bali, Hong Kong, and Thailand as a backpacker.
I returned to Chicago to pursue my MBA at The Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern. From there I took a role at McKinsey San Francisco where I worked on their retail & consumer digital team, which eventually led to my being recruited by Levi Strauss & Company. While my mother was a pharmacist by trade, her true passion was fashion, something she instilled in me at an early age. I was so excited to have the opportunity to work inside of fashion.
After Levis’ I spent a decade with the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey Group in luxury retail and high-end fashion on an international scale.
This role allowed me to do everything from sit front row at fashion shows for Gucci and Chloe, and also learn about doing business in places as far afield as India and Venice. What unites the experiences I had at Levi’s, LVMH and now Paper Source is that all three companies focused on building brands that connect with their customers on an emotional level. At Paper Source it is our mission and delight to be able to inspire people to “Do something creative every day.”
We bring that to life through DIY workshops, curated product stories, inspiring editorial content and 1:1 consultations in our store. We have so much fun with it, combining humor, whimsy and handmade beauty that speaks to our customers whether they are celebrating a small life moment or a momentous occasion, like their wedding.
While that gives you a sense of my career journey, the most defining part of my story is that I am the proud mother of a beautiful, smart 12-year old girl. Making her proud is my greatest accomplishment of all. As we launch the Women We Love campaign at Paper Source, I think about what I want for my daughter and how I want her to grow up in a world of equality of opportunity for all.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Perception has been the greatest obstacle to overcome. People had pre-conceived notions of me based on my race, my gender, my being from the South and even my small stature. I had to work hard to define who I was and what I was capable of doing. This gave me a tremendous sense of self from a very early age.
More recently, I have been navigating the world of being a good parent – and doing so without a partner. I wish that being a parent came with an owner’s manual. What it does often come with is guilt, as you think of all the ways you could be better. I wish I could volunteer for every activity that comes up at my daughter’s school but as a working mom, that isn’t possible. What motivates me is that I can tell my daughter respects the work I put into being the CEO of Paper Source.
Tell us about your business/company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
Paper Source was founded in Chicago in 1983 and is still headquartered here to this day. We offer a range of products from crafting workshops to cards, to gifts, and most importantly, custom print invitations for life’s big moments, like weddings and other celebrations. Paper Source not only designs but hand-draws and hand-makes many of its products.
What sets you apart from others?
With our motto “Do something creative every day,” we are different in that the way we work puts a lot of focus on creativity. It’s creative problem-solving. It’s taking art and applying it to products, to marketing, to the store experience.
The motto is important because it creates inspiration. Creativity comes in a lot of forms, and Paper Source is really here to be that point of inspiration to excite you. And creativity doesn’t have to be an aspirational thing, creativity is really attainable and it can be in the smallest little details.
What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
My favorite memory was meeting my baby sister, Susie. Like many immigrant families, my parents had to make hard choices, including leaving my six-month-old sister behind in Korea while they immigrated to America and tried to figure out whether they could make a life here. We went back for Susie a year and a half later and it was amazing for me, at four, to meet my best friend and a soul mate.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.papersource.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/papersource/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaperSource
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paper_Source
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
