Do you need a paper that showcases both the artistry and functionality of your work?

See how we helped this Phoenix artist beautifully present her intricate maps and greeting cards.

Mapping the Path Less Traveled

Jen Urso's hand-drawn maps are more than just directions from point A to B. Through her business, Steady Hand Maps, this Phoenix-based artist invites you to experience the world from an intimate, first-person perspective.

Unlike typical overhead maps, Jen’s cartographic drawings highlight the sights, smells, textures, and emotions we encounter while exploring a place. Her maps encourage us to slow down and appreciate the overlooked beauty and quirks of our surroundings. Whether detailing Phoenix's cactus species, pinpointing local coffee shops, or documenting a nonprofit's complex processes, each commission celebrates the richness found in the particulars.

Enter Red River Paper

To bring her vividly inked creations to life, Urso depends on high-quality materials like inkjet paper from Red River Paper. For example, her “US Native & Endangered Plants Map” (shown below) resulted from a year of research and hand-drawing. After scanning the drawing into the computer, she inked and colored in Photoshop using a Wacom screen, then printed the map on our 60lb. Polar Matte sheets — which produces outstanding print quality, color saturation, detail, and black density. Jen also uses Polar Matte for her botanical greeting cards (shown below) and larger prints, and Premium Matte Plus Post Cards for postcards.

“Red River Paper has been an incredible source of reliable, quality paper that can function in high art and more functional printing,” Jen tells us. “I appreciate how much your paper lets my design work shine with brilliant color and a clean texture. My prints always look better than I imagine with your paper!”

See More of Jen’s Work

With steadyhandmaps.com and as your compass, you can explore Jen’s Custom City Maps, Personalized Paper Map Gifts, and Conceptual Map Illustrations. Wander her Etsy shop for greeting cards, holiday cards, and her maps printed on pillows, tea towels, and more. She participates in several local markets in the Phoenix area. Scroll to see our Q&A with Jen and discover how her (rejected) first commissioned map sparked a sell-out.

Enjoy our Q&A with Jen Urso ...

What year was your business founded, and how did you get started?
I got started in 2019 after a friend and peer hired me to create a map for a new condo development she worked for. They rejected the map I made. I then offered the map as a limited edition, which sold out! From that point on, people have been contacting me to create maps.

Tell us a little about what product or service your business offers.
Steady Hand Maps specializes in custom, hand-drawn paper maps that reveal things you never knew you wanted to know about the world. I create unique maps for sale and custom, hand-drawn maps for personal and commercial clients.

What makes your business unique?
My maps focus on lived experience, memory, and first-person perspective. I am most interested in how we experience the world. Unlike most maps that rely on overhead or satellite views of our world, I include elements from all the senses as we experience a place on the ground. My maps encourage people to experience their environment firsthand and up-close.

Where do you source your raw materials from?
I source all my in-studio printing material from Red River Paper. I’m particularly partial to the gorgeous Polar Matte inkjet paper stock for my Canon printer, but I also use Premium Matte Plus. My mailing and packaging materials are all responsibly sourced from EcoEnclose, which produces fully recyclable and compostable packaging and mailing materials. As a Green Certified Business in Arizona, it is very important to me to utilize materials that inflict little to no harm on the planet and encourage a circular system.

In what ways does the business reflect your own personality?
I thrive on creating systems that help me make sense of my world. As a practicing artist, my work has always centered around bringing awareness to the often ignored or mundane. My maps allow me to celebrate the small and sometimes unnoticed by elevating them to a level of official documentation. My sensitive and careful approach to environment and life is embedded in every map design I create.

Who are your typical customers?
Many are map lovers or people who appreciate the natural world. My commission clients are those who believe that our unique journey in life is what makes us so special. Or they are commercial clients who want to celebrate something unique about their business or the place they work within.

What is the most interesting project you've encountered in the course of your work?
It is hard to pin down just one, but I created a process map for a non-profit organization doing amazing work in disaster recovery. Their process for deploying work and assets was so complex that they needed help explaining this to potential funding sources. My job was to visualize and make sense of the process, sharing its complexity but also breaking it down into understandable portions.

What has Red River Paper done for your business? Is there a particular challenge Red River Paper helped you overcome or a goal they helped you meet?
Red River Paper has been an incredible source of reliable, quality paper that can function in high art and more functional printing. I appreciate how your paper lets my design work shine with brilliant color and a clean texture. My prints always look better than I imagine with your paper!

What do you appreciate most about Red River Paper's products/services?
I use 60lb Polar Matte in 6.25x9 Greeting Cards and 8.5x11 and 13x19 Sheets for most of my prints. For 4x6 postcards, I use Premium Matte Plus because I think it’s easier for customers to write on them. I used to only use Premium Matte Plus for my larger prints, but once I tried out Polar Matte, I was hooked. The color in my designs just jumped out at me, and the blacks were incredibly rich.

Do you have any future growth, product launch, or event goals you’d like to share?
Every year, I work on launching a new, extensively researched map print. This past year, it was the US Native & Endangered Plants Map, which culminated a year of research using the IUCN Red List and iNaturalist.org. From the main map, I always create smaller products associated with it, like postcards, map sections, ornaments, greeting cards, and stickers.

Is there a special story or testimonial from one of your customers you'd like to share?
I created a map of lower Manhattan for John D., who had this to say:
“Jen was amazing to work with and created more than a colorful map — she created a work of art that will be cherished by our family for years to come. Her illustrations and personal touches made the map come alive. Jen is an artist and a map maker, but more importantly, she is a storyteller. Her maps are the stuff of memories. The streets and alleyways of her maps help you find your way back to a place and time that hold meaning and bring joy. I feel so lucky to have discovered Steady Hand Maps, and I look forward to working with Jen again in the future. It was a fantastic experience!!”

Original Publication Date: July 23, 2024

Article Last updated: July 23, 2024

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