“No one draws a better hotdog than me. Connor. 10yrs. GSO” was written on the back of a pencil-drawn hotdog. Beautiful, retro-looking wallpaper scraps were stacked on top of a packet of Buttercrunch Lettuce seeds, a recipe for “Pigs In A Pretzel” was tucked somewhere in the heart of the bundle and a vintage birthday card featuring a cheesy cat pun was the pot of gold at the end of the pile. These were just some of the items found in one of the hundreds of scrap paper bundles hand-made by NC Paper Project founder Payton Picardi.
Photos courtesy of @thencpaperproject on Instagram
NC Paper Project is a nonprofit organization fighting for a more sustainable tomorrow. Picardi aims to reduce the Piedmont Triad’s contribution to the global waste stream by repurposing donated paper materials into usable craft and stationery bundles. As an avid scrapbooker, Picardi has always seen the light in random scraps of paper. She has collected small pieces of paper for years intending to repurpose them into something beautiful. After joining a Bible study group, an epiphany arose in Picardi: why not put little bundles together as a gift for the ladies in my group? “They all really loved it,” she said. Each week Picardi began to notice their Bibles being stuffed with notes and scribbles on the papers she gifted them. That’s when the NC Paper Project took off.
In the past, Picardi helped to professionally clean and organize houses. In doing so she noticed how much paper people hold onto that ultimately ends up in landfills. To deter this habit, she began accepting donations. With these donations and the scraps she had personally collected over the years, Picardi began making and selling paper bundles.
In August 2023, Picardi started selling NC Paper Project bundles in stores such as Visual Index in downtown Winston-Salem or the Milton Road Center for The Arts gift shop. NC Paper Project is now in 14 stores throughout the Triad. Picardi is interested in expanding and selling her bundles in more eco-friendly shops across the state.
The ultimate goal of the NC Paper Project is to eliminate people’s waste and show people how to be practical and useful with the things that they already have. According to Picardi, going to the store to buy a new notebook is impractical when there’s already a bunch of paper lying around begging to be used. “Sustainability is necessary for our survival. [We need] to figure out what to do with all this mess we made,” she claimed.
Around this time last year, when she began receiving a lot of donations, Picardi had the idea to start running art classes for children using the donated materials. Now, in each bundle, she includes the children’s artwork with a quote about themselves. She said the children really like that and enjoy knowing that their art is getting shared.
Not only does she teach children’s art classes, but she also hosts adult art classes. In Yadkinville, Picardi works with women on a domestic violence farm to find relief through creativity. She also hosts art class birthday parties free of charge.
Before she sat down to talk about the NC Paper Project, Picardi had just settled her son into math class, “perfect timing,” she explained. Picardi is a full-time mother of two with one more on the way. She is also a full-time operator of a home-school co-op.
All proceeds from the repurposed bundles go towards building The Ark: A Faith-Centered Learning Academy which Picardi plans to turn into a nature-based Montessori micro school in the Piedmont Triad. The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that focuses on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. Montessori classrooms also avoid rigid schedules and structures as opposed to traditional classrooms.
For now, Picardi runs a homeschool co-op once a week. She coordinates a work cycle for the kids, inviting them into her home and curating lessons using Montessori materials. She does mini-series with the children, some being about nutrition, generosity, or safety. Throughout the summer she had nature-based play classes and made collages with the children using materials from the NC Paper Project.
She has started consulting people who want to start a paper project in their area. She would love to see more people be resourceful and sustainable by bringing the idea of the NC Paper Project to their town. “I’m only one person. I’m not making a dent. There’s paper everywhere,” said Picardi, whose latest project has been collecting material at the PTI airport. She has gathered old marketing material from PTI with the mindset of repurposing it into art. “We want to take that paper and figure out a way to change it into a physical art display that can be saved forever,” explained Picardi. The hope is that she will not be the only one doing this.
“It brings me a lot of joy to spread the passion,” she said.
According to Picardi, it is super important to be creative and open your mind. “If you’re an artist you can see use in things that most people might miss,” said Picardi. She has tapped into the niche market of other artists like herself who create collages, junk journals, or scrapbooks. “They know how to use the things wrapped in the bundles. I’m feeding the artists,” she further explained.
“We have everything we need already. What are we going to do with it now that it’s all here? I’m chipping away at a problem. I truly believe that sustainability is the future,” added Picardi.
For more information about the NC Paper Project, visit @thencpaperproject on Instagram.
