Francy Kling Blumhagen

Francy Blumhagen has been painting professionally for over 30 years with numerous galleries in the Pacific Northwest exhibiting her original paintings and collages on a regular basis. She works in a variety of media, including block printing, woodcut, collage, and wax resist. (Refer to the galleries link on this web page for a list of the galleries.)

Francy received her B.F.A. in painting from the University of Washington in 1982 and studied extensively with Jacob Lawrence, Michael Spafford and Norman Lundin. She also briefly attended Mount Hood Community College, Central Washington University, and the Memphis Art Academy.

The handmade card business, Salmonberry Studio, started in 1995 when Francy designed some potato print New Year's cards. These were sent to close friends, relatives, and previous customers. The response was so overwelming, a new business was born.

Her husband, Bob, had just recently received his MBA from the University of Montana and elected to concentrate on the new venture rather than seeking another career in corporate America. Bob had worked for over fifteen years in daily newspaper management, with an emphasis in sales and marketing, prior to receiving his advanced degree.

Bob and Francy are involved with the Montana Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs (MADE) and teach a seminar each year to advanced entrepreneurship students at the University of Montana's School of Business.

These unique mixed media cards are individually crafted from start to finish. The images are produced on hand-painted Japanese paper by combining traditional block printing with paint and crayon embellishments. The results are images that are distinct, with no two exactly the same.

There are currently about 190 designs available, and are sold in approximately 300 retail shops and galleries in 44 states, plus a few outlets in Canada and Europe.