HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Paper Turtle was founded by Laura Bruzzese in 2016 as a solo operation. By 2020, increasing sales and Laura's decreasing ability to keep up with a growing business indicated that it might be time for a little help. The obvious course of action was to post a few Help Wanted flyers in the dank halls of the University of New Mexico Fine Arts building. To her (and our customers') great fortune, that hopeful expedition reeled in just the right catches just weeks before the pandemic would have shut down the opportunity: Nic & Eden. Susan came along a year later to complete our team.

The original line-up has changed since then, but we remain a small group of artists dedicated to creating one-of-a-kind urns honoring the lives of those who have passed.

Our Team

Laura Bruzzese

Founder

Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Laura Bruzzese has been a professional artist for over 25 years. After graduating high school, she traipsed about the country collecting college degrees before returning to Albuquerque in 1994. Her daughter Isabella was born a few years later and that's when life really began.

After years of exhibiting in galleries, Laura founded Paper Turtle in 2016 upon discovering a significant, unmet need in the funeral industry: unique, handcrafted cremation urns.

Laura is the studio's lead designer, hands-on in the production of every urn, and the one steering daily operations. She considers this work of the heart — a collaboration with both studio helpers and customers, many of whose design requests have gone on to become permanent parts of our portfolio.

When not in the studio, you'll find Laura tending the garden behind it, indulging a bewildering but persistent tendency to hoard plants and rearrange landscaping every single year.

Nic Jacobson

Lead Ceramics Production

Nic joined Paper Turtle in 2020, soon after earning their MFA in Art and Ecology from the University of New Mexico. Their excellent wheel-throwing and hand-building skills are an invaluable part of what keeps our shelves stocked with beautiful urns. Nic is also a great problem solver, listener, world-class word player, and wears pearls better than anyone.

Susan Gallegos

Susan is a talented painter with experience across many forms of artmaking — from pet portraits to murals to printing and face painting. She joined Paper Turtle in 2021 and lends her skills to painting both ceramic and biodegradable urns, along with decal application.

Susan is a purveyor of fine playlists, a devoted outdoors enthusiast, and the owner of a truly magnificent laugh.

Vivian

Pest Control

Vivian contributes very little to daily operations. Her poor work ethic (sporadic attendance, indifference, etc) makes her essentially useless except for the occasional mouse or grasshopper catch. Her presence is tolerated only because she's cute and has never broken anything.

Partners

We are proud to partner with the talented Villafranco Peralta family for production of our biodegradable (water burial) urns.

The process begins with our original ceramic models that are sent to Mexico for production. Molds are utilized to create our designs in recycled paper using traditional techniques that have been handed down from generation to generation. Each urn is made with care and skill in the family's home-based workshop, and the craftspersons are paid fair wages for their talents. We could not offer this collection without their dedication and expertise.

Supporting us means supporting the Villafranco Peralta family and their community.

[photo: Stray Dog Designs ♡]