The Story Behind Maris Rose
Maris Rose began with a love of beautiful paper, stationery, and thoughtful details that started a long time ago when I was a young child growing up in Japan. As a military brat of Filipino descent, I grew up surrounded by a blend of cultures, traditions, travel, and creativity that shaped the way I see beauty, craftsmanship, and everyday objects.
My love for handmade items came especially from my mom and from the influence of family in the Philippines, whose creativity, resourcefulness, and appreciation for making things by hand helped shape the way I learned to think, create, and find beauty in the details.
Faith is also at the heart of how I create. I believe creativity is a grace from God, and I try to approach what I make with gratitude, purpose, and care. For me, creating is not only about making something beautiful. It is also about using the gifts I have been given well and sharing them in a way that can bring joy, connection, and meaning to others.
That lifelong love of stationery, journaling, paper goods, and creative projects eventually grew into Maris Rose — a small family business centered on handmade products first, with thoughtfully curated finds alongside them.
Maris Rose is also deeply connected to something I value as a mother: giving my homeschooled daughter the opportunity to see entrepreneurship up close. I want her to learn not only how a business works, but also the value of connecting with people, sharing knowledge, teaching others, creating something with your own hands, and taking pride in building something that is truly your own.
I also believe strongly in women supporting women, especially in small business. There is something powerful about women encouraging one another, sharing knowledge, creating opportunities, and helping each other build something meaningful.
That belief is especially important to me as part of a military family. Military spouses and mothers are often asked to rebuild routines, careers, communities, and plans around the needs of military life. Small business can become more than a source of income — it can be a way to create continuity, independence, purpose, and an outlet that can move with the family.
I am incredibly proud of the years I spent supporting my husband through his military career, and equally grateful that supporting his dreams never meant giving up my own. He has supported me through every craft show, every event, every last-minute idea, every late-night project, and every room in our home that temporarily became controlled creative chaos while I prepared for the next thing. Through all of it, he has encouraged me to keep creating, keep learning, and keep building something of my own.
That support is part of the Maris Rose story, too.
To me, small business is about more than selling a product. It is about faith, creativity, service, community, resilience, responsibility, and the confidence that comes from seeing an idea become something real.
I’m especially inspired by Japanese stationery, traditional paper arts, florals, vintage-inspired details, and materials that can be used in meaningful and creative ways.
Many Maris Rose pieces are made in small batches, and I love finding ways to use beautiful materials intentionally rather than waste them. That idea is inspired in part by the Japanese concept of mottainai — appreciating what we have and making the most of each material.
My goal with Maris Rose is simple: to create and share products that are useful, beautiful, personal, and worth keeping. Whether it’s a handmade notebook, a paper good, a gift, or a carefully selected stationery find, I want each item to feel like it was chosen with purpose.
Maris Rose is based in San Antonio, Texas, and continues to grow through online sales, local markets, creative events, teaching, and community connections.
Thank you for supporting a small, family-run business and for being part of the Maris Rose story.
