Fred Petters & Kimberly Tschida Petters

Photo by Stephanie Colgan

Who:

Fred Petters and his wife, Kimberly Tschida Petters, St. Paul–based creators of archival photo albums, baby books, wedding albums, and guest books under the name Celine Countryman.

Artistic Backgrounds:

“I’ve been a photographer all my life, so I think this was sort of a logical progression,” says Fred. Those familiar with the local art scene will recognize Kimberly’s name from her showings at Rosalux Gallery. She’s a photographer in her own right, but is also known for her clean-line paintings. “We started out just making photo albums—really nice albums made with good materials and beautiful fabrics, designed to last a long time,” Fred says. “We’ve expanded from that with our guest books and baby book.”

Second Time Around:

Fred and a business partner originally founded Celine Countryman in 2002. “The first incarnation of the company bombed,” Fred admits. “We had investor money and partners involved, and we were trying to mass produce.” Today, the company is much smaller and caters to specialty boutiques instead of big-box retailers. Fred is the sole owner, while Kimberly acts as creative director. A part-time employee and freelance bookkeeper round out the team.

Maintaining Memories with Elegance:

“[Our books] are elegant and contemporary, not over the top, but simple and beautiful,” Kimberly says. Quality of construction, design aesthetic, and archival value inspire every aspect of their books. Paper is acid- and alkaline-free and buffered with calcium carbonate to ensure longevity of photos and written words. A centuries-old technique is used to create the smythe-sewn bindings, which allow pages to lie flat and stay strongly secured. Elegant satin fabrics, imported from Japan and France, give outer covers a timeless appearance, and several albums come with museum-quality storage boxes for an added safeguard.

Baby on Board:

The latest product is a forty-eight-page baby memory book filled with charming imagery and creative places to document major moments in a child’s life. Launched in late May, “it’s now the best-selling baby book at Pacifier,” Kimberly says.

More to Love:

“We recently acquired a letter press,” Fred says. “And we want to launch a line of greeting cards under the Celine name.” In addition to paper products, the Petters are toying with new ideas for published books, similar to their successful baby book, as well as fresh album formats that make it easier to preserve memories. In today’s age of digital cameras and computers, “getting prints made is the number one thing you can do to archive your photos,” Kimberly says. “Putting them in a photo album and protecting them is even better,” Fred adds.

Available at local retailers, including bébé babble, Epitome, Pacifier, and Paper Rock Scissor, and at celinecountryman.com