Terri Puma

Terri Puma was about to take a trip to Napa Valley her husband planned for her birthday when the unthinkable happened. She was diagnosed with cancer.

The two decided to go anyway and managed to have a wonderful time. While there, the two saw people growing lavender, working in wineries, and baking pastries. It changed her outlook on everything.

“That was a turning point for me; I decided right then and there, between the champagne and the chardonnay, life was too short to sell insurance!” she says.

CheckAdvantage is happy to present select works from Terri Puma on our checks, address labels, and checkbook covers as part of our Licensed Artist Series.

Two weeks after surgery, Terri was on a train to New York City for the International Gift Fair following her passion and looking for her bliss.

“I wanted to start a business that married all my passions…design, creativity, reading, humor, girl power and giving back,” she says.

In 2005, her gift card line Verbatem Stationery debuted at the National Stationery Show. Now she licenses her art and her humor for a multitude of products in the gift, stationery, and the home goods industries.

Terri is known for her fabulous combination of whimsical illustrations and colorful patterns, often coupled with her biting wit or words of wisdom.

“I am inspired by everything from couture fashion to foreign travel, elaborate interiors to classic architecture, chic lit to great wine,” she says. “My mantra is ‘more is more.’”

She’s found artistic inspiration in the bold, colorful work of Carleton Varney and Dorothy Draper while her time as a wife and mother gives her enough humorous material “for a daily standup routine.”

Sharing the enjoyment and laughter when people react to her work is her favorite part of being an artist. Her least favorite? Lack of time.

“Having enough time for all the good life brings – when does the app for adding 8 more hours to the day come out?” she says.

Outside of art she loves her supportive husband Paul, her beautiful daughter Sophiefabulous, and her “babies,”—two Yorkies named Princess and Puck.

If you’re looking for your bliss, you may just find it in the designs of Terri Puma.

Learn more about the artist on her website at terripuma.com. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for news and updates.