"Creativity takes courage," said Henri Matisse, and, in Annie Broderick's life, it has also taken a devoted husband, dedicated parents and the unflagging determination of a beautiful young woman who simply would not give up on her dream of living a creative life.

"My mother, who is wonderfully artistic, has a photograph of me when I was still in diapers, with a paint brush in my hand busily creating a watercolor on our patio," Annie remembered. "I credit my parents and grandmother with my creative spirit. My mother was never too busy to help me when, every single morning, I would run downstairs and say, …'what can I make today?'"

Today, Annie Broderick is the owner of 'Petal Press' and the proud owner of two stately and totally refurbished letterpresses. She and her husband, Dan, live in Middleburg, Virginia, where she creates a fabulous line of original letterpress greeting cards that make Hallmark blush with embarrassment. "I believe every communication deserves the most splendid context," she says. "It is such a pleasure to make beautiful pieces that help to convey the writer's best wishes. I view my cards as small pieces of art that will inspire people to connect to those they love."

After grammar and middle school in Georgia, Annie studied art at The Taft School where Miss Chickadaunce ("Miss Chic") taught her everything about Henri Matisse and the Fauvists. "I will always love Matisse and be inspired by his approach to color and pattern," Annie emphasizes. "My love of color and pattern is apparent in all of my work." Miss Chic has become a good friend and mentor to Annie and encourages her with regular correspondence to this day.

That encouragement, combined with the support of her parents and her own fierce determination, has kept her moving steadily toward her goal of doing what she loves. "I studied studio art at Davidson," Annie said. "I met my husband, Dan, the summer before my freshman year." Dan, who played a pivotal role in the creation of Petal Press, is a construction lawyer who works in McLean.

During her years at Davidson, Annie studied for a semester in Paris, where she worked as a "copyist" at The Louvre.

After finishing her degree at Davidson the following year with a focus on painting, Annie found a job at The Madeira School, which her mother had attended as a young girl. She and Dan also enrolled in graduate school in Washington, D.C. Annie, who was already realizing that building a career as a fine artist was going to be more difficult than she had hoped, majored in Counseling at George Washington University, and Dan studied Law at American University. "I love working with children," she said, "so counseling made a certain amount of sense, but I was so worried that I would not have time for my art." They graduated, and Dan went to work for Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald. "While we were living in Cleveland Park, a very good friend said 'Let me show you a beautiful village that I know you will love'…." Annie recalls. "That village was Middleburg, and the minute we saw it, we knew we wanted to live here. It is so much like the places where we grew up. It is exceptionally beautiful, and the people here are wonderful."

They moved to Middleburg in January of 2010, and Annie, still trying to be 'practical' and put her creative instincts on hold, studied calligraphy at the Alexandria Torpedo Factory. "It seemed something I might be able to do to earn a living," she said, "while still working in an area in which I could apply my artistic instincts."

Dan, who knew how much it meant to Annie to live her life as a working artist, gave her a letterpress workshop for her birthday that year, and the rest is history! "I was immediately ecstatic," Annie exclaimed. "I loved the power of the machine and the magical moment when the ink hits the thick cotton paper with all of that pressure… It's thrilling! The whole process is hands-on and old-school and engaging and awesome. It's intricate and requires a skilled hand. Each machine dictates its own process. I can't get enough of it!" "I immediately wanted a letterpress of my own!"

From then on, Annie dreamed of having her own letterpress… but it was Dan who found it.

He found a 1920 Golding Pearl in Stephens City, Virginia. The 700 pound beauty was in great condition, and 'The Pearl's' owner, an old-school printer who could not have been more pleased to meet the young couple, was delighted to learn that the pretty, diminutive damsel who loved it on site would continue to allow it to live a creative life.

The Pearl now proudly resides in Dan and Annie's upstairs studio, where she is in perfect working order, also thanks to Dan. "Even though we had to pick her up during The Blizzard of 2010, we were fearless," Annie said gleefully. "We knew she needed a good home, and we were more than happy to make her at home in ours!"

But Dan did not stop looking for letterpresses then… Soon he had located a second press, a "Golding Jobber." The 2,200-pound press, who is named "Mike" after the children's storybook "Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel," is now happily installed in the basement.

Dan, the engineer and shop foreman, keeps both presses humming perfectly. On certain weeks, Annie devotes all her time to the precise, original designs she creates. These start in her sketchbook with pen and pencil. At other times, the presses are operating full-time to turn out stunning cards for her rapidly increasing client base and readymade retail collection.

"My grandmother, Maryann, was a fabulous quilter," she says, "and my mother continues to quilt to this day. Quilting is a creative theme in our family, so the inspiration for many of my designs originates with family quilts and the now famous Gee's Bend quilts. My Petal Press logo and branding concept is based on a quilt square. I love the parallels between my work with colors and patterns on cotton paper and quilters' work with colors and patterns on cotton fabrics. I also feel very connected to my family members who quilt and love that it is a traditional, old-fashioned art that has been carried down through the generations."

For the first time, Annie will share a booth at the New York Stationery Show next May, and one of the lines she will debut there will be based on these quilting themes. "I intend to continue to use very heavy, cotton paper of as much as 236-pound weight," she explains. "The abstract designs will reference quilts, Matisse, and Miucci Prada… all my inspirations." She accepts commissions for personal stationery, Christmas cards, wedding invitations, formal events and openings, announcements, business cards, and exceptional endeavors.

"One of my favorite commissions was for a real estate broker who closed an enormous sale in Georgetown and wanted a very special gift for the buyer. I went to the property and did a large-scale pen and ink drawing of the house and then printed personal stationery for them… it was a grand success!" Henri Matisse always said, "Work cures everything," and those are definitely words to live by for Annie Broderick. "To be able to work as an artist in a medium that engages my need to express myself and, perhaps, make my mark, while also feeling that I have a real skill that I can nurture, truly fulfills me." "Every one of my clients becomes part of my art network, and their appreciation of my work helps me keep a level of personal connection alive that is essential to my inspiration." Annie has created three brand new Christmas cards that are available at Country Way. Annie and Amy Potter have enjoyed a creative collaboration that has resulted in inspired designs for Annie's retail line.

Annie Broderick's original cards are available at Crème de la Crème and Country Way. She welcomes individual commissions and can be reached at: annie@petalpress.com.