Lisa Norris’ home might be described as a study in cluttered efficiency.

The bookcases teeming with glass jars and plastic tubs containing such assorted items as feathers, dominos, sequins, and Scrabble tiles; the filing cabinets stuffed full of and topped with fabric, papers, dress patterns, and maps; the work tables, the storage racks, and the sunburst clock looking down on everything are all somehow welcoming, especially once Lolly the Labrador (who rushes to answer the door with a series of intimidating barks) has been convinced that the visitor isn’t there for a nefarious purpose.

When Lisa appears, in a blue blouse, jeans, and red sandals, it is with the orderly air of someone completely comfortable in her environment, the quiet assurance that everything is in its place and could be produced on demand at a moment’s notice. Having a home that doubles as a workplace can be challenging, but it works for her.

“Sometimes you just have to go somewhere else and get away for a while, but I get up every morning wondering what the day will bring, and then I go to work. I like it that I live and work in the same place.” The hand-made albums and dress-pattern collages she produces there have gained local and national attention, and it is with a soft voice and distinct sense of humor that she speaks about her accomplishments.

“Mom has finally admitted that I do have a real job.” Though she’s been referred to as a textile artist, Lisa describes herself as “more of a collage artist. I make dresses on canvas out of paper, and with my books I create blank canvases for other people to fill. I make the albums for a living, and my artwork is extra.”

Extra, understated. Her collages have been exhibited locally at the Hunter Museum and the Four Bridges Art Festival and in shows in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Palm Springs. Her custom-made books (products of Made By One Girl) were first exhibited in Philadelphia four years ago and have since found their way into the hands of customers across the country, and even into pre-Oscar party gift baskets. They’ve been showcased in Lucky, Traditional Home, Woman’s Day, and Southern Breeze magazines, and Lisa was spotlighted in Country Living magazine’s profile of women entrepreneurs in March.

“I am the luckiest girl ever. I always wanted to be an artist, ever since I was a little girl. I love paper and books and arranging and making things.” A graduate of Notre Dame High School, she attended UTC before “I got up the nerve to apply to Parsons School of Design in New York. My acceptance letter arrived on my 21 st birthday. When I moved to New York in 1988, I’d never left the South before. I didn’t know anyone, but it was what I’d always wanted to do, and I knew I’d make it work somehow.”

She ended up living with five American Airlines flight attendants in downtown Manhattan and started out studying fashion design at Parsons. “I realized quickly that that wasn’t what I was interested in, so I switched to fine arts.” It was in New York that she made her first custom book.

“My favorite place to hang out was Kate’s Paperie on 13 th Street. I admired all the wonderful handmade books and beautiful decorative papers they sold. Being on a very tight budget, it occurred to me to make my own book. I did, and I have been making sketchbooks, journals, photo albums, and guest books ever since.”

Lisa graduated from Parsons in 1992 with a BFA in painting and sculpture but decided not to remain in New York. “I didn’t think I could make it as an artist there. I’d have to have a job all the time just to afford to be there, and I didn’t want to live my life like that. Still, being in New York, studying there, and having that experience is one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

She recalled the experience while seated in a retro-style chair at one of her work tables, from which she also addressed other topics related to her life and art.

On buying and appreciating art: “The more people understand what you do, once they understand how much time is involved in it, the more they appreciate it, and that ups the ante. Education is the factor. The more people are educated, the more appreciation they have for art and the more money is spent on it. People also like to buy art from people they like and can talk to. It’s kind of a bonus to know the artist.”

Are one-of-a-kind creations hard to part with? “Sometimes, but then I start thinking about karma, how everything comes back around. So I say, ‘They’ll really love this. I’ll send it on now.’ I may take a digital photo of it to keep for me.”

Is there perfection in finished art? “I strive for perfection, but it doesn’t happen. In fact, I first started embellishing my books with objects (buttons, bows, and other things) to cover up mistakes I’d made. Mistakes can often be turned into opportunities to make something better. If you made no mistakes in making stuff, you’d be missing opportunities to challenge yourself.”

Dave’s Sweetheart’s, an example of Lisa’s dress pattern collages

How did the name Made By One Girl originate? “I had purchased four word stamps in a shop in Athens, Ga. They spelled Made By One Girl, so I stamped that in all my hand-made books and on various other projects.”

Her home: A ranch-style in a quiet East Ridge neighborhood, two doors down from the house she lived in as a child. “I have some furniture from that house in my house now.”