When a greeting card transports you into the woods where you might happen upon the most beautiful cake ever you know that you've stumbled upon the absolute best way to communicate to a loved one. Greeting cards that wow is what motivates me when choosing from all of the millions of options out there in the world. Today I want to share some of the other factors that inspire the card selection at Pink Moon Goods.
From a young age I was no different than many other women I know in that I collected greeting cards so that I would always have something on hand when I needed it. This no doubt was in part due to the fact that my very first job ever was at our local Hallmark store. I was 15 and I made $3.35 an hour. One fun fact I enjoy sharing is that I was actually held up at gunpoint while working at the shop. I really had not been there for very long and thankfully no one was hurt. And now I have a fun story to tell.
As I grew older I noticed that my tastes in cards changed as I started to seek out cards that were unique which meant usually that they were artist produced. I have found over the years that the most unique and special cards most likely come straight from an artist rather than from a corporate conglomerate that uses faceless nameless people to write cards. When I started gathering cards for the shop that was my first criteria. The cards had to come directly from the artist. I wanted to be sure that the money being made by the sell of the cards was going directly to the artists and that the artists were getting credit for that work. I can assure you that there was never a card in the Hallmark store that stated the name of the artist that created the card. I never want this to be true at Pink Moon Goods.
One of my favorite brands that we carry in the shop is Heartell Press. They are well known for creating cards that express how one feels, especially when the people one cares about are going through hard times. Understanding this reality makes it a fun adventure for me to find just the right card that conveys the depth of emotion or feeling we all want in a card.
One great thing about supporting artists is that all of our cards have original artwork on them. In fact many can be framed as works of art. Because they are created by artists the production of the cards is usually done in a very ethical way. The artists who produce the cards we sell care about the planet and they want to find ways to decrease the impact of their production. Some of them use hydroelectricity for their printing and almost all of them use paper that is 100% made from post consumer recycled paper or meets the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council. Many use soy based inks and one card maker does her entire production with no electricity, using a 100 year old letterpress and cutting machine. The majority of the cards in the shop are printed in the United States which helps support domestic jobs and cuts down on the pollution and waste involved with global shipping.
Although I love having stationery it is not lost on me that the stationery industry has a plastic problem. E. Frances was one of the first brands that we carried in the shop and the main reason for this was because they do not put their single cards in plastic sleeves. They have designed a washi tape clip that easily peels off and works really well to keep the card protected while on the shelf. As I am very vocal and advocate for bringing as little plastic into the shop as possible I always ask my vendors to send cards without plastic sleeves if possible. Helen Edna, Botanica Paper Co, Heartell Press and Saturn Press have all been very accommodating of this request. If you have ever purchased a card in the shop you will know that we are in the habit of removing the plastic sleeves so that we can reuse them. Most people are happy to not be taking another plastic thing home with them.
One of my favorite types of customer in the shop is the person that pops in just to grab a card. When I first started vending at events I rarely sold single cards. But once I secured the brick and mortar location I was so excited to set up ledges to display the beautiful cards in our collection. So while a customer buying one card isn't enough to meet any sales goals it means more to me because for one thing giving a card to someone can be a very personal and meaningful thing. If someone comes here for a card rather than going to somewhere like Walgreens or Target it means that person really cares about the act of giving that card and it means that they trust me to help them provide the right vessel for their message.
The most recent addition to our card corner was the introduction of Saturn Press. In my first year of business a customer recommended this stationery brand to me. She said it was her absolute favorite brand of card that she always bought at her favorite stationery shop in Washington D.C.. Of course I sought them out because I wanted to see what they were all about. Much to my amusement I discovered that this little card company was based on Swans Island, a little island off the coast of Maine, and the only way you could contact them was by snail mail. I both admired and felt uncertain about the possibility of carrying them in the shop. By the time I got more serious about adding their beautiful cards to the shop I did a quick search on the interwebs to find their address so that I could send them a letter. By this time it had been a couple of years since I was introduced to them. Wouldn't you know, they had a website! And email! Not knowing if my memory was mistaken I wrote a quick email to verify if it was in fact the same vendor and happily learned that there were new owners. They were offering the same designs and production style but they upgraded by adding the email and website! These cardsdefinitely stand out on our ledges and are probably the cards I hear most often customers proclaim their intention to frame them. The second most popular frame-able cards on our ledges are created by local card artist Franny Hoover.
Next time you are looking for a card be sure to check out our collection. I guarantee you will find something perfect that came from the mind of an artist with the intention of providing you with the perfect image and words to accompany your important message.