If there weren't cats all over the front of this Web site, I may have gotten a little more excited. But the rev share model is pretty cool.
GreetingCardUniverse says you'll see up to 50 cents per card. Considering overhead and the startup costs for new artists (ahem!) this may be a good way to get going for some ... I wonder what the fine print says.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Flirt
Maybe Flirt Keys are the new "Check yes or no" note to pass in class/the bar.
If you can't get enough courage up, liquid or otherwise, to approach someone in a bar, work, the library -- wherever -- and strike up a conversation, maybe you should just find a better wingman.
If you can't get enough courage up, liquid or otherwise, to approach someone in a bar, work, the library -- wherever -- and strike up a conversation, maybe you should just find a better wingman.
Will AG come out?
American Greetings looks like they will go big with promoting thier newest venture -- a line with Ellen DeGeneres.
I like Ellen. She's funny. She makes commercials with animals. She has a beautiful girlfriend and they seem very happy together. She also has a very strong female appeal -- her daytime show is so popular and seems to have gotten her past the fallout of her comedy series, which basically ended when she came out. Which leads me to thinking -- will she and her "team" target the lesbian market with these cards? There's one things Hallmark doesn't seem to touch with its new "edgy" line, and that is gay relationships.
Will AG be the first "big box" greeting card firm to cross the line? Looks like for now the focus is on the Big 4: "birthdays, friendship, thank you and encouragement."
I like Ellen. She's funny. She makes commercials with animals. She has a beautiful girlfriend and they seem very happy together. She also has a very strong female appeal -- her daytime show is so popular and seems to have gotten her past the fallout of her comedy series, which basically ended when she came out. Which leads me to thinking -- will she and her "team" target the lesbian market with these cards? There's one things Hallmark doesn't seem to touch with its new "edgy" line, and that is gay relationships.
Will AG be the first "big box" greeting card firm to cross the line? Looks like for now the focus is on the Big 4: "birthdays, friendship, thank you and encouragement."
Thursday, March 15, 2007
There are no Hallmark cards for abortions
If you know a woman who has made this decision, you can show that you support her with an e-card. The service is offered by Exhale, a non-profit group that provides post-abortion counseling services. The cards are simple and all are offered in both English and Spanish.
What is probably most surprising is where I found the AP story: Fox News. A pro-choice DME working quietly in their midst, perhaps. One can only hope.
What is probably most surprising is where I found the AP story: Fox News. A pro-choice DME working quietly in their midst, perhaps. One can only hope.
Friday, March 09, 2007
The card box
A lot of people have these. Mine used to be shoeboxes under my bed. Filled with letters and greeting cards from holidays and birthdays. Then Mike got a set of copper pots from W/S and I got to keep the wooden crate they came in. Now that's full and I have been shoving the cards/letters I get on top of it -- under my desk -- for 2 years.
I am moving soon, and I'm sure I'll be going through that box -- and the many other containers all over this apartment that have filled up with recipes, story ideas, published works, books, condo docs ... everything a writer girl needs. And there will be reading. And remembering.
Unlike this woman, writing in the San Fran Chronicle about how she has lost touch with many of the friends whose memories she rediscovered in her card box, I have retained most of mine. But I haven't had kids, or moved a bunch of times, or even changed jobs in the past 5 years. When I vacate this spot, for a sunny place of my own a few miles down the road, I will leave behind lots of things -- but many of the memories I will carry out with me in a box from Mauviel.
I am moving soon, and I'm sure I'll be going through that box -- and the many other containers all over this apartment that have filled up with recipes, story ideas, published works, books, condo docs ... everything a writer girl needs. And there will be reading. And remembering.
Unlike this woman, writing in the San Fran Chronicle about how she has lost touch with many of the friends whose memories she rediscovered in her card box, I have retained most of mine. But I haven't had kids, or moved a bunch of times, or even changed jobs in the past 5 years. When I vacate this spot, for a sunny place of my own a few miles down the road, I will leave behind lots of things -- but many of the memories I will carry out with me in a box from Mauviel.
Uncooked
Doreen sent me a link to this kind-of-freaky & complicated card company's Web site, and I fell in love with it. Right down to the cricket sounds and bizarre animation.
All of the samples are in Flash so I can't direct link, but check out the one for Father's Day.
Luckily, I don't have that angst as my father did -- and continues to -- take me fishing. A lot.
All of the samples are in Flash so I can't direct link, but check out the one for Father's Day.
Luckily, I don't have that angst as my father did -- and continues to -- take me fishing. A lot.
Friday, February 23, 2007
HBD
Happy birthday PEP blog. You are more than 1 year old. I forgot your actual birthday, so to celebrate, I will make you cupcakes this weekend. Of course, you won't be able to appreciate them without me mushing them into the keyboard, so I'll take some pictures of me and others enjoying them so you can see how your birth brought happiness -- and vanilla, flour and sugar -- to the land.
As long as they don't corner the OCD market
Hallmark has released a 176-card collection which touches on "sensitive" issues like depression, accidental death, losing your job, cancer and eating disorders.
The Journeys collection is mostly focused on the "encouragement" angle. PEP has discussed similar topics, but definitely from a younger, lighter perspective ... which some many consider "insensitive." We consider them cards you can get/give with a close friend who understands. The inside jokes of cards that are shared by more than you and your friends.
" If you keep washing your hands ... I'm leaving you in the bathroom and taking away your soap privileges"
"I swear ... the stove is off. So are the lights. And the door is locked. Really. I swear."
"That was quite a spill you took off the wagon. I'd help you up, but I'd have to put my martini down first."
If you're afraid of offending, go Journeys. If you want to tell it like it is, go PEP.
The Journeys collection is mostly focused on the "encouragement" angle. PEP has discussed similar topics, but definitely from a younger, lighter perspective ... which some many consider "insensitive." We consider them cards you can get/give with a close friend who understands. The inside jokes of cards that are shared by more than you and your friends.
" If you keep washing your hands ... I'm leaving you in the bathroom and taking away your soap privileges"
"I swear ... the stove is off. So are the lights. And the door is locked. Really. I swear."
"That was quite a spill you took off the wagon. I'd help you up, but I'd have to put my martini down first."
If you're afraid of offending, go Journeys. If you want to tell it like it is, go PEP.
Paralysis
This pre-VTD opinion piece explores the idea that "words on cards make men nervous..." Luckily, for some men, it just makes them silly (says the girl who got her very own "Wild Thing" musical VTD card this month. Patrick, unlike me, says he enjoyed opening all of the musical cards and listening to the sound clips.)
I agree with the main sentiment on of this commentary -- don't overthink the card, just buy it. You probably want to steer clear of a woman who takes every word some "hack" writes in a super-sugary card to heart anyway.
I agree with the main sentiment on of this commentary -- don't overthink the card, just buy it. You probably want to steer clear of a woman who takes every word some "hack" writes in a super-sugary card to heart anyway.
Where is Scooby when you need him?
I like to think I'm up on what the kids are watching, including my 31-year-old best friend Jenny who loves Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, but I have never heard of My Gym Partner Is a Monkey. It sounds like I would like it too:
"The story revolves around Adam Lyon, a human student at Chester Arthur Middle School. After a typo changes his last name to "Lion", he is sent to Charles Darwin Middle School a school for anthropomorphic animals. Shortly after his transfer, he is partnered with Jake Spidermonkey (an actual spidermonkey) in Gym, hence the title. While Adam has to deal with the obvious difficulties humans have performing animal-like tasks, Jake just has fun at everyone else's expense."
Luckily, Hallmark is partnering with Cartoon Network, so I can learn all about what makes this program and its partners so funny via simple illos and tag lines. Spidermonkeys are a good start.
"The story revolves around Adam Lyon, a human student at Chester Arthur Middle School. After a typo changes his last name to "Lion", he is sent to Charles Darwin Middle School a school for anthropomorphic animals. Shortly after his transfer, he is partnered with Jake Spidermonkey (an actual spidermonkey) in Gym, hence the title. While Adam has to deal with the obvious difficulties humans have performing animal-like tasks, Jake just has fun at everyone else's expense."
Luckily, Hallmark is partnering with Cartoon Network, so I can learn all about what makes this program and its partners so funny via simple illos and tag lines. Spidermonkeys are a good start.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Celebrate Black History month
American Greetings is working with Ebony Magazine to promote cards marking February as BHM with images from past covers of the magazine. Those featured include Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks and Josephine Baker. You won't be able to get them everywhere, but they will be $2.99 on the shelves and will most likely have a lasting historical and cultural value.
$14B in love
Business owners say it's profitable -- and that has only grown in recent years. The obscene amount of candy, the 189 million roses and the date nights at fancy restaurants (something I recommend against, as do most restaurant critics, since it often affects service quality. Just go on the weekend and make something at home that night!). VTD is also the top time of the year for OTC sales of greeting cards. 65% of households will celebrate with one.
Apparently, one of the biggest things in Mississippi this season will be choosing the right tune...
"They're $4.99, but it's worth it, I tell you. You open the card and it will play a few lines from a song - like 'Jamaica, Bahama, come on, pretty mama,' " Singh sings, reciting lyrics from the Beach Boys' Kokomo.
Ah, the beautiful romance of the song my 7th-grade boyfriend performed with his best friend at the school talent show in 1988. And true Beach Boys fans the world over wept.
I was in a card store last week and checked them out. They were big -- fat with graphics and images -- pricey and kind of heavy. The envelope looked like a cross between your acceptance letter to college and your taxes going out. And the music was very loud and played immediately upon opening the cards -- so it didn't make for quiet browsing, which may be a detterent for some. One of the great things about buying cards in a card store is reading through at least 5 of them. If everyone knows you are more drawn to the "I Love Lucy" designs, it's like allowing a peek into your soul. That may be a little intimate than what you want to reveal at (insert name here)'s Hallmark shop.
Apparently, one of the biggest things in Mississippi this season will be choosing the right tune...
"They're $4.99, but it's worth it, I tell you. You open the card and it will play a few lines from a song - like 'Jamaica, Bahama, come on, pretty mama,' " Singh sings, reciting lyrics from the Beach Boys' Kokomo.
Ah, the beautiful romance of the song my 7th-grade boyfriend performed with his best friend at the school talent show in 1988. And true Beach Boys fans the world over wept.
I was in a card store last week and checked them out. They were big -- fat with graphics and images -- pricey and kind of heavy. The envelope looked like a cross between your acceptance letter to college and your taxes going out. And the music was very loud and played immediately upon opening the cards -- so it didn't make for quiet browsing, which may be a detterent for some. One of the great things about buying cards in a card store is reading through at least 5 of them. If everyone knows you are more drawn to the "I Love Lucy" designs, it's like allowing a peek into your soul. That may be a little intimate than what you want to reveal at (insert name here)'s Hallmark shop.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Greetings from the White House
I work about 4 blocks from the White House. I walk by it when I decide to make the 4-mile track home on foot, including last week on balmy 30-degree evening. Regardless of who is in power, it's always quite a sight. Crowds of tourists taking their photos in front of the fence. The woman who has been camped out in protest under her blue tarp for years. Security. TV cameras. More tourists. The street in front is mainly free of traffic as it was sectioned off following Sept. 11, so you can basically walk down the middle of the road without having to worry about being run over -- unless a motorcade is coming or going.
Lights glow in many of the windows and it makes me wonder what is going on in there (since we know not much thinking is going on the Oval Office) -- in the kitchen, in the side rooms, in the offices. Apparently, someone is sending out greeting cards. While Im sure these folks are not actually working inside the White House, folks at the White House Greetings Office apparently send cards to "U.S. citizens for special occasions, including births, 80th birthdays, weddings and 50th wedding anniversaries." Requests can be made here. If you're into that. Personally, I think I'll wait until the next administration come along. Or see what would happen if one of my friends in a single-sex relationship decided to tie the knot.
Lights glow in many of the windows and it makes me wonder what is going on in there (since we know not much thinking is going on the Oval Office) -- in the kitchen, in the side rooms, in the offices. Apparently, someone is sending out greeting cards. While Im sure these folks are not actually working inside the White House, folks at the White House Greetings Office apparently send cards to "U.S. citizens for special occasions, including births, 80th birthdays, weddings and 50th wedding anniversaries." Requests can be made here. If you're into that. Personally, I think I'll wait until the next administration come along. Or see what would happen if one of my friends in a single-sex relationship decided to tie the knot.
Monday, January 15, 2007
A cursive "Z"
Teachers at my public elementary school in Auburn, Maine, was going to make sure we had handwriting as good as the the Catholic School kids in Lewiston. But "z"s -- which I unfortunately had in my last name -- were a bitch. It looked nothing like Zorro. It just looked stupid.
Luckily, the cursive stuck. And depending on how fast I write a letter or a card, people comment on how nice my handwriting is. However, get me going too fast or emotionally, and I'm scrawling all of the page worse than my father on an estimating sheet or my boyfriend trying to figure out new layouts for work.
Now, kids are taking keyboarding classes in kindergarten and only the gifted kids get to devote time to penmanship. No wonder I got 90% typed notes from people during the holidays this year. Everyone has forgotten that a "Q" has a curl.
Luckily, the cursive stuck. And depending on how fast I write a letter or a card, people comment on how nice my handwriting is. However, get me going too fast or emotionally, and I'm scrawling all of the page worse than my father on an estimating sheet or my boyfriend trying to figure out new layouts for work.
Now, kids are taking keyboarding classes in kindergarten and only the gifted kids get to devote time to penmanship. No wonder I got 90% typed notes from people during the holidays this year. Everyone has forgotten that a "Q" has a curl.
The year of challenge
Last year was the year of bread -- part of my celebration was working on my cupcake recipe with great success. Doreen can hopefully back me up on that. This year is the Year of Challenge. Work and new clients. New homes (for both of us). Finding our way -- with great design and ideas.
"Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk."
Time to take more risks.
Of course, it's hard for me to the quote the Dalai Lama without thinking of Carl from Caddyshack: "So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one---big hitter, the Lama---long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."
This doesn't bode well for me reaching a stage of enlightenment anytime soon.
"Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk."
Time to take more risks.
Of course, it's hard for me to the quote the Dalai Lama without thinking of Carl from Caddyshack: "So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one---big hitter, the Lama---long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."
This doesn't bode well for me reaching a stage of enlightenment anytime soon.
Bad to the Bone
Hallmark is using its (apparently) incredibly popular musical line to attract more men to card buying.
I don't know any guy who would buy a greeting card for another guy that plays music when its opened, especially one that plays George Thorogood, but when it comes to TV theme songs, I could totally buy into the idea of "Law & Order" -- boom-boom!
I don't know any guy who would buy a greeting card for another guy that plays music when its opened, especially one that plays George Thorogood, but when it comes to TV theme songs, I could totally buy into the idea of "Law & Order" -- boom-boom!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Sketchy
Hi there! As the desinger I thought I'd start posting stuff now that we are starting to get things rolling ... I'm actually at the sketching stage now :) So here is a little thumbnail sketch for our first holiday card! Jess came up with the idea, and on the inside of the card the tagline will be something like "The Holidays are sneaking up!" The sketch is of a snowman and a little snowflake sneaking up around the corner from a chick walking down the street!
Rock, Scissor, Paper
Doreen turned me onto Rock Scissor Paper several years ago, and I have ordered some of their things online. A funky vintage feel with bright colors featuring cute animal designs -- I especially like the hippo -- a love of dachshunds and some naughtiness.
The company, started by 2 sisters 13 years ago, has grown to sales of $600K. In a recent profile in the Los Angeles Times, founders Heidi and Susie Bauer discuss the industry and shed some light onto how they have flourished in a heavily-saturated market where most start-ups dissolve in 5 years. They learned as they went. They discussed how tough it is to break into the large retail market. They started out by focusing on an untapped market -- the 35 and under set -- one that is lucrative in its influence and buying power. But now -- how do we -- all greeting card companies -- keep those buyers buying -- and not just sending text messages all day/night long?
I bought 5 cards in the last month, becoming part of the more than $7 billion in revenue in this industry. I purchased cards for weddings, for new babies, for inspiring friends and sending my brother Michel off the college. What did you buy them for? And where? And more importantly -- why?
How do we slow down this world to let ourselves in? We can't. So instead we have decided to speed up to meet it. Learning, we realize, also as we go.
HELLO!
The company, started by 2 sisters 13 years ago, has grown to sales of $600K. In a recent profile in the Los Angeles Times, founders Heidi and Susie Bauer discuss the industry and shed some light onto how they have flourished in a heavily-saturated market where most start-ups dissolve in 5 years. They learned as they went. They discussed how tough it is to break into the large retail market. They started out by focusing on an untapped market -- the 35 and under set -- one that is lucrative in its influence and buying power. But now -- how do we -- all greeting card companies -- keep those buyers buying -- and not just sending text messages all day/night long?
I bought 5 cards in the last month, becoming part of the more than $7 billion in revenue in this industry. I purchased cards for weddings, for new babies, for inspiring friends and sending my brother Michel off the college. What did you buy them for? And where? And more importantly -- why?
How do we slow down this world to let ourselves in? We can't. So instead we have decided to speed up to meet it. Learning, we realize, also as we go.
HELLO!
Cash only, please
There are things coming to this space. I promise you. Things we want you to check out. You -- the buyers. You -- the readers. You -- our friends, family and pets. You -- the lurkers trying to get into our hearts and minds. You -- lovers of paper and correspondence. With any luck, it will be graphically represented in much lovelier way that I, and my 4 years at Carnegie Mellon working on designing Web sites/e-zines and other related editorial worlds from scratch (when I wasn't leading drinking chants, yelling at hockey players to skate harder in foreign languages or timing pledges while they chugged beer), can now represent visually and virtually.
Luckily, that is why I am the writer and Doreen is the designer.
Just wait. Not much longer now.
Dinner on Friday with our lawyer person -- Via Emilia. Recommended by my boss for its great food, quiet atmosphere and good location in the Flatiron District. Cash only, please.
We can save Craft for when we fill our first order.
OK, when we fill our first 100 orders.
Luckily, that is why I am the writer and Doreen is the designer.
Just wait. Not much longer now.
Dinner on Friday with our lawyer person -- Via Emilia. Recommended by my boss for its great food, quiet atmosphere and good location in the Flatiron District. Cash only, please.
We can save Craft for when we fill our first order.
OK, when we fill our first 100 orders.
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