A Life With Greeting Cards
September 29th, 2008 by Solange
My name is Solange, I started making cards at the age of 4. Though I had to wait a little longer, 3 decades to be precise, to become a freelance greeting-cards designer. In the mid-nineties, I started my own company : “dito”, it was a thrill to see my cards on sale in the shops. I love fresh ideas, fashion trends and I can’t wait to include them in my greeting cards. More over, I love when people ask me: “Where did you find such a great card?” I can answer: “I made it”.
Despite the fact that there is a card for every occasion, I could never find that “very special one”. I used to spend “hours” browsing in the shops, so really it all started out of need.
When I decided that I would be a card designer, I was studying to become a computer artist, except that in these days and I am not referring to the middle ages, computer graphics was in its infancy. While everybody else in the course was busying themselves with 3D graphics and special effects, I would design that special card, no pastels nor teddy bears for me, more a combination of autumn colours and fractals to express my creativity. The market place took an interest and they sold as novelties.
With time, though I still love using e-cards, my creations are my own blend of traditional methods such as origami or decoupage and computer generated images. Often, the 3D effect is achieved by fixing embellishments with layers of foam pads rather than computer generated. I am known for doing things the wrong way round, so from a commercial proposition it is now a hobby; if I trust a top consumer craft magazine, I am in good company because greeting card making is the number one craft hobby.
Let’s face it, everybody experiences a warm feeling of anticipation when, in the post or the email box, there is something which does not look like junk or a bill. It is so nice to know that somebody thinks you are truly special and took the time to send you a card; it is even nicer to know that it has been done just with you in mind.
If we judge it by the booming greeting card market, I am not the only one to think so. The Greeting Card Association reports than more than 7 billions greeting cards are bought each year in the US, that is 30 individual cards a year per household; In the UK, on average 55 cards will be bought per person per year.
It does not matter how good you think you are, my advice is to give it a go: personalize an e-card or make one yourself and I guarantee that you will not be spend “hours” ever again looking for the perfect greeting card.
One of Solange's Handmade Cards