Category Archives: Greeting Card Articles

Greeting Card Articles

When Buying Birthday Cards for Under 3′s, who is the Card really for the Child or the Parent?

February 16, 2010 – 1:23 am

While working on a range of children’s birthday cards, and pondering whether to add an age onto the designs or in look into the personalised route, it dawned on me that cards for the under 3′s are not brought for the birthday child – not really. I can hear all you saying ‘No that’s not true, the birthday card I buy, is always for the birthday boy or girl’. I don’t doubt that you have good intensions, when looking to purchase that special birthday card.

However we are over looking a few things like: have we forgotten that under 3 year olds cannot open envelopes properly or neatly, unless tearing the envelope and birthday card, while eating a little bit of the envelope is acceptable? Isn’t this the reason why we knowingly give the birthday card to the parent instead of the ‘Birthday Child?

Not convinced ok, then what about the image on the front on the card. We know the routine, when it comes to buying cards, so there’s no need to lie. We ladies can spend hours looking for that perfect greeting card, but when it comes to a birthday card that has to have a 1, 2 or age 3 on it, it has to convey that extra bit of cuteness we all love. We as the buyers have to be able to go ‘arrrrr’ before the birthday card gets short listed. After we have looked through the 5 – 10 which were lucky enough to get short listed the cutest birthday card is chosen. Then after all that when we take this cutest birthday card to the birthday household, we carefully hand it to the parent of the ‘Birthday Child’. We stand there with baited breath as the parent opens the envelope and looks at the card image. While looking on, we are thinking ‘will they think it’s cute enough to give it an ‘arrrr’ and show it off to those around or will it get a ‘that’s nice’, quickly moving on to the next cards’.

For blood pressure’s sake, we’ll let the card get its arrrr and is shared with those around. Having that acceptance we bashfully say, oh it was nothing really, then like clock work the parent shows the birthday card to the ‘Birthday Child’. Evidently the birthday child is sitting on the floor surrounded by great looking presents, but having a great time with the wrapping paper and an empty box.

Now are you thinking more on the lines of who we really buy the birthday cards for?

No, o.k this is the last one. You have brought the cutest birthday card ever and what do you do. You sit down at the table with pen in hand and write a lot of special sentimental words. Now who is going to read those special words, for as we already know under 3 year olds cannot read as fluently, as you wrote those 6 lined verse, which you drafted 3 times before committing it to the greeting card.

There you have it, we are not buying these cards for the one who’s birthday it is, even though we start out with them in mind, instead we are really buying for the parent of the birthday child. Now looking at the greeting card industry should we continue to have titles like ” Happy Birthday, 1 today’ or should we start seeing this title ‘To the parents of the Birthday Girl or boy aged 1 today’. Food for thought.

Question: Would you purchase a birthday card with the title beginning with ‘ To the parents of the ‘,

I would love your comments on this; I look forward to reading your views.

Have a Great Day

Janet

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Greeting Card Articles

The Pioneer of Black Greeting Cards

August 23, 2009 – 12:58 am

Everything man-made we see and use today has a creator. This creator had an idea which turned into a concept. From that concept flourished the vision. Then the vision became reality, but with reality comes many questions such as ‘What will it look like, is it needed or wanted or how will it be used by the end user these all need answers. With every new product created, it can then be adapted by someone else who has a different vision and so the cycle of production continues and grows.

A man named Cleven Goudeau A.K.A (also known as) Goodie had such a vision, which was way back in 1963. Mr Cleven Goudeauâs vision has allowed many including myself to take part in the journey he started so long ago. A journey of recognising that black art and culture exists and should be seen.

Goodie is truly the Pioneer and Innovator of Black Contemporary Greeting Cards. It had to begin somewhere and it started with this man. Black greeting card businesses today whether they are a website store on the internet or a market store in your local town did not exist. Come to think of it when Goodies artistry talent was first published in a newspaper in 1951, the World Wide Web, which we have come to depend upon today did not even exist then for the internet was born in 1969. Nothing along these lines existed when Goodie took those bold first steps and produced his first black card in 1963. Others did not even realise these steps needed to be taken. But thats the beautiful thing about ideas, it only takes one person to visualise something special and to pursue it. Then that idea brings great changes to society and then society adapts to include those great ideas. It has taken many years for this man “Goodie” to be recognised and granted such a title of Pioneer of Black Greeting Cards”.

He has opened many doors for ethnic greeting card designers like me, yet many black people still don’t know this courageous man exists and the achievements he reached. I truly believe without his vision in 1963, we would not see black cultured greeting cards today.

You have to also remember that when Goodies vision materialised segregation was still around. A time when black people where looked down upon, not worthy of sharing the same schools with our white counter parts. With all this going on, what Goodie did was a heroic achievement up there with Rosa Parks, sitting at the front of the bus achievement. Its people like Goodie that inspires me and makes me truly love my black culture. A culture, which has overcome many obstacles and is still breaking down barriers today.

The turning point for Goodie was when his mother was ill and had to go to hospital. Wanting to give her a special card he designed his own Get Well card. The doctors and nurses loved it so much that this single black greeting card found its way around the whole hospital. With such a great response his first line of Goodie Cards was born. Which I find ironic for that was the reason I started my line of greeting cards, but I designed my black card for mothers day. His cards sold at local speciality stores in 1966.  He tried to get help with a business loan of $50,000 but was denied. Goodie was entering an industry with a brand new product which had no rules, no standard, and no nothing. A great product for over 20 million black people to enjoy but the white organisations in the industry did not understand. The greeting card industry then was worth $800 million annually and had only four major players. Yet these major players were not making black greeting cards.  In 1968 Goodie became the co-founder and executive creative director of Onyx Enterprises Inc. This was the only greeting card company that produced black greeting cards and white greeting cards side by side nationally. Sadly Goodie left the greeting card business in1973 due to disappointing sales and complications with marketing.

His product had its own merits and needed nothing more than equal acceptance by the companies already in the greeting card industry. For he was in time when black people had to prove themselves. This great vision was not embraced like it should have been all because they did not want to understand what black people wanted and needed. Thanks to the most high and his blessed talent his range of Goodie Cards allowed him to put three kids through college, yet Hallmark and other greeting card companies will happily stand by the statement that there was no market for black greeting cards and totally deny the black market. However their statement simply does not make sense to me, why because black people have always existed and we have the same needs as any other culture. Therefore if white people have a way to share happy celebrated moments by sending greeting cards, why wouldn’t their black counter parts want the same.

Today Goodie works with students introducing them to the world of cartooning through classes at Micheals in Vallejo, while also teaching classes at the Vallejo Arts Foundation.

This great man should be part of black history and be remembered for what he has done, for so many of us are striving to succeed in the greeting card industry with our own range of black greeting cards. He has achieved so much and broken down so many barriers for us, yet this great man is so humble, he is truly blessed.

His words, is the only way to end this epic story:
I create things that can’t be denied.

I would like to thank the following for information references:
T.J. Walkup (an artist who has met Goudeau)

Click here: To view footage of this man

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Black Icons Greeting Card Articles

Footage of “Goodie” – The Pioneer of Black Greeting Cards

August 22, 2009 – 12:55 am

The Pioneer of Black Greeting Cards, is a great man who is unknown but not for long. Learn about the man who first introduced black greeting cards and the struggles he faced, in a time when black people were not classed as equal.

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Greeting Card Articles

Various Black Greeting Cards Available

July 17, 2009 – 12:45 am

Having black greeting cards provides black and dual heritage society with a means to send a special gift that embraces our culture and reflects who we are.

Celebrating any occasion is a beautiful feeling, especially if your friends and family can share in that joyous moment. Receiving all those greeting cards from those you love shows you they care and are happy because you are happy. Sometimes due to circumstances or distance a gathering of all your loved ones for that special occasion is unachievable, nevertheless a great way to bridge the gap and show you are thinking of them is to send that special black greeting card.

There are many black greeting cards can that be sent for many occasions. Some may be harder to find than others but if you are determined you may find what you are looking for. The selection is wide however you may find limitations on choice and occasion titles. Whether the greeting card you are after is black orientated or not, the category greeting cards fall into will be the same, these are birthday cards, anniversary cards, valentine’s cards, mother’s and father’s day cards, sympathy cards and then some.

A black birthday card of course celebrates a personal birthday. This is the most popular event there is for everyone has a birthday, and someone somewhere celebrates a birthday everyday of the year. There are black greeting cards to send to your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends. Some cards can have a humorous or sentimental theme, however finding these types could be difficult.

Black cards to celebrate anniversaries are a great to symbolise the unity of those landmark precious years which are five, fifteen, twenty, twenty five, thirty, forty and fifty years of marriage. The range of titled anniversary greeting cards covers most of a family tree. A card from a wife to her husband or visa versa, from a son or daughter to their parents, from grandchildren to their grandparents, even cards fro aunts and uncles from nephews and nieces. Being able to send a black greeting card reflecting an anniversary is a great memorable sentiment to share. Personally I have not seen any; however that does not mean they aren’nt out there somewhere.

Once a year there are 2 special days when all of us can let parents, whether biological or not, know how much we care and those days are mothers and fathers day. Most of these black mothers or fathers day greeting cards would have either a woman or man dipicted on the front. I even came across a website that embraces adopted parents, which was nice to see. At the end of the day whoever has had a hand in raising a child should be respected and showed the love they bring through a special card. It may be a struggle though to find a black greeting card that states a particular family member in the frontal heading other than mother or father. However personalising the inside message gets around this quite easily.

February the 14th is the love day, spread your love by sending a special black valentines card. You should be able to find a good selection of black greeting cards for this occasion. Many black valentines cards are untitled meaning there is no wording on the front of the card. This comes in handy if you want to send some black love to other people in your life apart from your wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend or secret admirer.

The black greeting cards I have found difficult to find are sorry, missing you, get well, thinking of you, thank you cards. Like I mentioned before, you could get a black greeting card that is untitled, then you can say what you really want on the inside message. However it would be nice to see a black range covering these categories with the relevant titles.

Other black greeting cards available are friendship cards for those special people who are always there for you in the good time and the bad. Even if you only live down the road pr around the corner, sending that black friendship greeting card will make your friend smile and that’s what it is all about really.

Now there are times when support and comfort is needed especially when someone has lost a loved one is in mourning. A black sympathy card can say so much at a time when you can’nt find the right words to say.

There are a few black greeting card categories that are dedicated to black culture. These include black history month which is for October, this month represents our history and to remember those who came before us. Kwanzaa is a week-long holiday celebrating African heritage and culture, Kwanzaa is celebrated from the 26th of December to the 1st of January. There’s a lot more to learn about kwanza which I will cover in another post.

Finding and sending the ideal black greeting card will not cost the earth but will mean so much to the recipient. Everyone loves tearing open an envelope to reveal a special greeting card, it’s an uplifting feeling to have. Plus to have the card reflect the cultural identity of the receiver is a beautiful.

Here at JWGreetings we go that one step further. By reading our blog, you will find a post about a user who left feedback stating she was looking for a black congratulations card for her daughter who had passed her red belt in Karate. She was so proud that she wanted to let her know by giving her a greeting card reflected her daughters achievement. After receiving that, I got to work and designed a greeting card that fore filled the lady’s needs. I then placed it on website and emailed her to take a look. She was under no obligation to buy for she had allowed me to design for an area I would not have thought about otherwise. However saying that, even if I had, had other cards available I still would have designed something. The final card is now part of my other greeting cards and the lady did purchased the black congratulation greeting card. She also sent me a picture of her daughter in her karate outfit wearing her new red belt and holding her certificate. I was happy to help. Take a look at the blog here Black Karate Kid.

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Greeting Card Articles

All about Black Birthday Cards

July 2, 2009 – 12:53 am

Having black birthday cards that reflect our culture past, present and future is important for it allows us to have a product that is produced solely for our cultural needs. There are many cultural titles that are used today which range from black, afro, afro-Caribbean, afro-American, African, and African-American. However the symbolism of black birthday greeting cards reflects them all whichever title we identity with.

Black birthday cards are not wildly available unlike commercial massed produced birthday cards that have generalised designs. Even though there are thousands of places where you can purchase a birthday card that number is drastically reduced when it comes to purchasing black birthday cards. You will be able to find birthday cards that are black cultured via the internet. Purchasing online it not difficult well it shouldn’t be. The only difference between purchasing online instead of from a high street shop is that you pay for postage and packaging. Of course purchasing your black birthday cards online saves a lot of leg work especially if you don’t know of any greeting card shops that stock black greeting cards. Some online sites specialise in electronic greeting cards usually known as ecards or e-cards. These greeting cards are sent to your loved ones via email, instead of opening an envelope you click open your inbox. If you receive a black birthday card via your email you always have the option of printing it out, and displaying it for others to see.

I have seen a few sites that offer handmade black greeting cards. These cards are made by physically adding embellishments, like buttons, fabric etc to the front of the card. Purchasing black birthday cards that are handmade may be more expensive due to the time it takes to produce each one.

Photograph style greeting cards are becoming more common place among the black greeting card market. They are simple to put together, many of these types of greeting cards I have seen are not actually titled as birthday cards however they do have a black cultural theme, so they could be sent as a birthday card. Adding the words happy birthday inside the greeting card solves that little dilemma. You could easily produce a photograph greeting card yourself if you wanted to, I will write a post on this subject soon.

As technology grows so does computer graphics, with that is allows artists, illustrators and graphic designers to bring their work to the masses. More designers and artists are taking their work to the greeting cards market with great success. By creating their pieces of art once the beauty of the computer age allows that 1 design to become mass produced all thanks to the printer. A lot of black greeting cards designers use this route to show their work. Many designs I have seen do include the greeting card title on the front of the greeting card, which is ideal when looking for that special black birthday card. When the artist/designer creates a greeting card they have a lot more flexibility when adapting a card for a certain category.

Sending your loved one a black birthday card is such a beautiful gift within itself. It would be great to find many black birthday cards that can be sent to mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces. Also those black birthday cards that highlights those special landmark ages of sixteen, eighteen, twenty-one, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy and eighty are a must but again hard to find. Locating that birthday card that relates to your recipient might be difficult. Nevertheless do not give up it is out there somewhere, more and more black greeting cards are coming forth and sharing in the embracing of black culture so do not be disheartened if you do not succeed in finding what you need straight away.

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