Posts tagged #craft paper goods
Card of the Month: December
December is HERE! Winter has almost completely taken over, and there’s no denying that we’re deep into the holiday season.
So, we naturally had to pick one of our new holiday cards for this month’s Card of the Month.
This card from our new collection with artist Angela Elliot is perfect for expressing all that the holiday brings — joy, craziness and humor.
This season is about telling those you love how important they are to you, and spending time with the most important people in your life.
If you’re looking for last minute card orders, shop our retail shop or send us an email!
Happy Holidays from ours, to yours.
Meet: Beer Greetings
It’s the season of collabs! We worked with Atlanta company and friend, Ashley Edmonds of Beer Greetings, on an awesome “Happy Hangover” 6-pack holder and some fabulously festive cocktail napkins. Perfect for craft beer (or wine!) lovers. And just in time for the holidays. We’re obsessed, and we think you will be too.
>> EMAIL TO ORDER <<
BPC: How long have you been in the "Beer Greetings" business?
We launched Beer Greetings in time for Holiday 2014 with just one design to test the Market.
BPC: Tell us a little about the scope of what you do and how the business has grown.
Beer Greetings is a part of our broader company, Smartsy Brands, which strives to provide innovative solutions to everyday problems - big or small, silly or serious. Our products and brands are all born from needs we see in our own personal lives with lots of input from our customers, family and friends. It started with our eco-friendly gift wrap line, Lilywrap, and then expanded to others including Beer Greetings.
BPC: What do you love most about your job?
I love the process of taking an idea for a brand new product and guiding it through the development process all the way to launching on store shelves. It's a very surreal, exhilarating (and sometimes frustrating) process.
BPC: How did you begin working with Breathless Paper Co. (BPC)?
I connected with Jessica through our collaborative group comprised of Southern brands, Deep South Social. We both found an instant appreciation for each others' work (and for each other!)
BPC: Describe to us a little bit about the line of 6-pack holders, etc, that you designed with BPC.
I love the witty humor of Breathless Paper Co. So when working on joint six-pack carrier, we knew it had to be funny and perhaps a bit edgier than our standard boxes. I basically told Jessica and Matt that I'd love a box appropriate for all occasions and let them run with it. I loved what they came up with so much that we made no edits whatsoever!
BPC: Outside of Beer Greetings, what do you do on your day to day? Any other business ventures/artistic projects/etc.?
Too much! Ha. Seriously, I get excited by so many things and tend to jump in right away. Like I mentioned, my company Smartsy Brands has several brands that I run, including Lilywrap gift wrap, Beer Greetings, Cheer Greetings, and the Vortex. We also have a real estate business renting out properties on the coast. I'm also very involved in the community at our girls' schools, at church, leading a girl scout troop and with the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House charities. In between all of that, I love to travel, watch football, picnic and just enjoy the small pleasures in day-to-day life.
BPC: BPC believes in the importance of a handwritten note and sending snail mail -- what are your thoughts on this?
I think there is no better way to show love and appreciation than through a handwritten note. I have three young daughters (5, 3 and 1) who LOVE creating cards, mailing them to family and leaving me sweet notes and pictures around the house. (My Kindergartner recently made the cutest postcard to reply to her grandparents who were on a long trip!) If I ever forget the importance of expressing sentiments in this way - I need to look no further than the effect the little notes floating around my house make me feel.
BPC: What's your favorite part about running a business like Beer Greetings, and what's the hardest part about running a small business?
My favorite part of running Beer Greetings is all of the amazing people I am able to meet - through social media, collaborations, my retailers, trade shows, and more. I have met the most interesting people. The hardest part of running a small business is running into issues like production delays and bad product that are beyond your control. These issues, unfortunately, happen - but I hate seeing progress stall and customers disappointed.
BPC: What's your favorite BPC card?
My all-time favorite is probably "Y'all Are Gonna Make Pretty Babies" - makes me laugh every time.
Card of the Month: October
Fall is HERE! We’re so excited for it to finally cool down, and for things to get cozy.
That being said, this month’s Card of the Month was an easy choice. Our Climb Every Mountain card from our Heartward collection represents an awesome part of fall: being outside.
To order this card or more from our Heartward collection, reach out to us!
> breathlesspaperco@gmail.com <
Meet: Caitlin of Cash Color
One of our newest lines is a collaboration with Cash Color — a project by Caitlin Shirock, a lifelong artist and designer. Having the artist’s touch on our cards has been amazing and we loved hearing about Caitlin’s path to starting Cash Color. Read on and check out the line! Click here to order.
Breathless Paper Co: How long have you been an artist?
Caitlin: Since I can remember! My mom always tells this story about how I would comment on the colors of the leaves during fall time and how beautiful they were and she just knew someday I would do something creative.
BPC: Tell us a little about the scope of what you do and how it all began.
C: I’ve always loved creating beautiful things. I studied fine art and then design, and went on to work in the apparel industry for a few years designing t-shirt graphics for Abercrombie & Fitch. That job was the perfect mix of graphic design and art because we did a lot of work with different typefaces which I loved and then we would also paint beach scenes and sailboats which I also loved. It was there that I fell in love with the medium, Gouache. I had never used it before but now it’s what I create 90% of my work with. I then moved to Nashville (and shortly after married my high school best bud/crush) and started freelancing here doing everything from logos, branding and identity to custom illustrated invitations for brides and other events.
I launched Cash Color last year when I realized how badly I needed to really focus in on one thing rather than trying to master them all. So thats when I started to put the time into really thinking about what I love to paint most and how I can create a brand around that. It has always been this far fetched dream to run my own business and sell my own happy, bright, fun artwork. Although extremely challenging at times, I just love learning the ins and outs of running a small biz and being the artist behind it all. It makes me so happy knowing my artwork sits in peoples beloved homes and hopefully brings them joy every single day when they look at it. I have dreams to grow into putting the art on fabrics, wallpapers, and continuing to do more fine art in the years to come!
BPC: What do you love most about your job?
C: I love that every day is different. I love that I can do business tasks and then use the other side of my brain and be weird, get messy and be creative :)
BPC: How did you begin working with Breathless Paper Co. (BPC)?
C: I met Jessica at a WeWork event, I loved her cards and introduced myself — little did I know we would soon work together and partner up! She is such a sincere person and I could just tell that from the first minute of speaking with her. We later did a pop up together and got to connect even more, exchange information, supported one another and made a coffee date! I was so excited to get to know her story and how she established her amazing brand of over 10 years.
I’m so impressed by BPC, her office is adorable, her kids of course are too, and I just love how she collabs with so many different brands and creates fun products. She gets stuff done. I totally look up to her and feel blessed to have crossed paths with her.
BPC: Describe to us a little bit about the line you designed with BPC.
C: The art is taken from my Neutral Abstract Letter Art collection. Her husband does Graphic Design and I have that in me too, so I think that’s what caught their attention to the line… It’s a very well balanced, yet artful collection of all 26 letters painting in an abstract way. I grew up surrounded by monograms and have always wanted to make them more funky! This is my interpretation of that.
BPC: If you weren't an artist, what would you be doing?
C: I’ve honestly never really given this much thought because being an artist was just always my passion... I have always said I wanted to be an interior designer, but instead of put rooms together I get to work with designers who style my art in their gorgeous homes and rooms — so thats even more fun for me! I am a really good organizer, it comes naturally and I oddly enjoy it, so sometimes I think I should be going into homes and reorganizing peoples spaces!
BPC: BPC believes in the importance of a handwritten note and sending snail mail -- what are your thoughts on this?
C: I am a huge advocate of this. I have in the past created personal stationery and I absolutely believe in the power of a handwritten letter. I have one in particular that has changed my life. It’s from my (now) husband and it is probably my top 5 most favorite things I own — a piece of paper with words that he took the time to thoughtfully write to me, from his heart and then mail it out! Changed my life and I hold it so dear. I love the feeling of writing a card, putting it in the mail, and sending it off to make someones day. Something so magical about it and it really works.
BPC: Do you have a favorite type of client / project?
C: I love working with women that just love decorating their homes and have fun with it. It is so so fun and I feel honored every time I can help bring brightness and joy into their homes by adding art to make their house a home. What's your favorite BPC card in the Cash Color line? What's your favorite BPC card not in the line? I honestly love the “L” haha, I don’t know why but there is something so soothing about it and my eye just loves it! A lot of people buy they letter art just for abstract art or for the color, so I hang the L in my home for that reason, that and to me, it stands for Love.
In the BPC lines: I love the Heartward collection and specifically the “Grow through what you Go through”. Need I explain? It’s so good and so true and a good reminder everyday! But they’re all so good!!
>> Check out CashColor.com for other collections <<
Card of the Month: August
How is it already August?!
This summer has been jam-packed and wonderful. We just want to say one more HUGE thank you to all who made our July trade show so great. Seriously, we couldn't do this without you guys!
We've loved getting to spend some quality time with our little ones this summer, and we've had a blast seeing live music in our city. We've also gotten tons of tickets for upcoming shows this fall -- needless to say, we're feeling incredibly grateful. Looking back on these past few months, I feel so full.
This month, we've chosen "My Heart Beats for You" from our Breathless collection a our Card of the Month.
Why? Because of all the love we feel so lucky to be surrounded by right now -- from family, friends and each and every one of y-o-u! This card is a special one that is as fun as it is meaningful. Plus, we love the vintage look! Send it to someone you love and make their day.
Happy August, everyone!
XOXO,
Breathless Paper Co.
Card of the Month: January
A new year means new goals and new starts. As we put 2017 behind us and think about how we've grown and what we've learned in the past year, we've picked a "Card of the Month" that we think expresses simply what it means to move forward and look confidently toward the future.
This card is from our Deep Breath 2 collection -- one of our newest batches of cards. The words, "Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day" are so real and important to us and applicable to everyone as they reflect on their year and try to better the next one.
We love the modern design elements in this one, and we think it's a fitting card to send to so many of the people in your life this New Year and "just because."
Thanks for stopping by and checking out this month's #CardoftheMonth! Don't forget to flaunt your Breathless Paper cards... our #BeBreathless contest is still going:
Take part in our #BeBreathless campaign now through the end of February, 2018! We want you to show us where and to who our cards travel! Snap pics of one (or more!) of our cards out in the world and post on Instagram. Hashtag #BeBreathless, tag @BreathlessPaper, and be entered to win $500 worth of cards to gift to your loved ones or keep for yourself. Winner announced after close of contest.