Cool Cards

Jesus & Mo - No Offence

2012-01-13T11:09:00.000Z

Jesus & Mo have been in the news again lately.

This from the Author:

If you haven’t heard about the spot of bother that the University College London’s Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society is having with the Student’s Union over a J&M image they used on their FaceBook page, you can read about it here. There is also a petition you can sign.
There is a great deal to say about this subject, but I just want to express my admiration and gratitude to the students of UCLASHS for standing firm on this issue, and for doing so for all the right reasons. You are an example to us all.

If you feel so inclined, no doubt you'll show your support for freedom of expression.

You might want to buy a Jesus & Mo greeting card.

Or you might just enjoy the Jesus & Mo latest offering:

Sources:
Jesus & Mo

New Humanist

Cool Cards

Design: The Lost Type Co-op

2012-01-07T18:48:00.007Z

Beautiful fonts. Pay something or nothing for stunning fonts at the Lost Type Co-op.

The Lost Type Co-op is a collaboration between Tyler Galpin and Riley Cran. It was founded with the intention of providing unique and quality fonts based on a pay-what-you-want model. All designers get 100% of the donations their font receives.

A proud and cheery page of the fonts in everyday use on their Blog.

And a nice interview with Tyler Galpin and Riley Cran of The Lost Type Co-op over at Gomediazine

Source: The Lost Type Co-op

Masters of the Post: The Authorized History of the Royal Mail

2011-11-22T16:09:00.000Z

the first complete history of the Royal Mail up to the present day, based on extensive research at the BPMA.

Economic journalist and researcher Duncan Campbell-Smith presents the whole story of Britain's postal service – how it was built, how it led the world for two hundred years and how it has struggled to survive in the face of mounting odds since the arrival of the internet.

In 880 pages with rich illustrations, Campbell-Smith tells the fascinating history from the origins of the royal monopoly to the Great Train Robbery - whilst also recounting several hitherto strangely neglected stories.

In addition to a reappraisal of many aspects of earlier centuries, it includes the first detailed account of the past half-century of Britain's postal history

Source: British Postal Museum & Archive

Another excellent account of the history of the Royal Mail at the Guardian.

How to Reduce your Junk Mail? The Mailing Preference Service

2011-11-09T20:03:00.004Z

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Here's a nice easy one for you that reduces Junk Mail:

The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service set up 20 years ago and funded by the junk mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from lists used by the industry. It is actively supported by the Royal Mail and all directly involved trade associations and fully supported by The Information Commissioners Office.

Registering your address and opting out of junk mail with the MPS is easy, it's free and it works.

MPS: The Mailing Preference Service

BBC iPlayer - Panorama: Why hate junk mail?

Celebrity Greeting Cards - Charity Auction

2011-11-04T16:53:00.001Z

If you would like to own a piece of celebrity artwork, head on over to Giving Lots and get bidding!

The auction runs from 2nd November to midnight on 2nd December 2011.

Macmillan and Woman's Weekly magazine have teamed up to tap the creative skills of a group of celebrities who are making greetings cards to raise money for the cancer charity. You can now bid on the results. See another side of famous people like Fearne Cotton, Sir Roger Moore, Anton du Beke, Katherine Jenkins plus many more and own the fruits of their labour.

Take a look at the wonderful pieces of artwork on offer, the sale of each piece of artwork will go directly to Macmillan to help people affected by cancer. For more information about Macmillan Cancer Support please see our website at www.macmillan.org.uk.

Some of the cards are, to be honest, a bit crap.

No, not crap... rushed.

No, not rushed... Crap.
Yes, that's the word. Crap.

View the cards with associated celebrity names at: Giving Lots

In support of: Macmillan Cancer Support

View and bid: Giving Lots

Macmillan Cancer Support

Happy Birthday Woman's Weekly - 100..!

2011-11-04T13:40:00.000Z

Happy Birthday..!

OUR FABULOUS CENTENARY ISSUE!
A celebration marking 100 years of your favourite magazine...
Our first-ever issue from 1911 to pull out and keep
Fashion trends through the decades - and how you can wear them now
Spectacular four-tier cake to make for your own celebration
A look back at 100 years of WW health advice
Centenary story from The Robin Family - back for one issue only!
Exquisite wedding-ring shawl to knit
A century of ads - fantastic and funny adverts we've carried over the years

You really couldn't make this up...

2011-08-30T16:33:00.000+01:00

It beggars belief...

Bad Mother sued by her children...

Raised in a $1.5 million Barrington Hills home by their attorney father, two grown children have spent the last two years pursuing a unique lawsuit against their mom for "bad mothering" damages allegedly caused when she failed to buy toys for one and sent another a birthday card he didn't like.

In 2009, the children, represented by three attorneys including their father, Steven A. Miner, sued their mother, Kimberly Garrity. Steven II, now 23, and his sister Kathryn, now 20, sought more than $50,000 for "emotional distress."

Miner and Garrity were married for a decade before she filed for divorce in 1995, records show.

Among the exhibits filed in the case is a birthday card Garrity sent her son, who in his lawsuit sought damages because the card was "inappropriate" and failed to include cash or a check. He also alleged she failed to send a card for years or, while he was in college, care packages.

On the front of the American Greetings card is a picture of tomatoes spread across a table that are indistinguishable except for one in the middle with craft-store googly eyes attached.

"Son I got you this Birthday card because it's just like you … different from all the rest!" the card reads. On the inside Garrity wrote, "Have a great day! Love & Hugs, Mom xoxoxo."

Source: Chicago Tribune

Letter from Brazil

2011-08-04T14:33:00.000+01:00

We received an unexpected letter and a postcard from Brasil today. Which was nice.

Eduardo Taufic Nahas is a collector of commercial aircraft postcards.

"I am writing you because my hobby is to collect postcards of commercial aircrafts from all airlines of the world.

My collection began in 1960, and I have about 10,000 postcards.

I would like to receive, if it possible, postcards issued by your company with airlines theme."

Cool Cards can't help Eduardo, but maybe you can?

If you'd like to contact him, his email is: etnahas@uol.com.br

Dyslexic Font - CCQ 1

2011-08-01T22:56:00.001+01:00

Cool Cards Quality (CCQ) calling Dyslexia Font... Come in Dyslexia Font... Dyslexia Font, Come In...

Dyslexia has never been so accessible. We've all heard about it and we all know something about it.... So how hard could it to be to find a Dyslexia friendly font to add to our personalised card options at Cool Cards?

Let's start with the experts:

Royal National Institute of Blind People - RNIB Fonts

Wiki - RNIB

RNIB have this to say about Fonts:

A reasonable amount of research has been conducted to try and identify an optimum font for legibility and to investigate user preferences for fonts by sighted, blind and partially sighted people. To date this research has produced mixed results, with no single font standing out, but there were some commonalities which may help guide your font choice.

    Choose a clear font with easily recognisable characters
    Avoid ornate fonts, or those simulating handwriting
    Select a medium weight of character - not too thin, but not very thick

Research has been equally inconclusive about the benefits of serif or sans-serif fonts, with an almost equal number of reports recommending each. We therefore currently suggest that you can use either type of font, as long as the typeface is clear and the characters are distinct.

Last updated: 21 July 2010

"A reasonable amount of research" ... Well that's helpful... What research? Any links to sources? Please? A Wiki link even...? Anything...? No? Nothing... Not impressed so far.

"not too thin, but not very thick"

Ok now we're getting somewhere...

"Select a medium weight of character"

Yes! Success..!

"Research has been equally inconclusive about the benefits of serif or sans-serif fonts"

That narrows it down...

"Last updated: 21 July 2010"

Over a year ago?

Cutting edge legibility information from our leading sight loss Charity which raised over £110 millilon in 2009/10... Hello?

"Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is the UK's leading charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people with sight loss."

£110 million divided by "almost two million people with sight loss"... (less expenses of course..)

Maybe this is a bit simple but... do you not think a bit more time and research would have gone into readability..?

Outcome:

No recommended fonts. Not even any recommendation of no brainer beginner error fonts to avoid.

But, don't become confused or disheartened. Just stick with a medium weight serif or sans-serif. You'll be fine.

RNIB CCQ score for improvements towards dyslexia font readability suggestions : 0-10

Snail Mail My Email

2011-07-25T20:38:00.000+01:00

Of course, we all know that email is impersonal, lacking creativity and quite devoid of any significant effort on the part of the sender...

Ivan Cash, Artist, Designer, Art Director has created a nice twist on this with his Snail Mail My Email art project.

"Snail Mail My Email is a month-long (July 15 - August 15), interactive community art project which seeks to both share the warm-fuzzy feeling of receiving a personalized letter as well as inspire people to send their own snail mail. Anyone with internet access can partake by simply sending an email, after which the very same message will be handwritten and physically mailed to the chosen recipient anywhere in the world, completely free of charge.

In a culture overrun with instant gratification and on-demand services, this project cultivates appreciation for the lost art of letter writing."

Examples:

Much as we love art... We love the idea of sending snail mail cards with personally handwritten sentiments even more. Especially those sent from Cool Cards.

Source: Snail Mail My Email

Source: Flickr

And the Cool Cards Harrogate 2011 Cute Card Award goes to...

2011-07-22T21:24:00.000+01:00

These beauties...

Not, as yet, available from Cool Cards - but never say never... ;)

Harrogate Home and Gift - 2011

2011-07-17T23:54:00.002+01:00

Cool Cards were at the Harrogate Home and Gift Trade Show today searching for new greeting card ideas for you. Did we find any? Yes we did..! And here are a few of our favourites...

You'll soon find some of these, and more, at Cool Cards.

So, in no particular order... enjoy.

First up. Building on her success at many design-led trade shows, the enchanting and understated London based Graphic Designer Roisin Cafferty bravely made the long journey Up North and quite caught our attention with her stripped down, super cute, back to basics, less-is-more style of cards which confidently stood out amid the wash of the many samey, "Yorkshire" cards at Harrogate this year. We couldn't quite decide if they're right for Cool Cards though... What do you think?

Next up. We also fell in love with Velvet Olive years ago... but never took the plunge.

The delightful Kathryn Fletcher continues to expand her designs which we enjoyed catching up with at Harrogate. Supremely classy, timeless and yet contemporary designs, wonderfully finished - but with a RRP of £3.25 are they a bit too much for Cool Cards..? The cards are finished to such a high standard it's impossible to fully appreciate them with a website image. Can we do them justice?

This is a small sample of just one Velvet Olive design range which caught the apple of our eye/s. Clean, clear, classy.
Seriously, they don't do any justice to these stunningly beautiful cards.

"Back to Black
Cream textured board, print finished with beautiful black thermography, a technique which gives a raised and glossy impression, also hand finished with Austrian cream pearls."

But before you decide... Some important stuff you should know about Velvet Olive.

"She detests washing up but loves hoovering.
When designing, she very rarely moves from one spot for hours at a time, then eats 10 slices of toast and galleons of tea in one hit.
She loves typography and unusual types of board and paper.
Furniture, she can spend hours in a junk shop, buy nothing she needs, and then her poor house is filled to the rafters with her odd finds.
Architecture, she loves, loves, loves beautiful and interesting buildings, old or new.

She hates bananas."

What more could you need to know?

Moving on... These next cards are quite simply a must-have, no-brainer addition to Cool Cards. You'll be seeing these soon. We used to have a Fair Trade shop and the lack of ethical, Fair Trade greeting cards on Cool Cards has always been a great source of shame for us... But, today we found these beauties at the Shared Earth stand: FairMail Fair Trade cards.

This is why we like them...

"FairMail is a company producing fair trade greeting cards in Peru and India and is a member of the World Fair Trade Organisation."

The card images, to be fair (...sorry) aren't all that strong. But that's not the point. It's the Fair Trade back-story that's important to us.

What's the back-story? "The photos on FairMail cards are taken by underpriviliged Indian and Peruvian teenagers. FairMail offers them photography training, part-time work, medical insurance and guidance in making their future plans."

"The teenagers get 50 % of the profits of the sale of their own cards to finance their housing and education."

We like that a lot. And we want more, more..!

Not shown here, but the back of each card shows an image of the person who will benefit from the sale of each card and information about them.

See more FairMail...

More? Youtube FairMail Channel (Mostly Dutch - the birthplace of the Fair Trade movement)

More more? Greedy guts. Search YouTube and Google for Fair Trade.

More cards? Oh, ok...

Susan Entwistle

We haven't had many Art Cards for a while, but these caught our attention... Any thoughts?

" Susan Entwistle, an artist with a textile design background, paints gardens from her visits around the country, using a contemporary, pointillist style in layers of coloured dots. She undertakes commissions for both public and private gardens as well as landscapes and florals."

Had a super day at Harrogate. So nice to meet existing Cool Cards publishers and some new ones too, but that's all for now (It's getting late and it's time for some FIBS backgammon to nicely round the day off) - more soon.

Those links again...

Super Cute Roisin Cafferty cards

Super Classy Velvet Olive cards (trade only damn her to super hell)

Super Fair FairMail Fair Trade cards

Super Art Susan Entwistle cards

Couldn't make the show? See for yourself... Harrogate Home & Gift Exhibitor list

R.I.P. Banksy Gorilla

2011-07-15T19:26:00.002+01:00

"A BANKSY mural on a former social club in Eastville has been painted over.

The Gorilla in a Pink Mask mural, depicting an ape with a pink eye mask over its face, has been a familiar sight on Fishponds Road for more than 10 years."

"But the stencil was whitewashed over when the building was turned into a Muslim cultural centre. It could prove to be an expensive mistake – an 8ft mural on a hotel in Torquay is claimed to have raised the value of the building by £150,000.

Saeed Ahmed, owner of the cultural centre, said he had never heard of the famous artist and painted over the gorilla because he thought it was a regular piece of graffiti.

Mr Ahmed said: "I thought it was worthless. I didn't it know it was valuable. That's why I painted over it. I really am sorry if people are upset."

A paintings conservator, Richard Pelter of Park Street-based International Fine Art Conservation Studios, was last night attempting to remove the whitewash using large cotton buds and sensitive cleaning materials.

Neighbour Dean Meadows said: "It's a shame. It's currently being shared around the world on Twitter, so hopefully Banksy will hear and replace it himself."

"I thought it was worthless. I didn't it know it was valuable. That's why I painted over it. I really am sorry if people are upset."

Yeah right. Mr Ahmed, no offence, but Jesus H Christ that seems somewhat unlikely...

Get your memorial Banksy Gorilla Mask cards quick sharp from Cool Cards before Mr Ahmed comes round and Tip-Ex's them.

Source: This is Bristol

Source: Banksy Cards

Royal Mail... Junk Mail, Scam Mail, Stupid Mail... And Why? Profit.

2011-07-04T22:06:00.000+01:00

Why Hate Junk Mail? BBC Panorama, the world's longest running investigative TV show, looks into the junk that pours through your doors every day...

A somewhat lightweight Panorama 'investigation' and many many years too late we'd say, but better late than never...

"It invades our homes, dropping onto our doormats in its millions and costs the taxpayer a fortune to get rid of. It might be a menace in our mailbox but without junk mail, would our postal service survive? Panorama reporter Tom Heap asks whether junk mail is only good for one thing, burning it to heat his home, and investigates whether Royal Mail is addicted to the darker side of the letters business - scam mail."

Aside from the huge waste of limited resources and energy in sending such stupid mail, how upsetting must it be to receive unsolicited mail addressed to your ex or your recently deceased?

What the Panorama documentary fails to tell you is that you can very easily opt out of receiving junk and scam mail in the UK.

"The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service set up 20 years ago and funded by the direct mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from lists used by the industry. It is actively supported by the Royal Mail and all directly involved trade associations and fully supported by The Information Commissioners Office.

The MPS Consumer File is a list of names and addresses of consumers who have told us they wish to limit the amount of direct mail they receive. The use of the Consumer File by list-owners and users is a requirement of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing administered by the Advertising Standards Authority. It is also a condition under the Code of Practice of the Direct Marketing Association."

Source: Mailing Preference Service

And similarly, junk phone calls too: Telephone Preference Service

Source: Panorama - Why Hate Junk Mail?

Design: No Comment

2011-07-01T18:21:00.001+01:00

Unpick to open - Snail Mail 10, Email 0

2011-06-28T21:15:00.000+01:00

"Unpick to open" is the title of a simply amazing post from The Missive Maven.

USA based Missive Maven received a letter from England.

Not your average letter mind you... An entirely embroidered letter from an unnamed, hugely talented, seamstress.

Long live beautiful and artistic snail mail..!

More images, more words: The Missive Maven

Design: Bookmark - Haunted Mansion

2011-06-18T20:49:00.000+01:00

Print your own Haunted Mansion bookmark and include it with your Cool Card as a simple and special gift.

"Instructions:

Print out the bookmark and the bookmark holder on regular paper or cardstock and cut out the pieces, including the "window" on the front of the bookmark holder. Do not cut along the fold lines.
Fold the bookmark holder in half along the fold line so the illustration is on the outside. Fold the tabs on the sides inward. Spread glue over the tabs and glue them to the inside of the back of the holder. You should now have a pouch with an opening at the top.
Fold the bookmark at the half way line so the illustrations are on the front and the back of the bookmark. Glue the backs together. Punch a hole at the top of the bookmark and tie a string or ribbon through the hole. Now you can slide your bookmark out of the holder to reveal the grim fates of the Portraits."

Source: Disney Printable: Haunted Mansion Portrait Chamber Bookmark

PDF image of bookmark.

Design: Dear Photograph - Then & Now

2011-06-18T18:51:00.003+01:00

Photographs preserve a moment in time, memories and events.
"Dear Photograph" provides a delightful twist.

"Dear Photograph is a photo blog with a simple premise: old snapshots are brought back to the site where they were originally taken and are photographed in the present day. The result is a fascinating then and now photograph."

Add yours at Dear Photograph

View more and contribute: Dear Photograph

Via: Laughing Squid

We blogged a similar idea back in 2009...
"Chino Otsuka inserts modern photos of herself as an adult into photos of herself as a child."

Rocket Mail

2011-06-08T23:13:00.002+01:00

Just a quick big up to Cool Cards before we get started...

"A quick word to thanks for your stunningly good service in supplying a card I ordered yesterday afternoon. Within a few minutes I received your acknowledgement, within a few more I received a message to say it had been shipped. (I took the latter with a pinch of salt!) And yet the postman handed me my order this morning at 8.30, well packed in a card-backed envelope. Wow! Even in these days when we all appear to expect everything yesterday (and end up being disappointed), this is very impressive indeed. You must have had someone waiting at the computer, someone else holding open the envelope, and the engine kept running outside, with an escorted drive to the post office! Whatever - I'm delighted, not least by the unusual card, which fits the bill very well. Many thanks, we will certainly add your site to our 'favourites' for future reference. Regards,
Andrew"

Order from Cool Cards before 4.30pm and there's every chance that your UK mainland order will be on your doorstep the following morning. Thanks to the fantastic service of Royal Mail. But it's not rocket science. Or was it?

Get this. Purpose built rocket mail delivery was first sent between two Austrian villages in 1931.

"Friedrich Schmiedl launched the first rocket mail with 102 pieces of mail between Schöckl and St. Radegund, Austria. Schmiedl also launched rockets on 21 April 1931 from the Austrian town of Schöckl to Kaite Rinne with mail and a spectrograph. After the April flight, 79 specially printed postcards marked in German with "Flown in Instrument Rocket" bear stamps from the flights.

Gerhard Zucker experimented in the 1930s with powder rockets similar to fireworks. Between 1931 and 1933, he travelled throughout Germany displaying his rocket and claiming that it could be used to deliver mail.

After moving to the United Kingdom, Zucker attempted to convince the General Post Office that postal delivery by rocket was viable. After initial demonstrations on the Sussex Downs in southern England, rockets were launched on 28 and 31 July 1934 over a 1600-metre flight path between the Hebridean islands of Harris and Scarp in Scotland. Around 1.07 m long with a diameter of 18 cm, the fuselage was packed with 1,200 envelopes. Unfortunately for Zucker both rockets exploded, though most of the smaller second cargo, which included survivors of the first, was saved.

IMDB: The Rocket Post

Stephen Smith, a Secretary of the Indian Airmail Society, combined his work with his interest in rocketry. His first launch was on 30 September 1934, and he experimented with 270 more by 4 December 1944. 80 of these contained mail, and his achievements include the first successful rocket mail sent over a river and the first rocket to carry a parcel. The Oriental Fireworks Company supplied Smith with 16 rockets between 23 March 1935 and 29 June 1935. Between them, these "Silver Jubilee" flights carried over a thousand covers.

In 1992 the Indian government issued a stamp to celebrate the centenary of Smith's birth, calling him "the originator of rocket mail in India".

Then, 28 years after Schmiedl, the Americans got in on the act... and as always have to go that one bit bigger... with a nuclear missile (Hotmail anyone?).

"An American attempt in 1959, was something entirely new, because the mail was not packed in rockets built for the purpose but stowed in mail containers that replaced a nuclear warhead on top of a missile built for war. Because this was strictly an experiment, the mail consisted entirely of commemorative postal covers addressed to a host of government officials, including President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The missile was fired shortly before noon from a launcher aboard the submarine USS Barbero, cruising off the coast of Virginia. Twenty-two minutes after launch, the missile struck its target at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Mayport, Florida.

The mail was retrieved, sorted and routed in the usual way from a post office in nearby Jacksonville."

The SSM-N-8 Regulus cruise missile was used for one attempt to deliver mail.

Sources:

Astronautix: Friedrich Schmiedl

Wiki: Gerhard Zucker

Wiki: Stephen Hector Taylor-Smith

Wiki: Rocket mail

Wired: This day in Tech

IMDB: The Rocket Post
Stamps of King George V Silver Jubilee: Indian Rocket Mail

TV in a greeting Card - what will they think of next?

2011-06-07T22:09:00.003+01:00

Well, not exactly TV in a Card, but certainly a very cute Video in a Card.

Opening the TV in a card reveals a unique 4.3 inch, 320 x 240 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio LCD display with built-in storage for about 30 minutes of your own video footage. Each card has speakers and headphone jack, and the battery is rechargeable via the included USB port. Card sizes are A5 to A4.

"Battery and storage capacity can be increased to allow for upto 7.5 hours of video. Customers can opt to have the video auto-start when the card is opened or manual control buttons. It is also possible to load several MPEG, MOV or AVI format videos into one TV in a Card folder, which can be set to automatically play one after the other in order or be individually selected by the user."

"The card makers have a two strand approach to the TV in a Card launch. They will initially target a corporate audience but are close to launching a consumer website for people to design their own cards."

Currently "At a cost of around £55 per card it is more suited to corporate promotional uses than birthdays and Bar Mitzvahs. However, founder Russell Lawley Gibbs believes that the cards will be good for special occasions. He said: “This is brand new technology and is only about 2 months old. At the moment we are talking to advertising agencies for corporate promotions. However there is a large market for greetings cards and we see them working well for things like wedding videos or new baby announcements”.

Lovely idea. A no-brainer 21st century development on the wonderful novelty audio greeting cards we've all groan (sic) to love over recent years... No doubt costs will fall and screen sizes and options will increase... But £55..? No interaction? No Wifi? No webcam? We jest - for now...

But really, £55? 4.3 inch screen, 30 minute 320 x 240 res video, for a card?

Undoubtably demonstrating creative and very strong real-world marketing opportunities within the commercial world; with the exponential growth of smartphone and tablet apps, does TV in a Card have the usp to develop and sustain a strong retail consumer base? Especially when less than £200 gets you a 10 inch Android PC Tablet. We hope so.

Regardless, it's yet more good news for the ever innovative and creative British greeting card industry that this product is available. It'd be great to see TV in a Card succeed, especially if they can create the demand, develop the product and move the decimal point one place to the left. And the way things go nowadays, it seems entirely possible.

Check out the TV in a Card website, they have some very nice video examples.

Source: Greetings Today
Source: TV in a Card

Design: Adbusters

2011-06-01T19:43:00.000+01:00

We recently added some great new Banksy Cards to Cool Cards.

In a similar vein, enjoy these Adbuster spoof adverts.

Who are Adbusters? "We are a global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the way corporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society."

"Culture Jammers" ? A great example of 'culture jamming' would be The Yes Men.

The Yes Men: "Impersonating big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Our targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else."

Source: Adbusters

Source: The Yes Men

Video. The Yes Men Fix The World official trailer

Video: The Yes Men Fix The World entire movie

Friendship? Fum the Cat and Gebra the Barn Owl

2011-05-31T21:56:00.001+01:00

Nothing whatsoever to do with greeting cards, but maybe a little something to do with acceptance and friendship.
They'd probably send each other birthday cards if they could...

Design: Large Iris card

2011-05-27T13:10:00.001+01:00

Not for us, but an interesting take on card design.

"The Large Iris card is the size of a typical greeting card 5" x 7". It functions as a mechanical iris similar to those used in photography aperture mechanisms. A tab on the card can be manually rotated to progressively open the hole in the center of the card up to a maximum size of two inches. The card also has slots on the reverse side which can hold a 2" x 3" photo that will be partially revealed when the iris is opened. See the video below for a demonstration of the card."

Source: Cardnetics

Lots...

2011-05-26T18:59:00.000+01:00

of new cards here at Cool Cards..!

One of our all time favourite images.

Now in our Icon range of greeting cards.

This from our Blush range.

Rude and very funny. A contemporary take on cringeworthy '70s images.
Roll back the years and see what really went on..!

Classic Banksy Cards.

Banksy is an anonymous Bristol graffiti artist, political activist, film director and painter. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

Warning Cards

NSFW. The world is filling with warning signs.
Here are some more to get you safely and rudely through the day...

Many great new additions in our Father's Day cards collection.

Word Up! Cards - Grunge hits the highstreet..!

Lettered Cards.

A contemporary take on 20th century wartime posters.
And a homage to wine and a banana and healthy, graceful events.

And many more at Cool Cards.

In at number 1

2011-05-19T17:37:00.000+01:00

Wow... We've had our Jesus & Mo cards on sale for less than 24 hours and already they're in at Number 1 with Google..!

We searched Google UK for the term 'atheist birthday cards'. Check us out..!

Jesus & Mo cards exclusively from Cool Cards.

Jesus & Mo cards are go!

2011-05-19T17:29:00.001+01:00

Available exclusively from Cool Cards, today saw the launch of our Jesus & Mo cards..!

Jesus & Mo is a British webcomic strip which began in 2005.

Jesus & Mo won the 2011 Washington Post Riffy Award in both the "Best Comic" and "Best Webcomic" categories.

We asked the Author of Jesus & Mo:

Q. What is Jesus & Mo?
A. Since 2005 it’s been a comic strip dealing in religious satire.

Q. Is that really the Prophet Mohammed?
A. No, it’s a body double. Mohammed couldn’t make it, as he has been dead for centuries.

Q. Is that really Jesus?
A. Yes, that is really Jesus. I don’t know how he does it, but he always finds time in his busy schedule to appear in the comic whenever someone loads a J&M page in their browser.

Q. Is that really Moses?
A. Enough already.

Q. Why is the Barmaid never drawn?
A. It is forbidden. Plus, I can’t draw barmaids.

Source: The Washington Post

Source: Jesus & Mo website

Source: Jesus & Mo cards

Design: Cartoon Caption Punchlines

2011-05-06T22:08:00.000+01:00

The New Yorker magazine, famed for its social commentary, is running a Cartoon Caption Contest.

"Each week, we provide a cartoon in need of a caption. You, the reader, submit your caption below, we choose three finalists, and you vote for your favorite. Finalists for this week's cartoon will appear online Monday, May 16th, and in the May 23rd issue of The New Yorker. Any resident of the U.S. or Canada (except Quebec) age eighteen or older can enter."

This is their latest cartoon available for your dry, deadpan witticisms:

Any thoughts for a caption? Not so easy is it?

The current cartoon available for voting is this:

The three voting options are:

"I'll have the chicken."
"Give me a second—I know this one."
"When they all walked in that day, I thought something seemed funny."

Check out some of the Previous Winners.

WIRED magazine features an article on "Cracking the Code of The New Yorker’s Cartoon Caption Contest"

"If you want to win The New Yorker’s Cartoon Caption Contest, you’d do well to mind these four factors: novelty, length, punctuation, and “abstractness and imaginability.”

Paying attention to those parameters certainly doesn’t guarantee a win in the weekly competition, which calls on readers to craft their own punch lines to accompany black-and-white drawings. But it will increase your winning potential, according to a professor who analyzed the captions submitted for a recent round.

McGraw, a professor of marketing and psychology at University of Colorado Boulder, was looking to see if patterns emerged that might reveal what factors are present in submissions shortlisted by New Yorker editors... continues"

Source: The New Yorker

Source: WIRED magazine

Paper cut and Wood cut cards - Hamid N. Zadeh

2011-04-30T22:20:00.001+01:00

One word: Beautiful

Paper cut cards and Wood cut cards from Hamid N. Zadeh

An Iranian born paper architect, now resident in the USA, who has a special interest in ancient Persia, Islamic art, and architecture.

We love these cards so much. We hope to offer you these stunningly beautiful cards to you via Cool Cards

We await a reply from Hamid...

In the meanwhile, check them out - and many, many more - at Hamids' website: Geomancy Cards

Update: Hamid tells us that he only sells his beautiful cards via his own website. :(

Atheist birthday and greeting cards - Jesus & Mo

2011-04-21T20:52:00.000+01:00

Cool Cards will soon have a line of the world famous Jesus and Mo greeting cards for all your Atheist friends..!

Check them out at Jesus & Mo and let us know which strips you'd like to see as a greeting cards and birthday cards - email us here at Cool Cards

Source: Jesus & Mo

Coming soon to: Cool Cards

Design - Envelopes

2011-04-21T20:04:00.002+01:00

"During his 30-year career as a children's book publisher, Klaus Flugge received almost 100 beautifully illustrated envelopes by artists including Posy Simmonds, Tony Ross and Axel Scheffler. Here he introduces some of his favourites"

Source: The Guardian
And many more Illustrators Envelopes at: The Apple and the Egg

Wedding invitation card - Paper Record Player

2011-04-15T21:38:00.001+01:00

Well, this is an unusual wedding invitation card...

"This is a wedding invitation for my friends Karen and Mike. We created a paper record player to house + play a flexi disc pressed with their original song, inviting guests to the wedding."

Paper Record Player from kellianderson on Vimeo.

Cool Cards - Cool Radio - FIP

2011-04-14T22:39:00.000+01:00

Here at Cool Cards we're often asked, "What music do you listen to while you work?"

Well, we listen to cool music from FIP.

And you can listen too.

FIP (originally France Inter Paris) is a French radio station founded in 1971.

"FIP's programming is an eclectic mix of musical genres: chanson, rock, world music, classical music, film music, jazz and more, but connected with a theme. FIP is one of the few stations with this type of programming in the world." (wiki)

FIP website

FIP music player

We have a great website here at Cool Cards, but if we had a highstreet presence, we'd play this station to our customers all day long... we love it.

How much does a first class stamp cost?

2011-04-04T13:04:00.000+01:00

BBC Link. Members of the public talk to the BBC about how much they think one first class stamp costs.

Have a guess? The gentleman on the left suggests "£4?"

"From Monday 4 April, the price of a first class stamp for standard items is rising 5p to 46p. The cost of a second class stamp is rising 4p to 36p.

It is the largest increase since first-class postage began in 1968. But Royal Mail says "UK stamp prices for standard letters weighing up to 100g will continue to be amongst the lowest in Europe".

The price of First and Second class stamps for standard items weighing up to 100g will rise by 5p to 46p and 4p to 36p respectively.

The cost of a Large Letter stamp will rise by 9p to 75p for First Class items and 7p to 58p for Second Class mail.

Cool Cards have again held the cost of postage. We have not passed on the Royal Mail increase to our customers.

Cool Cards in Daily Candy

2011-04-01T19:31:00.001+01:00

Seriously, how cool are our cards..?

We got a mention in Daily Candy for our hugely popular Uncooked Cards

We love Uncooked Cards.

This our favourite:

it's your birthday
and quite honestly,
you've never looked
better. well, obviously
you looked better
a few years ago but
what can you do.

And this our favourite...

it's so obvious
everyone wants
to be me. not
because i'm so
breathtaking
but because i
have you. and
you're perfect.

We could go on... So many favourites..!

Source: Daily Candy

Cool Cards: Uncooked Cards

Design: Old Photos

2011-03-24T21:29:00.001Z

We love old photos. Especially weird old photos...

Source: Buzzfeed - 50 Unexplainable Black & White Photos

And: Black & WTF

More beautiful photos: M.I.L.K Greeting Cards

Design: Iain Macarthur

2011-03-18T22:01:00.001Z

British Artist and Illustrator Iain Macarthur done some nice stuff:

"few months ago i had a solo exhibition in LA at the phonebooth gallery inwhich i showcased pieces that i done based around animals. i used techniques such as geometrical patterns and also nature elements to create the faces and the bodys of the chosen animals i found interesting.
here are a few of the images that i done.

Also i done a few shirt designs for the past few weeks for bands aswells."

Iain Macarthur

Iain Macarthur on the Behance network

Also on the Behance network, a good friend of Cool Cards, talented web designer: Belinda van Arkel - Belindada

The official Cyanide & Happiness iPhone app

2011-02-27T14:54:00.024Z

Wiki describes C&H as "dark, cynical, often offensive, and exceedingly irreverent."

"Cyanide & Happiness (As seen on the internet!) has finally made it's way to your iPhone/iTouch/iPad/other iThing! Comics, shorts, really exciting news, it's all right at your fingertips! Plus some other things!

Features include:

Comic Archive: Get access to all ~1,800 C&H comics in an easy-navigable archive. Get new comics the second they're available, or somehow bend the rules of space and time and get them even earlier!
Shake for random!
Portrait/Landscape viewing.
Favorites: Save your favorite comics for quick (and offline!) viewing later. Impress your friends! Impress your enemies! Impress otherwise apathetic people! It's really versatile!
Animated Shorts: Watch streaming C&H animated shorts from the comfort of anywhere.
News: Read all about upcoming events, books, announcements, the works!
Seizure Mode: Shake!"

C&H - Religious Xtremists card

C&H - Anal sex card

"Women do: piercings, tatoos,
face lifts, cesarean birth,
liposuction, plucking of facial
hair and eyebrows, and
depilation with hot wax...

So how dare they tell you
"it hurts" when you ask
for some anal sex?!"

Source: Cyanide and Happiness

Wiki: Cyanide and Happiness

Cool Cards: Cyanide and Happiness Cards

Design: Abstruse Goose - Tree of Life

2011-02-27T14:19:00.000Z

The evolution of the BLT:

Tree of Life

Source: Abstruse Goose

My Anti-Valentine

2011-02-13T13:42:00.003Z

"Valentine's Day is like herpes: just when you think its gone for good, it rears its ugly head once more. No wonder some people prefer to call it VD.

Yes, it's that special time of year when chocolate manufacturers and greetings card companies encourage you to demonstrate the extent of your fondness in cold, hard, cash (or the satin-covered equivalent) on February 14th.

Fuck that.

This year, celebrate or commiserate by sending an anti-valentine. Stick two fingers (or one, if you're that way culturally inclined) at any organisation with a vested interest which prescribes how and when to show your feelings. This year, don't say it with flowers: say it with bile."

Source: Meish

"What’s all this about, then?
The idea of the site is to provide an alternative card-sending service for all the people who think Valentine’s Day is sickly-sweet, exclusively coupley, consumerist nonsense or otherwise a bit naff.

Who’s behind this site? How long has this been going? How did you come up with the idea?
The original VD cards were created by me (Meg Pickard) and David Pannett when we were both single and grumpy while sharing a flat in London and working in new media. We created a bunch of cynical cards poking fun at the cutesy commercialism of the day, to send to our friends, with slogans like “Destined to die alone and unloved in a room heavy with the tang of cat wee” and “Oh my god. Thirty and still single.” They were just downloads, really, but we had fun making them.

The next year, we did it again, only this time we added an automatic send function – a free thing, supported by ads. Not great, but about the limits of our technical knowledge at the time. We were surprised how popular they were – a couple of thousand sent!

In 2003, we redesigned and ran the site again, this time with an ad-free back end. Over a two week period, more than 30,000 cards were sent. In 2004 the total grew again, to nearly 100K. In 2005, the number of cards sent soared past the 200K mark before the server collapsed under the strain. And so the pattern continued: lots of traffic, lots of technology fail.

Every year saw a substantial revamp of both cards and back-end functionality in an effort to keep on top of demand.

In 2009, I decided that sending things by email was
a) too much hassle (in terms of being exploited by spambots and the like, plus causing my lovely hosts at Pair to have palpitations once a year) and
b) like, sooooo 2005. Who uses email anymore for sending stuff around the internet? Quite.

So it was reborn in early February 2009 with a social webtools spin, so people can share the love (and spread VD) via facebook, twitter, digg or anything else."

Source: Meish

My Zombie Valentine

2011-02-12T17:18:00.002Z

Be my Valintestine.

"Cruising my local Clinton Cards in the weeks before Valentine's Day I noticed a cavernous gap in the market. There are all sorts of slushy teddy bear and bunny rabbit cards available but I couldn't find any that feature reanimated corpses or internal organs being eaten.
As I was sure that there must be a huge market for this kind of card I immediately set about rectifying the situation through the medium of linocut.

I'm sure your loved ones would be delighted to receive an original living dead message of love this February 14th.
Enjoy – I'm off to go and see if anyone from Clinton's or Moonpig.com are interested!

PS. while you are free to download and use the images for personal use please don't go using my cards for commercial gain as that would make me very sad indeed."

Source: Quinky Art

My Valentine - since 1941

2011-02-12T14:28:00.001Z

"The Valentine’s card which Doris Ward will lovingly place on her mantelpiece on Monday is a little faded and worn around the edges. Which is hardly surprising, since it is making its 70th annual appearance.

As a 17-year-old, Doris was presented with the card by her sweetheart Harry as she boarded a train to volunteer for war training on February 14, 1941.

The couple married the following year, going on to have two daughters, two granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.

And the romance still remains in their marriage – along with what must surely be Britain’s best-used Valentine’s card.

‘Harry has never bought me one since, because I have this one every year,’ said 87-year-old Mrs Ward at the couple’s home in Bristol. ‘I bring it out of the cupboard and put it on our mantelpiece every Valentine’s Day.

"Two hearts entwine this Valentine. True love makes it sincere"

‘Harry was in the cafe drinking a milkshake and he said hello,’ she said. ‘He asked me my name and we got talking and we really hit it off.

'He offered to walk me to the bus stop but when we got outside a bombing raid had started and there were flares going off everywhere around us, so we had to run to a nearby air-raid shelter.

‘We sat together in there for hours whilst Bristol was being bombed and he even fell asleep on my shoulder.’ Harry was a Royal Marine stationed in Plymouth, while Doris volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Source: Daily Mail

Scientists produce 'world's smallest Christmas card'

2010-12-23T17:09:00.000Z

Scientists have produced what they believe is the world's smallest Christmas card.

It was created by nantotechnologists at the University of Glasgow and is so small it could fit on to the surface of a postage stamp 8,276 times.

Prof David Cumming said: "Our nanotechnology is among the best in the world but sometimes explaining to the public what the technology is capable of can be a bit tricky."

"We decided that producing this Christmas card was a simple way to show just how accurate our technology is."

Source: BBC News

Jesus and Mo at Christmas

2010-12-17T18:35:00.003Z

Our Atheist and Secular Christmas card offerings have been woeful this year... Sorry.

Please do visit Jesus and Mo for joyful images such as these:

Jesus and Mo (sadly not available at Cool Cards)

Operation Holly. Turkey or Porridge? Cops send Crim-bo cards to the worst offenders

2010-12-14T17:37:00.002Z

CHRISTMAS cards warning criminals they could end up “doing porridge” instead of eating turkey are being sent out by police in Wales.

The greetings, personally signed by detectives, will be hand-delivered to the most prolific offenders across Cardiff in the coming days.

Featuring a stark picture of a man lying on a cell bunk next to a stainless steel toilet and a tinsel-covered tree, the greeting inside warns known burglars and thieves they could spend Christmas Day behind bars if they fail to show good will to all men.

Detective Inspector Tudor Thomas said the cards served as a timely reminder and deterrent to those who might be tempted to break the law as the season’s financial pressures build.
“Those who ignore our message could find themselves spending the festive season in one of our cells,” he added.

The greeting inside the cards warns: “Don’t be a turkey this Christmas; South Wales Police are continuing their operation against persistent offenders. Season’s greetings from South Wales Police.”

They are just one of the many measures – including increasing police patrols by putting back-office staff on the beat – which are part of the city’s Christmas crime crackdown, known as Operation Holly.

Detectives across Cardiff will be given cards to send to those who commit the most crimes in their area.
Det Insp Thomas, from Roath and Cathays CID, said: “We have an effective and successful offender management unit, which monitors convicted criminals who are now out of prison.
“Many of these people have stopped committing crime; however, we know that there are extra financial pressures and temptations at this time of year so the cards serve as an additional reminder.”

Police have acknowledged that although the latest Home Office figures show burglaries are down 15.1% compared to the same period last year, break-ins traditionally increase in the run-up to Christmas as criminals know people have presents and other valuables at home.
Det Insp Thomas added: “The cards might seem light-hearted, but the image on the front is the reality and they carry a very serious message.”

Source: Wales Online

Secular Xmas cards

2010-12-14T16:49:00.001Z

Secular Xmas cards are a sign that ‘Christ is being airbrushed out of Christmas’

"A SURVEY carried out by the Daily Mail reveals that less than one per cent of cards stocked by supermarkets have religious themes.

Some had no cards at all with religious references in their extensive ranges.

Customers are far more likely to choose this sort of card at Xmas

The paper visited major outlets of the big four supermarkets – Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons – in seven towns and cities.

Out of 5,363 cards sold individually or in multipacks, just 45 featured Christian scenes such as the Nativity – 0.8 per cent.

The “worst offender” was Morrisons, which had six out of a range of 973 cards, or 0.6 per cent.

Second “worst” was Tesco, despite chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, a practising Catholic, writing to a customer in October to tell her:

We have increased the number of Christmas cards that will be available with a religious theme this year.

Dr Don Horrocks, of the Evangelical Alliance, said supermarkets were:

Airbrushing Christ out of Christmas.There has been a rise in cards that say ‘Season’s greetings’ or ‘Happy holidays’ which is evidence of the speeding up of the trend of stripping the religion out of Christian festivals.

Stephen “Birdshit” Green, the solitary voice of Christian Voice, added:

The situation is caused by managers subscribing to political correctness and the idea that in some way Christian cards are offensive to other religions. This is simply not true.

Even Muslims have been jumping on the bandwagon. Anas Altikriti, of the Muslim Association of Britain, said he was “worried” at the increasing secularisation of Britain.

People who are looking for proper choice of Christmas cards should raise it with the store manager.

The Mail was contacted by a Tesco customer earlier this week who said her local store in Ely, Cambridgeshire, had just a “handful” of cards with religious themes last year – and still had only three out of 67 last month, despite a personal assurance from Sir Terry.

After she had repeatedly contacted customer services, she received a letter from the company chief. She moaned:

Sir Terry promised more cards this year. But the selection of cards with anything relating to the true meaning of Christmas was tiny, so he has not kept his word.

Tesco said it had doubled the range of religiously themed cards this year but refused to give numbers, saying they “vary from store to store”.

An Asda spokesman said:

We sell five different Christmas cards that have religious sentiment and traditional designs.

And Morrisons said:

We stock types of cards that appeal to our customers.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman added:

The ranges that appear in our stores reflect what our customers want to buy.";

Source: The Freethinker

Saddened by the lack of religious xmas cards?

Try here: Cool Christmas Cards

Dutch Elm Conservatoire come up with new greeting card slogans.

2010-12-14T13:40:00.000Z

Mechanicards : mailable scultptures by Brad Litwin

2010-10-19T00:40:00.000+01:00

MechaniCards™ are miniature, hand-operated, kinetic sculptures, designed and produced in limited edition by Bradley N. Litwin.

Each one is hand made, numbered and signed by the artist.

They are constructed primarily from paperboard, with a few bits of wood, metal, or plastic.

They make excellent gifts, and are suitable for mailing, as truly unique greeting cards. Each piece comes with complete instructions and display recommendations.

They are also available as do-it-yourself construction kits.

The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects

2010-09-16T17:55:00.002+01:00

Come on, let's get creative people..!

"W. Reginald Bray (1879-1939) was an avid collector who amassed stamps, postmarks, train tickets, and girlfriends, and who, after reading the entire British Post Office Guide, impishly determined to take the rules as challenges. He tried posting an unimaginable array of things, to see whether the post office would deliver them. Apparently, at the time, the smallest item that could be posted was a bee, and the largest an elephant. Bray seems to have tried most things in between. At one point or another, he mailed a bowler hat, a rabbit skull (the address spelled out on the nasal bone, and the stamps pasted to the back), a purse, a slipper, a clothes brush, seaweed, shirt collars, a penny, a turnip (address and message carved into the durable tuber), an Irish Terrier, and a pipe, among other curios.

Perhaps most remarkably, he posted himself, becoming the first man to send a human through the mail in 1900, and then, through registered mail, in 1903. Tingey’s book includes a picture of Bray being delivered to his own doorstep—presumably the sort of package likely to please the lady of the house.

And Bray did not stop there. He sent postcards crocheted by his mother. He made out address fields in cryptic verse, or to the inhabitants of empty caves, or describing only the latitude and longitude of the destination, or with a picture of the location to which the article was meant to be delivered (see, in the slideshow below, the postcard made out to “The Resident Nearest This Rock,” for example). He threw messages into bottles and solicited the world’s largest collection of autographs, including ones from Gary Cooper and Laurence Olivier, Charlie Chaplain and Maurice Chevalier."

Source: The New Yorker

Book available from: Amazon (UK)

World first for Royal Mail - 'intelligent' stamp

2010-09-03T09:02:00.005+01:00

The Royal Mail has launched the world's first "intelligent" stamp, the first to work with image recognition technology.

The stamp, part of the Royal Mail's latest Great British Railways edition, will launch online content via an iPhone or Android smartphone.

Users place the camera over the stamp, which then launches the online content.

The Royal Mail said intelligent stamps "mark the next step in the evolution of our stamps, bringing them firmly into the 21st Century."

People can use the stamps via the Junaio application, which contains a Royal Mail channel which activates the phone's camera.

Royal Mail has created a short film of Bernard Cribbins reading WH Auden's poem Night Mail for the launch, first made famous in the 1936 documentary film of the same name about the London to Glasgow postal train.

Mr Cribbins said: "WH Auden wrote the Night Mail poem in 1936 for the Post Office's own blockbuster film of the same name, which has for years remained in the hearts and minds of many.

The application is available in the iTunes store and Android Market free of charge.

The Royal Mail's Philip Parker said: "This is the first time a national postal service has used this kind of technology on their stamps and we're very excited to be bringing intelligent stamps to the nation's post.

"Royal Mail's special stamps mark key events and anniversaries in the UK's heritage through a programme which aims to be both educational and informative.

"Through Intelligent Stamp technology, our stamps will open up to a whole new world of information, interest and fun to collectors and the millions of people who will receive them on letters in the coming months alike."

The technology will also be made available on selected future special stamps.

Source: BBC - Yorkshire Evening Post
Also: Night Mail

We got a cool postcard

2010-09-01T18:58:00.004+01:00

We were delighted to receive a postcard today. Thank you Rusty..!

Keep in touch

2010-08-13T17:52:00.003+01:00

Nothing to do with greeting cards... but a thought provoking piece which reminds us to keep in touch with friends and reaffirm relationships...

Keep in touch with Cool Cards

It beggars belief...

2010-06-07T12:16:00.006+01:00

Hallmark have been selling a graduation card for three years... but have now withdrawn it from sale. Why?

"And you black holes, you are so ominous. Watch your back," the card vocalizes.

"That was very demeaning to African American women. When it made reference to African American women as whores and at the end, it says 'watch your back,'" said Leon Jenkins of the Los Angeles NAACP.

When Hallmark was reached by phone, they said the card is all a misunderstanding. The card's theme is the solar system and emphasizes the power of the grad to take over the universe, even energy-absorbing black holes.

The card company says the card speaks about the power the grad will wield.

"The intent here is to say that this graduate is not afraid of anything," explained Hallmark spokesman Steve Doyal.

But that's not what some people heard.

"You hear the 'r' in there. 'Whores,' not, 'holes.' The 'r' is in there," said Minnie Hatley of the Los Angeles NAACP.
"

Source: ABC

Greeting Card Writer

2010-05-07T22:11:00.003+01:00

We've posted this before but it's due a review... Just to remind you how very, very, hard it is to write a great card verse.

Design Idea - Song Lyrics

2010-05-07T11:59:00.007+01:00

Music Philosophy

Mico is a designer. He likes music and typography.
So he combined them on this Project because he had nothing better to do.

"Music Philosophy is a weekly graphic/typographic interpretation of philosophical song quotes. All the posters look great as an iPhone desktop wallpaper, so feel free to download them. Hope you enjoy."

John Lennon

The Beatles

Michael Jackson

Rolling Stones

Music Philosophy

via: Aqua Velvet

Ghana Postal Workers - Work Music

2010-03-20T13:04:00.007Z

In praise of Postie: Creativity through monotony.
Joyful Posties at work stamping stamps, all the live long day.

Elise Moab Q&A: "Where and where was it created?

This particular piece is a field recording that was recorded by (ethnomusicologist) James Koetting in 1975. The music was created by the postal workers canceling stamps in the University of Ghana post office in Ghana.
The whistled part is from the hymn "Bompata," by the Ghanaian composer W.J. Akyeampong (b. 1900). This type of music is created daily as a normal part of life for the Africans in Ghana."

MP3 version at WFMU.

Read a detailed account of the recording, featured in the book/CD Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples

Multitasking man in action...

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - Since 1860

2010-03-11T19:51:00.004Z

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - 150th anniversary - Royal Mail Stamps

150 years of cruelly miniturising rescued animals to save on food and accomodation bills. Yet still celebrated, now with stamps, now with the Queen's approval... where will it end? It beggars belief.
How much longer can this be allowed to go on for?
Why do we all continue to turn a blind eye to all that goes on at the Battersea Dogs Home?

"we’re making a number of stamp issues available; each one beautifully capturing the richness and diversity of British heritage and culture." (Royal Mail)

With respect, are they bollocks. And, to put it mildly, it's a National Disgrace.
It is not part of British heritage or culture to shrink dogs to postage stamp size.

battersea_yapper_dog.jpg

(actual stamp size) Does that look normal to you?

"Leonard (above), a terrier, eventuallly less than 1cm tall, somewhat underweight and wary of people. He now lives with his new owners Claire and Pete in Maidenhead."(source)

---------------------------------------------

"Tigger, a tomcat, was brought into Battersea after his owner died. He now lives with his new owners Charlotte and Ciaran in London" (source)

His left wang eye is clearly visible. It may have been due to shrinkage.

---------------------------------------------

Two miniturised Battersea dogs together - both sat against actual sized postage stamps - a rare sight.

"Herbie, a mongrel, competes in nanoball competitions and has represented Battersea Dogs and Cats home in the sport. Tafka, a collie, ex-miner, came to Battersea because her owner died and now lives together with Herbie and their new owner Tamara in Berkshire! (source)

Sources:
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Royal Mail Special Special Stamps
The Guardian

Bald Guy Cards - Facts & Interview

2010-02-12T18:38:00.010Z

Bald Guy Greetings: When you care enough to send a witty jest

Our Bald Guy Birthday cards are selling like proverbial hot cakes (where on earth can you buy hot cakes nowadays?).

We wanted to know more about the deviant brain geniuses behind the Bald Guy snark: Ian Kalman and Sean Farrell.

Little is known of Sean Farrell. What we have gleaned so far is that he is a multi-millionaire, eco-warrior, reclusive philanthropist, rides an original Moto Guzzi California and is an award-winning advertising art director who also designs movie posters for 20th Century Fox. But, disappointingly, not bald.

Ian Kalman, on the other hand, both genius writer and President of Bald Guy cards... is bald.
Well, not quite... Ian is one of those freakishly, throw-backishly hairy guys that has to shave more than once a day.
Prior to Bald Guy Ian wrote commercials for Budweiser before turning to soft drugs and hard shaving.

In order to sustain the Bald Guy corporate image Ian now shaves his head 4 times a day and it is only during these intensely creative and bitterly resented shaving periods that Ian stares deep into his shaving mirror and only then is able to develop and fine tune his greetings card snark.
Despite this Ian remains upbeat, "Shaving 4 times a day, it could be worse. Muslims have to pray 5 times a day on their knees, at least I can see what I'm doing..."

"Just this morning I snicked my ear whilst thinking about a special friend and came up with this..."

For my special friend
on your Birthday

inside:
Part of me calls you my special friend
because you're special to me.
But part of me calls you that
because it makes you sound retarded.

"We've been described as the "Anti-Hallmark" of greeting cards, but I like to think of Hallmark as the "Anti-Bald Guy Greetings" of greeting cards" said Ian.

---

Skinnymag journalist Jennifer Elks has this to say about the Bald Guy guys:

"Once upon a time, a man with a tremendously thick and beautiful mane of hair woke to find that it had all fallen out. Traumatized into a life of silence and mental instability, the only way he could communicate was through a series of cards he created ...

Never mind, I've got nothing. Actually, Ian Kalman and Sean Farrell - only one of whom is bald - are the men behind Bald Guy Greetings, a new local greeting card company with a wicked sense of humor. The "fake history" of the company was something they promised on their website, but it never appeared.

"I've been waiting a year for Ian to write that one," Farrell says. "I think he got a little too into writing the real history and got tired. It's longer than War and Peace."

Kalman, a Bay Area native and copywriter, met artist Farrell working at a local advertising agency in 1998. The two became friends but never collaborated on a project until Bald Guy Greetings. According to the real history of the company, they got their name from a friend who commented on Kalman's lack of hair. Shouldn't both of them be bald? You wouldn't want to mislead people.

"Not only is Sean not bald, he has a ridiculous amount of hair," Kalman says. "I've been trying to talk him into shaving it bald for the sake of our greeting cards, but he refuses.

The line includes a slew of birthday, get well, apology, anniversary and relationship cards, all with some kind of eloquent insult or back-handed compliment, as well as the first "you're welcome" card we've ever seen.

Other favorites include the "I'm sorry" card with "I still think it's your fault, but they don't make a card that says that" on the inside, "I was thinking of you the other day" / "But to be honest, I was thinking about a lot of people," and "Congratulations, you two" / "Regardless of what everyone says, I don't think either of you settled."

It almost seems a shame to create such a witty collection of cards when snail mail is dying a slow, painful death at the hands of email, taking away the personal touch that giving or sending a physical cards brings.

It's definitely dying, of course it is. We're a lazy society," Kalman says. "But when you get an actual, real card in the mail with a handwritten note in it, it means a lot more than getting an e-card. E-cards are just kind of a last-minute thing, but if I actually care about the person and I want to say something special, then I'll write them a card."

The two have come a long way from their humble beginning just before Christmas of 2005, with their first sale of cards made on an HP home printer. Though they've graduated to using a professional printer - the cards are still made locally, on recycled paper - they say they have some growing to do before Bald Guy can become a full-time gig.

"Bald Guy is just kind of a hobby right now, we both still freelance in advertising," Kalman says. "But my dream has always been for this to take off. I love it; we don't make any money doing it right now but it's so much fun."

"My dream would be to paint and sell my stuff for enough money to pay my dad back," Farrell says. "[But] I would love to see the line catch on so we can try some other things under the Bald Guy name," Farrell says. "I think the characters and the tone of the writing lends itself to a lot of different areas."

You many want to avoid sending Bald Guy cards to loved ones who don't have a sense of humor. Otherwise, "Get well soon" / "Before you become a financial burden on the entire family" might not go over well.

------

So now you know.

Bald Guy Cards @ Cool Cards

Cornwall man celebrates 110th birthday

2010-02-05T22:24:00.003Z

"I don't know how it happened.
I never thought I'd get to this."

"Stanley Lucas, who was born on 15 January 1900 and now lives in a care home in Bude, has received seven birthday cards from the Queen.

He said: "I don't know how it happened. I never thought I'd get to this."

But he said his faith was important to him, he had an active life, and good care had helped.

'No half measures'

Mr Lucas, who was born in Morwenstow in north Cornwall, said he was too ill to serve in the armed forces during World War I, and he worked through both world wars as a farmer.

He was a member of Bude Town Council throughout the 1960s and was a keen bowler, still playing when he reached 100.

When asked if his Methodism was important in his life, he replied: "Yes very much so, and no half measures."

His daughter, Phyllis Stevens, said she had her own ideas about how he had made it to such a grand age.

She said: "It's down to hard work, good living, good plain food and good care."

Mr Lucas received his first birthday card from the Queen at the age of 100, and has continued to receive them since reaching 105"

Source: BBC

Happy Birthday Mr. Lucas..!

Edit: Stanley Lucas (15 January 1900 – 21 June 2010) from Bude, Cornwall was a British supercentenarian, he was the oldest living man verified in Europe. He was also the third-oldest man in the world.

The Pig of Happiness - Film

2010-02-05T13:44:00.002Z

An original animated film by Edward Monkton. Watching it is likely to make you a happier person. Sharing it with your friends is likely to make them happier too. So spread the love & press play.

Voice by Geoffrey Palmer
Animation by Andy Veasey for Essence
Music by Simon Bass
Sound by Zak Kurtha and Scott Marshall for Angel's Egg
Post Production by Essence
Produced by Giles Andreae

Buy The Pig of Happiness greeting card at Cool Cards

Recycle your Christmas cards - Woodland Trust

2009-12-31T20:04:00.003Z

The Woodland Trust Christmas Card Recycling Scheme
They turn cards into trees

Just take your Christmas cards to WHSmith, TK Maxx and Marks & Spencer stores and drop your cards into the special bins in stores during January 2010.

Why take part?
You'll be helping to plant more trees in the UK, creating places for wildlife and people.

Who runs the scheme?
The Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity.

How it works
They'll recycle your cards and plant trees, with your help they're aiming for 12,000 trees!

Where should they plant the trees? You decide!

Clive Anderson, Comedian and Woodland Trust President

"If everyone recycles just one Christmas card with the Woodland Trust this year enough funds will be generated to plant 15,000 trees. So imagine what the Trust could do if everyone recycled all their cards with it this year."

Jane Horrocks, Actress

"More than 1 billion cards get sent in the UK at Christmas and we want to recycle as many as possible."

Gabby Logan, TV presenter

"Be a good sport this year and go green by recycling your Christmas cards for the Woodland Trust. If we all recycled just one card, the Woodland Trust would be able to plant 15,000 trees! So please don't forget - every card really does count. Just take them along to your nearest WHSmith, Tesco, TK Maxx or Marks & Spencer store throughout January."

Woodland Trust

New: Bald Guy Cards

2009-12-24T17:52:00.003Z

Bald Guy Cards

Refreshingly honest, sometimes brutal, always sarcastic, but never the less very caring cards.
Ian Kalman & Sean Farrell of San Francisco, California, a snarky greeting card partnership that lovingly tell it like it is.

Supposedly, the UK has led the world in greeting card design, but the likes of American designers Bald Guy cards and Fomato cards suggest that's not quite the case nowadays..?
Seems to be a huge UK market for crude, in your face, blunt greeting card messages along with sickly sweet traditional sentiment cards. America seems to be hitting the middle ground just lately, and doing it rather well.

We don't like the word 'exclusive' - we're just that way.
But can you buy Bald Guy birthday cards online elesewhere in the UK? No you can't.

7" x 5" - green envelope - not cello wrapped - recycled board

Bald Guy Cards at Cool Cards

In praise of: Posties

2009-12-21T17:28:00.005Z

Christmas at the Royal Mail

Another gem from Roy Mayall:

"Christmas is the most important time of the year for the Royal Mail. It is when the company comes into its own.

It’s not only about the volume of traffic, though this is phenomenal. People are receiving ten, fifteen, or twenty times their usual mail. And it’s not just Christmas cards either. Everyone is trying to sell you something. So there are endless catalogues, brochures, special offers, two-for-the-price-of-one deals.

And then, after this, there are the presents. People may not send as many letters as they used to, but they can sit up all night browsing the internet for gift ideas, paying for them by credit card, and getting them sent by post the next day. Most of this comes through the Royal Mail.

There’s something of the Dunkirk spirit in delivery offices at this time of year. It’s a veritable assault of mail, and postal workers are braced for the force of the attack. There are times when we feel like the last troops defending the beaches as a never ending barrage of letters and cards and magazines and parcels is thrown at us. And then, after that, we are like the little ships evacuating the mail through the channel, on our bikes and in our trolleys, safely delivering the post to your homes.

It’s a great feeling. There’s great camaraderie in the office, great spirit, and a huge sense of achievement when it’s all over; after which we get two days off work – Christmas Day and Boxing Day – before we resume our rounds again.

But – as I say – that’s not all there is to it.

There’s something else, something more subtle, but no less substantial.

Because we are not only delivering the mail. We are delivering goodwill. We are delivering keepsakes and remembrances. We are delivering thoughts of our friends. We are delivering Christmas wishes and New Year greetings from across the country and around the globe. We are more than just posties then. We are the thread that weaves through the fabric of society, binding it together.

You see, us posties are being grossly underestimated. You think that all we do is read an address and then stick the letter through the door, but there’s much more to it than that.

These days there’s immense pressure on us. We are carrying more mail than ever, and working at a faster pace. There has been a 30% reduction in staff levels in the last two years and increasing volumes, particularly of parcels. There are more part-time posties and casuals. There are more rounds being done on an ad-hoc basis with no full-time postie being assigned. There’s an ever increasing volume of junk mail being generated by data bases in computers sent to people who moved out years ago, to addresses that no longer exist".

Continue reading Christmas at the Royal Mail by Roy Mayall

NEW: Fomato cards

2009-12-19T15:31:00.002Z

New to Cool Cards, a snarky big welcome to: Fomato cards.

A small greeting card company based in Los Angeles, Fomato was formed in 2004 by a group of disgruntled restaurant co-workers.

Emmie Hsu, the disgustingly talented designer of Fomato cards, just doesn't know when to stop when it comes to greeting card design. More often than not she fills the front, both inside pages AND the back page with snarky words and images.

Can you buy Fomato cards online elsewhere in the UK? No you can't.
Can you personalise these cards? No you can't. There isn't room.

12.5cm x 17.5cm - White envelope - not cello wrapped - NOT personalisabubble

Cool Cards
Cool cards: Fomato cards

In praise of: Royal Mail

2009-12-15T09:14:00.003Z

Junk Mail

The average home receives over 200 items of unwanted junk mail every year.

Over half a million tonnes of junk mail is generated annually in the UK.

UK junk mail uses 3.5 million trees each year.

Source: BBC - Junk Mail - Climate Change

17.5 billion pieces of junk mail are produced every year in the UK. This includes both addressed and unaddressed junk mail.

To produce all this junk mail 550,000 tonnes of paper and 16.5 billion litres of water are used.

650 pieces of junk mail are posted through the average British letterbox every year.

On average 80 pieces of addressed junk mail are sent out to the 583,000 people who die every year in the UK following their death.

Source: Stop Junk Mail

How can you help combat climate change, save over 4kg of CO₂ a year, reduce landfill, reduce the need for recycling and help postie at the same time? Here's one very simple way to do it: Sign up to the Mailing Preference Service and opt out of junk mail.

In praise of: Royal Mail

2009-12-15T08:52:00.004Z

Roy Mayall (Roy Mayall - Royal Mail, geddit?)

Roy Mayall is a postman. 50 something. Lives down south and has been doing his round for "a number of years". Roy has the most fascinating blog detailing his working life and a portrays a wonderful view of life within the Royal Mail.

His book, 'Dear Granny Smith: A letter from your postman', is currently the Radio 4 Book of the Week. "A letter from your postman written by Roy Mayall and delivered by Philip Jackson; a heartfelt musing on the past, present and future role of one of the oldest British institutions, the Postie. Why postmen used to have the best job in the world, and why it's heading towards becoming the worst"

Listen to it here: Radio 4 Book of the Week

Visit the Roy Mayall blog: Going Postal

In praise of: Royal Mail

2009-12-15T08:27:00.004Z

Night Mail.

December, busy time of year for the Royal Mail. Or rather, a busy time for its employees. Let's spare a thought and give thanks to this invaluable service and its dedicated workforce eh?

Let's start with a bit of nostalgia...

Night Mail.

Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was specially written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten.

Night Mail Poem - W. H. Auden:

Night Mail - Film:
Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

New: Positive Ageing, Edward Monkton

2009-12-08T22:10:00.005Z

Positive ageing and gay kittens.

Just in... Just-in, bit of a gay name is Justin, but true all the same... a bit Welsh.

Anyway. Just in...

From Edward Monkton: The Birthday Gayness Test.

We've made mention of Positive Ageing before now, but it seems to be slow progress... Edward seems to suggest why...

"OLD PEOPLE

Let us all LEARN from the Dignity
and Wisdom of the Old, for their
LIVES have been RICH and varied,
and their KNOWLEDGE is beyond
our normal understanding.

So... start SPEAKING!"

Where and how do old people learn how to begin to learn how to speak?

Design idea: Weird Books

2009-12-02T16:23:00.004Z

Guess which are real books...

Answer: They all are.

And, at the time of blogging, available to buy from from Abe books - Weird Book Room

Design idea: Nails

2009-12-02T11:47:00.003Z

How expressive can a nail be? Czech photographer Vlad Artazov shows just how...

Vlad Artazov
also: Design Swan

Positive Ageing - Active Ageing

2009-08-26T15:17:00.002+01:00

Barnet Age Concern - Photography Competition results:

First prize:

"Walking couple by John King, aged 83
This photo, which took first place in the competition, was taken in Biot in the south France, shows Ralph, 74 and Pam, 68, formerly of Parkway, Camden (now resident in Cannes)".

Source and more photos: The Guardian
Cool Cards: Positive ageing

Design Idea: Double self-portraits

2009-08-02T20:49:00.006+01:00

IMAGINE FINDING ME

I found these double self-portraits incredibly thought provoking. Images that seem to travel through time...
As a child, what might you ask your future self? As an adult, what would you ask or tell your childhood self? What might we hope to do differently..?

Chino Otsuka inserts modern photos of herself as an adult into photos of herself as a child.

1976 and 2005, Kamakura, Japan:

1985 and 2005, Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China:

1982 and 2005, Paris, France:

"If,
again
I have a chance to meet,
there is so much I want to ask
and so much I want to tell"

Source: Chino Otsuka