Father's Day Cards. Clichés, Stereotypes

Clichéd Father's Day greeting cards persist despite social changes. Are any greeting card companies even remotely attempting to buck the trend and pave the way..?
























"Dad is a lout on many Father's Day cards, but that may be changing

Fathers sleep a lot, and they snore loudly. When they're awake, they like to fish or golf, but they're comically bad at both. They drink so much beer they're practically alcoholics, and they're complete couch potatoes, always watching television and hogging the remote.

At least, that's the less-than-favourable image of Dad on Father's Day greeting cards. It's a striking contrast to the poetic praise often expressed at Mother's Day. Many men say they are tired of the "put-down" cards and would like some affirmation for a change - and at least one greeting-card company is listening.

One father in Washington, D.C., who used to stay home with his kids and blog about his life as an at-home father, says the golf and fishing cards don't bother him, but he doesn't like the ones that make dads look incompetent.

"This idea that men are somehow biologically incapable of caring for their children is the sort of thing that I don't find particularly funny," said Brian Reid, father of two.

Not only greeting cards, but television and movies often convey the idea that Dad is unreliable with every parental duty from changing a diaper to picking the kids up at school, he says.

Greeting cards can be a good litmus test for the way society perceives various relationships and people. Companies want to sell cards, so they aim to hit a spark of truth. But generalizing in order to reach people can lead to stereotypes that then get perpetuated and take on a life of their own.

In an age where about 159,000 dads stay home with their children, according to 2006 U.S. Census numbers, it's hardly accurate to say that dads don't know what they're doing."

Continued... Source

Father's Day for many countries falls on the Third Sunday of June (The 15th in 2008)

Wiki: Father's Day

Fair Trade greeting cards from the Green Mountains

Fair Trade Greeting Cards - USA

"(NECN: Burlington, Vermont) - The secret of success, for one greeting card company, lies in the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Himalayan mountains of India. The company is called 'Hope For Women,' and its aim is to pair disadvantaged artisan women with marketing opportunities.

NECN's Anya Huneke has the story.

15-years-ago, Evan Goldsmith took a trip that would change not only his life, but the lives of women halfway across the world. He lived and worked in the Himalayas of India, and ended up meeting a group of artisans crafting hand-made greeting cards.

Evan: "I kept sending the cards home, and people loved them."

The problem was, the women had no access to a market for their products. As a result, they were making very little money for their hard work. Evan returned to the U.S. with a plan. He started an organization in Burlington, Vermont, called "Hope for Women," to provide the women with a marketing resource.

A year and a half ago, with the help of his father, a New York businessman, he brought the fair trade, environmentally-friendly cards to the retail market. The rest, as they say, is history.

As of now, all the cards being sold come from India, but soon, they'll come from El Salvador, too. Hope for Women has just signed on with an artisan group there, so come July, the cards will be sold in stores as well.

Evan: "Right now, we're in over 500 stores across 47 states..."

Including natural foods giant 'Wholefoods.' Scribbles, a stationary store in Burlington, is another retailer. It took little time to convince manager Jane Jarecki that this was a viable product.

JareckI: "The fact that they're local, fair trade, and beautiful for the amount they cost, keeps them flying off the shelf."

50 women in India are behind the 20,000 cards created each month. The cards are crafted using paper made from recycled cotton rags, vegetable-based ink, and pressed flowers, and are packaged in compostable plastic.

Evan: "We're trying to be as complete a package as possible, so there are very few reasons for someone to say, 'no - you're not meeting certain criteria.'

David: "This is a real marketing niche. Being as green and as fair trade as you can be - is becoming something that's going to have a lot of legs."

Amber: "The greatest thing of all - you're doing something where you're making the world a better place."

Better, for sure, for these women, Evan says; many of whom were barely making minimum wage...

Evan: "The ability to make 5-7 times that per day - translates to the ability to put a child in school or get medical security."

Continued... Source (with video)

The UK has long since supported and enjoyed the mutual benefits of Fair Trade Greeting Cards. Shared Earth have supported the work of Salay Handmade Paper Industries who have produced beautiful handmade cards since 1987.



Salay Handmade Paper Industries

available from: Shared Earth






Why don't Cool Cards sell these beautiful cards?
Well... We did at one time! The Cool Cards website was once part of our Fair Trade gift shop. Sadly, our shop closed but Cool Cards lived on and did sell Salay cards. One drawback of the Internet is that it is very difficult to convey the fine detail, beauty and quality of these handmade cards on-line. Our card ranges change over time depending on customer choices. We are continually on the hunt for Fair Trade, environmentally friendly cards and wide open to suggestions!

Learn more about Fair Trade:
Fairtrade Foundation
Wiki: Fair trade
Oxfam: Make Trade Fair
British Association for Fair Trade Shops

Positive Ageing Greeting Cards

Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional...

By 2050 around 50% of the UK population will be over the age of 50.

Might it be that a more positive view of ageing is not only effective in reducing negative stereotypes of ageing but can bring about positive health and social benefits?

We have come to recognise discrimination in respect of race, gender, sexuality, religion and disability - older age has yet to receive the same acknowledgement.



The greeting card industry has a role to play and is, sadly, all too often seen to reinforce negative stereotypical views of older age.

“Seniors are often invisible in our society, which is very sad. I don’t think it’s going to stay that way once the baby boomers get older. They are going to become very prevalent in society. They are going to be out there advocating for their rights and the rights of seniors, and as they become more noticeable and out there in society, you’re going to start seeing some changes.”
Source: Applied Social Psychology student Shannon Ellis.

"Age is mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter"
(Mark Twain)

Our collection shows that it doesn't always have to be that way...
Cool Cards : Positive Ageing Greeting Cards
Cool Cards Blog: Greeting Cards betray attitudes toward elderly

Google : Positive Ageing

"A 97-year-old man from Dorset is believed to have become Britain's oldest skydiver after jumping out of a plane at 10,000ft (3,048m).

George Moyse, who will celebrate his 98th birthday on Wednesday, landed safely on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

Mr Moyse, of Bournemouth, who was strapped to an instructor, carried out a freefall for the first 5,000ft (1,524m) at nearly 120mph (193kmh).

He is raising money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Mr Moyse was joined by his 43-year-old grandson, Edward Brewer, who also completed a tandem jump in aid of the Royal Air Force Association.

After the jump Mr Moyse said: "It was lovely, I really enjoyed it, I wasn't frightened at all.

"It was the first time but it won't be the last."

Mr Moyse said that he was an outgoing person who put his old age and agility down to luck.

"I do not sit around, I get about, I go for a walk every day and I do my own cooking, washing, ironing, everything," he said. "I have just been lucky to be so agile."

Earlier, Mr Brewer, of Petersfield, Hampshire, said: "This is all my grandfather's idea; he has supported the RNLI all his life so they were the obvious beneficiaries when he decided he really wanted to do the jump."

In 2008, RNLI lifeguards in the south west responded to about 8,400 incidents on the beach, helping nearly 10,000 people and saving 39 lives.

The charity operates more than 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 100 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK"

Source: BBC News - with video

Greeting Cards to Exceed US$27 Billion by 2010

Global Market for Greeting Cards to Exceed US$27 Billion by 2010, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

"Greeting cards industry, worldwide, is expected to witness significant growth in the future. Major factors fueling the growth include increasing aging population, which represents a heavier card-giving segment and innovative trends such as the customization of cards by mass retailers to suit specific markets. Global market for greeting cards is projected to exceed US$27.6 billion in value and 25.8 billion units in volume by 2010.

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) March 5, 2008 -- High levels of innovation, and product development characterize the greeting cards market. Low entry barriers associated with the cards industry has additionally unleashed a torrent of new product innovations, keeping card publishers on the run. Another distinct trend worthwhile to note, is the move towards reorganization in the market, as players reorient strategies and realign their businesses to better reflect the changing competitive dynamics, and remain viable and competitive in the maturing market.

The fleeting landscape of greeting cards is fraught with the capriciously changing consumer values, ideas, shifting demographics, and changing technology. The toughest challenge confronting market participants is the need to maintain sharp focus amid perpetual change.

The US and Europe, which jointly hold onto more than three-quarters of the global greeting cards market are vying for the top spot. Volume Sales in the United States, the largest market for greeting cards are estimated at 9 billion units in 2007. Asia-Pacific represents the third-largest greeting cards market globally, with estimated value and volume shares of 12.51% and 11.45% respectively in 2007. The region is also expected to emerge as the fastest-growing regional market during the period, 2000-2010, registering a compounded annual growth rate of 6.21% in terms of value and 6.16% in terms of volume. Worldwide sales of Christmas/New Year Cards are projected to exceed 7.68 billion units by 2009".

Source: PRWeb

Mother's Day - Mothering Sunday

Mothering Sunday, often called "Mothers' Day" in the United Kingdom and Ireland falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent (exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday). It is believed to have originated from the 16th century Christian practice of visiting one's mother church annually, which meant that most mothers would be reunited with their children on this day. Most historians believe that young apprentices and young women in servitude were released by their masters that weekend in order to visit their families. As a result of secularization, it is now principally used to celebrate and give thanks for mothers, although it is still recognized in the historical sense by some churches, with attention paid to Mary the mother of Jesus as well as the traditional concept 'Mother Church'.

Source: Wiki

Cool Cards: Mother's Day Cards

And on a lighter note... Tesco Value Mother's Day Cards







Source: Tesco Value Cards

Anti Hallmark - Smart Alex

Interview with Jay Blumenfeld of Smart Alex cards.

"In the multibillion-dollar greeting card business, Smart Alex has carved a niche by boldly going where no big company has gone before. Founder Jay Blumenfeld opens up about his irreverent, unorthodox rise to success.

Jay Blumenfeld started the bold and bawdy greeting cards company Smart Alex in 1980, building it without venture capital, business training -- or a sense of hearing. Today, the deaf, gay, and out-about-it-all CEO personally designs bestselling card lines for specialty retailers, including sex shops, across North America. Blumenfield recently linked up with Inc.com via instant messenger to share the story of Smart Alex, advice on succeeding with a niche brand, and why uniqueness counts in the business world.

How did you start Smart Alex?

It was by accident. I didn't intend to do it at all. What I wanted to do was to promote my photography, and get a photography book published after I got out of college. This was 1980. Many book-publishing art directors told me that I should put my creative energy into making greeting cards. I thought it would be something I did for a year or two to promote myself as a photographer. But I fell in love with the alternative greeting cards industry, and decided to continue with the business.

What does Smart Alex do today? How is it distinct within the greeting cards industry?

We are a greeting card company that makes edgy cards. We aren't afraid to use butt-kickin' humor. And we sell through unusual channels. Most card companies are all alike and don't focus on a particular target audience as much as we do. We have a very specific market.

One of our most successful lines is the bachelorette series. I know I'm giving away our biggest secret, right? Oh no! But not many companies can do something like that.

We have great relationships with stores that aren't catered to by companies with bigger lines. Quotable is bigger. Hallmark and American Greetings are far bigger. They do humor. But it's just not as fearless as what we do at Smart Alex.

Can you make a comparison to another company?

If Hallmark and American greetings are like NBC and CBS, and Quotable is like CNN, I guess we're like an MTV or VH1".

Read more: Click to continue
Visit: Smart Alex Cards

1950's Valentines Day Cards

James D. Kimberlin: "This is a flickr set of 1950's Valentines Day Cards that I scanned. I'm an avid garage saler who came across 4 large scrap books of cards. I have been wanting to use them for a project and have finally gotten around to scanning them.

They include Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas and Birthday cards, all dating from the 1950s. The scrapbooks are from a set of twin boys Vin (Elvin) and Don. There are some great classic cards in the set. I cleaned them all up and silo'd them.

Please feel free to download any and all and share them. I also have higher res versions of most of them, so if anyone needs those please feel free to contact me.

Also, I have a large assortment of other cards, Easter, Birthday etc. if anyone is interested".

View: Flickr images

Tommy Cooper Cards

New to Cool Cards, a fantastic range of Tommy Cooper Cards.

Tommy Cooper, a performer equally as loved and respected by his peers as by his fans, his child-like vulnerability and deceptively simple brand of humour made him the most loved and impersonated of comedians.




More Tommy Cooper videos on YouTube

Inspirational tips - Creative writing

Tips for all you aspiring greeting card writers...

Any advance on 109?

Happy Birthday Hilda Newson!

"She has spanned three centuries, been a subject of six monarchs and has seen the birth of every major invention and trend in the last 100 years.

And as one of Britain's oldest people celebrated her 109th birthday last Friday at Park House residential home in Great Yarmouth, she put her astonishing longevity down to playing the tambourine, supporting the Salvation Army and drinking fruit juice."

She said: “I do not take any pills or drugs and still play the tambourine. My favourite meals are roast dinners and chicken and I enjoy a fruit juice with my meals. I used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day but gave it up 24 years ago when I was 85.”

Britain's oldest woman is 111-year-old Florence Baldwin of Leeds.

First world war veteran Henry Allingham is the country's oldest man, also aged 111.

Source: Yarmouth Mercury

We wish you a Mary Christmas - 1914

PRINCESS MARY'S CHRISTMAS GIFT TO THE TROOPS, CHRISTMAS 1914

Princess Mary
In 1914, a lesser-known Member of the Royal family, Princess Mary, the third child and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, went to great efforts to ensure that troops felt appreciated and not forgotten over the Christmas period.

The Princess's wish was that every serviceman stationed overseas during the first Christmas of the First World War would receive a message and gift from the nation, via the Royal Family. The fund which she instigated inspired the creation of one of the most enduring mementos of the First World War - Princess Mary's Gift Box.

The Princess, who was just 17 when war broke out, was moved by the plight of the troops and by the thought of them spending Christmas away from their families. She decided to pay, out of her private allowance, for a personal gift to each soldier and sailor.

"I want you now to help me to send a Christmas present from the whole of the nation to every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front. I am sure that we should all be happier to feel that we had helped to send our little token of love and sympathy on Christmas morning, something that would be useful and of permanent value, and the making of which may be the means of providing employment in trades adversely affected by the war. Could there be anything more likely to hearten them in their struggle than a present received straight from home on Christmas Day?

Please will you help me?"

The smokers' gift': an embossed brass box, one ounce of pipe tobacco, twenty cigarettes, a pipe, a tinder lighter, Christmas card and photograph. The Christmas card reads 'With best wishes for a happy Christmas and victorious New Year, from The Princess Mary and friends at home.

© The Imperial War Museum

The contents of the giftbox
It was decided that the majority of recipients would be given an embossed brass box, one ounce of pipe tobacco, twenty cigarettes, a pipe, a tinder lighter, a Christmas card from the King and Queen and a photograph of Princess Mary.

However, there were to be some exceptions. The committee agreed that non-smokers should be regarded as a special group and would receive the brass box, a packet of acid tablets, a khaki writing case containing pencil, paper and envelopes together with the Christmas card and photograph.

The committee was also obliged to consider the tastes of other minority groups and it was recognised that if the dietary rules of various religious groups were to be respected, changes would have to be made in the gifts intended for Indian troops.

'The India Committee' was set up, comprising 5 senior Army officers with experience of working with Indian soldiers. They decided that the Gurkhas would receive the same gift as the British troops; Sikhs would receive a box filled with sweets, a tin box of spices and the Christmas card and all other Indian troops would receive the box with a packet of cigarettes and sugar candy, a tin box of spices and the card.

Nurses at the front in France would be given the box, a packet of chocolate and the Christmas card from the King and Queen.

Via: Royal Insight
Also: Kinnethmont
Also: National World War One Museum

Recycle Christmas Cards - Woodland Trust

In 2007 the Woodland Trust recycled 93 million Christmas cards, the equivalent of 1,844 tonnes.

From the 2nd to the 31st January 2008, help the Woodland Trust reach their target of recycling 100 Million Christmas cards in order to plant 24,000 trees this year!

It is estimated that 1 billion Christmas cards (17 for every woman, man and child) could end up in bins across the UK (Defra) this Christmas
• One fifth of the contents of household dustbins consists of paper and card
• UK produces more than 434 million tonnes of waste every year. This quantity of rubbish would fill the Albert Hall in London in less than 2 hours
• On average, each person in the UK produces 500 kilos of household waste per year. This weighs the same as three and a half million double-decker buses, a queue of which would stretch from London to Sydney (Australia) and back.

The Woodland Trust

Vintage Christmas Cards

Best Wishes for the New Year

Tho'
Distance parts,
Fond hearts unite,
However far away.


"Get into the festive spirit with these stunning Christmas themed items including postcards, stationary and greetings cards."

The Traditional Collection from the Christmas Items Collection at the Bath Postal Museum

Vintage Christmas Cards

A Joyous Christmas Tide

At current count, around 1500 Vintage Christmas Postcards available from CardCow

A fascinating slice of the history, style and presentation of Christmas postcards throughout the world.

Creative Christmas Cards

An interesting seasonal piece from Lifehacker
"If you send out Christmas cards every year, you know that buying cards can be a spendy endeavor. So in the spirit of saving money this holiday season but not skimping on the cool-factor of your cards, we're rounding up a few very cool, very 3-D DIY Christmas cards that'll help you spread a little holiday cheer without breaking the bank."


And yet more ideas for creating some very cool cards...











A great pop-up resource from Robert Sabuda
Learn how to make this 3D greeting card pop-up xmas tree among many other ideas.















Free Pop Up Font
Inspired by the work of Masahiro Chatani in his book "Pop-up Greeting Cards"
Learn how to create your own 3D pop-up text greeting cards (if you manage to somehow create the above xmas card, send it in, you're a genius).

Pop-up cards at Cool Cards

"Pop-up Card Designer is a Windows application, which generates unfolded pattern of Pop Up Cards. With simple interface, you can get unfolded pattern of your original Pop Up Cards."

So now you know. Have a play!

Let us know how you get on!

Cards Blessed by Church of Enlgand

Talk about a Bandwagon...

"A selection of Christmas greetings cards blessed by the Church of England is set to take the social networking site Facebook by snowstorm this Advent."

"The virtual cards, based on religious themes, can be sent on with a personalised message and are freely available to any of the seven million active users in the UK registered on Facebook."

"The Church of England has worked in partnership with Rechord – a leading web design agency in London, specialising in social networking and web applications for charities – to create the environmentally-friendly virtual cards. The designs feature colourful animations representing key elements of the nativity story, including the journey of the wise men to see the ‘new born King’."
Source : The Church of England

"The idea for the Facebook application follows last year’s Church of England online Advent calendar, (from Rechord : "Would you like a site that not only increases traffic, but persuades your visitors to act?") which received wide media coverage and around 1,000 unique visitors each day during December."

"The slightly not so good thing is that receivers of cards will need to add the application, which they may not wish to do. Adding Facebook applications is of course a bit of a privacy risk as you are giving your information to a third party (the creator of the application) about whom you know nothing. I am of course willing to give the Church of England my information, but not everyone will be."

"Of course if you are a real luddite you could send them an actual card made out of card in the style of yesteryear."

Source : Episcopal Cafe

Also from : Cartoon Church

Coincidence - Cartoon Church Christian greeting cards delightfully reminiscent of Cool Cards Edward Monkton

Rechord deface York Minster Dec. 2006. (Well we never claim to be cutting edge...)

Poet Confidential

"I was a professional greeting card writer."

Shameful confessional from poet Nancy Breen :

"I don't mean I wrote and submitted greeting card verses on the side for extra cash."

"I did like it. I was good at it, too. However, by the end of the first year, I began to yearn to do something of a utilitarian nature, like filing or processing paperwork. Sitting at my desk all day long trying to come up with new ways of saying "Happy Birthday" without using the words "Happy Birthday" became deadening. And my creative juices dried up from writing on demand five days a week."

"The more I wrote verses (and I had to produce daily), the less poetry I wrote. I've never entirely recovered. I don't find the joy in sitting down to tackle a poem that I once did."

Source

Seeking Freelance Greeting Card Writers

All you aspiring greeting card writers... a Job advert from Blue Mountain Arts.

"Blue Mountain Arts is interested in reviewing writings for publication on greeting cards. We are looking for highly original and creative submissions on friendship, family, special occasions, positive living, and other topics one person might want to share with another person. Submissions may also be considered for inclusion in book anthologies. We pay $300 per poem for all rights to publish it on a greeting card and $50 if your poem is used only in an anthology. To request a copy of our writer’s guidelines (which include contact/submission information), please send a blank e-mail to writings@sps.com with “Send Me Guidelines” in the subject line, or write us at: Blue Mountain Arts, Inc. Editorial Department P.O. Box 1007 Boulder, CO 80306. You can also visit our website at www.sps.com."

Source

Greeting Cards Market Is on the Upswing

Greeting Cards Market Is on the Upswing as Card Shoppers Turn to Speciality Retailers for More Specialized Product Offerings.

New Study From Unity Marketing Finds That Greeting Cards Were the Fastest Growing Category in the Overall Stationery Market.

In 2006 the market for greeting cards made a big comeback after four years of steadily declining sales, rising over 11 percent from 2004 to 2006. In 2006 the market for greeting cards climbed to over $10 billion. This according to the latest report on the stationery market from Unity Marketing.

This revival of speciality retail for greeting cards comes after years of a steady drop in the number of speciality retailers in the card and gift segments. The number of gift shops dropped 21 percent from 75,0102 stores in 2002 to 59,032 shops today. Speciality card shops declined even more -- 33 percent from 8,135 in 2002 to 5,391 currently.

Source Marketwire

Uncooked - Interview

New additions to Cool Cards.
Uncooked Cards.

Uncooked cards, known for their snarky, irreverent copy and sweet illlustrations.




"Our cards are a lot different to other card lines. It'll take time before they get fully appreciated. Smart people get them first. Idiots catch on later, after someone tells them they're funny".

Uncooked interview here

Royal Mail Christmas Stamps

The Church of England has greeted Royal Mail’s decision to re-establish a religious theme for its Christmas stamp collection.

The Royal Mail is to release a collection of eight stamps with illustrations of baby Jesus, Mary, as well as angels, this Christmas.

The Church was highly critical in 2006 when the Royal Mail’s stamp collection carried only secular themes of the Christian holiday, and even though they have welcomed the return to religious themes this year, the Royal Mail said it would alternate between secular and religious themes annually.

The Church has emphasised the importance of Christmas stamps being filled with Christian-themed designs rather than a random secular selection, as this would "remind people of the true meaning of Christmas".

Source: Christian Today
Wiki : Christmas