Greeting Cards anyone?

Tommy P

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Nov 16, 2003
Posts
870
Loc
Mid North Indiana
After six years in our present location we are moving to a bigger and better exposed location.

We (as many others) are always looking for other items to market that would be appropriate for our type of Art Gallery/Frame shop business.

I was wondering about a line of greeting cards and if anyone else is familiar with this type of add on.
We are looking at Leanin' Tree. Hallmark and American Greetings are sold in my area at drug stores and Wal-Mart. No one sells anything else in our 20,000 population town. These would be exclusive to us.

Any thoughts? I know it would not be a big money maker but would take up little floor space and a small investment.

Just wondering if any one else carries these?

Thanks
 
I sold greeting cards, but mine were all hand made "art" cards. Some would sell for almost $20 but were incredible and beautiful. It was hard to find sources, I went to every gift show on the west coast I could find and was very picky about what I carried. I did very well with them, became known for beautiful, unusual cards. One of my customers moved to Wyoming but would send me a check for $100 and ask me to send an assortment. When I sold my retail location, I had few left.
 
Here in the Northwest I understand that Leanin' Tree has done very well. But I see them mostly in larger stores, like chains and groceries. But if no one else has them near you, they might do really well.

We carry a line of cards by a Montana artist, Carol Hagan, that does reasonably well in our gallery. Although much of her line is very colorful wildlife images, she also has angels, birds, and I think a few other options. Check her out at http://www.carolhaganstudios.com. Carol and her husband, Pat, are great to work with.
 
Tommy, did you, by any chance, get the Leanin' Tree promo pack in the mail last week? I did, and was wondering about the same thing. They seem to be all over town, but when I have the choice to buy cards, I usually choose one of those when they're available. They seem to do well out here in "the west".
 
Tommy,

I sold the Leanin' Tree line in our shop back in the 1980's and unless the line has changed dramatically I would not recommend it for a gallery....it is just a bit too generic. As Richard mentioned it is too often found in drug stores, chains, etc.

We currently purchase from about six different card vendors and find it a great mix and wonderful draw in our shop. Of these, Meri Meri has been one of our more successful lines...

MM_90_1075P.jpg


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Meri Meri
525 Harbor Boulevard
Belmont, California 94002

tel. 650-508-2300

Good luck,

John
 
There is a company that does some...Limited Editions. I am sorry I do not have the contact name, just heard their name.


PL


googlegooglegogle
 
We sell Sunrise Greetings. They are based in Bloomington, Indiana. A very nice line of cards. Many folks stop in just to stock up.
 
Tommy,
If I can put a plug in here for my note cards...I don't have a "line", but I do have available, a box of notecards reproduced from my art. They contain 4 different images/8 cards per box. You can see them at www.sharonwill.com

Thanks, Sharon
 
The cards you offer all depend on what type of customer you have. We did REAL good with Leanin' Tree. We even had a group of ladys that would come in every wednesday (when they had their weekly poker game at the resturant at the end of the block) that would come in and stock up on the cards.

Some people like to have cards that are blank on the inside, some need the card to have a saying. What you need to do is payattention to what kind of art you frame, and use that as a guide for the kind of cards to sell.

If you deal with Calligraphers, make sure you get a nice selection of cards that are blank on the inside.
 
We have carried Sunrise since we opened in 2002. I beleive they are now owned by Hallmark. The sales rep told us we would pay our rent with the card sales. Well, that has not been the case at all... but people do like the selection but it is not worth the floor/wall space we give up to have them... I am slowly phasing them out. If any I will keep one spinner rack.

Had some photo/art cards - they didn't do well at all, especially if you look at 4 years and they still haven't turned once.

We are in the thick of other stores and card shops so that could be part of why cards in our store don't do as well.

There is a trade magazine called Greetings - that will give you the full range of card lines available - and there are many!!

Good luck!

Roz
 
For some really nice, unusally, unique to you cards go to fairtradefederation.com and look at the different vendors that offer paper products. I have been looking at alot of these vendors lately for fair trade gift items. There are some nice cards made from handmade paper / objects / handpainted ect.
 
I have done well with Meri-Meri, but a customer recently came in and said that they are being sold at Costco for great discounts. I can't be sure of this until I see it because they could be knock-offs. If it is true I might not put so much emphasis on the line. There are so many card companies out there. If Meri-Meri is discounting I would look for a few other companies. Constance Kay of NY has some really unique ones.
 
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