Merry Chip-mas Card by Jennifer Hines

Details:

• 5 3/4" x 8 1/4" folded greeting card on heavy card stock with envelope
• blank inside

Major: MAM (Masters of Arts Management) '10

Artist Statement:

Providing playful, whimsical, and illustrative items on paper. Because people aren’t digital, so why should we communicate that way?

I love paper. I always have. From a background in drawing, illustration, and printmaking, to a love of making cards and invitations to connect people through paper sentiments, Paper Heart Dispatch was born as a way to make our feelings physical in a digital world.

When you take a moment to write down your thoughts, send it through snail mail, and then the other person gets to touch the same paper you did--tear open the envelope, unfold the card, touch the surface and feel the ink of the pen on the paper... that's a real connection that takes effort, time, and shows feeling. Who gets real mail anymore that isn't junk mail or catalogs, mail they truly are excited or interested to open? When I send a card to a friend or family member for their birthday or as a thank you, they always seem blown away and really touched, and I feel that such a small gesture has a large benefit in my relationships. It only takes a few thoughtful minutes in the day.

I hand-create nearly all of my designs, starting with pencil on paper, before I digitize and finish my cards on the computer and print them in-house. There's real love and playfulness that goes into these, and being a small business, I get to communicate with each and every one of you and create your order by hand. That connection makes my business meaningful to me and I put my heart into every order.

Connecting in the real world outside of our digital devices is something I want to promote in this increasingly electronic world. So send out your heart posthaste!