In Virginia, one of the best places to find the uncommon card and perfect gift is Mongrel in Richmond, owned by Mark Burkett and Stan McCulloch. The shop serves a widely diverse demographic with an even more diverse range of merchandise for the home, body, mind, and soul.
Stan and Mark see all kinds of buyers in their store. Some come in for gifts only, some for gifts and cards and others who want just cards. While the partners always seek what’s interesting, unusual and new in merchandise, Stan said that listening to and learning from customers is how their stores endure. It’s also why Cardthartic has been a mainstay for nearly 20 years.
“We were happy to discover Cardthartic at the National Stationery Show decades ago,” said Stan. “Unique among all the other lines carrying pat phrases and typical artwork, Passages’ great photography drew us in, and the words sealed the deal.
“A few years back there was talk in the stationery world that email and social media would threaten cards,” Stan notes.“Perhaps that’s true with a certain demographic, but not with our customers. What we’ve seen instead is a strong movement toward card buying; our customers believe there is no substitute for sending and receiving cards.”
Mongrel’s customers put a lot of thought into card selection as personal expression. They are more sensitive to image, type of paper, and verse, as well. “That’s why Cardthartic works so well for us,” adds Stan. “The lines cater exactly to our customers’ own sense of style and sophistication.”
