September 28, 2021 — Whenever we release new designs, as we just did about 10 days ago now, it’s fun to see which ones fast become Cardie Favorites. Below you’ll see the top eight. Above is #1, which I wrote with a fellow cardie as inspiration …

It was back in the summer of 2016 that we received an email that read, “I received one of your beautiful cards from a friend and then checked out your website and just wanted to tell you what a great company I think you are. I hardly send cards anymore ’cause of email, but I think I’ll start and you can bet I’ll be getting them from you. Continued success with your card business and all that comes your way. Nancy McGinn”

Along with my thanks for the kind words, I couldn’t resist writing back to tease, “I’m sure you wrote a card publisher to say, ‘I hardly send cards anymore ’cause of email.’ Ha! Nancy, your brutal honesty so tickled me that I considered sending you a congratulations card for saying just what you feel! If/when you Do start sending cards again, we’ll be here. As you can likely tell by my delight in reading your candor, at Cardthartic, we consider honoring emotions a very positive thing.”

Nancy wrote back the following morning, “Okay, first, I can’t believe you replied to my email. Second, I stopped to consider that I would not have known about Cardthartic if a friend had not sent me your wonderful dragonfly card, and it was such a perfect card that I went back to your website last night and ordered a bunch. Third, don’t worry that you will get an email from me every day. Ha! I’ll be busy mailing out my new cards. Nancy”

It seemed one little cardie had found her way back home! :) She initially ordered 54 cards, noting in her Order Comments, “I can’t believe I am ordering this many cards! I guess I have a lot of catching up to do to show people how special they are to me, and you people have provided the perfect way. Thanks!” Five days later, she ordered another 16. Order Comment: “I think I’m addicted!”

I reached out to her again to say, “Nancy, if you ever care to share, we’d love to know some of what you pen in the cards you send.” That was all the encouragement it took for her to kindly forward some of what she’d written. And the very first message Nancy shared became a card. As she explained, “A co-worker just filed for divorce and I know she could use some support. I thought the dragonfly was the perfect way to give her some. In it I wrote, ‘You are brave. You are strong. You are loved.’” Simple and profound, that message now appears on Passages and Pretty Words cards as well as art prints and magnets.

In the five years since she had us at hello, Nancy has become only more quotable. In her Cardie Profile you can see that we’ve already proudly published 11 of her messages and dedicated four more that she has inspired. Our first exchange feels like lifetimes ago, and it is in fact countless emails, phone conversations and meetups ago! And the best part is, Nancy’s warmth and humor, eloquence and grace are highly indicative of many in this community. No wonder the guinea pig pals card is already a Cardie Favorite … you need so many because y’all are friend magnets!

If you haven’t already, please consider going to Introduce Yourself so we can share a little about you in our Meet Fellow Cardies section alongside Nancy. No pressure, just pleasure! And no rush, either … we’re all gonna be friends forever. 😍

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative