The Business of Art: Notecards

“Margaret’s Poinsettia, package of 4 cards and envelopes, 4.6×7.2”, $20. Inside message: Wishing you Christmas joy and blessings in the new year!

Through the years I have designed, printed and sold hundreds, nay, THOUSANDS of little cards. “Notecards”, as I refer to them, are perfect to say “thank you”, “hi”, “just one more thing”, “I appreciate you”, or even “I’m sorry”. If you write real big, you can get by with just one sentence.

“Sun Kissed”, pencil and colored pencil drawing, package of 4 notecards and envelopes, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″, blank inside, $10

Designs come and go; sometimes I redraw something and then get rid of the older version. Other times, it seems as if a design has run its course and needs to be retired. Sometimes I have too much inventory, so I let a design run out for awhile. And sometimes a design that really grabs me just doesn’t speak to the buying public.

“Oak Grove Bridge #28″, oil painting, package of 4 notecards and envelopes, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2”, blank inside, $10

I used to sell my cards in many stores around the county. Most of those stores are now closed. Even if the stores were still around, my costs are so high that if I sell them at a wholesale price to a retail store, there is zero profit for me. This means that I am working for free. That’s just dumb business.

Sawtooth and wildflowers, pencil and colored pencil drawing, package of 4 cards and envelopes, blank inside, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″, $10

Nowadays I sell the cards here on my website, occasionally when I do a bazaar or if I am having an art showing or exhibit (what’s the diff? I dunno), and on consignment at a very few places. “Consignment” means that they pay me after the cards sell, which means a lot of checking in, rewriting lists to keep current on supplies, making bills, sending the bills, paying attention to what has sold and what needs to be restocked.

Farewell Gap in Mineral King, pencil drawing, package of 4 cards and envelopes, blank inside, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″, $10

It’s all part of the business of art, which involves many decisions. Most of those decisions would be better if I had a crystal ball. Lacking that, I look at the history of sales, look at the current economy, look at the venue and think about the customers. If consignment, I look at the store’s record of payment, if the cards are getting shopworn and need to be repackaged, or if the store hasn’t been displaying the cards in a manner that the customers can see them.

“Sawtooth”, oil painting, package of 4 notecards and envelopes, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″, blank inside, $10

The business of art is a complex and delicate blend of science, art, and guesswork.

Five Different Reasons to Send a Note

Everyone loves to get real mail, and as Crane Stationery used to advertise, “No one has ever cherished an email”. (This was before texting, which has made email look personal and handcrafted.)

The other morning I wrote a bunch of notes. A list had accumulated of people I needed to communicate with, and each one needed to be handwritten. Sometimes email just doesn’t do the trick.

As I carried them to the mailbox, it struck me that each note was written for a different reason.

  1. Thank you
  2. I’m sorry for your loss (any of my cards, blank inside, would work for this).
  3. Get well soon (any card with a blank interior will work for this)
  4. Happy Birthday (nope, none of my cards actually say this inside, but I have great confidence in your ability to write those words)
  5. An invitation (I used a blank card for this too)

There are many other reasons to use cards and hand-write notes to people.  

I’ll give you some other ideas tomorrow.

 

New Cards Available

Now available in sets of 4 notecards, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″, blank inside, with envelopes,$8

Just in case you want something new to add to your gift baskets, stockings, or to encourage yourself to write notes to people, here are some cards that you may have seen as original art, but not as cards. They are available from my website, by putting a check in the mail, by emailing me for further instructions, or perhaps if we run into each other at the Post Office (unless I can’t recognize or understand you because you are wearing a mask).

Clicking on the name beneath each card picture will take you to the appropriate page of my website.

Oak Grove Bridge #28

Pear Lake Ski Hut

Hockett Meadow Ranger Station

Yokohl Oak

A New Card and So

Are you a note writer? Do you send thank you notes, or thinking of you notes? Getting real mail is fun. Email is good too, but there is something special about ink on paper in an envelope with handwriting on it, arriving at your home (or in your P.O. box). 

I saw an advertisement in a magazine about 20 years ago when email was new, and it was for fancy stationery. The line on the page said, “No one has ever cherished an email”. 

About my cards

You probably know about them already, so consider this a reminder. They come 4 to a package with envelopes, and each package has all the same design, $8/package including postage and shipping.

The newest one

Yokohl Oak

Standards (but not old enough to be called “Classic”)

Who in your life would like to receive a note in the mail? Your Grandma? Your grandchild who may never have received real mail before? The mechanic who keeps your car running so you can drive worry-free? The grocery store checker who is always cheerful, even when she has to wear a mask every day? The barber who lets you come in the back door of his shop so you don’t have to wear your hair in a ponytail?

Cards available here: Notecards

P.S. You don’t have to use the website and Paypal to buy cards because you can send me a check IN THE MAIL and I will send you your cards IN THE MAIL.

P.P.S. (This means PS#2) There are more designs than the ones I’ve shown here, including cards in color, different sizes, and even an assortment package (Mineral King, larger cards, $15).