In October we put the finishing touches on the new home of Northwest Greetings.   We're at the same address as before but now have a dedicated building for our office and warehouse.   We couldn't be happier with how it turned out.   With the extra space, look for new products to be added in 2021.    If you happen to be in our neck of the woods, stop by for a coffee and a visit!

We recentely added two fantastic new artists to our Keepsake Collection of blank art cards.  Both are residents of Victoria with amazing portfolios of work.

Mike Lathrop

Mike Lathrop paints vivid West Coast scenes in a style all his own.   I became aware of Mike's work while sipping coffee at my favourite coffee shop, Fantastico Cafe in Victoria.  A number of his paintings lined the wall behind me so I turned around for a better look.   It was obvious that the calibre of Mike's work was much better than what you normally find in a cafe.   Soon after I contacted Mike about adding some of his images to the Keepsake Collection.   The first image we added is entitled "Sunset at Rathtrevor Beach".  Have a look at it here.. https://nwgcards.com/keepsake-collection/blank-arts-cards/mike-lathrop.   For more information about Mike Lathrop and to see all of his work have a look at his website https://thefeelingoftheplace.com/

Jennifer Olson

Jennifer Olson is an accomplished representational watercolour artist focusing on still life, architectural, and landscape subjects.  I came across Jennifer's work at the annual Moss Street Paint-In which is the region's largest art event.  With more than 190 artists showing their work its easy to get overwhelmed but Jennifer's paintings definitely stood out, even when displayed next to so many other amazing artists.  Have a look at the first two images we added to the Keepsake Collection here https://nwgcards.com/keepsake-collection/blank-arts-cards/jennifer-olson or for more information about Jennifer Olson and to see all of her work have a look at her website http://www.jenniferolsonstudios.com/

It seems we all know what we like and don’t like when it comes to greeting cards.  Whether modern, traditional, humorous, or artistic we all gravitate to the styles that best reflects who we are.   It can be hard to put aside our preferences when choosing cards to fill a display rack.   The best advice we can give (other than asking us to assist you) is to choose a variety of styles while keeping your card display easy for customers to navigate.  

In addition to styles, you will want to consider designs.  Within the birthday category, you will want some feminine designs, some masculine, and some with a more general design that will appeal to many people.   Actually, that’s a fairly good rule of thumb for most categories.  

Which brings us to category selection.   This is where anyone new to carrying greeting cards in their shop is likely to need some help.    Unless you have experience stocking a card display you won’t have a good feel for how many cards to put out in each category.   Again, this is where asking us to assist will make your life a lot easier.   Here are some rules of thumb, however, to help guide you…

1/4 to 1/2 Birthday with some feminine, masculine, general, humour, and family (if you have the space)

1/4 Thank You, Congratulations, Anniversary, Wedding, New Baby

1/4 Friendship, Thinking of You, Support/Encouragement, Sympathy, Pet Sympathy

1/4 Blank cards

As well as the above, don’t forget to include one or two each of Retirement/Good Bye, New Home, and Pet Sympathy

Of course, category selection will vary by the type of retail space and size of card display. 

It's nice seeing our new logo displayed on top of one of our racks at Thrifty Foods in Duncan.   We were going for 'stylish but fun' - just like our cards.  What do you think, does the new design pull it off?