Lucy Jennings on capturing fun, flashbacks and femininity through design
The graphic designer talks to MOO about her top tips for emerging graduates, why she centers femininity in her work, and nostalgia in design.
Lucy Jennings is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Hackney, East London. Originally from Southend-on-Sea in Essex, she studied at the London College of Communication, before gaining a degree in graphic and media design from the University of the Arts, London.
Lucy’s colorful cartoon artwork blends a nostalgic aesthetic with bright, feminine palettes, bold typography and an upbeat message, attracting youth brands such as Skinnydip and Dorothy Perkins.
When her recycled cotton Business Cards featured on MOO’s Instagram page, the response was phenomenal – so we caught up with Lucy to find out more about the inspiration behind her lively designs.
Tell us how your unique aesthetic came about
I like to think it sits in this groovy, feminine, cheeky-yet-chilled-out space. Nostalgia plays a big role in my work, and I pull a lot of inspiration from the 70s, 80s and 90s. I want my work to embody the carefree spirit of being 10 years old, with a popsicle in one hand and a VHS copy of the Spice World movie in the other.
As well as nostalgia, I’m inspired by packaging, drag queens, Dr Seuss, food, The Simpsons, skater culture, Lizzo, and Hubba Bubba. I think artists’ visual styles tend to extend into how they present themselves to the world – my personal style has evolved with my work over time, and I love bright colors, bold print and anything that makes me feel like a kid again.
You often work with a feminine palette and on female-centric themes. What led you down this path?
When I was a teenager, I rejected my femininity, because I thought being ‘girly’ meant being shallow, catty, conceited, fake – every lame stereotype that’s been attached to women since the dawn of time.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more comfortable with my authentic self, and have been trying to reclaim and celebrate my femininity. I really value my female friendships, and when I make something to empower women and femme-identifying people, I feel like I’m lifting up a friend. I just want to spread some positivity with my work.
How did you approach starting your freelance career and building a client list?
When I left university, I went straight into an in-house job, as I still needed guidance and structure. I started doing odd projects for friends and family in my spare time – logos, retouching, even tattoos – and quickly realized I enjoyed taking on solo work I wouldn’t be able to in my 9-5.
Since then, I’ve been focusing on my portfolio and my brand, and making content for social platforms – Instagram has definitely been my most valuable tool for promoting my work.
If you have a unique style, demonstrating it in your portfolio helps potential clients know what they’ll get from working with you. My branding is groovy, fun and feminine, and as a result I get asked to make things in a similar vein – which is great, because that’s what I love to do.
What advice would you give fresh design graduates hoping to land their first studio job or freelance brief?
My advice for landing your first in-house job would be: do your research. Find out about the company, their values and the kind of work they do, and consider them all when putting together your application. Showing a willingness to learn can go a long way. And don’t be late!
Working in-house gives you valuable experience you can apply to a freelance career. As well as developing your design skills, learning things like email etiquette, how to present concepts and managing time are all transferable skills.
What’s been your favorite project to date?
I love self-initiated projects – having the freedom to create whatever I like without worrying about meeting a deadline or a brief is a nice break from my day-to-day work.
I really enjoyed creating window displays and other large-scale work while I was working at Skinnydip London, and seeing how my artwork translated onto shop fronts. And my Business Card redesign was purely a passion project – it’s definitely a firm favorite.
What inspired the Juice project that led to the creation of your Business Cards?
I wanted my business cards to be lighthearted, amusing and memorable. When I designed them in 2016, I drew inspiration from the drinks of my childhood – Sunny D, Capri Sun and Slush Puppies – and my nickname, Juicy Lucy, which was given to me by my mum.
Two years later, my style had changed so rapidly, I decided they needed a refresh. I wanted to do something completely different, and tried various motifs such as hot-sauce bottles and motel keys. But they all lacked that connection to me and my name – so after a lot of trial and error, I decided to upgrade my original concept.
As I’m trying to be more conscious of my impact on the environment, there was no question I’d choose to print my designs on recycled cotton. They’re made from old t-shirt offcuts, and have a textured finish. I always get complimented on my choice of paper.
MOO’s Printfinity option allows you print each Business Card with a different image. As a designer, have you found this useful?
Printfinity gives you so much more real estate to play with. With the chance to add up to 50 unique backs to my Business Cards, I’d have drawn a whole supermarket if I’d had the time! Printfinity gave me room to explore different colors, styles and ideas – sometimes you can’t fit your whole personality into one card.
The reaction has been great, and I’ve even had people asking if they can take the full set of five juicy flavors! It’s been rewarding to see an idea that’s lived in my head for so many months finally out there, in people’s hands.
If you could deliver some advice to yourself as you set out on your career, what would it be?
Don’t put pressure on yourself to know everything, especially when you’re looking for your first job – there’s still so much to learn. When you’re in a junior position you’re there to be a sponge, and be guided by your seniors.
They won’t expect you to turn up on the first day and know it all, so don’t be afraid to ask for help, make mistakes, or receive (and act on!) critique. Be willing to learn, adapt, and try your best. That’s all anyone can ask.
Make your mark with Business Cards and Printfinity.
From welcoming new employees to printing the perfect icebreakers, here are some businesses who strive to be their brand best.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a Chicago-based company that provides social media platforms for businesses. The company’s passion for sparking connections is clear from their motto: “open communication creates progress.”
“We’ve used MOO for a promotion campaign to encourage employees to use our platform, Bambu, internally,” Sprout Social’s Alicia Johnston said. “One of our designers created some beautiful ‘Take 5’ Postcards that encouraged employees to take five minutes away from business as usual to check Bambu for company news and updates. We paired them with five-minute hourglasses in Bambu’s distinctive shade of teal and left them on everyone’s desks—and mailed them to our remote team members.”
Monotype
Monotype is a digital typeface design and image company that helps businesses around the world build consistent brands. To build the company’s own brand consistency, Monotype designed a Business Card to reflect its typography heritage. The cards have snippets of Monotype’s fonts on the backs, which allows the brand to highlight its range of typeface designs. To showcase their ever-expanding offering to clients, the typefaces on the backs of the cards are updated frequently as new ones are introduced.
“We use the Luxe paper for our cards, which Mohawk produces, so it has more of a weight to it.” Monotype’s James Fooks-Bale said. “To hand out these premium quality cards with a tactile feel really resonates more with the customers we typically work with.”
Red Bull
Red Bull, the globally-recognized energy drink company, has built an easily identifiable brand in its nearly 40 years of existence—not only for consumers, but for its own employees as well.
Red Bull acknowledges the importance of brand-building, and carries this throughout the business. MOO recently worked with the team to design Custom Hardcover Cloth Notebooks to match its branding. “All new employees get a four-day onboarding experience at our HQ, where they get acquainted with the brand,” Red Bull’s brand team explains. “We needed a notebook for these sessions that perfectly matched our branding.”
The resulting Notebook fits in perfectly with Red Bull’s other brand materials. And the Red Bull employees can’t seem to get enough: “Everyone wants one—I have to keep some of them hidden in my office!”
Third Man Records
This Nashville indie label founded by The White Stripes’ Jack White has been making waves in the music industry since 2001. The label has played a huge part in the vinyl resurgence in recent years—embodied by the company’s ethos of doing everything the old fashioned way.
Third Man understands the importance of analog, which is why their employees use Business Cards to communicate their brand. “We have to practice what we preach,” Third Man’s Ryan Nishimori says. “We have to have an old-school way to communicate and share information too.” Each employee got to create their own job title. “It was just one of those things that was fun when we started, and stuck around as we grew,” Nishimori explains. “It’s a personal touch that people get to add to their Business Cards.”
Relate, by Zendesk
Zendesk is a customer service and engagement platform that helps businesses connect with their customers. Connecting with customers is so important to the brand, that it developed a thought leadership and advice periodical called Relate.
Zendesk also hosts an unconventional customer experience conference, called Relate Live. The team prints icebreaker Flyers that provide amusing and relevant conversation topics to start those discussions. “Print pieces are visible to both the reader and the people around them. When they are beautiful and charming they can be conversation starters in themselves,” Relate’s Chelsea Larsson explains.
“Relate’s brand accent color is gold. When we saw that MOO offered gold foil, it seemed like a natural choice to use that for our Business Cards. Not only is the gold beautiful, but it’s eye-catching and elegant. It really captures the essence of Relate.”
Momofuku
Momofuku is a world-renowned restaurant brand founded by celebrity chef, David Chang. With so many properties, Momofuku now has over 1,000 employees around the globe.
Almost every Momofuku location has Business Cards as a takeaway – even the executive chefs carry them around. “It’s a personal touch that allows them to interact with a guest and invite them back again,” Momofuku’s Marguerite Mariscal said. “That’s why we love MOO Business Services so much, we get the flexibility to express the personality of our individual restaurants, as well as keeping Momofuku visible as the overarching parent brand.”
Austin Eastciders
Austin Eastciders is a hard cider business from Austin, Texas. Drawing inspiration from the vibrant cultural scene, the cidery has an open, communal atmosphere for cider lovers to congregate.
“The design of Austin Eastciders’ logo and cans is centered on hand-crafted simplicity,” Eastciders’ Danica Ferrell says, “which echoes the old-school approach in the brewing process. Austin Eastciders have taken their gold branding from their cans through to their Business Cards using gold foil. Working with their Business Services Account Manager, the Eastciders team created their Gold Foil Business Card templates and uploaded them to their dedicated online platform for all their employees to order from. Now, every employee can feel connected to the company’s brand and mission.
Tell you brand story with MOO Business Services
At MOO, we’ve been helping people make their mark in the world with amazing quality print products for over a decade. And as our customers have grown, so has our service offering. That’s why for bigger businesses—with 10+ employees—we now offer MOO Business Services. It’s MOO + benefits. MOO Business Services combines dedicated account management with an easy online ordering platform and expert design services. It’s a complete package for businesses to give you more brand control and consistency—while saving you time, stress, and money in the process.
Fill out the form here and a friendly Account Manager will reach out to you.
Owning a business is a life goal for many of us, but it can be tricky to know where to start. Here are 5 tips to help get you up and running.
1. Come up with a great business idea
This is the really fun part – coming up with a whole flurry of ideas and arriving at something that can really make a splash in your target market.
Having ideas isn’t something you sit down and work at. As Entrepreneur explains, It’s a creative process, so you need to take time, be open, and allow it to happen. Your brain will make connections based on the information you give it, so talk to plenty of people, go to new places and be observant when you’re out and about.
When a start-up idea strikes, write it down, no matter how silly it might sound. As most successful entrepreneurs will tell you, good business ideas are often reached after coming up with a lot of bad ones.
Armed with your bank of startup business ideas, it’s time to research and develop them, testing the best ones out to make sure they’re roadworthy.
Sound out your entrepreneurial passions
For many people, starting a business is a chance to turn a passion into profits and make money from something they love to do. If you’re in this situation, you’ll have a few parameters already in place, like knowing the cost of materials or the types of retail opportunities out there. You probably already know quite a bit about your industry because of your personal enthusiasm for it.
You need to test out whether there’s a way to turn that personal passion into something with long-term business potential. Will you be able to scale it up over time? Can you make it profitable enough to support you if you leave an existing job?
Eye up the competition
Look carefully at your competitors, large and small. Make sure your idea is different enough from what they’re doing to be successful, and that you’re offering something nobody else can do. Look at their prices, business model, marketing and customer service. Check their reviews – is there anything they’re not doing that customers want, and that could be a business opportunity for you?
Look at your target market
When learning how to start your own business, few things are more important than researching your potential customers and the money they’ll be willing to spend. Market research tools like surveys and focus groups can be very helpful for collecting opinions and insights to help you refine your ideas and approach. You can put together a market research survey based on a template using free tools like SurveyMonkey.
2. Know your obstacles – and work around them
Every small business is different, but they all face certain obstacles during the start-up journey, some bigger than others. Here are a few typical challenges for small business owners, and strategies for moving past them.
Establishing business ownership
If more than one person is involved, you need to have some honest conversations about who will own the business and whether it will be shared equally between founders. Consider who will do the majority of the work and what each person brings to the table. Agree some ground rules about contributing to the business and what happens if someone wants to step down.
Choosing systems and software
One of the obstacles to starting your own small business is knowing how to develop the right infrastructure. Having helpful software and processes, rather than ones that add work and make life more difficult, can be a huge factor in your success when starting a business. Project management tools, accounting software – even if it’s just a basic spreadsheet – and the email system you choose will all have an effect on your productivity.
Take some time researching different options and talk directly to software providers who may be able to offer bespoke solutions tailor made for your business. The good news is that your early start-up days are a window of opportunity for trying new things and changing your mind before routines and systems get embedded, so you can afford some trial and error here.
Growth and hiring
When you start a business, knowing when to hire your first employee can be tricky, and the move from being just founders and owners to having staff can be a real game-changer for your company culture and ways of working. As well as weighing up practical things like payroll and insurance, take time to consider the cultural impact of becoming an employer, and how you want to be seen as a place to work.
3. Know the traits of a successful small business
How to start your own small business, step 3: learn what success looks like. Understanding what works well will help you develop a competitive advantage in your target market and make your company a good place to work into the bargain.
Culture is crucial
If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that small business success nearly always goes hand in hand with a strong company culture. Businesses that look after their people, are open to ideas, and where everyone feels listened to and able to contribute are on to a good thing.
Business owners can help establish a great culture by setting an example with their own behavior. Rather than taking decisions unilaterally, good leaders are able to take various points of view on board and adjust their business plan, without losing their role as the overall decision-maker.
Be open to change
A flexible business structure can really help the budding entrepreneur adapt and take advantage of opportunities when starting out. It’s typical for people in a start-up culture to ‘wear many hats’ and feel confident trying out different roles, rather than sticking to a rigid job description or process. This goes hand-in-hand with a great company culture that empowers staff and allows them initiative.
Be smart with marketing
Finally, a well-defined marketing strategy is a hallmark of a great small business. Investing in your marketing brings all kinds of benefits, from building your brand and developing your values and identity to bringing new business in the door. And what’s more, it doesn’t have to cost large sums of money.
4. Set goals
Ever been in a job interview where you’re asked ‘where do you want to be in 5 years’ time?’ It’s a question that applies to businesses as well as people. Your business plan should include long term goals for the big-picture things you want to achieve.
At the same time, it’s important to set short-term goals and objectives and measure against them.
- Long-term goals inform your strategy and overall focus.
- Short-term goals can keep your pace and momentum up from day-to-day and guard against unproductive behaviours like procrastination and decision paralysis.
To really benefit from goal-setting, you need to track progress. Try setting some KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) like sales figures, revenue or even social media reach for your business will help you see over time whether you’re on track and building momentum, or if you need to make changes in certain areas.
5. Position and promote yourself
Building your brand is something you do from day one, whether or not you mean to. So it makes sense to have a conscious approach and guide your brand identity through its formative stages. Everything is easier if you can be clear and deliberate about how you want to be seen and who you want to appeal to.
Realistically though, when you first start a business your resources will be focused elsewhere, and you may end up with a small budget for marketing and promotions. Big glossy marketing campaigns might be beyond your reach, but there are plenty of ways to promote your brand without breaking the bank.
Invest time in social media
For many small business owners, social media is a must-have resource, thanks to its powerful reach and the fact that it doesn’t cost much money to maintain. It does take time to develop your tone of voice, build up a following, create and publish content and respond to prospective customers. But social media marketing doesn’t have to take up large chunks of the day.
A little-and-often approach, with a few minutes spent here and there boosting your social presence, can add up to something impressive, quicker than you might think. That’s partly because of the cascade effect of social sharing – good content develops its own momentum, which you then have the potential to boost with paid advertising as and when it’s in your budget.
Boost clicks with SEO
Search engine optimization is another helpful strategy for small businesses seeking a wider audience. SEO is sometimes seen as a mysterious art that’s hard to get to grips with as a layperson. But the basics can be learned quickly and put into practice straight away, so that your web pages and blog articles are performing at their best. Some of the most useful advice comes from the search engines themselves – for example Google’s SEO Starter Guide.
Perfect the art of the press release
If you have a limited marketing budget when you first start a business, don’t forget the good old press release, which costs virtually nothing to produce, and if done right, could get your name in front of some seriously influential people. Here’s a Guardian journalist’s guide to getting press releases right.
You’re part of a small business community
Wherever you are in the process, setting up your own business can be both thrilling and daunting. Fortunately, it’s never something you’re completely alone with. There are plenty of other people out there on the same journey, and lots of resources available to help you succeed.
Buzzing with ideas for your small business? Check out these 4 things small businesses can learn from big multinationals
Whether you’re a pro realtor or just starting out, marketing is key to your success. Here’s how to perfect promoting your business and stay ahead of the competition.
Why marketing matters for real estate agents
It’s all about standing out. The real estate industry is a crowded niche with lots of professionals vying for attention at all times. That’s why it’s absolutely essential to make yourself memorable to potential clients.
Successful real estate marketing can go a long way towards making your name a byword for quality. Whether it means you’re the first name people think of when buying a house, or your firm is the go-to for selling a property or getting advice, strong marketing can make you visible at every point in a customer’s journey.
What does good real estate marketing look like?
It has a journey
Marketing isn’t something you set up and then leave to do its own thing. It’s a continual process, and it should be integrated into every part of your real estate business, from creating a great first impression with your advertising to providing fantastic aftercare with proactive follow-up messages.
Fortunately, this comes as second nature to many real estate agents who naturally have an eye for business opportunities and a talent for making connections with people. Once you have your marketing messages confirmed in your mind, it’ll quickly become automatic to pro-actively sell yourself and your services.
It’s authentic and original
For marketing to truly resonate with your potential clients, it needs to come from a place of authenticity. Your individual qualities are what will make you stand out from the crowd. Think of your marketing approach as an extension of your personality, rather than a front you’re putting on. Like your personality, it’s original and unique – not like anyone else out there.
It’s about quality, not quantity
A single, carefully-crafted message to a targeted audience? Or ten generic messages distributed scattergun-style? You could spend your resources sending mail-outs to every house in a town, or you could focus that same investment on a targeted Facebook campaign aimed only at people in the market for a new home. The targeted approach might reach fewer individuals, but the ones who see it will be the ones who matter.
You only have so many hours in the day and you’re working with limited resources, so it’s essential to make every bit of marketing count. It’s better to do something small in the best possible way than to stretch yourself and under-deliver on something that’s beyond your capacity.
Strategies for success
So with that said, what are the best real estate marketing strategies and tactics? This will always depend to some extent on who you are and what kind of business you run. But there are some tried-and-tested approaches you can try.
Referrals and recommendations
Doing a great job is its own reward when you get that call from someone who heard how good you are from a friend or family member. You can use your marketing to amplify the power of word-of-mouth recommendations. Try offering a referral bonus or discount, or using testimonials from happy customers in your marketing materials and social media channels. Keep in touch with happy customers too – you never know when they might need your services again.
Brand building through expertise
If you’ve been in the business a while and know a lot about your profession, you can turn that wisdom into marketing power by doing some public speaking events. Becoming an expert speaker not only gives you the chance to promote your business, it also associates your name with authority and trustworthiness among real estate professionals.
Network and community focus
Get out there and get your name known in your community, and you’ll soon find all kinds of positive connections springing up. Whether it’s mutual recommendations from other businesses – such as cleaning firms or gardeners – or sponsorship of local events, make connections as much as you can. Even if there’s no obvious business opportunity at first sight, one good connection has a way of leading to another. Check out our guide to making your real estate business stand out for lots more tips on network-building for real estate agents.
Where to find creative real estate marketing ideas
What makes you different from everyone else? Look at your business from the point of view of potential clients and prospective buyers. What’s your unique selling point? It might be your personal style, your professional background, the kinds of properties you work with or your knowledge of the area.
When it comes to creative execution, there’s a whole world of inspiration out there for putting together eye-catching Flyers, Postcards, website graphics and social media branding for your real estate business. Here are a few places to look for inspiration.
This social media site is the full package when it comes to visual inspiration. From lush room layouts to gorgeous fonts and color schemes, it’s all there, neatly organized into categories. You can also use it to capture your ideas by creating custom boards with pins that have inspired you.
Like Pinterest, Instagram is packed full of inspiring eye-candy, and it’s also a good place to see what other real estate agents around the world are doing with their social media marketing budgets. Try following a few hashtags like #Curbappeal, #HomeSweetHome and #DreamHome.
Award-winners
Why not learn from the best? Marketing awards gather together the best campaigns around, making them a handy place to look for inspiration. Check out Awwwards for an ever-changing list of winners.
Our logo design guide
We put together a whole article about how to develop an eye-catching logo – the cornerstone of your successful marketing operation.
Real estate marketing ideas for social media
Maintaining a strong social media presence is a great way for real estate professionals to stay top of mind with customers. It also has the benefit of being measurable, trackable and easy to update anywhere – great for busy real estate agents.
Post on the channels your customers use
When it comes to social media platforms, the choice is much broader than it used to be. With 72% of adult internet users on Facebook, it’s a must-have for most businesses, while Twitter is better for engaging with followers on a daily basis. Instagram, with its emphasis on the visual, is a great place for getting your listings noticed. And don’t forget the networking value of social media. It can help you connect with your community, find business partners and mentors, and swap tips with fellow real estate marketers.
Plan your posts ahead
Posting regular content is what will grow your social media presence, but it can be difficult to find time each day to post something inspiring or engaging on the spur of the moment. To help manage your schedule, we’d recommend having 1-2 months mapped out. If you don’t have time for daily updates, there are loads of free scheduling tools you can use such as Buffer and Hootsuite.
If you’re unsure what to post, think about mixing up listings and company news with helpful advice and local events. Include video content as much as you can, whether it’s a YouTube influencer-style piece to camera, or a preview of your latest listing. Whatever your channel of choice for real estate marketing, it’s important to post useful content as well as promotional messages. You’re more likely to gain followers and build your brand if you offer something inspiring or of value.
Measure your social media success
If you’re spending time and money on social media marketing, it’s important to know what’s working and what you need to improve. Choose some key metrics to measure on a regular basis so you can see which posts performed the best and if there’s a trend in what kind of content is most successful.
Try keeping track of:
- Likes
- Replies or comments
- Reposts, shares and retweets
- Number of followers
- Reach (the total number of people who can see your content, including when it’s reposted or shared)
It’s a good idea to track a few metrics at the same time so you can build out a more complete picture of what’s going on. For example, you might have lots of ‘Likes’ on an Instagram post, but few comments, suggesting that your content suits the audience but you perhaps need to prompt your audience with a question to boost more conversational engagement.
Market your listings effectively
As well as marketing your business, extend your newly-honed marketing skills to your listings, too. Promote them on your social channels and use video and photography to bring them to life. If you have a lot of properties on your hands, try a ‘home of the week’ approach, spotlighting a single property on social media and using the same post to link to a full property list on your website. This approach works for commercial real estate too.
When it comes to crafting your listings, here are some things to remember:
Image quality is king
If there’s one thing real estate agents agree on, it’s that good-quality photos are important, and that you should include as many as possible if you want people to come and view a property. Some recommend splashing out on a professional photographer. But if you’re handy with a camera yourself, many modern smartphones can do the job in terms of resolution and true-to-life color.
Don’t forget the little details
Little things matter, especially when someone expects to be living in a home for the next decade or more. Be as thorough as possible in your listings, stepping into a potential buyer’s shoes to detail the features of a property. After all, you never know what might win a potential buyer’s heart, whether it’s a south-facing lawn or an original period fireplace.
Make it memorable
Buyers will be viewing a lot of properties, and browsing even more listings. Help yours stand out by including a memorable item of decor in the photos – even if it’s one you’ve brought from your own home for photography purposes. They’re much more likely to remember the place with the big cactus or the vintage rocking chair.
Map out the space
Every residential listing should include:
- Size in square feet
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Floorplan, if you have it
- Style – colonial, condo, villa etc
- Outdoor space details
- Power, heating and cooling system information
- Stand-out features, such as high ceilings or sea views
- Call to action – how they can arrange a viewing
For even more real estate marketing ideas, check out how to make your real estate business stand out
There’s nothing better than receiving beautifully designed, handwritten cards through the mail. So, whether you want to share or sell your artwork on handmade cards, make an announcement, or just simply say thanks, we’ve got you covered.
If you’re anything like us, you may have found emojis creeping into your vocabulary more and more over the past few years. And while we’re totally embracing it, (after all, it’s becoming a global language) nothing quite beats the joy of sending and receiving a good ol’ greeting card!
These 3 artists are all using custom greeting cards to send a little love, all over the world. From stunning mixed media artworks to quirky illustrations with heartfelt messages – these handmade cards are guaranteed to make you smile.
Try your hand at painted greeting cards
Lynn Norton Art
Lynn Norton is a mixed media artist based in Cambridgeshire, UK. She’s painted on and off all her life but decided to take it up more seriously when her children got a little older. Lynn studied for her A-level art and now dedicates her time to running the local art group and exhibiting and selling at local events. Lynn’s beautiful artworks are inspired by the natural world – she’s spent most of her life living in the countryside and loves walking. She’s always keeping an eye out for potentially interesting subjects that lend themselves to her loose technique and vibrant acrylic inks.
When Lynn started exhibiting, it was important for her to have hand painted greeting cards on display, along with her business cards: “the front of my greeting cards show one of my paintings, while on the back I have my name and my website address, in case someone wants to contact me later on. I leave the inside blank to enable them to be used for different occasions. Whenever I visit other artists, I always buy greeting cards of their work and although I love using them for their normal purpose, I also retain a number of them as I find them so inspiring.”
“My hand painted greeting cards are printed on a good quality thick paper stock. The outside is satin coated, which seems to make the colours of my work really sing. Custom greeting cards are ideal for artists and photographers – the ability to have different designs within one pack is absolutely brilliant and means that whatever the quantity ordered, you can always have a selection of work on display.
The excellent reproduction of my images means I can be assured the product I’m selling is of a high standard. Plus, if I run out in the middle of an exhibition, it’s easy to put a rush order through and get my greeting cards back onto the stands for the following weekend.”
Exhibit your work on Greeting Cards
Spread positivity with custom greeting cards
Better Half Full
Better Half Full is a greeting card business set up by Niobe – a teacher by day and doodler by night. Niobe juggles her business alongside her day job and welcomes the summer holidays when she can spend quality time designing her range. Better Half Full “focuses on spreading happiness amongst those we love in a tangible form – propped up on a shelf or stuck on the fridge – rather than it being a notification that disappears.”
When we asked Niobe what inspired her range of cards, she told us: “my cards cover all the important events, but I also wanted to create cards for those moody Monday’s when someone might need a little pick me up. I try to think outside the box a bit. I grew bored of seeing the same designs in the shops, all saying the same things. So, I’ve tried to vary my designs and make them different, with more unconventional messages. My aim is to make the receiver feel like the sender has really put some thought into choosing the perfect card for them!”
When creating her cards, Niobe starts by doodling by hand, or on her iPad with a stylus. She then works on her designs in Photoshop before sending them to print. “I love opening my orders from MOO and seeing my cards in real life for the first time. The quality of the paper stock is fantastic – the satin coating gives the cards a great feel on the outside and the A6 size is perfect, giving you plenty of room for writing inside. I use MiniCards as my Business Cards – they also double up as perfect little gift tags! I’ve had a really positive response to my designs and the quality of my cards on my Etsy and MicroMkt stores.”
Make someone’s day with a Greeting Card
Flaunt your illustration skills on handmade cards
Gemma Hampton
Illustrator Gemma Hampton lives in Bristol, UK and designs greeting cards and prints from her home studio. Painting and drawing has always been Gemma’s passion – she’s a self-taught artist and began by creating handmade cards for family and friends. To Gemma’s delight, her cards were really well received, giving her the encouragement to start a business and share her creations with others.
When creating her cards, Gemma strives to bring joy into people’s lives through the power of nature: “spending time in nature, foraging and gardening are hugely important to me and have a great influence on my artwork. I observe the world inspired by restrained simplicity and serenity.” Gemma’s latest range of greeting cards feature her botanical illustrations combined with a simple message. “I created the original illustrations and lettering in watercolour and ink and then played with the layouts digitally. The aim was to create minimal occasion cards for people to share and enjoy.”
Gemma prints her gorgeous designs onto MOO Greeting Cards: “the paper stock has a lovely, light satin finish on the outside and is left uncoated on the inside. This makes writing your own message a pleasure – without any smudging. The cards are excellent quality, thick and sustainably sourced. The print is vibrant and showcases my illustrations perfectly! My new range has had a great reaction on social media and from my stockists – I’ve recently added them to my Etsy shop too.”