The Greeting Card Association

I've decided that one of the ventures of 12/7 Entertainment will be the creation of Skyeward Productions.  Skyeward Productions will be the art division of 12/7 Entertainment, starting with a focus in greeting cards.

The Greeting Card Association (GCA) is the U.S. trade association of the greeting card industry.  GCA represents greeting card and stationery, as well as suppliers to the industry. 1


The Greeting Card Association offers artists and writers tips under the resource tab on their site.  These are two extremely beneficial pages for inspiring greeting card artists and writers.  The main reason I appreciate this information is because I am an artist and a writer myself.  As I plan to start my company, I do envision hiring a team of artists, however I plan to do the majority of the art and writing in the beginning stages at least.

Being an artist, I feel that the artwork is the first line of communication to the consumer.  Before a customer reads the writing inside the card, it's the artwork that should draw the customer in.  If you're a inspiring greeting card artist, the site offers many tips.  The site explains that an artist should spend time looking at cards and observing how the artwork and the text inside relate to each other.  It states that looking at styles is also important.  If you have an idea of what styles are selling well, you'll have a better understanding of where to go with your artwork. The page also gives information what to have in your portfolio for publishers, payment examples an artist could receive, along with a few other details any artist would need in order to begin a successful career in greeting card art.

Not only do I plan to do illustrations for my company, I also plan to write some of the cards' messages as well.  If you're an inspiring greeting card writer, the page is beneficial to you also.  According to the page, the artwork catches the eye, but the words make the sale.  Some of the same tips apply here such as spend time looking at other cards and reading how the text relates with the art.  Another tip is to be confident with the writing, but make sure your submission fits the publisher you're interested in writing for. The page gives examples of payment as well.

The Greeting Card Association provides plenty of other information.  However my gradual transition from an artist to somewhat of a businessman, still hasn't allowed me to shake off my creative edge.  Therefore I found these two pages of the site most interesting and beneficial.

1 The Greeting Card Association (link below)

The Greeting Card Association