Industry Profiles

This uplifting release all began with a pair of pants, recalled Thimblepress’ Kristen Ley. “I was walking around NYC and I saw this guy with really great pants. I wanted to tell him (this) without being creepy, so I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if I could just slip a card in his back pocket to tells him he looks good?’ That’s not creepy at all … ha! But that (internal) conversation (evolved) into, ‘How great would it be if we have cards for all types of acts of kindness and compliments for others?’”

It wasn’t too long before a little foil-stamped box, filled with 50 business-card sized, hand-drawn illustrations — each bearing a heartwarming accolade for the recipient — was born. Stationery Trends interviewed Ley to learn more.

ST: How long did development and design take?

KL: I began writing down phrases I liked and came up with a huge list I wanted to illustrate. I had people help me narrow them down to the best ones. I feel like the rejects should have their own set because some of them were hilarious.

ST: Any unexpected obstacles during this part of the process?

KL: Not really, the only thing was I love color and I could have used one million types of color. Instead I gave myself a limited color palette to help give the set a cohesiveness throughout.

ST: How do you recommend your product be promoted and merchandised at retail?

KL: We strive hard to package all of our products well, with design always at the forefront. We hope they can be put on any retail shelf and sell on their own. We think they look really great stacked like bricks in a mountain too!

ST: Will the collection expand in the future?

KL: Quite possibly!

ST: Anything else you’d like to share with Stationery Trends readers?

KL: We hope this product encourages kindness, conversation, laughs, friendship and relationships. We believe in a kind word or a smile, and feel like it affects people more than they realize. Sometimes a single kind word can make someone’s day so much better!