News

During a reception at the Las Vegas Market on Sunday, July 24, 2022, 40 young professionals were honored with Gift + Stationery 40 Under 40 Awards, presented by Gift Shop® Plus and Stationery Trends magazines. The 40 Under 40 Awards celebrate the next generation of gift industry extraordinaries including shop owners, managers, stationers and company founders.

9 Greeting Card Association Members Recognized

Among the talented awardees, nine of the industry superstars awarded are members of the Greeting Card Association.

• Alyson O’Connor of Rust Belt Love: “I’m so grateful for this recognition, I feel fortunate to be included on a list with so many industry superstars!”
• Jessica Wei of DaySpring: “I am so incredibly blessed and grateful to receive such a prestigious honor. This is a reflection of my incredible DaySpring team who come alongside to support, empower, and encourage me to strive for excellence as a designer, leader, and friend each and every day. I would like to give all the glory to the Creator for the talents and time gifted to me so that I can express love through and for my work.”
• Katie Dockweiler of Inklings Paperie: “The biggest honor goes to my team. They have all worked so hard for Inklings to attain its overwhelming success over the past few years. To them, I am grateful.”
• Kelly Gustafson of k.Patricia Designs: “Since finding out I was selected for the Gift + Stationery 40 Under 40 Awards, my main emotion has been gratitude. I feel incredibly grateful to be part of the Class of 2022 along with these super talented individuals. I also feel so grateful to where k.Patricia has led us to so far. Since starting k.Patricia in 2020, one of our main dreams is that our greeting cards and stationery will leave a positive impact on our customers. My overall personality is to make others feel happy and loved, so when I am designing, I set this as my main goal for each design. As an artist (and a sensitive soul) I can sometimes doubt myself and continually question if what I am creating is good enough or if it’s making people happy. So, because of this award, it confirms we are on the right path, and it motivates me to keep on believing in myself and in k.Patricia.”
• Krishna Chavda of NANU Studio: “I am super excited about this achievement and to be part of this talented group of stationery whizzes! It validates all the hard work I’ve put into NANU Studio and gives me a boost in confidence to keep on doing what I’m doing!”
• Libby Llanso of Seedlings
• Nikki Tyler of Little Lovelies Studio
• Veronica Beretta of Quilling Card: “It has been a very exciting year for me, both in my personal and professional life and I am so honored to be recognized with this class of amazing people. If I have learned anything this year, it is that you can truly do anything you put your mind to and the impossible can become possible. Thank you to everyone who has supported and nominated me for this award; I would not be here without them, and I am forever grateful. Congratulations to all!”
• Yoojin Kim of Up with Paper

These professionals have made countless contributions to the Greeting Card Association and the vibrancy of the greeting card industry as a whole.

The Gift + Stationery Week, presented by Gift Shop®️ Plus and Stationery Trends, runs Aug. 9-11. This event will feature three interactive webcasts highlighting trends, diversity and the latest issues facing retailers, and will highlight the 40 Under 40 class of 2022. All webcasts will be held at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Registration is open and is free.