Sometimes projects inspire great feelings. Sometimes feelings inspire great projects.

A client had confided in me that times had been rough for their staff. She and her colleagues had been through so much, particularly during the pandemic. Much had been expected of them mentally, physically, and emotionally then and in the months and years since, and their energy and spirit were depleted. So, to help boost her colleagues and the morale at work, she had started sending encouraging words to each person on her team via email. She was astounded by the number of people who said it was just what they needed.

Her actions inspired me. I wanted to create cards for her so that she could share these kind words not just through email but in a handwritten note.

Later that week at a lunch meeting with colleagues — like kismet! — this small idea blossomed into a wonderful collaboration and a much larger project to celebrate the power of sharing a kind word. Christy Schneider of Inkello Letterpress, Rhonda Gibler of ProPrint, Marie Langdon of Midland, and Meredith Collins of Domtar all understand the importance of quality and the importance of kindness. Together we decided to create a beautiful notecard set that would allow a thousand or more recipients to send a positive note to someone each day.

Domtar provided the paper — Cougar 130 lb. cover and Lettermark Colors Index — and shipped it to us in Lawrence with help from Midland, and ProPrint cut it to size. I designed the flat cards and belly bands. They were printed digitally at ProPrint using a Konica Minolta Accuriopress C6085. Then they were passed to Inkello Letterpress, where a Heidelberg Windmill was used to add blind embossing and foil stamping. Christy and I assembled the sets over several afternoons in her studio. The best part was giving the first few sets to my client who had provided the inspiration. Domtar and Midland shared the love, too, offering sets of cards to their clients and prospective clients at trade shows throughout the country.

The project had several important themes: 1) the idea of being kind, 2) the power of sharing what you can when you can, and 3) hoping that effort has a ripple effect.

Long live kindness! Long live collaboration! Long live the power of the printed word!

If you want to collaborate, or if you just want a set of these cards, I hope you’ll say hello!

WORDS

a word about collaboration