Greeting Cards Capture Emotions

I laughed, I cried, my soul was touched. All these emotions came from reading greeting cards at my local gift store.

Relatively inexpensive and easy to display, greeting cards are a compliment to any existing product line you carry. In fact, gift givers are more likely to purchase a greeting card at the same place in which they purchased the gift. In essence, you have a captive buying audience. You sell a gift and the greeting card purchase is inevitable. It’s as simple as that.

What You Need To Know About Greeting Cards

Over 7 billion dollars worth of greeting cards are purchased each year. To effectively capture a piece of this market, it is important to know the ins and outs of the greeting card world. Seasonal and every day are the two categories which divide the greeting card market.

Seasonal greeting cards are just as the name implies; cards revolving around a holiday season. For example Christmas cards, Halloween cards, Easter cards, Valentines Day cards, and Mother’s/Father’s Day cards, as well as graduation cards are all considered seasonal or holiday cards. These types of cards account for 50% of greeting card sales. In this group, Christmas cards are the big sellers with 60% of the category’s sales.

All other cards are lumped into a category called everyday. These cards revolve around events that can occur on any given day. Birthday cards, sympathy cards, congratulation (wedding/engagement) cards, anniversary cards along with friendship cards make up the everyday card group. Parallel to the Christmas cards in sales, birthday cards are the top seller in this category.

We’ve shown you the numbers on why greeting cards are good sellers, what greeting cards are and the identifiable groups they belong to. But, you want the answer to the most important greeting card question “how do you sell them?”

Greeting card marketing is kind of like that movie “Field Of Dreams”. You know the one where Kevin Costner builds a baseball field on the premise “build it they will come”. Greeting cards are that field. Select good wholesale greeting card suppliers with themes in line with your products and they will sell.

Tips For Selecting And Selling Greeting Cards

A tip to keep in mind when selecting card from your wholesale greeting card vendor is balancing trendy with traditional. You will want a combination of trendy as well as classic greeting cards. Trendy cards are those types that play music, have led lights along with movable artistry, or even humorous political cards. Classic cards are the cards that are timeless. They follow a pattern that has been seen for ages. For example, classic greeting cards are often the Mother’s Day cards embellished with calligraphy and floral pictures or wedding cards with a very formal and proper tone. However, that doesn’t mean this is the only style for these types of cards. With greeting cards, you have the many options running the gamut from humorous to classic and from artistic to cartoonish.

A versatile assortment is the strategy that works best for most gift shops. Carry a wide selection in both the seasonal and everyday categories. Select cards that set you apart from the crowd. Look for quirky cards that most people won’t find in the “marts”. Find cards that evoke an emotional response. The idea with greeting cards is to affect the person purchasing the card. Greeting card buyers want to feel emotion because they are using the card to send an emotional message.

“Heavy on the holidays” is a strategy that suits flower shops. Weight your seasonal selection with more Mother’s day and Valentine’s Day cards as convenient add-on sales. However, a few every day cards will still be needed. Don’t forget the blank greeting cards which are fantastic ways for customers to personalize their floral gifts.

Greeting your customers with seasonal and everyday cards puts you in the game with the potential to win a piece of a 7 billion dollar market. Your “Field Of Dreams” resides in greeting cards sales. Offer a card for every occasion and they will sell.

The wholesale greeting card vendors at FGmarket can provide all your cards needs from humorous to sentimental, from classic to trendy and from quirky to cards made from recycled paper. To jump start your search for the perfect greeting cards for your store, we have profiled a few of the many wonderful greeting card companies available through the FGmarket wholesale directory.

This newsletter is the third and final installment of our series featuring some of the wonderful Mother’s Day Holiday and Special Occasion gift vendors listed on FGMarket.com.

For almost half a century, Fitz and Floyd has been recognized as the undisputed leader in the design and manufacture of hand-painted ceramic giftware and unique home decor collectibles. Their suggestions for Mother’s Day include the Flora & Fauna Collection, featuring a garden of bright flowers, white rabbits and tasty vegetables embellishing platters, pitchers, plates, a pair of salt and pepper shakers, and other tableware and figurines. The Garden Rhapsody series includes decorative pieces such as a pillar candle holder, a vase, a lidded box, and a small or large basket among other items, rendered in pastel-colored flowers, bunnies and ducklings.
Another collection, Old World Rabbits, includes a canape plate in the form of a flower-filled basket, a teapot shaped like an elegant lady hare dressed in Tyrolean attire, a similar lady rabbit posed as a candle stick, and a beautiful cookie jar, also shaped like a basket of flowers being visited by a delicate butterfly. Often quite elegant, sometimes whimsical, Fitz and Floyd is always a prized and treasured gift, destined to become a family heirloom.

You’ll find country cottage-inspired gifts at Classic Cottage Charm, where ’shabby-chic’ is the order of the day. Their decorative wall signs, hand-painted in a variety of colors and design motifs, feature warm sentiments like “Welcome”, “Home Sweet Home”, and “Practice Happiness”. The pink-striped “Queen Mom” sign might just be a hot seller for Mother’s Day!
Adorable Cottage Birdhouses are available in two sizes and an array of colors and can be used indoors or out. The darling six-inch Candle Sticks come in six different color and design patterns. Framed Cottage Prints are copies from the artists’ hand-painted original artwork, one of which bears a poem entitled Mother: “I’ve got a sweetheart, and I would have no other. She’s more than all the world to me, because her name is ‘Mother’”. Irresistible!

For more home, garden and patio gifts, take a look at the delightful merchandise offered by Georgetown Home and Garden. Their stained glass Sun Catches are lively and colorful, featuring design themes like frogs, fairies, mermaids, flamingoes, parrots and other characters. Frogs and fairies also form the basis of their line of copper and stained glass Garden Stakes. Whimsical metal sculpture planters are created in the shapes of dogs, cats, angels, old farm vehicles, even a four-piece train set, and are designed to hold standard-sized grower pots. The clever products created by the artisans at Georgetown have a sense of humor and heart, and they’re sure to appeal to moms everywhere.

One could say that the items offered by Cranberry Barn are both home- and heart-warming. Moms will love their nostalgic collection of homey Jar Candles, in a variety of shapes and sizes. Poured in classic apothecary jars, rustic mason or jelly jars with wooden lids, or 1940-style glass “kitchen” boxes, these candles are loaded with personality. Choose from among dozens of enticing and original scents, like “Basil & Nectarine”, “Bayberry & Twigs”, “Granny’s Kitchen”, and “Canadian Wilderness”.
Their unique 25-watt electric warmers are made of perforated tin in several styles, evoking Americana-style craftsmanship and perfect for slowly melting the little one-ounce MudPies, which are designed to add fragrance to the home. Cranberry Barn also produces a line of fragranced rosehip potpourri with aromas like “Buttery Maple”, “Coffee Cake & Spice”, and “Cinnamon Medley”. These blends come packaged in a clear cello bag labeled with old brown paper bag stock and tied with a homespun rag.
As you can readily see, the vendors of FGMarket have a wonderful selection of Mother’s Day gift ideas. And we’ve barely scratched the surface. You’ll find even more great ideas and outstanding suppliers among the Mothers Day Holiday & Special Occasion suppliers listed on the FGMarket website. Each of them is eager to help you meet the needs of your Mother’s Day shoppers. It couldn’t be easier!
Every mom really is special, and every mother’s child wants to let that special woman know just how much she is truly loved with a distinctive and inspired Mother’s Day gift. Be the source of that gift this year. Do your shopping at FGMarket and make your mama proud!

As promised, we offer more Mother’s Day gift ideas from the wholesale gift suppliers on FGMarket.com, including Heaven & Earth Works. The company’s “MILESTONES” line of greeting and note cards, framed/unframed poetry, handmade journals, commemorative books and keepsake boxes are beautiful. The collection offers beautiful, uniquely personal creations which strive to deepen the expression of common sentiments through poetry with heartfelt, intelligent messages and visually warm presentations.
The Milestones line attracts a diverse range of ages and interests, giving it a universal marketing appeal. All books are handmade with acid-free and tree-free papers, and they open flat for ease in writing and collecting. Covers are embellished with natural elements, such as feathers or stones. Heirloom flip-top boxes come with an original poem inside. Several poems, such as “Mother Love” and” The Art of Woman” are especially appropriate for Mother’s Day.

The Nittany Quill, by the Talus Corp. is a source for delightful gifts that celebrate life’s most treasured memories. Their line of meaningful and evocative quotes, rendered in graceful calligraphy and bordered in delicate floral motifs, is available as framed miniatures printed on key chains or bookmarks, or sprouting from the top of cleverly crafted wire flower sculptures which also serve as clips for photos, notes or business cards. Quite a few of the quotes under the ‘Family’ heading have to do with mothers and the special place they hold in the lives of their children.
The loveliest items from The Nittany Quill are found in their Framed Inspirations line of calligraphy art. Each quote is beautifully illustrated and illuminated with gold foil, and then set within a complementary mat of acid-free board. Every piece is meticulously assembled by hand in an antique gold finished frame and protected by glass. The 8×10 frames come with easel backs for display on any wall or tabletop. The larger 11×14 frames are also available with a cherry wood finish. Unframed versions are offered as well. Three of the tenderly written quotes in the Framed Inspirations line are specifically for mothers, and any of them would surely be welcomed as a unique and cherished gift.

Laura Leiden Calligraphy is another source of fine calligraphic gifts, offering hundreds of original poems that are hand lettered in calligraphy, then printed and framed or made into greeting cards.
They specialize in heartwarming verses for specific family members, such as mothers. These messages have been known to strike such a powerful chord in the hearts of those who read them that some stores keep a box of tissues near their displays. They are that meaningful.

Inspirational gifts for moms can be found at Lighthouse Christian Products. The company has observed that renewed commitment to family and home, coupled with booming sales of digital cameras, have increased the sales of photo frames significantly.
Studies show that people buy and give gifts to build and enhance their emotional connection to the receiver. Lighthouse’s frames are designed to help bring out that emotional connection. Each product in their extensive line of single and multiple photo frames and hand-held albums is etched with an appropriate biblical quotation.

Finally, watch for the last part of FGMarket’s newsletter series featuring gift ideas for Mother’s Day.
These and other fine wholesalers and suppliers of Mother’s Day gift items can be found in our FGMarket Mothers Day Holiday and Special Occasion vendors’ category.

Well, whose mom isn’t special? With Mother’s Day approaching soon – May 14th this year – your customers will be looking for unique cards and gifts for that special woman who means so much to them. It’s time to stock your store with the kinds of appealing merchandise that will allow them to find just the right thing, and FGMarket is ready to help you satisfy their needs. We’ve gathered together a sampling from our roster of exceptional vendors who can supply you with merchandise that will delight your customers and set you apart from the crowd. Special moms deserve special gifts, and you can find them right here.
A charming line of cards is available from Buffalo Gals, Inc. Their distinctive, beautiful cards feature Victorian, art deco, and art nouveau designs, literary quotations, and heartfelt greetings. Reviving the style of artwork that was found on postcards and in children’s books at the turn of the last century, the cards evoke a sweet sense of femininity and nostalgia. In addition to several Mother’s Day selections, the company also produces blank note cards that may be sold individually or in boxes of ten. You can feel good about your purchase from Buffalo Gals; ten percent of profits is donated to charities that support primary education, women’s health, and parenting skills.

Blue Turtle Studio is another company with a conscience, supporting animal welfare and environmental causes with a portion of their profits. Their handmade cards are truly beautiful! Designs are cut from the artist’s original or laser prints of her large abstract watercolor paintings. The images are then placed on handmade paper, many styles of which have a variety of flower and plant inclusions. No two are exactly alike. A range of acrylic display units, including counter top, wall mounted, and freestanding models, is available as well.
Blue Turtle Studio also produces an exquisite line of jewelry. Artist/owner Allison Thibos has designed most of the settings that bear her abstract watercolors, creating a new, unique line of “watercolor gems” set in sterling silver. When customers see this jewelry, they can’t believe that some of the stones are actually watercolors covered with a glass-like resin to preserve them, and to make them shine and shimmer like real stones. Select from pendants and necklaces, pins, earrings, bracelets and watches, or complete jewelry sets.

Angels are a common motif among the pewter pins, charms and other jewelry offered by Chelsea International. Angels are popular collectibles, too, and for Mother’s Day, Chelsea has designed a sweet little angel pin. She’s clutching a heart between her hands, and the word “MOM” is engraved across the bottom of her skirt. The pin is affixed to a pink-toned card that bears a lovely “thank you” verse addressed to “a special Mom”. Angels of all sorts dominate the line, but other pins and charms feature whimsical animals, flowers, sports themes, crosses and more.
It can often be difficult to find a gift for a fashion-conscious mom. Styles come and go so fast. But whatever her taste in clothing, the gorgeous, hand-dyed silk scarves created by K.A.T.’s Silks are sure to delight her. They really are exquisite! The beauty of silk is that it is warm when the weather is cool and cool when it is warm.

All silk designs created by K.A.T.’s are treated to be washed and dried. No dry-cleaning required! K.A.T.’s silks are created in a mixed medium process, which combines batik, French painting, and marbling. Various floral or foliage motifs, among other patterns, are set against abstract backgrounds in a wide variety of colors or stripe combinations. All scarves will be packaged in plastic cylindrical tubes for shipment in a box. They are steamed and ready for display. No matter what type of store you have, these beautiful and versatile scarves are sure sellers.
For more information, watch for part 2 of FGMarket’s newsletter series featuring more great gift ideas for Mother’s Day.
Find these and other fine wholesalers and suppliers of Mother’s Day gift items in our FGMarket Mothers Day Holiday and Special Occasion vendors’ category.