For more than 150 years, greeting cards have tapped into and organized a shared language of love, affection, and kinship, becoming an integral part of American life and culture. Sumptuously illustrated, "A Token of My Affection" follows the evolution of the modern greeting card industry from a traditional printing and stationery business in the mid-nineteenth century to the multibillion-dollar industry it is today. Blending archival research in business history with a study of surviving artifacts and a literary analysis of a range of relevant texts and primary sources, Barry Shank demonstrates how greeting cards have affected and defined experiences of status, longing, desire, social connectedness, and love. Fascinating and surprising, "A Token of My Affection" shows what an industry devoted to emotional sincerity means for the lives of all Americans.
The books that we choose to keep -- let alone read -- can say a lot about who we are and how we see ourselves. In My Ideal Bookshelf, dozens of leading cultural figures share the books that matter to them most; books that define their dreams and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world. Contributors include Malcolm Gladwell, Thomas Keller, Michael Chabon, Alice Waters, James Patterson, Maira Kalman, Judd Apatow, Chuck Klosterman, Miranda July, Alex Ross, Nancy Pearl, David Chang, Patti Smith, Jennifer Egan, and Dave Eggers, among many others. With colorful and endearingly hand-rendered images of book spines by Jane Mount, and first-person commentary from all the contributors, this is a perfect gift for avid readers, writers, and all who have known the influence of a great book.
A tale of love, hardships, triumph, and success... It is the true story of Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis Schutz and their most unusual and often challenging ventures: Blue Mountain Arts greeting card company and bluemountain.com. Filled with practical business lessons... This story is a riveting account of the mistakes Susan and Stephen made, the solutions they designed, the successes they reached, and the personal and professional lessons they learned. This book gives you an excellent opportunity to learn from the Schutzes' experiences and insights. For anyone who has ever had a dream... In the late 1960's, Susan and Stephen were two idealistic, recent college graduates -- he, an artist with a Princeton Ph.D. in theoretical physics, and she, a teacher and a writer. One day, they decided to silk-screen posters that combined their art and poetry. They traveled around the country selling their posters while living out of a bright-yellow, pickup-truck camper. Thus, Blue Mountain Arts was born. About standing up and fighting for what you believe in... In the 1980's, Susan and Stephen designed the number-one-selling card line in the United States and found themselves battling one of America's largest corporations. Rather than watching their cards and company get destroyed, the Schutzes boldly went to court. The precedent-setting legal battle was dubbed by the media as the trial of David v. Goliath. An insider's look into the dot-com craze... In the late 1990's, Susan and Stephen, together with their eldest son, Jared, developed bluemountain.com -- a free Internet greeting card service that quickly grew into one of the world's most popular websites. A tender portrayal of love and life in an earlier, perhaps more innocent time... In a separate section, Susan shares her personal memories of growing up during the conservative 1950's in a small, country town. She speaks candidly about her college years, teaching, planning a commune, falling in love, and living amidst the political and philosophical turmoil of the 1960's. In heartfelt words, Susan describes her romantic relationship with Stephen and the births of their children. A business book with a soul... In sharp contrast to today's headlines of scandal and greed, this is the refreshing story of how the Schutzes followed their intuition, stayed true to their values and ideals, and created a flourishing company that has managed to stay ethical and successful at the same time. Better than fiction or fairy tale... You will laugh and cry and experience every emotion in between as you read the amazing story of Stephen and Susan Polis Schutz and Blue Mountain Arts. Book jacket.
Why go for store-bought when it’s so easy to handmake a personal card? This snappy guide offers countless creative ways to say "Happy Birthday,” "Best Wishes,” or simply "I’m Thinking of You.” Plus, it takes no time, with these simple and lovely designs that cover almost any imaginable occasion. There are gift tags, postcards, tri-folded cards, and ones decorated with paint, beads, craft wire, fabric, and even polymer clay and silk flowers. An introductory section teaches techniques ranging from adhering sequins and applying glitter to embossing and rubber stamping--along with instructions on making matching envelopes.
"Write Greeting Cards like a Pro" is updated from the original book with additional chapters, updated market information, and current industry developments. "Write Greeting Cards like a Pro" is a helpful guide for anyone who wants to begin greeting card writing, take the online course, or for a more seasoned writer who might need more methods for creating great card concepts and sentiments. Karen’s online course is one of the few options for writers to get one on one training with a greeting card professional.
Elliott Oring asks essential questions concerning humorous expression in contemporary society, examining how humor works, why it is employed, and what its messages might be. This provocative book is filled with examples of jokes and riddles that reveal humor to be a meaningful--even significant--form of expression. Oring provides alternate ways of thinking about humorous expressions by examining their contexts--not just their contents. Engaging Humor demonstrates that when analyzed contextually and comparatively, humorous expressions emerge as communications that are startling, intriguing, and profound.
