By Carolyn Edlund

 

Swati Bhagat and Faith Featherstone

Greeting card designer Swati Bhagat and marketing director Faith Featherstone make a potent team of entrepreneurs in their home town of Toronto, Canada. Although the greeting cards are fairly new, they have used strategies to create a buzz around their Artistry Card line to build a reputation and sell wholesale to retail establishments.

Billed as a “Canadian stationery company that sells socially responsible, eco-friendly, superior quality greeting cards and stationery paper goods,” they have quite a few ways of expressing that commitment.

Some of the ways Artistry Cards is walking the walk:

  • Using post-consumer recycled paper to produce cards and envelopes
  • Biodegradable cellophane on each card
  • Orders shipped in 100% recycled cardboard boxes
  • 5% of sales donated to Kiva, a micro-loan project assisting entrepreneurs in developing countries
  • Recycle symbol incorporated into all designs in their Being Green line

What’s been accomplished? Noticed for her great designs and eco-conscious approach, Swati landed a front page interview in the Entrepreneur section of Canada’s National Post. A large Canadian retailer has expressed interest, and is working on orders with Artistry. They plan to bundle cards together with twine for a more natural look, and market them with men’s products.

Faith notes, “Artistry Cards is all about nature, from the paper we print to the ideas.” Their line incorporates Canadian themed cards such as wildlife charmingly depicted in plaid silhouettes, Woodland Creatures (in woodgrain, of course) and Flora and Fauna notebook sets.

 

 

Staying on topic in their chosen niche creates a tight, focused body of work which has become a signature look for the company. This focus, and their earth-friendly message, makes it easy to market their concept to like-minded vendors who embrace the popularity of recycled, reused and waste-free products.

 

 

Marketing is a top priority for the team, with Faith spending a lot of time producing press releases, approaching publications and blogs for publicity, and using social media. Her message promotes the line as a “guilt-free alternative to conventional paper products.”  She cross-promotes their wholesale clients by mentioning them in articles about the card line.

 

 

Having their own storefront has been a great way to test-market new products and control the printing process to get perfect colors and assure a quality product. This also helps drive local press exposure. Artistry Cards is owned by Pixel Print, which Swati established in 2006. The store is located at 1319 Dundas Street West in Toronto.

 

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