The Card Designer Highlight is a sequence that includes unbiased makers whose greeting playing cards you’ll find in Paper Supply shops. Meet and be impressed by a brand new designer each month on our weblog!
Jim & Jen are the brother-sister duo of Yeppie Paper that took an entrepreneurial leap into the greeting card world. Taking the phrase ‘Yeppie’ from their South Korean heritage, the model interprets to “cutie paper” which completely pairs with their playful card assortment.
How did you start your card-making profession?
In 2013, I had not too long ago left my job in inside design and felt the itch to do one thing artistic the place I may apply my love of portray and drawing. Having all the time been a fan of stationery and paper items, I quickly realized that greeting playing cards could be the proper approach to share my illustrations on a product that individuals may really use. I mentioned my thought with my oldest brother, Jim, and to my delight and shock, he was fascinated by partnering up. Collectively, we launched Yeppie Paper in 2014 with a wholesome dose of fearless optimism and plenty of arduous work as we tried to navigate the greeting card world and small enterprise possession for the primary time.
The place do you draw inspiration from? Meals? Pop Tradition? Timeless Motifs? Playful Puns?
I’m impressed by so many issues. As a life-long animal lover, I wish to depict animals in our merchandise doing issues that come naturally to them, however that people can relate to as properly. For instance, a hamster stuffing its cheeks with a birthday cupcake, or a pair of beavers constructing a dam like newlyweds beginning a brand new life collectively. My children and their revolving pursuits encourage me as properly. Due to them, I’ve made playing cards with unicorns, rainbows, caterpillars, butterflies, planets, leopards and cheetahs, simply to call just a few! I’m additionally impressed by my family and friends as a result of they’ve good style – haha – and I try to create playing cards which might be playful in a complicated means.
What does your day appear to be as a cardmaker?
No two days are the identical – moreover my morning espresso! My brother and I don’t have any official workers, which suggests we each put on ALL the hats in operating our enterprise. He handles the stock, packaging and order success facet of issues, in addition to gross sales rep relations and bookkeeping. That permits me the house to develop new merchandise (we’ve three new releases per yr that add about 40-60 new designs in complete), keep and replace our product listings on our web sites, and deal with ongoing advertising and outreach efforts. My to-do listing adjustments relying on the time of yr.
At the moment, I’m deep in “manufacturing mode”, which suggests I’m portray and dealing on Photoshop and Illustrator on a regular basis. I binge podcasts (normally true-crime) and hearken to music as I work. Within the late afternoon, I shift gears and choose up my children from college and ask them one million questions on how their days have been. We eat dinner collectively, slowly prepare for bedtime, and after they’re asleep, my husband and I’ll chill out on the sofa and ideally watch a present collectively.
What’s your most well-liked medium?
All of our merchandise begin with a hand-painted illustration. I exploit gouache on paper. Gouache is an opaque watercolor with robust pigment and is nice for layering and high quality element. I additionally use ink pens to hand-letter plenty of the textual content on our playing cards and stickers.
What does your artistic course of appear to be?
I’ve a giant sketchbook the place I maintain operating lists of concepts for brand spanking new playing cards and stickers. Every new launch consists of a wide range of “on a regular basis” classes (birthdays, congratulations, thanks, sympathy, and so on), in addition to seasonal holidays relying on the time of yr. I sketch out sure concepts that I’d wish to develop additional, and from there I high quality tune the illustrations and paint. I scan the ultimate paintings onto my pc and perform a little bit of unpolluted up and colour correction on Photoshop, then I’ll end up the design on Illustrator and get it print-ready. At varied factors alongside the way in which, I notice I must get out of my very own head, so I’ll present my brother what I’m engaged on to get his suggestions. He’s a very artistic and intelligent particular person with nice concepts and can usually assist me out after I’m feeling caught.
What are you most pleased with as a creator and card designer?
My brother and I had zero enterprise expertise previous to beginning our firm, and we managed to determine issues out by sheer willpower. The truth that over 500 shops domestically and overseas have embraced Yeppie Paper nonetheless blows my thoughts. Oftentimes, it may well really feel fairly isolating to sit down in my dwelling studio, making one thing that I’m unsure individuals will like. However for nearly ten years, clients and store homeowners have persistently ordered merchandise from us and I really feel so grateful for the chance to share my artwork with them.
We’re additionally proud that, since 2020, we’ve donated 100% of proceeds from our Shock Packs and Abortion Rights stickers to causes which might be necessary to us, like Direct Reduction, Everytown for Gun Security, and The Nationwide Community of Abortion Funds. This yr, we’re donating to Our Home Grief Help Middle, an LA-based non-profit that gives grief assist to adults, teenagers, and youngsters.
Any enjoyable information? Fascinating hobbies exterior of card designing?
A enjoyable reality about Yeppie Paper is that we’re actually a household enterprise! Our mother and father moved all the way down to Los Angeles from the Bay Space to be nearer to us after they retired. They bundle hundreds of our playing cards within the consolation of their dwelling and we might be drowning with out their assist. Jim and I dwell solely minutes other than one another and his transformed storage doubles as our warehouse and success middle. We now have a brother in between us named Bobby, who lives together with his spouse and youngsters in Orange County… and because the honorary third (silent) associate of Yeppie Paper, he’s all the time one of many first to “like” our social media posts!
On the weekends, my husband and I like to discover completely different elements of Los Angeles and Southern California with our children, reminiscent of scenic hikes, native seashores and parks. We now have a 13-year-old canine named Royce (that I like to discuss with as my first youngster) who joins us on our little adventures.
Discover Yeppie Paper’s Porcupine Balloons Birthday Card, Constructing Your New Life Wedding ceremony Card, and Ring of Hearth Encouragement Card at your native retailer or on-line at papersource.com. For extra inspiration and behind-the-scenes motion, comply with yeppiepaperjen on IG.
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