Greeting Card Association's "LOUIE Card of the Year" Winners
“Card of the Year ($3.00 & Below)” Goes to Compendium Incorporated Compendium Incorporated has offered a wide array of inspiring gift products since 1995, including books, journals, notebooks, stationery, desk accessories, home decor and greeting cards. With a team of 25 employees, the Seattle, WA-based company is led by Kobi Yamada, president and CEO, and Dan Zadra, founder and editorial director.
Compendium's winning card won in the "Thank You ($3.00 and Below)" category as well as taking home "Card of the Year" honors. The card comes from the eco-friendly "Positively Green" line of the company, which attracts a wide demographic of customers and is sold in a range of retail outlets - from card shops and gift stores to museums and natural-food markets.
"The winning card was conceived by our creative team and lovingly illustrated by Jessica Phoenix, one of our superstar designers from the Rhode Island School of Design," says Yamada. He explains that the process of creating not just the winning card but all of the other 100-plus cards in this line is a collaborative effort. "Compendium is a place where virtually every product is created and designed by a team approach," he relates. "The 'Positively Green' line was conceived not just to inspire and celebrate people, but to create an entirely new kind of greeting card - a distinctive, 'eco-conscious' brand with its own contemporary spirit, voice and signature look. Our goal was threefold: to create an inspiring card line that set the standard for being absolutely green; to raise environmental awareness; and to give 10 percent of the profits back to organizations that protect the planet and fight global warming."
According to Yamada, each "Positively Green" card is made from 100 percent FSC-certified, post-consumer-waste fiber with no chlorine processing, is printed with soy inks and made from wind power at an Envirostar printer. In addition, each card features a different, easy-to-do green tip on the back; and Compendium donates 10 percent of the profits from this line to Conservation International and Climate Solutions.
"We love the fact that the greeting card industry sets aside a night each year to celebrate its artistry and creativity," Yamada says of the LOUIEs. "We are honored to share the same space with so many creative people."
“Card of the Year (Above $3.00)” Winner Is Tam Tam Design Studio TamTam Design Studio is a card company based in Grayslake, IL, whose owner and designer is Tami Rasmussen. Amazingly, the company has been producing cards for just one year. Its "First Collection" features "Signature" greeting cards, as well as mini-enclosures that double as gift tags, everyday assorted note sets and boxed note sets. The collection can be found at paper boutiques and specialty gift shops.
Winning "Card of the Year" as well as the "Rising Star (Above $3.00)" category was TamTam's "Sweet Birthday Wishes" design - a birthday greeting card featuring Rasmussen's signature illustration of three sweet cupcakes complete with hand-set eyelets, ribbon and glitter embellishments. The sparkling star in the center is a special tip-on, too. Inside, the card reads: "All for You!"
"Each of our 'Signature' greeting cards is inspired by a true fondness for life, love, and, of course, greeting cards!" states Rasmussen. "Celebrating life and all of its moments, after all, is what this industry is truly about." She says that "Sweet Birthday Wishes" came to be one day while she was designing a special card for her sister's upcoming birthday. She loved the cupcake design with the star sprinkles and "wish message" so much that it was refined and added to the company's "First Collection."
"We believe that 'Sweet Birthday Wishes' is a LOUIE winner because it combines a general icon and a simple message with a thoughtful wish in a fresh, new way," says Rasmussen. "What makes it the perfect birthday card is that you can send it to just about anyone, and it has just the right amount of copy without saying too much or not enough. Plus, it's all dressed up in embellishments -- from its pretty, colored ribbon to sparkling glitter to hand-set eyelets and tip-ons ... and all wrapped up in a brightly colored envelope. It's one of our personal favorites, and it's no surprise that it has been our best-selling item since our launch last year."
Rasmussen says she was surprised to win "Card of the Year." "Looking back, I was just so happy to hear Compendium's name called because we met them at the gala; we were certainly not expecting to hear our own name!"
