December in the Studio

I Asked People If They Still Send Christmas Cards

(their answers surprised me)

This is the time of year when I create the artwork and design for my annual holiday card.

BUT… This year, I did a little market research before finalizing the project. I posed this simple question on a local community Facebook group with nearly 50,000 members: 

Do you still send physical Christmas/holiday cards?

The responses were amazing, surprising, enlightening, a little sad, but mostly absolutely honest and beneficial. 

Some folks said they used to send cards but recently stopped due to cost and postage increases. Others said they only send cards to business associates. 

But, the largest percentage of respondents all said the exact same fascinating thing: they hated the thought of buying expensive cards - only to realize that recipients will toss them away after the holidays. And, in follow up questioning, these same folks said artist-made cards, in particular, likely cost far more than they'd want to spend considering they would only become recycled trash.

My purpose was to engage, not to debate, so I spent very little time trying to debunk the claim that cards made by local artists were "too expensive," but these comments really got me thinking. Instead of creating a standard holiday card with an admittedly short life expectancy, why not create a more multi-purpose item? Something that folks could use in a variety of ways, and perhaps hang on to for years to come?

To that end, I changed my original card design to instead become an item with three possible uses: a 5"x7" card, a tree or wall decoration, or a gift tag.

This year's design is called "The Gift of Love." I created the original artwork and turned it into a linocut print. That means every card will be printed - by hand - individually. If you're one of those folks who prefers every card to look the same, this product likely is not for you. But if you love the idea of sending family and friends an original piece of art created by a local artist, I've got you covered.

To learn more about my 2025 holiday cards, visit this page.

Thanks for reading and until next time: Be well, be happy and be kind (especially to yourself.)