Card Designer Highlight: Good Juju Ink

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!

Juliana, sparked by her longtime love of playing cards and candid recommendation took her journey full circle from Paper Supply admirer to vendor.  What began with  3 greeting card designs has grown right into a thriving enterprise with over 500 well-loved designs offered worldwide.

How did you start your card-making profession?

First, let’s go manner again to elementary faculty. I distinctly bear in mind having just a little white Easter basket in my bed room once I was rising up, and I’d fill it with all of the playing cards that I obtained over the course of every 12 months. Nobody instructed me to do that—and I started doing it at a really younger age (possibly as early as 5 or 6). I’ve great recollections of pulling that little basket off of my bookshelf and re-reading playing cards from relations and pals. It was form of like my first actual acutely aware act of self-care!

Okay—quick ahead to 2014. After a few years, I had lastly ended an unhealthy skilled relationship with the appearing trade (that’s its personal story, however I’ll spare you the main points), and I used to be in want of some critical skilled self-care. I LOVED to attract, and I used to be delighted on the prospect of a brand new profession the place my inventive output was not instantly tied to my very own look. Imagine it or not, I began frequenting Paper Supply areas the place I’d stand in entrance of the cardboard wall for hours, simply studying playing cards and laughing or feeling impressed or being moved to tears…(nothing higher than a superb card wall, amirite?) One afternoon, I used to be purchasing for a birthday card for my sister-in-law, and I picked up a pleasant card from an organization known as Fats Bunny Press. It turned out Fats Bunny Press was primarily based simply up the street from me in San Francisco! So, I known as the proprietor, Eva Hamden Grall (who’s now a lifelong buddy) and requested her if she’d take into account hiring me? She had a fair higher thought—she stated, “Juju, when you understand that the majority card corporations consist of 1 chick gluing issues and packing issues in her condominium till two within the morning, you understand that you just, too, can begin your personal enterprise. You don’t want an MBA, you don’t must apprentice wherever…you simply want guts and just a little little bit of insomnia. Juju, simply begin your personal firm!” Two months later, I launched an Etsy retailer with 3 greeting playing cards. Now, we’ve got greater than 500 designs offered in hundreds of shops all over the world!

The place do you draw inspiration from?

I feel the higher query is the place does my inspiration NOT come from…celebrated literature, the ocean, lovely butterflies, historical Egypt, toile, rivers and mountains and forests, Parisian structure, the human expertise…and laughter. Heaps and many laughter. Thank god I’ve a staff to rein me in, as a result of I’ve far an excessive amount of inventive inspiration and much too little time. However I’ll say this—there’s NOTHING extra entertaining than a Good Juju Ink inventive staff brainstorming session. My junior designers are completely sensible/humorous/empathetic, they usually assist push ALL of our work to the subsequent stage! Simply have a look at our latest releases and I feel you’ll agree!

What does your day appear like as a cardmaker?

Actually no day is identical. And moreover my morning cup of Irish breakfast tea, I’m not one for routines. So every day could be very very very totally different. Due to this fact, I’ll let you know what I did yesterday, because it’s in all probability pretty much as good of an instance as any! Half 1: I awoke, had tea and breakfast with my household, and admired my attractive cat, Wallace. Half 2: I ready for our weekly Good Juju Ink inventive staff assembly with my two extremely proficient junior designers. We talked about patterns, dancing snowmen, walruses, vintage clocks—and the way we’d incorporate all of these items into upcoming deadlines. Half 3: I drew all kinds of ribbons for our summer time puzzle launch (GAH, I’m so excited for these!). Half 4: I bought distracted and checked out attractive textiles for a lot too lengthy. Half 5: I noticed that I forgot to eat lunch so I ate some meals. Half 6: I picked up my daughter from preschool and took her to swimming classes. Half 7: We ate dinner as a household and bought my daughter ready for mattress. Half 8: I stayed awake till the wee hours of the morning doing a little mixture of drawing/brainstorming/emailing/studying/ fairly photos. Half 9: I fell asleep on the sofa.

What’s your most popular medium?