I’m delighted today to feature a new advertiser on Flowerona….The Flower Card Company, who create florist enclosure cards.
To tell you more about the company, here’s an interview with one of their founders, Caroline Crawford.
When did you start The Flower Card Company and where are you based?
The Flower Card Company was started eleven years ago by my sister Deborah, a florist, and me, an artist. We’re based in Berkshire.
Deborah couldn’t find any designs for small enclosure cards that reflected the quality of work that she was producing. So she asked me to design and paint a small range.
We decided that we would make the cards folding cards as this would add privacy to the message on the card, as well as being something that could be kept after the flowers were gone.
Everything is produced in the UK and we now operate in Canada too, where Deborah moved to four years ago.
Could you tell us about your background as an artist?
I’ve been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember and have always worked in creative jobs from visual merchandising to interiors and three dimensional design.
I gained a Design & Art Direction Award for one of my projects and then went into teaching Art & Design for eight years.
I left that over eighteen months ago to focus on The Flower Card Company and more painting.
When did you start painting flowers?
I’ve always been drawn to nature and so it’s been very natural for me to paint flowers.
I usually paint from observation and like to use coloured inks as they’re so vibrant and translate into print well.
I’m also interested in mixed media and have used this on some of the designs as well.
Composition and message are very important as well as colour and card trends.
Could you tell us about the different types of cards you make?
We have a range of over three hundred designs and these include folding cards, large gift cards and care cards. We also sell cello sleeves, envelopes and card stands.
What are your plans for 2013?
We’ve just produced a lovely new brochure with all of our designs and have sent this out to all our existing customers.
My aim is to contact new customers, as once florists order with us they tend not to go anywhere else.
I’m interested in the possibility of introducing a photographic card range and have a photographer in mind for this job already.
I intend to keep designing and painting for the company and am always inspired by trends and nature.
Do you have a favourite flower?
I love the structure of red gingers and the smell of hyacinths, as well as white anemones.
I’m always amazed by plants and flowers, how they grow and form. I love spring as everything outside is opening, unravelling and waking up.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Caroline’s interview. What a very enterprising lady and I love the fact that her cards come as a folded design, adding privacy and enabling them to become a keepsake.
I’ve only included a small selection of the cards in the blog post. If you’d like to see more, do pop over to her UK and North American websites.
And if you’d like to keep up-to-date with her news, Caroline is on Twitter and Facebook.
(Images : The Flower Card Company)
Leave a Reply