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Dec. 1, 2006
The greeting card game
Vancouver teen designs her own holiday messages.
KELLEY KORBIN
If you're in the market for holiday cards with a little pizzazz,
check out the ones 15-year-old Sarah Lando has created.
This young entrepreneur has been creating and selling greeting cards
through e-mail and at craft fairs for the past two years. She has
12 versions for sale in her current collection, including four designed
specifically for Chanukah. She describes her style as "generally
fun and a bit girly. I try to incorporate a lot of color and also
multiculturalism."
The bold images on Lando's cards are created with felt pen on card
stock. "I like felt pen because it gives a bright outcome and
it's really easy to use," she said. "Some people think
felt pen is for kids, but I love it and the color really shines
out when you see the felt pen. I've also used pencil crayon on one
card, it creates a softer look." She also loves the opportunity
that the relatively small size of greeting cards gives: "I
like working with a small piece of paper because I like drawing
a lot of detail. With a bigger piece of paper, I get a bit tired."
Lando said her first fans were her friends, who always commented
on how much they liked her drawings and the birthday cards she made
for them when she was younger. Next, she moved on to selling original
greeting cards to family members. Now, she has her cards professionally
printed by Budget Printing, who, she said, "are really nice
to kids and gave me a good deal."
So who's buying Lando's cards now? She characterizes her major market
as "middle-aged women and men, from about 20 to 40 years old.
Not kids my age – they're not that into greeting cards."
This may be because, so far, she has been depending mainly on family,
her mom's friends and the people who frequent craft fairs for the
bulk of her business. But Lando has much loftier aims for her cottage
industry. "My dream is to beat out Hallmark," she said.
She's on her way – last year, Lando managed to sock away enough
profit from her business to pay for half of a ticket to Hawaii to
visit her grandparents (her parents pitched in for the other half).
She described this year's sales to date as "good" and
said she's not sure what she'll do with the profits yet, but she
has invested some of it in display equipment and has plans to create
a business card.
What's next for this up-and-coming artist? Her immediate goal is
to get into Byng Arts for Grade 11. It's an art program for high
school students offered at Lord Byng Secondary School. And if she
doesn't continue on to a career in fine arts, she might pursue her
interest in fashion design, "but first I have to learn to sew."
Lando's cards sell for $2.50 each or six cards for $12.50. You can
pick them up this weekend at the Britannia Christmas Fair, which
runs from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Dec. 1, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Dec.
2 and 3, at 1001 Cotton Dr. in Vancouver. You can also purchase
them by e-mailing Lando at [email protected].
Kelley Korbin is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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