We recently connected with Kim Ehrman and have shared our conversation below.

Kim, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Naming a business is so difficult! I wanted something a little bit playful, a little bit classy, and I was determined to get a clean URL — the business name without any fillers and with .com at the end. Easier said than done.

Determined to succeed, and with a sparkling water by my side, I opened up four browser windows. I had the Missouri business name registration website in the first, a domain auction site in the second, some kind of business name generator in the third, and then a general search in the fourth. And I just cycled between them all: checking to see if a name was available, then if the site was available, then looking similar URLs, typically hitting a dead end. Then I’d start with the business name generator and go backwards through the list, riffing on related ideas for awhile.

At some point I moved beyond plants to animals (how the colors got thrown in, I don’t remember). I found out that lavenderfinch.com was available and was excited! Mostly it’s just putting two fun words together, but Lavender Finch has some roots in the real world. There are finches called lavender waxbills native to central Africa, with beautiful purple bodies and bright red tails. So I went with the name and based the brand’s colors on the bird’s beautiful plumage.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

After the consulting firm I worked for got acquired — in the middle of a global pandemic — I pondered the things that make my heart sing. On the list: hosting dinner parties, singing my heart out at the piano, being on (and, even better, building!) winning teams, and sending encouraging cards to friends, teammates, and family. Combining the last two ideas seemed like the winner.

The result: I offer greeting cards, organized by collection based on persona to make it easy to narrow down the options that resonate most. The Meghan collection is a fan favorite: they’re sarcastic and a bit edgy, while still goodhearted. The Rachel collection works for many an occasion, as it’s inspired by the friend who sees the best in those around him. The Annette collection has kid-friendly cards, with plenty of fill-in-the-blank options to prompt more reluctant card senders. The best part? These collections are based on real friends and family, and I got to collaborate with them in refining the product selection!

I came by the card-writing habit from my maternal grandma (we called her O’Ma), who used to say, “If you like presents, you’ll like thank you notes.” I wanted to extend the card-writing habit — without the pressure — and breathe new life into greeting cards. With a spark of an idea, I asked everyone I encountered what they liked (and, more importantly, what they didn’t like) about connecting through the written word. There were some themes, including feeling like typical card selections were stuffy and not liking the paragraphs written within cards.

So I set out to create greeting cards with modern designs and concise messaging, with ample space to write in. I learned graphic design, I learned about paper (so many colors and textures and weights!), and I learned how to print on fancy pre-folded paper. I figured out my website and shipping and so many little details that I couldn’t have anticipated. A really cherished memory was when my sister and I were unpacking boxes of supplies the week of launch and got to branded packing tape. It took us an embarrassing amount of time to realize that you’re supposed to wet it to activate the adhesive. Thankfully there was some laughter mixed in with the confusion, and we successfully prepped some shipping boxes.

Ultimately I am in business to strengthen connections through the written word. The question I ask with every design is: “how will this help to strengthen connections?” Even my snarkiest cards — “happy effing birthday” or “drinks soon?” are candidates — were made with the wish that they’ll prompt a heartfelt exchange.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Ignorance very much was bliss when I started this project. I considered myself NOT a creative person for a long time, so choosing to learn graphic design and print my own greeting cards was not an obvious turn.

Thankfully YouTube is a wonderful place to learn things. I watched a ton of videos on graphic design, specifically in Adobe Illustrator, and then got a membership to Bring Your Own Laptop, a site with practical Adobe tutorials and creative courses from Daniel Scott. Learning was slow going, and I alternated between excitement and terror that I was embarking on a journey based on skills I didn’t yet have.

With a growing set of skills in design, I had to figure out paper and printing. My search history from that month probably included a lot of “best paper for greeting cards” and “how to print greeting cards at home.” I found Red River Paper through one of those searches and ordered a greeting card sample pack from them, and I was off to the races! I asked family and friends for feedback on which paper they preferred, and we all leaned towards clean, bright, matte paper stock. Awesome.

With a design and paper, what else do we need? A printer. Again, the search history is probably embarrassing, but I landed on a Canon craft printer and love it! I used up several of my extra sheets in the sample paper pack figuring out the settings and borders and how to flip the paper to print double-sided. Early renditions of cards were *not good* but I reworked my templates and tried again. Ultimately I got to a product that I’m really proud of, though nearly everything I absorbed along the way can be categorized as “learned the hard way.”

Fast forward many months and I got to tackle another challenge: volume printing. Learning how to format print pages for the local printer took a few (incredibly kind) coaching emails from the team, but now I’m a pro at printing short runs at home and printing in greater volume at Ink Spot, a beloved print shop just a few miles away from home.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I love to send handwritten notes to customers, often sent alongside my favorite branded pen or a newly introduced product. I like to take advantage of holidays to send well wishes to customers, or I’m a big fan of the “just because” note in the mail. In fact, I need to send a few of those this week! (Part of my end-of-week closeout list is thinking about who I appreciate and sending them a quick note to say so, which often results in a nice catch-up conversation.)

As I meet a lot of customers and potential customers at farmers’ markets these days, I like to hand out my favorite pen or give someone an extra pin-on button on the house. I find that small giveaways are more than worth the cost — and I really appreciate the community that centers around those markets!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lavenderfinch.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lavender_finch/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lavender-finch

Image Credits
Henry Howard (products), Maya Kanani (headshot)