Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janine Kwoh. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Janine, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I try to make greeting cards for people and occasions that we don’t usually see represented in the traditional card aisle. For example, Mother’s Day is a huge holiday for greeting cards, but most of the traditional Mother’s Day cards you see out there say things like “For the Best Mom,” which is great if you have a healthy and close relationship with your mom, but what about the rest of us who have complicated or estranged relationships, or have lost their moms, or were parented by many different people? My version of Mother’s Day cards celebrate chosen families, friends and anyone else who parented us, and those of us who raised ourselves. Many of my cards feature people of different skin colors and gender identities.

I think the more different cards there are out there for different people, the better we can celebrate all of us.

Janine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m the owner and artist behind Kwohtations, an ever-evolving collection of greeting cards and gifts that reflect and celebrate a diversity of identities and life experiences.

I actually don’t have any formal art training (beyond middle school art class!) I first started making greeting cards in 2011 for friends as a creative outlet while I was working full-time in finance. I grew the business slowly over time – first selling on Etsy and local craft markets, and then selling through my own online shop and into independent stationery and gift shops. As the business grew, the cards also changed from just a creative project into a meaningful way for me to reflect on and honor the lives we actually lead, versus the ones we think we should. Kwohtations is essentially my life in greeting cards, in which I offer up my own truths about navigating love and loss, (re)defining family and success, and figuring out what it means to show up for myself and others. I believe that humor is critical to savoring the good times and surviving the hard.

I am also the author of Welcome to the Grief Club, an illustrated book on grief for anyone who is grieving the death of a loved one. Based on my own experience of grief— I lost a partner in my 20s—as well as those of other Grief Club members, I wrote this book of brief writings, illustrations, and creative diagrams to explore the wide range of emotions and experiences that grief can encompass.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I letterpress print each greeting card myself on an antique printing press. Letterpress is a relief-printing technique, in which raised type or images are inked and then pressed into paper, creating a debossed impression. Each piece of paper is carefully hand-fed one at a time into the printing press, to create a unique piece of artwork. I enjoy the physical process and distinctive final look-and-feel that comes with using old printing machines and techniques, while experimenting with modern images and sentiments. I print with custom polymer plates in order to print digital designs using an antique press.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I started out selling my products on Etsy, which is a great platform if you are starting or testing out a new business because it’s easy to set up, you only pay listing and transaction fees per product (versus a monthly fee), and it’s an established marketplace through which customers can more easily find you without knowing your brand.

Eventually, once I started getting more sales and brand recognition, I opened up my own online shop. I like having my own online storefront because I have more flexibility and control over the site design, and the monthly fee structure works better when you’re selling at higher volumes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kwohtations.com/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kwohtations
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kwohtations
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janinekwoh/
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/kwohtations
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kwohtations

Image Credits
Opalite Media, Michelle Nicole Photography, Isometric Studio, Workman Publishing