1. Tell me how Sunrise Cards came into being and what is in your Folksy shop?
Four years ago the children were starting to get more offhand and didn't need me as much any more so I decided I needed a hobby. I bought a few card making bits and made a few cards . The original plan was that I would make them just to give out to family and friends. My husband Paul decided that he would like a go to and in just a few evenings we had made loads. Paul suggested trying to sell them and the rest is history.
In our shop are a selection of cards, gifts and some Doreen's Dreams card which are photograph cards that we use to help raise funds for cancer charities.
2. What makes your cards stand out from the rest?
We use a range of different techniques on our cards. Most of our cards are tailor made to our customers requirements. Most of our cards are unique and we offer a variety of styles.
We use a range of different techniques on our cards. Most of our cards are tailor made to our customers requirements. Most of our cards are unique and we offer a variety of styles.
3. You make cards for people with a visual impairment.
a) Please tell me more about this range.
A few years ago our friend asked us to make a card for her niece who had just lost her sight. This was a challenge as we had only been making cards for a short while. It took me a while to come up with a design but in the end I made her name using different textures for the different letters. Underneath I put her name in braille using gems
Through the internet I got in touch with David who had lost his sight due to meningitis and he helped us to sell our cards by putting them in his online shop. He also gave us a braille labeller which puts braille (raised dots) onto a clear piece of tape, this can then be overlaid onto any writing on our cards so that a visually impaired person can 'read ' it. We try to put as many different textures onto our tactile cards so that visually impaired people can get as much enjoyment from our cards as sighted people.
We managed to get some lovely wooden, tactile christmas tree decorations to put on our tactile cards so that once the card is finished with the decoration can still be used over the years.
b) and how you reach your target audience....
David helps us to promote our cards and contacts us if he gets orders from the various clubs etc that he is in. We have return customers who have purchased from us before.
b) and how you reach your target audience....
David helps us to promote our cards and contacts us if he gets orders from the various clubs etc that he is in. We have return customers who have purchased from us before.
4. What inspires you when coming up for new designs for your cards?
Inspiration comes from all sorts of places, I love looking at card making magazines, online blogs etc . And buying new craft stash to play with always inspires me.
5. What's on the horizon for Sunrise Cards?
We are coming up with new ideas all the time and have started to produce some gift ideas as well.
I would like to be able to spend more time on Sunrisecards in 2012 and we would like to attend more craft fairs etc to help promote our wares.
There is so much I would like to do and so many ideas that I have but lack of time does hold us back.
I would like to see more customers purchasing from us in 2012 and coming back regularly and using our special occasion reminder service that we offer.
6. Have you received media coverage and, if so, where? How did this come about?
A few years ago we had a letter printed in a card making magazine about our tactile cards and recently we have had letters printed in Papercraft Inspirations and Papercraft Essentials about our charity cards Doreen's Dreams which is very close to my heart.
A few years ago we had a letter printed in a card making magazine about our tactile cards and recently we have had letters printed in Papercraft Inspirations and Papercraft Essentials about our charity cards Doreen's Dreams which is very close to my heart.
7. Where can customers find Sunrise Cards? Sunrisecards can be found on Folksy, Misi, Etsy, our own website, Twitter, facebook and our blog.
What has really impressed me about Sunrise Cards is that they have found their niche whilst making a difference be it through supporting cancer charities or cards with Braille greetings meaning that more people can enjoy them. Mosaic Tree wishes them all the best.
Sunrise Cards can be contacted at:
Folksy - http://www.folksy.com/shops/sunrisecards
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/sunrise.cards
and
Doreen's Dreams - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Doreens-Dreams/115901481836290
blog - http://sunrisecards.blogspot.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/sunrisecards
Email - sunrisecards@tesco.net
website - www.sunrisecards.co.uk
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