Next up in my Christmas Gift Guide for 2021 is greetings cards! I love to receive thoughtful cards at any time of the year but Christmas cards bring back a certain nostalgic feeling so I had so much fun looking at all of these small businesses festive collections and think there is something for everyone in this post!
Impress this year with a unique Christmas card you won't find on the high street. We've got colourful, traditional, minimalistic and even a card that is made from reindeer poo!
I would love to see if you've bought any of these cards to gift this year so don't forget to tag me and the brand over on Instagram, you can find me at @small_business_collaborative.
Atelier Chop
Founded in 2020, Atelier Chop is a sustainable design studio dedicated to celebrating all things collage through its range of greeting cards. Expect minimalist design, wordplay and lots of party hats.
All Chop products are designed and printed in the UK with an eco-conscious printer whose presses are carbon neutral and who only use UK paper and card suppliers. Each card is printed using FSC certified stock and comes bagged in cornstarch, not cellophane, which is not only 100% biodegradable but annually renewable.
Lara's designs are so fun and I love her clean aesthetic that is still colourful and bold. Every year I spend a lot of time writing my Christmas cards and some lucky people will definitely be receiving an Atelier Chop card this year from me. Did you get your cards yet?
Fun Fact from Lara: Atelier Chop is a one-woman band, (run by me, Lara) which began last year after I lost my job as an artist's assistant. It was always my dream to start my own paper goods business and so I decided to take the plunge and begin designing. My time is now spent 'cutting and sticking' and occasionally tripping over boxes of envelopes.
Price Range: £3- £15
Website: www.atelierchop.co.uk
Follow: @atelierchop
Dotties Paper Co
Dottie's Paper Co. is filled with super cute stationery, paper goodies and gifts to make life that little bit brighter. If you love pastels, cute illustrations and the occasional sweary quote then you’re in the right place!
Dottie's Paper Co. goodies feature adorable origami-inspired illustrations and colourful calligraphy with big swirls and a sweet pink palette.
One of my all-time favourite colour combo's is red and pink and in Ellie's shop, you can get loads of it. I love the combo of the sweet designs, pretty illustrations and sweary words, it's such contrast and a little bit unexpected.
Fun Fact from Ellie: I originally qualified as a Photographer, but started crafting to get a bit of my old self back that had gone into hiding. After teaching myself origami and calligraphy, I loved it so much I wanted to create goodies to encourage others to connect with themselves, as well as others. I started out this little shop on a dining room table and just one range of greetings cards! It's still a one woman show, but luckily I got an upgrade in workspace!
Price Range: £2.5- £35
Website: www.dotties.co
Follow: @dottiespaperco
Heather Lucy J
HeatherLucyJ specialises in thoughtfully designed stationery which encourages customers to seek joy in the little things and preserves the act of sending handwritten notes, in an increasingly digital world.
In an increasingly fast-paced and digital world, Heather's stationery reflects the simple, slow & gentle side to living.
All products are created in a manner that is gentle on the earth through eco-friendly printing methods and FSC approved paper.
Heather's designs have so much charm and detail. They are so lovely would look great framed as a little mini-print.
Fun Fact from Heather: Hello! I’m Heather, the illustrator behind HeatherLucyJ. Most days you can find me drawing in my home studio with a huge mug of coffee, listening to music and illustrating new ideas. When I’m not drawing, I love getting out into nature, reading & wandering around art galleries.
Price Range: £3- £40
Website: https://www.heatherlucyj.co.uk/
Follow: @heatherlucyj
Made by Shannon
Made by Shannon is an environmentally conscious design brand based in the quaint village of Abinger Hammer, Surrey. Shannon is passionate about creating products that are high quality and bring joy & laughter into people’s everyday lives.
Using unusual and eco-friendly card stock is an important element of Shannon's business. Some of the designs are printed into a card that is made from reindeer poo; waste from food & drink production, embedded with wildflower seeds and produced using recycled paper pulp.
Made in the UK, Made from recycled materials, eco-friendly, plastic-free packaging.
I love how her cards are both beautiful and fun, you might have come across her cards in one of her 200+ stockists.
Fun Fact from Shannon: Shannon is obsessed with unusual and mindfully made paper. Her cards are printed onto card stock that is handmade in Italy from discarded paperwork, created using waste from food & drink production, embedded with wild flower seeds and made from recycled paper pulp.
Price Range: £3- £4 (for the cards)
Website: www.madebyshannon.co.uk
Follow: @madebyshannon
Plant a Bloomer
Plant a Bloomer is an innovative design studio specialising in unique greeting cards and gifts to plant and craft. They are known for their beautiful wildflower seed paper gift range, handcrafted in their London studio from recycled materials and embedded with natural inclusions. The latest addition to their collection has been a range of craft cards, which can be embroidered or woven.
Products are made from recycled and sustainable materials and embedded with native UK wildflower seeds and natural inclusions such as sparkling mica mineral flakes and silk fibres from sari production off-cuts.
These woodland cards are so cute with the little animal being made of seeded paper that you can remove and plant, giving a 3d effect and creating a keepsake in the garden at the same time.
Fun Fact from Rani: My very first client was a good friend, of mine Jo, for whom I designed her wedding stationery, including a plantabe flower wedding favour, to match the flower motif on her wedding dress. Subsequently, I had more requests to produce plantable favours for other clients' weddings. My husband encouraged me to take the idea further, and so the Plant a Bloomer brand was born, offering seed paper gifts to the retail market. Now more than 15 years later, Jo works for Plant a Bloomer as Production manager and Paper maker!
Price Range: £5.95- £49.50
Website: https://www.plantabloomer.co.uk/
Follow: @plantabloomer
Rock Paper Swan
Amy creates colourful illustrations from her home in Kent. Often inspired by nature, favourite colours, and meaningful words, each paper product is intended as a tangible bit of encouragement to make your day brighter.
Rock Paper Swan started out of Amy’s struggle to find the sorts of cards she wanted to send to people. It’s often easier to know what to say for a birthday or special event (and she designs cards for those too) but you might need something for the in-betweens... those times when you just really need to say: Hello! I'm thinking of you. You’re amazing. I love you.
Every print and gift and card design has to meet a high kindness standard – the words are always encouraging and affirming, and aimed at letting the person who will hold the finished thing in their hands feel more loved, more confident, or more understood. All the cards are designed and printed in the UK, plastic-free packaging.
I love cards for the in-betweens, and I wish I was better at sending them. Thank you for the reminder Amy.
Fun Fact from Amy: I used to be a Speech and Language Therapist working for the NHS, then completely switched career lane to becoming a self-taught illustrator. (Although they’re very different jobs, there's a common thread of communication and connectedness, letting each other know we're not alone in this.)
Price Range: £3.30- £12
Website: https://rockpaperswan.com/
Follow: @rockpaperswan
Sister Paper Co
Sister Paper Co. create empowering and playful illustrated cards and gift wrap.
Emma creates greeting cards for diverse, relatable and modern card-sending occasions - In her collections, you'll find gender-neutral greeting cards to celebrate the birth or adoption of new babies, rainbow love hearts to celebrate all the wonderful kinds of love alongside plenty of beautiful bodies and a touch of naughty humour. Plus some cheeky Christmas cards with our signature sprinkle of girl power.
Sister Paper Co. value the environment and minimising the impact their products make on the world. All products are printed in small batches here in the U.K on a carbon-neutral press and they are committed to only using paper from FSC-Certified sustainable forests, including their envelopes.
I love that Emma's designs start as an original hand-painted work of art, it adds so much charm and character to her designs. I've also loved following along to see her designs being discovered by more and more shops.
Fun Fact from Emma: Proudly female owned and operated from our London home studio, Sister Paper Co. was launched in 2021 by founder and designer Emma.
All our collections begin their life as an original hand-painted ink or gouache artwork, even the unique lettering you'll find on our greeting cards is created by hand.
Price Range: £3
Website: www.sisterpaperco.com
Follow: www.sisterpaperco.com
Cheeky Zebra
Cheeky Zebra create real cards for real life.
Sasha has a background in law and now spends her time creating cards, and there are a lot of them, over 1000 designs to cater for any and all occasions of life. There's even a rude filter on her website for those extra cheeky card occasions in your life.
All the cards are printed to order on traceable card stock so there's very little waste at Sasha's studio at her Nan's house. This also means that it can be printed with your personalised message inside and sent straight to your loved ones home.
I love how brutally honest Sasha is and how you can find cards for absolutely all occasions. Plus there's a handy 4 for £10 offer!
Fun Fact from Sasha: I’m Sasha, owner of cheeky zebra. We make quirky cards for real life! I basically started CZ because I wanted to send the kind of cards I’d like to receive in all of their sassy glory. We’re a small family business and by that I mean my Nan helps me pack for free!
Price Range: £3.95
Website: https://www.cheekyzebra.com/
Follow: @cheekyzebradotcom
Sarah Goodwin
Sarah Goodwin is a South London-based artist and print designer who loves painting classic, timeless motifs in bold and unusual colour combinations. These original works of art go on to become beautiful paper goods and giclée prints.
Concerned with only providing the highest quality products, everything is printed in England on velvet-textured paper from an 18th century English mill. Sarah hopes to bring colour, joy and a creative twist to your home decor.
Cards are made in the UK on FSC certified card.
I love the colours Sarah use and the detail that goes into creating these typography designs by hand with a paint brush is impressive and I can't wait to send some of these beauties out this year.
Fun Fact from Sarah: I'm a London-based Artist and Print Designer, with a background in luxury fashion. You will often find me with a mug of earl grey tea in one hand and a paint brush in the other! I love working with bold colours and classic motifs such as stripes and my signature Ric Rac designs.
Price Range: £3.50- £150
Website: www.sarahgoodwindesign.com
Follow: @sarahgoodwindesign
If you'd like to see the full Christmas gift guide for 2021 please visit this link
Did you spot the perfect card for your list this year? I'd love to see who you are going to send these too so don't forget to tag me over on Instagram, @small_business_collaborative.
Thank you once again to all the 260+ businesses that took the time to apply to this year's gift guides, I really appreciate you all and it was so much fun putting it together and seeing everything you do. And thank you to Adele who helped me put this together. If you need help with your online product listings for Etsy, Faire, NOTHS, Shopify and more, Adele can help. You can find all your details on her website.