The card in every box

Hi friends, Maisy here.

I wanted to tell you a little about the card tucked into your box. I started making them for our summer collections in July, because I wanted opening something from us to feel a little more personal. We'd spent so much time making the piece inside, and I wanted to send a note along with it.

The first one had a letter over a photo we took in our bamboo garden at home. I loved how summery it felt, and it seemed like a nice way to share a little of that with you. Getting it onto paper was another story. I tried different papers and weights, and had so many failed prints before I found something I was happy with. Honestly, I hadn't expected choosing paper to take that much figuring out!

Finally using my seal

I got my Chinese seal in China in 2017, and I'd been waiting for a reason to use it. These cards finally gave me one. I press it into the red ink paste and stamp each card by hand here in the studio.

The marks come out a little differently each time. Some are more even than others, but I like seeing that small difference from card to card. Once I got into a rhythm, stamping them became such a calming part of the day.

When Ash and I work on a card now, we start by talking about how we want it to feel. She paints the artwork, and I design the card around it and print it here. Seeing her art become something we can tuck into an order is one of my favorite parts of working on these together.

Talking about the artwork, Ash said, "I hope that this could bring some peaceful and zen vibes to you when you guys open it." I love that, because the card doesn't need to do anything complicated. It's just a small thing we hope you'll enjoy finding in the box.

A note before it leaves us

Packing is still one of our favorite parts of making things here. Dad helps with the boxes as our Chief Box Officer, and Buko does his best to keep them nicely compressed. After the making and checking, we get to wrap everything up and put the card in before it leaves.

So if you find one of these cards in your next order, now you know a little about how it got there. Ash's artwork, my printing and a stamp from the seal I'd been waiting years to use. Thank you for giving us a reason to keep making them.

Maisy

From our family, to yours.