Card Designer Highlight x Yeppie Paper
The Card Designer Highlight is a sequence that includes unbiased makers whose greeting playing cards you’ll find in Paper Supply shops. Meet and be impressed by a brand new designer each month on our weblog!
Jim & Jen are the brother-sister duo of Yeppie Paper that took an entrepreneurial leap into the greeting card world. Taking the phrase ‘Yeppie’ from their South Korean heritage, the model interprets to “cutie paper” which completely pairs with their playful card assortment.
How did you start your card-making profession?
In 2013, I had just lately left my job in inside design and felt the itch to do one thing inventive the place I may apply my love of portray and drawing. Having all the time been a fan of stationery and paper items, I quickly realized that greeting playing cards could be the proper technique to share my illustrations on a product that individuals may really use. I mentioned my concept with my oldest brother, Jim, and to my delight and shock, he was concerned with partnering up. Collectively, we launched Yeppie Paper in 2014 with a wholesome dose of fearless optimism and numerous laborious work as we tried to navigate the greeting card world and small enterprise possession for the primary time.
The place do you draw inspiration from? Meals? Pop Tradition? Timeless Motifs? Playful Puns?
I’m impressed by so many issues. As a life-long animal lover, I wish to depict animals in our merchandise doing issues that come naturally to them, however that people can relate to as properly. For instance, a hamster stuffing its cheeks with a birthday cupcake, or a pair of beavers constructing a dam like newlyweds beginning a brand new life collectively. My youngsters and their revolving pursuits encourage me as properly. Due to them, I’ve made playing cards with unicorns, rainbows, caterpillars, butterflies, planets, leopards and cheetahs, simply to call a number of! I’m additionally impressed by my family and friends as a result of they’ve good style – haha – and I attempt to create playing cards which can be playful in a classy method.
What does your day appear to be as a cardmaker?
No two days are the identical – in addition to my morning espresso! My brother and I don’t have any official staff, which suggests we each put on ALL the hats in operating our enterprise. He handles the stock, packaging and order success aspect of issues, in addition to gross sales rep relations and bookkeeping. That permits me the area to develop new merchandise (we have now three new releases per 12 months that add about 40-60 new designs in complete), preserve and replace our product listings on our web sites, and deal with ongoing advertising and marketing and outreach efforts. My to-do checklist adjustments relying on the time of 12 months.
Presently, I’m deep in “manufacturing mode”, which suggests I’m portray and dealing on Photoshop and Illustrator on a regular basis. I binge podcasts (often true-crime) and take heed to music as I work. Within the late afternoon, I shift gears and decide up my youngsters from faculty and ask them 1,000,000 questions on how their days have been. We eat dinner collectively, slowly prepare for bedtime, and after they’re asleep, my husband and I’ll loosen up on the sofa and ideally watch a present collectively.
What’s your most popular medium?
All of our merchandise begin with a hand-painted illustration. I exploit gouache on paper. Gouache is an opaque watercolor with sturdy pigment and is nice for layering and positive element. I additionally use ink pens to hand-letter numerous the textual content on our playing cards and stickers.
What does your inventive course of appear to be?
I’ve a giant sketchbook the place I maintain operating lists of concepts for brand spanking new playing cards and stickers. Every new launch consists of a wide range of “on a regular basis” classes (birthdays, congratulations, thanks, sympathy, and so on), in addition to seasonal holidays relying on the time of 12 months. I sketch out sure concepts that I’d wish to develop additional, and from there I positive tune the illustrations and paint. I scan the ultimate paintings onto my laptop and do some bit of fresh up and colour correction on Photoshop, then I’ll end up the design on Illustrator and get it print-ready. At numerous factors alongside the best way, I notice I must get out of my very own head, so I’ll present my brother what I’m engaged on to get his suggestions. He’s a extremely inventive and intelligent individual with nice concepts and can usually assist me out after I’m feeling caught.
What are you most pleased with as a creator and card designer?
My brother and I had zero enterprise expertise previous to beginning our firm, and we managed to determine issues out by means of sheer dedication. The truth that over 500 shops domestically and overseas have embraced Yeppie Paper nonetheless blows my thoughts. Oftentimes, it could actually really feel fairly isolating to take a seat in my house studio, making one thing that I’m unsure individuals will like. However for nearly ten years, clients and store house owners have persistently ordered merchandise from us and I really feel so grateful for the chance to share my artwork with them.
We’re additionally proud that, since 2020, we’ve donated 100% of proceeds from our Shock Packs and Abortion Rights stickers to causes which can be necessary to us, like Direct Reduction, Everytown for Gun Security, and The Nationwide Community of Abortion Funds. This 12 months, we’re donating to Our Home Grief Assist Heart, an LA-based non-profit that gives grief help to adults, teenagers, and kids.
Any enjoyable details? Attention-grabbing hobbies outdoors of card designing?
A enjoyable reality about Yeppie Paper is that we’re actually a household enterprise! Our mother and father moved right down to Los Angeles from the Bay Space to be nearer to us after they retired. They package deal 1000’s of our playing cards within the consolation of their house and we might be drowning with out their assist. Jim and I stay solely minutes other than one another and his transformed storage doubles as our warehouse and success heart. We’ve got a brother in between us named Bobby, who lives along with his spouse and youngsters in Orange County… and because the honorary third (silent) companion of Yeppie Paper, he’s all the time one of many first to “like” our social media posts!
On the weekends, my husband and I like to discover completely different components of Los Angeles and Southern California with our youngsters, resembling scenic hikes, native seashores and parks. We’ve got a 13-year-old canine named Royce (that I like to discuss with as my first little one) who joins us on our little adventures.
Discover Yeppie Paper’s Porcupine Balloons Birthday Card, Constructing Your New Life Marriage ceremony Card, and Ring of Hearth Encouragement Card at your native retailer or on-line at papersource.com. For extra inspiration and behind-the-scenes motion, observe yeppiepaperjen on IG.
