Best Places To Buy Greeting Cards

If you know me in real life, you know that snail mail is my love language. A pretty piece of paper goes a long way in my book — perhaps that’s why I’m at the corner of “acts of service” and “words of affirmation”. In any case, picking up just any old greeting card doesn’t really ring my bell. The wittier, the better and bonus points if the design is on point. Ya feel me? Today I’m sharing the best places to buy greeting cards. Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list, just some of my personal favorites I’ve discovered. One of the best things about beautiful greeting cards is that there is always a new shop to discover. With that in mind, feel free to share your favorites in the comments. Double points if you have a link 🙂

Best Places To Buy Greeting Cards

I could say so much about all these places like “Oh they are wonderful!” or “I love their design!” But all of that seems really obvious since they made my short list. Instead, I’m sharing snippets of these small businesses straight from their own mouths. Who loves ya, baby?!

Emily McDowell – Founded in January 2013 by writer and illustrator Emily McDowell, we make products that speak to the human condition with honesty, humor, and heart. Our cards are designed for the relationships we really have, and our mission is to help people connect when they’re not sure what to say. We believe humanity is an endless source of inspiration, and we find it creepily satisfying whenever a customer asks if we’ve been reading their diary, because it means we’re doing something right.

Bench Pressed – Hi! We’re Jane & Andy Shannon, the owners and operators of Bench Pressed. We are a design and letterpress company based in Minnesota. We love making hand-drawn and hand-printed letterpress cards & gifts that we like to call “tongue-in-cheek with a little sweet”. We also love hot sauce (Tabasco for Andy, Louisiana for Jane), beer and our dogs— not in that order.

Hello Lucky – Hello!Lucky is founded in the belief that creativity, positivity, humor, and kindness are the key ingredients to a life-well lived. We believe in bringing playful exuberance to everything we make, and to creating products that deepen connections between people and their loved ones.  We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to express themselves and to live in a world that affirms beauty, diverse experiences, and kindness.

Egg Press – At Egg Press, we believe it is a universal truth that we are all seeking authentic human connections. As a letterpress greeting card manufacturer and design studio, we’ve been helping people make those connections by producing cards – in essence creating the vessel, the container for people’s innermost thoughts and feelings. Our studio is in Portland, Oregon, where we’ve been creating cards and doing what we love since 1999. The things we make are distinct, funny, and memorable, always in service of helping bridge the gaps between the people we share our world with.

Rifle Paper Co – Rifle Paper Co. is a stationery and lifestyle brand based in Winter Park, Florida founded and owned by husband and wife team, Anna and Nathan Bond. We strongly believe life’s personal stories and moments are best told through the gift of a handwritten card or note, and hope that our goods inspire you to share these moments with others. Please let us know if there’s anything we can assist you with or ways that we can improve your shopping experience.

Mr. Boddington – Mr. Boddington lives in an old world residence of great charm in the town of Antibes. From there he entertains his friends on a vintage Capri fishing yacht with Bombay tonics, orange marmalade crostinis, and newspapers from the world’s major cities. Now since Mr. Boddington is often traveling the world in pursuit of leisure and inspiration, he maintains a studio in New York City to keep his craft humming. Above the bakeries on 36th Street in Brooklyn, you will find a team of talented artists, designers, illustrators, production specialists and biscuit nibblers.

Sugar Paper – In 2003, we started tinkering with a letterpress and helping our friends put beautiful paper in the mail. As each bespoke piece was sent, more and more people inquired. So more and more stationery was made. At a time when the world was steadfastly headed online, we took a risk and stayed focused on building our business offline, making beautiful, tangible things by hand that would far outweigh anything in the digital space.

Minted for Target – Minted’s community of independent artists and designers are located in all 50 states and over 100 countries. They are illustrators and textile designers, painters and packaging designers, marketers and stay-at-home moms. Some have design degrees, and others are participating in Minted competitions to learn design for the first time. They share a deep love for creative expression, personal development, risk-taking, and most importantly, paying it forward by helping each other.

Sapling Press – We’re a letterpress design and print shop founded in 2003 and grounded in the steel city of Pittsburgh. If you walked through our door right now you’d catch us operating our fleet of presses, calling UPS again, packaging products, and chatting about everything from home renovation to our latest Netflix obsession. Filling wholesale orders with our gift and greeting card lines keeps us busy on the daily, but it’s not our only gig. We turn out everything from custom invitations to business cards, host events, and offer classes from time to time. Idle hands, ya know.

Ladyfingers Letterpress – Award-winning Ladyfingers Letterpress is an LGBTQ+ owned-and-operated stationery and gift brand based in Colorado Springs, CO founded by wife-and-wife team, Arley-Rose Torsone and Morgan Calderini. We launched our business in 2011 when our own wedding invitation went viral and we quickly became very busy producing (totally insane!) one-of-a-kind wedding invitations for the most creative and amazing clients. After the weddings were over, we noticed that our clients would come back and ask if we had any letterpress cards to celebrate the holidays, birthdays, etc. As a result, we decided to launch a humble line of greeting cards at the 2013 National Stationery show and to our surprise, the line took off and our products are now sold in over 800 stores around the world.

And now some of my favorite greeting card makers from here in Hawaii!

Favorite Hawaii-Based Greeting Card Makers

Nico Made – nico made is a boutique stationery and gift brand based in Honolulu, Hawaii, with a goal to transport you to the tropics through our vibrant and playful illustrations. Every print begins as a hand-drawn illustration by our founder, Nicole Ferrara, who gains inspiration from her varied roles as a mother of exuberant twins, typography-loving graphic designer, and sandy-toed Island girl. We are deeply passionate about design, and are committed to providing high-quality products with a unique tropical style. We aim to visually delight.

Locali Creative – A shop that hails from the Big Island of Hawaii, island inspired cards and hats with local catch phrases make Locali Creative a true island gem. 

Miemiko Co – In 2005, my hands touched my first printing press and life as I knew it forever changed. The sound, the smell, the ink on my hands felt all too familiar…like I had done this in a past life…or something.  Joy had found me! Two months after this moment, a kind printer gifted me with my first press and all that i needed serendipitously showed up at my doorstep.  My universe had a plan and I rose up to greet her. miemiko was born out of a love of process, of creating and is my vehicle of connecting and communicating.

Bradley & Lily – In 2005 Stacey Nomura founded what is now known as Bradley & Lily. It was the sweet memories of childhood days spent crocheting and hand-making cards with her grandmother that prompted her spirited departure from the corporate daily grind. Soon after, Stacey’s husband Ian left his job in the high rises of downtown Honolulu to run their antique printing press and oversee operations full-time. Although settled with their young children (Bradley and Lily) in the alluring and culturally rich capital of Hawai’i, it was an upbringing along the shores of the Monterey Bay that left a lasting impression of classic style and refinement as seen in her Pacific inspired designs.

Where is your favorite place to buy greeting cards?