25 years in business-so many favorites!
2025 has been quite a year! We got our new website set up and are loving everything about it. My last blog post was for the launch of our new Paris map in April. Yikes! We literally have not stopped. Since then, we have been hard at work on the new website, working with our wedding clients-both this year and next year already, and of course coming up with new designs for the holiday season.
And 25 years in business for El's Cards. It's very exciting. So many great changes and improvements over the years-this is my fourth El's Cards website and it is by far the best! We are so happy with it and are getting such a great response from everyone about the ease of use. Thank you to the talented and insightful team at Aeolidia. We worked with the best in the business this time and would recommend this company 100%. From help with SEO to teaching us everything we need to know and supplying tutorials for moving forward, we were in the very best possible hands. And I ask a LOT of questions. Everyone with whom we worked was patient and truly helpful. Truly a wonderful experience.
The new navigation is all Bob. He spent so much time creating new collections and organizing everything so it would be easy for you to find. He came up with ideas for new ways to put products together in the special collections, and ideas to make it easier to locate our maps and all the different card categories.
File cabinet photo by Melissa Mullen-organized by categories!
And anyone who knows Bob, knows that he is super organized. I will say that he is literally the most organized person I know. So living with an artist (I can be a little messy....) can be a bit of a "challenge". For years, all of my artwork was stored in boxes in my studio closet. Then, last year, Bob did some sleuthing and found me the best present. He got me a huge flat file cabinet (like an architect would use) to store all my artwork. Game changer! Of course I scan my artwork for print, but to have an organized spot for my originals has been such a gift.
I went through all my paintings and put them in categories, and now when I need to find something to rescan larger, it's so easy. 25 years worth of artwork is a lot. It seemed like some of the earlier years were missing, and I was looking high and low for certain designs. Then, just last week, I found 2 more boxes full of artwork from early early days! Some designs were never even used or were only used once....so I am bringing in some "new" vintage artwork on some card designs this year.
Photo by Melissa Mullen-the portfolio on top of the cabinet is my original art portfolio that I received in high school (from either my mum or my Uncle John!)
And now, the point of the finding favorite designs story! On this holiday season's 2025 calendar tea towel, the designs are all taken from some of my very favorite paintings of all time. Some of them are "vintage" like the Favorite Trees for October, or the Veggie Seed Packets for April. And some are new! Like the teacup that is featured on Your Beloved Bookshelf and the paintings of Sunny and Marty.
We are so excited about the response we are getting about the new site. And we have even more new designs and items coming for the holiday season. It's been slow growth here at El's Cards, but so many great changes since Bob came on board almost 10 years ago!
A heartfelt thank you for all the great orders you continue to make with us. We appreciate you.
xoxo
El
