It seems the personal touch has taken a backseat these day to quick messages on Facebook or over text. But a mompreneur in Canton is bringing “personal” back with paper goods.
“We like to say our motto is ‘love in the little things,’” owner Lindsay Henry says.
She believes in the handwritten note and wants to make it easy for you to pass your sentiments on to someone you care about. She and her small team design unique paper goods in Henry’s Canton home, many of which are “scratch-off” cards of games.
“Some of our favorites are out scratch-off lunchbox notes,” Henry explains.
They provide kids a little magic at lunchtime.
“So parents would write a message in the blank area, cover it was a scratch off stickers, and then scratching with a penny will reveal their own message,” she says.
She also sells scratch-off greeting cards, Valentine’s Day notes and what she calls telegrams.
“We’ve had parents to be announce their pregnancy without cards, brides asking their maids of honor to be in their wedding.”
The name of her company isInklings Paperie.
“For us the word inklings means an idea or a thought. We want our products to be different and whimsical.”
And that they are. Henry’s first “inkling” for her company came some 8 years ago when she was working as a brand designer in corporate America. She created a few unique cards, and then scratch off games for a friend’s baby shower...
“People loved them, they were responding well to them, asking is we had different designs and I thought, wow, there’s really an opportunity for a beautifully made whimsical games and cards that people were looking for, that were different and unique,” she says.
So she began creating them and selling things in an Etsy shop… unique greeting cards, and those scratch off-goods, including baby shower and bridal games. Her sales took off.
“We started pacing orders from our son’s changing table, and I remember thinking we have four big drawers to fill with products, this is so much space. And we quickly outgrew that and decided to renovate the lower level of our house.”
A good decision… because since she began, her sales have totaled more than 1 million dollars. Target.com and Anthropologie carry her products, along with some 100 retailers in the United States and internationally.
A year and a half ago, this mother of two quit her full-time job to work full-time on her passion. Her husband is also now her business partner.
“The details are everything to us, so we want to make sure that every detail is thought of, from how the cards are produced using soy based ink on sustainably sourced papers. Everything is hand inspected and packaged here in our studio, definitely made with love.
Inklings makes a Tooth Fairy Kit, that includes officials receipts from the tooth fairy, a mini pencil, a little container to hold the tooth and some fairy dust the tooth fairy can leave on the child’s pillow.
And then there’s the One Minute Memory Bookfor busy parents. A ring of small cards that allows you to jot down things your child say, milestones and adventures.
For Lindsay, this is all a great adventure, and she hopes you’ll come along for a personal ride.
