Fucking Covid…

First off, I want to say that I was hoping to avoid making Covid-related greeting cards… but it seems this virus is sticking around awhile and people have already missed birthdays, wedding, graduations, etc.  So, here they are… Hopefully I get to retire these cards sooner rather than later!

Right now there is a strong push for people to step up and support small businesses like this one.  So I thought you might be curious to know who exactly you are supporting when you buy my cards (and other products).

You’ll be happy to know that my cards are 100% made in Canada!  Not only that, but Hug and Kiss Designs Inc. is an Indigenous-owned business and all my cards are created on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Stó:lō First Nations, a land where my ancestors lived 4,000-10,000 years ago!

Tell us more Nikki…

The idea for my card line started back in 2006.  I was working in a little store that sold greeting cards and I realized something about all the cards I saw.  The funny cards were always “funny” and the sweet cards were always sweet.  Either way, they were predictable. I decided to change that by creating a card that was shocking and funny.  Something unexpected and hilarious. Naturally that meant cute cartoon animals and a sarcastic sense of humour with some swear words thrown in (at that point I had NEVER seen a greeting card with a swear word before. NOT ONCE! Was I the first? Maybe 🤷🏻‍♀️ )

After a couple months of jotting down ideas and doodling images, I had come up with a style that seemed to work.  I showed my friends and family and they were in full support, so I decided to take a chance and start my own business!  I mean, what else do you do with diplomas in Journalism and Design? So, in January of 2007 I registered the name Hug and Kiss Designs, bought a domain, taught myself how to build a website, and got things going! By May of that year I was filling my first wholesale order!

So how are my cards made? 

After I write and illustrate a card, I send it to my favourite little print shop (a family-owned company here in BC). They print the cards for me on large sheets of cardstock (4 cards per sheet).  I add the crease with my creasing machine (hand-powered), cut into quarters with my industrial paper cutter (again, hand-powered) and then I check each card for quality control.  If it passes, I fold it by hand (one at a time) and I cut them to their final size with my other paper cutter (the kind you find at most offices).  Because it’s a thick cardstock, I can only cut one card at a time! Yes, ONE AT A TIME! It’s time consuming, but it’s the best way to ensure a nice, neat edge.

Okay, so that felt weird to talk about myself that much, but let’s review what you learned.  Hug and Kiss Designs is a one-woman show.  That woman is First Nations and she’s a hilarious, crazy, perfectionist that would rather get carpal tunnel by cutting each card by hand than using machinery and creating an imperfect card. Her raunchy, rude, and ridiculously funny cards are 100% made in Canada.