Why I Still Believe in Greeting Cards

By Leslie Boswak

I have always loved greeting cards.

Not simply because they are beautiful—although beautiful paper, expressive artwork, and thoughtful typography certainly matter to me—but because the right card can say something we have been trying to put into words ourselves.

When I choose a card for someone, I want it to feel personal. I want the message to reflect how I truly feel about the person receiving it: the affection, gratitude, admiration, sympathy, encouragement, or joy that prompted me to send it.

I have never been particularly interested in cards with generic sentiments. For the people who matter to me, I look for something more. A card should feel as though it was selected with one particular person in mind.

I have spent more time than I care to admit standing before racks of greeting cards, reading one after another until I found just the right one. I never minded the time it took. Finding a card that truly expressed what I wanted to say was worth the search.

I am also the person you may find standing in the greeting card aisle, laughing out loud after discovering a genuinely funny card. When the words are clever, honest, or unexpectedly perfect, I cannot help but react. That moment of recognition—This is exactly what I want to say—is part of what makes choosing and sending cards so enjoyable.

At other times, a card helps us express something much quieter. It can offer comfort when we are unsure what to say, celebrate an accomplishment that deserves to be remembered, or remind someone that they are loved and thought of.

That is the feeling behind Atelier Eisel.

Each card begins with the belief that meaningful relationships deserve meaningful words. The artwork, paper, typography, and finishing details are important, but they all serve the same purpose: to help one person reach another.

In a world of quick messages and disappearing notifications, a greeting card asks us to pause. We choose it. We write in it. We address it to one person. And the recipient can hold onto it long after the occasion has passed.

That small, tangible expression of care still matters to me.

I believe the best cards do more than acknowledge an occasion. They capture a relationship, preserve a feeling, and say, in a lasting way, I chose this for you.

That is why I still believe in greeting cards—and why I created Atelier Eisel.