There’s a notion that the real talent of a musician is in the notes they don’t play. Miles Davis is credited (by super reliable AZQuote.com) with saying, “[i]t’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play,” and Ken Kesey eulogized Jerry Garcia and his “golden silence” in playing (and in life). Ernest Hemingway is famous, among many reasons, for his “iceberg theory” of writing, most commonly analyzed in "Hills Like White Elephants," where it’s what isn’t written that’s as important as what is. A lot of poetry works the same way — the white is as much a part of the poem as the words positioned on the page.
The thing I love about Amy’s cards — the reason I felt confident enough to quit my old job and join the business full time — was the subtlety and humor that each and every one has. There’s a restraint to her cards: the negative space playing off of the nuance of the watercolor illustrations, ultimately finished off with just the right pun. If you’re reading this, then you probably get why her cards are so great, so I won’t belabor the point more than I have.
Anyways, here's yet another list. This time of some of my favorite cards that Amy has designed.
SORRY I FOCACCIA BIRTHDAY
This one to me exemplifies what comes of not doing too much. As with the dinner table, let the focaccia speak for itself.
FRANKS A LOT
The fact that this card isn’t our far and away bestseller is the most upsetting thing about this business to me. It’s a flawless card.
Hot dogs — check.
White space — check.
Franks, which rhymes with “thanks” (like “thanks a lot”), but is also another word for hot dogs — freaking check.
CHAIR-ISH EVERY MOMENT
This is my ride or die card. As soon as Amy told me about this card I fell in love with it. Every dad has their chair, whether it’s a worn rocker, kitchen chair, recliner, or even that one specific cushion on the couch.
SCENT-SATIONAL MOM
When Amy first showed me the design for this card, I thought the bottles were parmesan shakers, like the ones you’d see on PIzza Hut tables while dining in the 90s and early 2000s, waiting to receive your free copy of 1983’s Mr. Mom. Apparently it’s a famous brand of perfume… that’s not why this is my favorite, though.
OVER THE MOON
The cow makes me laugh because it looks like it’s gotten stuck trying to jump through the moon. (While editing this, Amy informed me that this was the point.)
ME GOOSE-TAS
The goose looks so irritable in this drawing and that's a big part of its humor for me.
LOST WITHOUT YOU
As someone who can’t even make a straight line under a sentence he wants to go back to in a book, the fact that these bobby pins look as real as they do will always impress me.
NO WORDS SCRABBLE
When Amy first showed me this design, I looked at the letters and said “but it doesn’t spell anything.” Then I read the pun. This is a humbling card.
