StationTEEN®, LLC Announces Releases of New Online Stationery Company - Empowering Girls Ages 9-15 to Develop Deeper Relationships with Family & Friends

New York, NY, November 22, 2013 --(PR.com)-- StationTEEN®, LLC, a New York based company has officially launched their online handcrafted stationery line for girls. Jennifer! Designs is the brainchild behind the beautiful, whimsical card designs. StationTEEN.com is a fun, teen stationery website for the modern girl with a whimsical twist! The stationery features handcrafted cards for teen girls, inspiring them to express themselves to friends and family through writing on memorable, beautiful, collectable stationery.

StationTEEN.com is focused on building a fun interactive community for teen girls to share design ideas from all over the world. Teen girls can be a part of a community that encourages the importance of creativity and living through shared knowledge, while having fun!

Self Esteem, Fun, and Empowerment are some of the key mantras for the StationTEEN Brand.

Jennifer Broderick, designer and entrepreneur, developed the first StationTEEN cards as a form of "art therapy." Designing and creating cards since she was a teen, sharing her experiences through public speaking along with the beauty of illustrations and designs have established Jennifer as world known designer.

“We are extremely excited,” said Broderick, “We provide a wonderful product that girls can use to communicate and empower other teen girls.”

"It's an honor to be part of Jennifer Broderick's creative, collectable and memorable designs through www.stationteen.com, a website that empowers shared experiences and knowledge from girls all across the world." - Jeni Wood

StationTEEN® is available online at www.stationteen.com. For more information about StationTEEN® please contact Jeni Wood at 646-502-5560

Helping NAMI Save Lives

NAMI is the nations's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI advocates for access to services support and research and is steadfast in it's commitment to raising awareness and in building a community of hope for all those in need.

Jennifer! Designs donates a portion of every sale to NAMI. Through these donations, we can support the one in four Americans who will face mental illness this year. Please visit nami.org for more information

Summertime, Camp & a Note Card

Summer vacation is well underway. You might have a child, grandchild or just a friend who is going to summer camp. Or perhaps your child is with a grandparent for a week or two.

Sometimes it's harder for the parent to be away from the child than it is for the child to be away from the parent. No matter what, a child wants to know that they are missed, no matter how much they don't show it.

In this technological age of texting, it may seem that we are constantly communicating with others but are we really saying anything with substance when we text?

When your loved ones are away or even live far away, a handwritten card or letter can leave them feeling special. Taking the opportunity to do so weighs far more than a text. It can give a child a feeling of independence rather than the feeling that you are just checking up on them.

So, enjoy your time away from your children and know that even though they may not express it, they do want to hear from you. Why not express your love for them in a simple note?

Jennifer! Designs Celebrates 10 Years!

It's a Celebration!

In 2003 I  began designing greeting cards in my kitchen, not knowing that I would actually be selling them to stores and eventually online. Over the years I moved into a studio that I designed in my house, enabling me to finally eat somewhere other than on my couch. When I wasn't working my full time job, I lived and breathed greeting cards. In fact, I still work 40 hours a week at another job in a totally unrelated industry. I will probably never stop loving and breathing greeting cards!

The greeting card industry is one of the most competitive. Did you know that there are about 3,000 greeting card publishers in the United States? When I began my company, it was extremely difficult to sell online. Twitter, Facebook and Big Cartel hadn't  been born and direct mail marketing was king. I no longer sell to stores and attend trade shows. Instead I sell my cards through an online store called Big Cartel. It's a lot of fun because I have the privilege of working directly with you, the end user.

What does the future hold for Jennifer! Designs?

I have designed and sold over 5,000 handmade greeting cards as well as dozens of handmade gift tags, a line of stationery and a gift card line. I am working on developing a line of custom covered mini-match boxes to be sold with a matching card and candle and hope to dream up many more product lines.

 

A preview of what's to come!

 Last week it occurred to me that Jennifer! Designs is in it's 10th year!

As a way of saying thanks to all of my customers, I am offering free shipping through June. Use coupon code: FREESHIP at the storefront checkout until June 30, 2013.

I welcome suggestions on how Jennifer! Designs can better serve you. What themes do you love and or would like to see? Is there something about the products or website that keeps you from making a purchase? You may comment on this blog or send me an email through the website.
It's only May and the celebration will last throughout 2013! I'll be posting the next Anniversary Promotion in July. In the mean time, I better think up something else to blog about, ha!

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Why I Haven't Been Blogging

I know, I know. I should be blogging about about springtime or giving you tips on design, do it yourself projects or maybe even posting photos of babies and puppy dogs.

Ever since I announced that I would run a promotion on Jennifer! Designs products every Tuesday, I seem to be spending my time making new product and imaging the next promotion. I get excited about running sales. It's a way of thanking my customers and hopefully gain new ones.

This week I am offering Free Shipping when you spend $10.00. Just use coupon code: FREESHIP
 at the checkout. 

Did you know that all of the greeting cards are handmade? Did you know that there are over 250 designs to choose from? We ship within 3-5 business days, yet most shipments leave the studio the day we receive your order.

There is a contact section on the website if you have any questions or concerns. You can also contact me about custom orders. Perhaps you are interested in customized invitations or personalized note cards.If you can dream it, I can design it.

I'll do my best to dream up something to blog about but know that every Tuesday, you can count on a new promotion!

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Gift Card Holder

Gift Card Holder

Sympathy Card

Gift Tag

Celebrate Mother's Day with 20% Off!

It's Tuesday, April 30th and Mother's Day is only 12 days away. Why not send Mom a unique, one of a kind, handmade Mother's Day card from 

Jennifer! Designs, Ltd ? 

This sale lasts until  May 6th, leaving you plenty of time for mailing your card on time. We ship within 3-5 days of receiving your order. 

To receive 20% off each Mother's Day card, us coupon code: MOM at the check out.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Coupon Code of The Week

 This Week's Coupon Code is: 20

Each Tuesday, Jennifer! Designs, Ltd will be announcing a new coupon code that can be applied when checking out at the online store. 

Receive 20% off your entire order this week. This coupon code expires on 4/23/13

If you miss the opportunity to use this week's code, no worries! Just check in each Tuesday for a new special offer and code.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Correspondence: Any substrate will do!

Was there ever a time in your life when you were excited about sending or receiving a handwritten letter? Did you ever have a pen pal? At the age of five I was fascinated with correspondence and spent hours composing my thoughts on a folded piece of typing paper which most always read:

Dear (my first penpal) Gretchen,

Hi! How are you? I'm fine.
I can't wait until summer.
Well I have to go. Have a great day. TTYS!
F/F,
Jennfer

My favorite part about writing a letter was not in the composing but in the decorating. If there was white space, I would fill it with hand drawn hearts, swirls, rainbows and maybe even a sticker or 12.
After carefully folding my decorative (certainly not a literary) masterpiece, I would seal the envelope and lovingly address it in the most fantastical handwriting possible and then embellished it with hearts, swirls and rainbows, using my best set of magic markers. Those poor postal workers! It's a wonder that any of my letters made it to their destination.

I am still in touch with Gretchen. Although I have her address, we mostly correspond through social media. I saved each and every one of her letters and a few years ago I wrapped them all in a ribbon, placed them in a decorative, hand painted box shaped like an antique lunchbox. Rather than mailing them back to Gretchen, I hand delivered them to her. She was shocked that I kept them. As we read them, we laughed at ourselves, our handwriting and our love for decorating envelopes.

The other day I opened a plastic bin and laughed myself silly over my unique collection of correspondence with friends.

I came across a letter from my older brother Todd. His creative way of wishing me a Happy 18th. Birthday was to scribble words of wisdom - on a napkin! His college roommate, Paul, wrote me a birthday wish as well. He decided to write me a note on the back of his OSU math class homework.

My favorite letter came from my father in 1992 after I moved to New York. It was his wish that I would find my way home, so he wrote a short letter to me on a map of Richland County (Mansfield Ohio).

It is from receiving and creating heartwarming, silly and inventive letters that inspired me to marry my love of correspondence with my art to create my company, Jennifer! Designs, Ltd. I think that the advent of emails and e-cards is awesome but sending a handwritten letter or note goes one step further. The process enables you to put your personality into it whether your handwriting is beautiful or not. A letter or card in the hands of the receiver is sure to engage and touch them.

I encourage you to take part in the rewarding experience of handwritten correspondence where friendships form, develop and last a lifetime.

Who knows? You just might get a response on a napkin!

How Joining Pinterest Led Me to Move My Company Forward

In April of 2012 I received an email inviting me to join Pinterest. I had heard about it, so I immediately jumped on the bandwagon after perusing the site. I became addicted, especially after I discovered the iPhone app. I justified every second of every minute of every hour that I spent building boards, searching for images on my own and pinning other member's pins.

My favorite boards are Typography, Design, Posters and Art - well anything that has to do with art and design. A few weeks into it another "Pinner" who follows just a few of my boards pinned a handwritten Post-It note that read "Hi, I'm Mark @TOGO Media on Twitter. Please Join Me on Twitter." with the caption - A little shameless self-promotion never hurt anyone (I hope). Please join me on Twitter..... I was in stitches and felt the need to share. In the comment section I wrote "Hell yeah!" That post began a dialogue between us which evolved into a friendship. Because of Mark's social engagement, I am now Pinning, Tweeting, blogging, Facebooking and G+ing with purpose.

This new found purpose all came about after Mark pointed out that my business had zero online presence. Mark is a leader and an expert in the field of marketing, so of course he did his homework to find that Jennifer! Designs, Ltd. was practically invisible to the virtual world. When he pointed this out to me, I felt like an out of touch business owner.

In 2004 I sold my products to stores and spent a lot of money exhibiting at trade shows. Business was steady until 2008 when a lot of small business gift stores (my clientele) began going out of business.

As clients disappeared, so did I. I gave up on trade shows and began selling my products at craft shows while servicing what was left of my costumer base and working full time in an unrelated industry. I became complacent and began to lose site of my dream. I realize now that I had let my business become a hobby.

Mark's remarks were a wake up call - one that I needed very much. The world and how we market, buy, sell and engage is changing every day. My world has changed dramatically since I began Tweeting, blogging, Pinning, and building my website. I discovered that I could restructure my company and sell online by marketing through social media. It's a lot of hard work and lot of fun and it's also a great way to learn from others. Follow the leaders, I say! Best of all, it's a fabulous way to engage with my customers as well as meeting potential customers.

I traded traveling and selling at trade shows for photographing my products in my studio and importing them into my computer. My clients have changed as well. Now the client is YOU, the end user. This is exciting because I love people. Designing stationery and greeting cards is my passion and I want to hear about your passions. I want to know you and I want to make products that make you happy!

If you have a Twitter, Pinterest, G+ or an FB page, let me know and I'm sure we'll meet up.


~This entry is dedicated to my mentor and friend, Mark Strauss - @TOGOMedia on Twitter, togo-media.com and Mark Strauss on Pinterest. Thanks Mark!