Ever wonder if writing by hand is evolving out of our popular culture? Not a chance, if Gramr Gratitude Co. has anything to do with it. Start-up co-founders Matt Richardson and Brett McCollum are envisioning no less than a revolution in how we communicate in a quantity-over-quality, digitally-driven age. Built on the framework of gratitude, their passion aims at helping us all make meaningful connections… and becoming happier people by doing so.
Check out today’s launch of the Gramr Gratitude Co. Kickstarter campaign. CDA created the business branding identity, unique line of thank you cards, packaging and marketing collateral.
“Matt and Brett are two guys with unwavering integrity,” comments Josh Chen, principal and creative director of Chen Design Associates, “They definitely walk the talk of ‘embodying a lifestyle of gratitude.’ They’re also fun to work with! And they appreciate good design and what it can achieve.”
Care for every detail was put into beautiful square envelopes and substantial, “eggshell” finish papers. Each card features stunning images by world-class photographers with huge online followings.
Richardson remarks, “The creative partnerships with these photographers and CDA have been excellent.” He adds, “Josh’s communication is incredible! When it comes to the printing process he’s an expert, he knew exactly how our project would translate to print. What we see is what we get.”
High-end design without the high-end price — these thank you cards are sold by subscription conveniently shipped to your door. Gramr Gratitude Co. is making the most of today’s technology in promoting the thoughtful, handwritten appeal of yesterday.
“We’ve made it a habit to practice what we preach,” explains Richardson, co-founder, “Every morning we get to work, Brett and I sit down and write a thank you note. I try to be reflective and think — who are the people shaping me in positive ways?” Remembering the watershed experience of thanking a mentor Richardson hadn’t seen in a decade, he adds, “It made me ten times happier just writing that card and imagining how it would be received. I’m sure it made his day, his week even. And the funny thing is, it made mine.”
And for those extraordinary times when an expression of gratitude calls for something beyond an amazing keepsake card, Gramr Gratitude Co. donates 10% of profits into a Gramr Fund. The company will accept submissions to grant large thank you gifts to those whose random acts of kindness usually go unnoticed. Their stories will be video’d and shared. Like covering a month’s rent for the barista who always greets you every morning cheerfully or the neighbor who doesn’t mind looking after your plants while you’re gone — it’s about gratitude and the power to grow good in the world.
Chen adds, “Brett and Matt have the pulse on the challenges we as a culture face, with technology and its promises to connect us to each other easier, faster, better—they’re not fooled by it, nor are they fearful of it. They see it for what it is and remind us what’s at the heart of our human interactions and relationships.”
When did you last write a note of thanks that really touched someone in your life?
Visit Gramr Gratitude Co. on Kickstarter and follow them on Instagram.
