Arizona Greeting Card Business Mixes Family Tradition And The Internet To Reach A Global Marketplace

Aug. 11, 2009 - PRLog -- Scottsdale, Arizona - When Matt Kersten made it known that he was interested in taking over the family’s 30-year-old greeting card business, it didn’t come as a surprise to his father, Rick Kersten, a well-known Arizona illustrator and painter who raised Matt in the business, and taught him everything from production to distribution. But, with a background in computer science, Matt had a few ideas of his own on how he could reach a global marketplace with reduced overhead and streamlined distribution. His idea: to take the company online.
   For Matt’s father, Rick, who had owned a chain of independent card shops in the 1970s and ‘80s, and had always focused on brick and mortar retail and wholesale distribution channels, going online might have seemed more like going to the moon. But after months of planning, research, site design and testing, Matt launched his new online venture in 2003 from his condo, which doubled as his headquarters, production facility and warehouse.
   Since then, StonehouseCollection.com, which is named for his mother, Jane, whose maiden name is Stonehouse, has relocated every few years to a larger facility capable of accommodating the expanded inventory the site now offers. This includes hundreds of greeting cards, invitations, return address labels, and note cards, nearly all of which are designed by Matt’s father, Rick, and uncle, Pete, of Kersten Brothers Studios, and feature the hilarious and whimsical illustrations which are synonymous with the Kersten Brothers name.
   “Our product is unique to the marketplace,” says Matt, who has found that people will seek out Kersten Brothers cards online because of their familiarity with the brand and it’s humor-focused take on everyday life.
   “People mostly relate the Kersten name to our well-known Christmas Collection,” says Matt, “but when they visit StonehouseCollection.com, they realize that the same Kersten Brothers humor and style is also found on our birthday cards, note cards, return address labels and invitations, which is why being online is so important: you never run out of shelf space to display your product.”
   In addition to StonehouseCollection.com’s humorous cards and invitations, you can also find a series of cards featuring Arizona landscape portraits by Rick Kersten – the originals of which are available to visitors of Old Town Scottsdale’s Naked Horse Gallery and at KerstenStudios.com.
   When asked what set’s StonehouseCollection.com apart from the competition, Matt answers: “original designs, affordable pricing, and the willingness to not only provide products for general business and the consumer, but for niche markets, such as real estate agents, firefighters, pilots, military and even boating enthusiasts.”
   StonehouseCollection.com recently launched the latest iteration of its online card shop, which includes improved wayfinding to help visitors better navigate the site, the ability to preview personalized card messages and return address imprinting, social networking integration with Facebook, and a new blog.

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StonehouseCollection.com is committed to providing businesses, families and individuals with unique and affordable:

- Christmas and Holiday Cards
- Party Invitations
- Return Address Labels
- Birthday Cards
- Note Cards
- Thank You Cards and more