Where Pogofandango Began
I thought I'd share a personal story with you about why I love greetings cards so much. This story is one of the reasons why we make extra special, keepsake greeting cards.
I reckon that without this story, Pogofandango would never have become a thing. We'd never have decided to make the most unique, special and thoughtful cards ever, and I probably would've gone and got a job back in London after university.
This is me, circa 2003
Once Upon A Time...
I left home to go to university in Falmouth when I was 19. This was about 400 miles away from home, and I'd never really been anywhere on my own before.
While most of my college friends stayed home and went to university in London, I went to Cornwall. I only knew one other person who was bonkers enough to do the same thing as me (Hi, Ali, if you're reading this!)
Being the neurodivergent introvert that I am, I found it quite hard to make new friends. It's safe to say that I was in struggle-town. I would moan to my mum on the phone often, complaining that my flatmates didn't even notice I was there, let alone communicate with me.
Thoughtful Gestures
As my first birthday away from home approached, I started getting lots of post. Birthday card after birthday card arrived. Each one with ever so slightly different handwriting inside, and each from a name I didn't recognise- Bob, Carl, Enid, Mark...
I was so confused! Until I realised what was going on...
Yep. It was mum.
She had been sending me card after card, attempting to disguise her handwriting each time so my flatmates would think I had loads of friends back home, they would all want to become my friend and they would know it was my birthday!
What. A. Legend.
She then got more adventurous with what she'd send me, and I once even received a 6ft tall Finding Nemo poster with the seagulls saying "Mine!"
Meaningful Cards Worth Keeping
I started a box of keepsakes- things that I wanted to keep forever. Those thoughtful birthday cards meant the world to me and I still have them now.
I added to my memory box over the years, keeping special cards and letters from my favourite people, post it notes, polaroid pictures and a poem written to me by a drunk Scot in a pub. Sadly the poster didn't fit in my keepsake box and I've no idea where it ended up.
I think people are sentimental beings on the whole. We like to hold on to those tiny treasures- the inexpensive little pieces of paper and trinkets that would mean nothing to anybody else, but mean everything to us. It's funny what we keep hold of.
Greeting Card Business Beginnings
We never planned on having a laser cut greeting card business.
We bought our first laser cutter on a whim (hello, ADHD!) and started making wedding stationery because I was getting married. I wanted thoughtful, unique and beautiful cards to give to my guests, and this soon became a range of greeting cards.
As we started making cards, we realised that thoughtful cards are so much better than regular cards. We wanted to make people feel as happy as I felt when I received all those cards from mum back in my university days.
It wasn't enough just to make cards. Normal cards end up in the bin, forgotten and unremarkable, but special cards, they get put in keepsake boxes.
We needed to make sure that every single card was unique and special. We wanted our cards to be the most meaningful cards that a person could receive. They absolutely had to be the sort of cards that get kept in people's boxes, or, better still, put in frames and hung on walls in their homes.
Quality Over Everything
We decided that if we were going to make the most special cards, we would need to get really hot on quality. That's why we spent quite literally months developing techniques to reduce the scorch marks on the cards.
We also obsessed (and I do mean OBSESSED) over millimetres to make sure that the designs were placed correctly on the cards.
If we were going to be making thoughtful, keepsake cards, we were going to make sure we did it right!
Pogofandango- Thoughtful, Keepsake Cards- Our Origin Story
So there you go. That's our origin story- the reason why we are completely driven to create the most thoughtful, meaningful cards possible.
If you're looking for thoughtful keepsake greetings cards, made in the UK by a small family business, we're your girls. Check out our range of completely gorgeous and unique cards here.
If you've got a story about meaningful cards, please do drop us a message or let us know in the comments.
