How to Be a Birth Announcement Card Creator
Today's "I Want to Be" series features Christina Butorac, who creates birth announcement cards as well as party invitations. Christina is married to Mountain (yes, his real name) and is mom to two girls, ages 8 and 4. They live outside Atlanta. Find out how to connect with Christina at the end of this article.
How long have you had your business?
I
began Metro Baby Cards in 2005. Before starting my company I was a
designer for an Advertising/PR firm specializing in Hollywood movies.
What led you to pursue it?
After
my oldest daughter was born, I began searching the internet for photo birth
announcements. I did not find anything with the clean and modern style I
wanted, so I made them myself. My family and friends loved the card and
encouraged me to start selling them online. I worked on more designs, created a
website, and started selling. I now have over 600 designs including birth
announcements, baptism invitations, birthday invitations, Christmas, Hanukkah
and Halloween cards, thank you cards, return address labels and a line of
modern nursery art prints.
Are you full time or part time? If part-time, do you
anticipate switching to full time?
Metro
Baby Cards is my full-time job. Luckily, with being my own boss, my hours are
very flexible.
How do you market your business?
Word
of mouth, repeat customers, social media and my blog.
What is your favorite part of the business?
It is such an
honor to have parents invite me to work one on one with them on their baby's
birth announcement, birthday invitation, family Christmas cards, and art prints
for their nursery. I especially love the repeat Christmas card orders - I love
seeing the same babies for whom I created birth announcements get bigger every
year!
What one question do you get most
from people about your business?
Many customers ask about
customization. They want to take a design I created and specialize it further
to fit their baby - a custom color, adding a family crest or logo, their baby's
nursery theme art, etc. Other companies don't offer that kind of customization.
What one myth or misconception do
you want to dispel about the work you do?
That anyone with a computer and
Photoshop can do this. I have been a graphic designer for 14 years. Every
design is meticulously made. Colors, fonts, proportions, design elements… each
is chosen for a specific purpose. Design is so much more than knowing your way
around computer software.
What advice do you have for
others who want to get into a similar opportunity?
Learn everything you can about design! Knowing how to use
design software like Photoshop will only get you so far. Read books and
articles about design. Learn typography. Learn color theory. Get on twitter and
follow the stars of the graphic design community. They frequently offer great
insight into current design trends.
What websites or books do you
recommend for tips?
You can learn more about what Christina does at her website,
Metro Baby Cards. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter as well as her blog.
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