Gallery Collection Blog

Taking Time to Stop and Order the Christmas Cards

Ordering Christmas cards used to give me a stomachache. There, I said it.

As an office manager for a small plumbing company, it should have been one of my more pleasant tasks, but it was not. It would remind me of all the tasks that would be coming my way, both at work, and at home. You know what I mean. It’s that snowball effect: if it’s time to order Christmas cards, then it’s time to think about updating the mailing list, shopping for gifts, and wrapping and cooking, and on and on.

I agree with my boss that sending out business Christmas cards is a great way to keep in touch with our customers, and let them know they are important to us. Easy for her to say, she just has to say “Isn’t it time to think about ordering cards?” And guess who does all the work?

Recently, when the Gallery Collection catalog came, I made a conscious decision that this year would be different. I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down with the beautiful catalog to pick out several design options. It was hard to narrow it down because when it comes to cards, the Gallery Collection catalog has so many options. They really are gorgeous cards and the best part is that I know when I place my order I will be receiving a quality product , and I can cross one thing off of my long to-do list!

Time for Holiday Cards!

Halloween is almost here and that means one thing; the holidays are just around the corner! When we think of the holiday season there are many things that come to mind: snowmen, getting together with friends and family, the smell pies baking, and of course, holiday cards! Holiday cards help us remind people, especially those we do not see everyday, that we are still thinking of them.

This is precisely why Christmas cards for business have become so popular. Sending cards to clients and customers is the perfect way to remind them how much you value their business. As an administrative assistant, I am usually the point of communication between the company I work for and any services we need, and I always feel appreciated when I receive a holiday card from one of the companies we’ve worked with. Not to mention, they are usually the first ones I remember when I need to use that service again.

Last year, I suggested to my supervisor that we should send out our own business Christmas cards and he loved the idea! Although what he loved even more was how many of our customers mentioned how happy they were to receive them and how it really made them feel like we took a personal interest in their business. I definitely started a new tradition at our company; he’s already having me research the designs for this year’s card!

Gallery Collection Charitable Donations – Easter Seals of NJ

The mission of the Easter Seals of NJ is to enable individuals with disabilities or special needs, and their families, to live, learn, work and play in their communities with equality, dignity and independence. And they’ve been doing so for quite some time! They are currently celebrating their 65th anniversary of providing service programs that give help to so many.

Thank You Cards

The Gallery Collection believes it is extremely important to give back to the community and to make charitable donations whenever possible. So we were thrilled to make a donation of 100 Thank You cards to the Easter Seals of NJ. They will be able to use these cards to thank donors and everyone who has supported them in all of their endeavors. But we would like to thank them for making such a huge difference in the lives of so many.

The Gallery Collection Has Earned The 2013 Bizrate® Circle of Excellence Award

The Gallery Collection is pleased to announce that we have received the 2013 Bizrate® Circle of Excellence Award. Each year this award recognizes online retailers that have provided a superior online shopping experience and above average customer service, as rated by the customers themselves. This marks the 2nd consecutive year The Gallery Collection has received this award.

Online retailers earning this award received significantly higher scores than average across seven key satisfaction indicators, including Overall Satisfaction, Product Selection, and Customer Support. The Gallery Collection was among a group of only 133 online retailers achieving these consistent high scores out of more than 5,000 companies within the Bizrate® Insights North American Retailer Network, placing it in the top 2.6% of participants.

“As a company we have always taken pride in offering exceptional customer service,” said H.L. DeVore, Chief Marketing Officer for The Gallery Collection. “To be recognized by Bizrate® through the positive feedback of our own customers is both an honor and a testament to the success of our customer-centric philosophy. We will continue to strive for a seamless and positive online experience and to maintain excellence in our everyday customer interactions.”

You can view The Gallery Collection’s customer satisfaction ratings and customer reviews at its detailed Bizrate Store Rating page.

Christmas Cards Made Simple

The demands associated with running a new business can be hard, especially with the holiday season just around the corner. When I started running my own HVAC Systems business, I was not quite prepared for the sometimes overwhelming tasks that come hand in hand with running your own business. I started it in March and after a few extremely short months, thought I’d be running my new business right into the ground! The holiday season brought upon a whole new host of problems and I had no idea one of the biggest thorns in my side would be Christmas cards! My business mainly installs central air conditioning units for large wholesalers, personal homes, and everything in between; thinking of a greeting that fit my holiday wishes to my wide range of clients was difficult, but the answer finally came as a catalog in the mail.

The Gallery Collection helped me down to every detail of the card (I had no idea I would be thinking so much about whether to use ‘and’ or ‘&’!) The process in my head that took weeks to mull over was done on the phone in less than 30 minutes. They had no problem incorporating my logo into the card; allowing me to send holiday greetings and drive some business. After the season, I was overwhelmed with the amount of business I had received by just sending out a holiday greeting! I would recommend The Gallery Collection for corporate Christmas cards, small businesses, or anybody who needs a few to say something special. The staff is wonderful to work with and I anticipate not having to think about these in the future!

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series – Winners 2007 Through 2011

Today’s entry into the Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back series takes a look at all of the beautiful winning entries and the cards that they were turned into. Join us down a trip of memory lane starting with our first ever winning design by Elizabeth Digre, all the way to the 2011 winning design by Whitney Fuertes.

2007 Winning Design by Elizabeth Digre – Season’s Greetings Golden Snowscape Card

2008 Winning Design by George Humeston – Full Moon Winter Night Christmas Card

2009 Winning Design by Lauren Ondreko – Snowman Surprise Christmas Card

2010 Winning Design by Dawnee Burson – Log Cabin Greetings Holiday Card

2011 Winning Design by Whitney Fuertes – Gilded Nativity Christmas Card

Thanksgiving Cards – A Plus in the Corporate World

The business world has embraced sending corporate holiday cards as a way of reaching out to customers, clients and associates. Many cards are sent and received during the month of December with the result that you are never sure if your card is more than glanced at. We decided last year to send out Thanksgiving cards as a change of pace.

Knowing that most businesses send out Season’s Greetings cards to be both politically correct and socially conscious, we thought why not Thanksgiving cards. Everybody in the United States celebrates on the same day for the same reason so you can’t offend anyone. In addition why not be the first card of the season received. Talk about standing out. How many times during the busy holiday season do you receive 10, 12 or more cards that you open and barely read? Well it works the same as at home. The first cards of the season you remember more because they come one at a time when you have a moment to read them.

Let’s think about how under appreciated Thanksgiving is as a holiday. It gets very little publicity because it is overshadowed by the coming Christmas period. In reality more people take time to relax and reflect with family and friends at Thanksgiving than any other holiday. A great meal, close family and good friends put you in such a pleasant state of mind, why not use this holiday to send a message of thanks to everyone you send corporate holiday cards to? You will be the first card received, get more notice than the other corporate cards and you will be sending a great message of thanks to all your customers.

We intend to send Thanksgiving cards from our company for the foreseeable future, until everyone catches on and then we may have to rethink our strategy, maybe consider being really first with New Year’s Cards. We’ll keep you posted.

Cheap Christmas Cards Can Leave A Bad Impression

I have the privilege of working for The Gallery Collection, one of the top greeting card companies in the country. I feel we produce the most beautiful, dazzling Christmas cards, and the results are truly eye catching. I have always been entranced with the array of color found in things that sparkle, and these cards are all of this and more.

Cheap Christmas Cards Leave a Bad Impression

In my travels during the holiday season, several years ago, I visited a few offices in another state. I remember noticing how their greeting cards were displayed around the room. Some were taped to the wall, and others were hung on a piece of string. If the greeting cards are of high quality, they truly stand out amongst the other not so pretty cards. Cheap Christmas cards can leave a bad impression, and find there way to the bottom of the pile so to speak. Companies that purchase “high end” cards will have a lasting impression from the card sender, and perhaps develop future business all because of an eye catching Christmas card. On the 2 office visits, I spotted cards immediately which were designed by my company. I actually felt a sense of happiness and pride to see our company’s classy cards up front and center!

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series – 2007 Design Family

Welcome back to the Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series. The 2007 winner, Elizabeth Digre, submitted a beautiful scene of a calm lake surrounded by snow covered trees with the sun glistening through them. It was such a beautiful scene and became a wonderful addition to our product line. In today’s entry, we wanted to take a chance to show off a couple of other beautiful snow covered tree scenes in our line of cards. Check them out below.

2007 Winning Entry – Season’s Greetings Golden Snowscape Card

Card Description: The winter sun bids a glowing goodnight on the burnished gold landscape of a serene lake, framed by branches of snow-kissed trees.

Glittering Forest Holiday Card

Card Description: Surrounded by a border of deep blue and reflective silver foil, this winter scene will bring peace to all with its sense of serenity. A soft white cloud of snow seems to open a window on a gathering of snow-crusted fir trees, silently greeting silver snowflakes as they float high above. This Season’s Greetings card will delight both the sender and recipient.

Season’s Greetings Silvery Pines Card

Card Description: Iridescent foil draws your eye to the splendor of the evergreens in winter. The muted mountaintops in the background stand as silent reminders of the snow yet to come.

Frosty Night Seasons Greeting Card

Card Description: This holiday card depicts the perfect winter scene. A glorious stream, with its banks of snow, leads into the secluded splendor of a cozy forest community. This lovely, inviting scene will bring warmth to your Season’s Greetings. Appropriate Christmas card wishes to send employees, business clients and friends.

Elizabeth Digre’s remarkable design fit right in with the rest of our collection of holiday cards. It truly was an amazing entry and the perfect design to be chosen as the winner of our first ever Create-A-Greeting-Card scholarship contest.

Business Christmas Cards Are Good Office Etiquette

We all know that sending emails and/or text messages are such time savers but lets face it, they are not very heartfelt. Especially during the holiday season where we are even more appreciative for our relationships with clients and vendor. What better time to show how grateful you are of them? With sending business Christmas cards you show that you and your company are invested in the relationship rather then typing up a couple of sentences and clicking send.

With business Christmas cards you get to hold the actual card that was picked out and read the message that they took the time to hand write just for you. You are not simply staring at a screen that probably has a holiday greeting that was copied to 20 other emails. Unfortunately, we live in a society where manners are hard to come by but rest assure that when sending Christmas cards it will be a win-win situation for both parties. Don’t get lost in the countless holiday emails this season. Showcase your company in a positive light and be remembered for it! When contemplating if you should send out cards think about how many emails you get a day and how many cards you get in a year. It’s an easy choice!

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