Michelle Anton, blogger for WomenEntrepreneur.com, has awesome taste in greeting cards!

Entrepreneurs Flourish In Austin, Texas

written by Michelle Anton

When I told my daughter that Austin must be doing something right, she said, “Austin Powers?” Once I stopped laughing I was able to share stories about a few new business owners I met in Austin, Texas, and how they possessed a refreshing burst of enthusiasm that I wanted to bring back to Los Angeles.

The first entrepreneur I met when I arrived was Penny of PennysPastries.com. She sells the tastiest chocolate chip cookie mix on the planet from her website. With flavors such as Chocolate Chip Indulgence, Peanut Butter Obsession, Black Magic and Chocolate-Chocolate Cherry, you’ll undoubtedly find something to delight your palette

And I would be remiss if I didn’t send a shout out to one of the entrepreneurs I met when I was leaving. Sue Rostvold of VerySuperCool.com gave me a box of greeting cards. (Yes! They really are cool.) Her tagline for VerySuperCool.com is “Green greeting cards with soul, because every dog has a story.” My friends fell in love with these adorable cards the moment they laid eyes on them. The heart-warming picture as well as the sayings inside each card makes them memorable.

[Read more →]

Verysupercool cards are prominently featured in the premiere issue of Stationery Trends Magazine, a hip, new trade publication that focuses on greeting cards, gifts, and all things stationery!

Stationery Trends Magazine will be making it’s big debut at the National Stationery Show next week and we’re so excited to be a part of it! Shades of Green, written by editor Sarah Schwartz, focuses on a topic that retailers across the country are yearning to learn more about; green stationery and gifts.

Read entire article below

Shades of Green
Eco-consciousness makes a big splash in stationery.
What role will it play in your store?

By Sarah Schwartz/Editor

These days, it’s impossible to be unaware of what’s become known as the green movement. From cleaning products to cars, consumers are reexamining both what they use and leave behind. It’s easy to wonder, is this another feel-good, election-year trend — or an enduring lifestyle?

“There is no question in my mind that ‘green’ is more than a new buzz word or passing trend,” said Sue Rostvold, founder and owner of Verysupercool. “While it’s on the tipping point of the mainstream right now, I feel people are slowly becoming aware of the wider implications of their actions. As long as we’re still dependent on non-renewable energy sources, there’s no reason a green lifestyle should not be enduring.”

[Read more →]

Thank you Green Printer for ranking Verysupercool #1! We really appreciate being appreciated!

Seven Ways Business is Green-ing Our World: One paper product at a time

The big names cannot help but pump out more sustainable paper products on an almost weekly basis. From biology college textbooks gone green to carbon friendly greeting cards, we’ve rounded up the top seven green papier goods that caught our eye.

1. Verysupercool (yes, that is their real and uber-funky name) teams with CarbonFund.org to create the Greenest Little Greeting Card in Texas. So, even while the mythical paperless office lures us with its green goodness, we still use and love our paper - printed on both sides, thankyouverymuch.

Read the entire article and see the other 6 products listed!

Posted by Thursday Bram for the MatterNETWORK.com:

Verysupercool: Greenest Little Greeting Card In Texas

Verysupercool, a greeting card company out of Austin Texas, is Carbonfund.org’s poster child. They are one of only two greeting card companies that were featured in the May/June issue of Greetings etc. magazine that use only 100% post-consumer waste paper. And the carbon emissions necessary for their business — shipping cards across the country to the more than 100 stores carrying Verysupercool’s products, for instance — are offset with the help of Carbonfund.org. [Read more →]

(Released from Carbonfund.org via The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire)

Greetings etc. Magazine’s Eco-Edition Showcases Verysupercool’s Greeting Cards Made Greener with Carbonfund.org

(CSRwire) AUSTIN, TX - May 7, 2008 - In partnership with Carbonfund.org, Verysupercool announced today the success of its green greeting cards, which were featured in the March/April edition of Greeting etc., a prominent stationery trade magazine. In Greeting etc’s comprehensive Eco-Friendly issue to date, Verysupercool was one of only two featured greeting card companies that use exclusively 100% post-consumer waste paper. In addition to being made from recycled materials, Verysupercool’s greeting cards are now even greener through the offset of carbon emissions with Carbonfund.org.

By joining Carbonfund.org’s Small CarbonFree(TM) Business program, Verysupercool is offsetting the CO2 emitted from the energy it takes to run the business and ship greeting cards across the nation. [Read more →]

Eco - Friendly Merchandise Issue Features Verysupercool

March 1, 2008 - Greetings etc. features Verysupercool cards in their Eco-Friendly Merchandise issue, their greenest publication to date. Kathy Krassner, Editor-in-Chief, talks about the Green Scene and how “being green can also help your business stay in the black!” [Read more →]

Austin Tidbits says, “Forego the typical, go for the Verysupercool!”

October 18, 2007 - Forego typical greeting cards and give a pup some praise. Austin-based company, VerySuperCool, specializes in doggie-themed cards printed on 100% post-consumer waste paper.

See Full Story…

Modern Dog LOVES Verysupercool green greeting cards!

Green Stuff We Love! Modern Dog staffers’ picks of the litter.

In their first GO - GREEN issue, Modern Dog applauds companies with conscious. Below, Verysupercool listed as number 3, featuring Buster, the rescued golden retriever. Inside the sympathy card, “Dogs’ lives are too short, their only fault really.”

3. Made from 100 percent recycled, acid free paper and soy inks, Verysupercool cards are certainly environmentally sensitive. Plus, they’re beautiful. Each card is essentially a mini-story, featuring a unique dog portraits on the front, a touching quote on the inside, and the cover dog’s bio, passions, and peeves on the back. ($.3.50, verysupercool.com) - Brielle

The Elite Pet Product Showcase features Verysupercool cards!

September 1, 2007 - Verysupercool card were prominently featured in The Pet Elite magazine’s first ever Eco-Friendly products spread. The Fall Trends edition also included the official tradeshow directory for New York’s Pet Fashion Week!

Verysupercool cards were featured as a green and unique alternative to traditional holiday cards in the Holiday 2006 issue of The Bark magazine.

Revive the lost art of handwritten communication,
write to loved ones with greetings and felicitations!

“Verysupercool not only produces appealing cards, they manufacture them in a verysupercool, environmentally friendly way.
Available in fine pet boutiques and card stores.”

Plenty Magazine thinks Verysupercool is Very Super Green

PRODUCT REVIEW - Plenty Magazine reviews Verysupercool Greeting Cards

Move over cuteoverload.com: The Rules of Cuteness has marked its territory on the green stationery market. We just discovered that the overenthusiastically- named VerySuperCool makes a shamelessly endearing line of cards that feature portraits of wide-eyed doggies printed on 100% PCR paper with soy-based inks. Inside the cards, you will find inspirational quotations such as “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better” (Albert Einstein), and I’ve seen a look in dog’s eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts” (John Steinbeck). Here, here.

Click here to order online. Even at $3.50 each these cards are totally irresistible. But don’t you wish you could buy them all as a set?

Verysupercool reviewed at the National Stationery Show

And the show (coverage) goes on.

The National Stationery Show is one of the more notable markets for finding fresh faces and fresh ideas. Truly, this is an industry niche that must continually reinvent itself in order to survive in a world gone “tech.” And when we consider that it not only meets the technology challenge head on, but continually draws in new talent as well - we would surely put the stationery category up there with the top contenders on the gift industry’s creative short list.

While it’s true the paper category is a bit easier for a newcomer to enter - it’s not quite as expensive to produce paper and printing samples as, say, ceramics, glassware, or even textiles - we still have to give credit to the ingenuity and creativity brought to the table.

A large majority of those “fresh faces” we met last week might have been new to the show, but in many cases the talent they brought with them had been finely tuned in other industries. If we heard it once, we heard it over and again: “I thought it was time for me to start doing this for myself.” Yes, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the stationery biz!

Fresh Faces, Well-seasoned Talent

Another show newcomer, Austin, Texas based VerySuperCool has only been in business six months, but the company’s unique cards already have placement in some 50 stores. The greeting cards feature rescue dogs - there are 40 all told - that company owners Sue Rostvold and Allan Little “know personally.” They photograph the dogs that are pictured on the cards, which are printed on 100 percent, recycled paper.

Interestingly, many of the outlets that carry the VerySuperCool line are hardware stores; chief among them Ace Hardware - which speaks volumes about how diverse the industry’s distribution channels have become.

by Carline Kennedy and Maria Weiskott

Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine

See Full Story…

Verysupercool, as seen in the January 2006 issue of Austin Business Journal

GREETINGS, AUSTINITES!

Some very supercool things are happening for an Austin greeting card company.

The Trends 2006 issue of Greetings etc., a trade magazine for the greeting card industry, has named Verysupercool the best new product.

Verysupercool, whose greeting cards feature dog portraits, was founded by animal lovers Sue Rostvold and Allan Little.

“We are delighted that Greetings etc. has recognized our cards in their all-important Trends 2006 issue. It’s a fantastic endorsement of the beauty and quality of our cards,” Rostvold says.

“When we create our cards, we are very passionate about capturing the very essence of the dog and matching that image with a thought-provoking quote.”

Greetings etc. chose Verysupercool as the best new product just months after the Austin company launched it’s line of cards. Rostvold attributed the win to the fact that there aren’t any other greeting cards on the market similar to Verysupercool’s.

Verysupercool also has a strong commitment to the environment, she says. The company’s greeting cards and envelopes are printed on 100 percent post-consumer paper.

In Austin, the cards are available at Breed & Co., Casa de Luz, Eco-Wise, Farm to Market Grocery, Moxie and the Compound, Sparks, Westlake Animal Hospital, Wheatsville Co-op and Whole Foods Market.

by Chantal Outon

Trends 2006 Issue - Features Verysupercool

January 1, 2006 - Just weeks after Verysupercool launched it’s new product line, Greetings etc named them BEST OF THE NEW in their Trends 2006 issue!

Verysupercool, as seen in the December 2005 issue of Austin Business Journal/Deal Report

Austin-based Verysupercool LLC (www.verysupercool.com) is selling their dog-themed greeting cards at the two Whole Foods Market Inc. (www.wholefoods.com) stores in Austin. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

By Melanie Spencer
American Statesman Staff

Last week, Sue Rostvold and her husband, Allan LIttle, launched their Austin-based greeing card company, Verysupercool. You might have seen them scouting for “models” along Town Lake or Zilker Park - the four-legged canine kind, that is. Each of their cards is an homage to a beloved pet, and the business allows Rostvold to merge her talents of photography and printing.

Austin American-Statesman: How and when did Verysupercool come to be?
Sue Rostvold: When our dog Scooby passed away, we found ourselves searching for the proper way to memorialize him. Losing Scooby was hard, and through sharing with friends; (we) realized others also found it difficult to offer comfort over the loss of a pet. When several friends also lost pets, I begin to make greeting cards using photos of the beloved pets. Rather than merely saying “deepest sympathy,” I included meaningful quotes that had a more universal appeal. Soon, I began creating a variety of fun cards with quotes for all occasions.

What about card making as an art form appeals to you?

The real art form for us is capturing the essence of each dog, be they mutt or purebred, old or young, working dog or fancy dog - we love them all. We found that they eyes are the windows to the soul and when we can capture that gaze with a camera, it makes a really compelling card.

Can you walk us through your process?

Well, for the most part, we are interested in real dogs that belong to real people. We walk Town Lake, scouting for an unusual or particularly eye-catching dog that we think would make a great card. We’ve developed a little business card that we offer to dog owners that explains what we are doing. Most people get very excited and act as if their dog has been chosen for “Star Search.” If we get the right shot and a dog is chosen for a card, the owners receive complimentary cards.

What is the most challenging aspect of working together and what is the most rewarding?

We pretty much agree about the fundamentals - we love dogs and we care about the environment. We find beauty in al types of dogs, and it’s fun to scope out the potential models while enjoying the local parks or walking around Town Lake. We print our cards on 100 percent post consumer waste paper. Photographing dogs isn’t easy, and catching that moment when they are looking exactly at the camera is even harder. We don’t even want to talk about the silliness that goes on while inthe middle of a photo session. Let’s just say sqeaky toys, treats and high-pitched, embarrassing voices are usually involved.

How or where do you find your inspiration?

How can you not be inspired by dogs? They give unconditional love, and they are there when you need them most. Our sweet dog Wenge, who is nearing the end of her life, has given us so much joy and inspiration over the last 15 years. She needs 24-hour care now, and it is a pleasure to give back to an animal that has done nothing but love us and entertain us her whole life. As for other dogs, we just like to get a snapshot of their real personality to offer a smile to others. We really enjoy spending time with all the different dogs and getting to know the owners; dog people are usually pretty cool. And then there are the inpriational quotes that you will find inside each card: from Emerson and Einstein to Aristotle and Shakespeare.

mspencer@statesman.com