<p>Sometimes something really amazing can arise from something really horrible. Just ask Daniela Garcia Allie from <a href="https://amadorcollective.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amador Collective</a>, who started designing greeting cards in 2009 late one night after a fabulous date with her now-husband.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was inspired to stay up for hours making him a card,&#8221; she recalled. &#8220;It was incredibly satisfying and I began doing it for every single month anniversary and holiday possible. Much time passed, our love continued to inspire me and I continued to make cards.&#8221;</p>
<p>During the ensuing years, Daniela developed her card-making muscle, starting to really believe that &#8220;I could make cool art for the world.&#8221; When she got married, she designed and constructed her wedding invitations with the help of her local Paper Source.</p>
<p>Then came a &#8220;brutal&#8221; 2016/2017, which kicked off with Daniela having mysterious health issues that resulted in a Hodgkins Lymphoma diagnosis at 29. &#8220;My cancer diagnosis was a relief to me and I got a new sense of purpose and lightness,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;I had the feeling like I was going to make it beyond this bump in my story and create something big. I began to ponder what I&#8217;d ideally like to do once done with chemo and decided I&#8217;d like to create art in the form of a tangible product.&#8221;</p>
<p>Daniela started researching the greeting card industry and &#8220;reading the success stories behind other companies got me through the post-chemo blues.&#8221; Post-treatment, she polished some designs and reached out to like-minded makers — <a href="https://www.goodjujuink.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Good JuJu Ink</a> and <a href="http://www.warrentales.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Warren Tales</a> — &#8220;and within months I was walking in the path I&#8217;d been dreaming up.&#8221;</p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-47886" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-47886 block-wrap-classic columns__m--1 elements-design-3 block-ani block-skin-0 tipi-box block-wrap-thumbnail ppl-m-1 clearfix" data-id="47886" data-base="0"><div class="tipi-row-inner-style clearfix"><div class="tipi-row-inner-box contents sticky--wrap"><div class="block block-23 clearfix"><article class="tipi-xs-12 clearfix with-fi ani-base tipi-xs-typo split-1 split-design-1 loop-0 preview-thumbnail preview-23 elements-design-3 post-18860 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-off-the-press tag-2018-desk-calendar tag-cocktail-calendars tag-letterpressed tag-notecards tag-sarah-schwartz tag-sky-of-blue-cards tag-stationery tag-stationery-blog tag-stationery-designer tag-thank-you-stationery tag-the-paper-chronicles" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/heady-stationery-concoctions-from-sky-of-blue-cards/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=200%2C200&;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=293%2C293&;ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=75%2C75&;ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=390%2C390&;ssl=1 390w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=585%2C580&;ssl=1 585w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/33859527324_b336c2f8d5_o.jpg?resize=96%2C96&;ssl=1 96w" sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" /></a></div><div class="meta"><div class="byline byline-2 byline-cats-design-4"><div class="byline-part cats"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/category/off-the-press/" style="color:#b79b0d" class="cat">Off The Press</a></div></div><div class="title-wrap"><h3 class="title"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/heady-stationery-concoctions-from-sky-of-blue-cards/">Heady Stationery Concoctions from Sky of Blue Cards!</a></h3></div><div class="byline byline-3"><span class="byline-part date"><i class="tipi-i-calendar" aria-hidden="true"></i> <time class="entry-date published dateCreated flipboard-date" datetime="2017-07-20T14:09:25+00:00">July 20, 2017</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="18860"><span class="likes-heart"><i class="tipi-i-heart-o" aria-hidden="true"></i><i class="tipi-i-heart" aria-hidden="true"></i></span><span class="tipi-value">0</span></a></span></div></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div></tipimidc>
<p>She booked a booth at last year&#8217;s <a href="https://www.nationalstationeryshow.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Stationery Show</a> and debuted with 34 designs, all inspired by pop-culture and California vibes. She got some orders, met more like-minded stationery peeps and continues to connect with &#8220;rad stores all over.&#8221; Amador Collective is now in a dozen stores, but of course Daniela isn&#8217;t slowing down. &#8220;My goal is to appeal to a younger audience and get them to connect in a more real way.&#8221;</p>
<p>Amador&#8217;s screen-printed and letterpressed offerings definitely have a freewheeling and rather intoxicating left-coast mood — but I&#8217;ll let you draw your own conclusions!<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22524" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cronicals-1.jpg" alt="" width="804" height="684" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22518" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cron-5.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="800" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22519" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cron-7.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="883" /> <img class="size-full wp-image-22560 aligncenter" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cronic-10.jpg" alt="" width="795" height="1097" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22520" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cron-8.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="800" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22521" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cronic-3.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="947" /><img class="size-full wp-image-22559 aligncenter" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cronic-9.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1037" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22522" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cronic-4.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1067" />What&#8217;s up next for Daniela? She&#8217;ll be releasing holiday soon, and has already booked her spot at #NSS2019. &#8220;I am a believer in persistence and positive thinking — we all have the choice to channel our inner power and share our talents with the world!&#8221; she finished. You can shop her work <a href="https://amadorcollective.com/shop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> in the meantime!<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22558" src="https://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paper-Cron-5-1.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="955" />Photographs courtesy of <a href="http://cheyennearnold.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cheyenne Arnold</a></p>