<p class="has-drop-cap">I always refer to envelopes as humble, but really they are deceptively simple items holding endless potential and promise. They can be lined, adorned with vintage stamps, addressed in a beautiful brush script — the possibilities are only limited by the imagination (and occasionally the USPS). </p>



<p>With that said, envelopes are still often overlooked within the entire card exchange process. The first moment someone spies a distinctive envelope peeking out from between bills in a mailbox or sitting atop a sumptuous gift, they know it&#8217;s something special.</p>



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<p>So for an indie maker looking to differentiate itself, they can also be an important branding tool. Just ask Joe Mihalow, owner/creative director of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="xou (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.xouxouxou.com/" target="_blank">xou</a> (pronounced “ex-oh-you”). Greeting cards are the main focus, with giftwrap currently available and notepads and stickers in the works for 2020.</p>



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<p>&#8220;I always think of the envelopes as our invisible foundation,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;They support the tactile experience of the cards, and the creative elements printed on the cards themselves — so when we receive compliments on our cards I always take it as a shared compliment between the card and the envelope.&#8221; </p>



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<p>When creating xou, Joe wanted the everything about the brand to flow from the logo, a classic red heart. &#8220;It felt right that it was our center and pumped life into everything we create,&#8221; he noted. &#8220;Red has always felt powerful and passionate to me and I wanted those feelings to be our foundation. ;So it made sense that that our envelopes — the anchor for our card line — would also convey those feelings to our customers and the final recipients of the cards.&#8221; ; ; ; ;</p>



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<p>Joe first became familiar with Keaykolour — ;distributed solely by <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Mohawk (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.mohawkconnects.com/" target="_blank">Mohawk</a> in North America — through its amazing deck. &#8220;I was lucky enough to get one, which I still have in our office,&#8221; he recalled. &#8220;I love everything about it. ;From the color palette to the shape of each card, the entire presentation was fun and well executed.&#8221;</p>



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<p>&#8220;Coincidentally, around this time, the red envelope we had originally used — Bright Red Poptone — was being discontinued,&#8221; Joe said. &#8220;There’s a ton of red envelopes on the market but I knew I wanted to stay with a signature red. Instead of freaking out about trying to match the Poptone, I immediately, grabbed the Keaykolour deck and pulled the Chili Pepper card.&#8221; </p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-30833" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-30833 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="30833" 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-17890 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-off-the-press tag-birthday-cards tag-cards tag-chicnawdie tag-congratulations-cards tag-design tag-fathers-day-cards tag-gouache tag-greeting-cards tag-illustration tag-mothers-day-cards tag-national-stationery-show tag-new-baby-cards tag-sarah-schwartz tag-stationery tag-thank-you-cards tag-thank-you-stationery tag-watercolor tag-wedding-cards" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/chicnawdie-goes-gouache/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.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/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.jpg?resize=200%2C200&;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.jpg?resize=293%2C293&;ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.jpg?resize=75%2C75&;ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.jpg?resize=390%2C390&;ssl=1 390w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.jpg?resize=585%2C585&;ssl=1 585w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ChicNawdie_NewCards_SS2017_01.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/chicnawdie-goes-gouache/">Chic+Nawdie Goes Gouache!</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="2017-04-21T12:54:36+00:00">April 21, 2017</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="17890"><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>



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<p>From there, Rebecca Gatto at Mohawk pointed Joe to <a href="https://www.announcementconverters.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Announcement Converters (opens in a new tab)">Announcement Converters</a>, and he placed an order for 10,000 Chili Pepper euro flap envelopes. He hasn’t looked back since. &#8220;I’m happier now than I was with the original envelopes,&#8221; he noted. &#8220;Everything is better: color, texture, price point. It was a seamless transition for us, our stockists and our retail customers. And what I love, and our customers seem to love, is that Chili Pepper strikes the right emotional tone across nearly every occasion our cards cover.&#8221; </p>



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<p>And while Joe is enamored with Chili Pepper, he has his eye on several other Keaykolour options. &#8220;While I can say today that Keaykolour Chili Pepper will remain as our envelope anchor, ;xou was created to have fun and be creative, and for me the element of surprise is really at the heart of both. ;So, I can definitely see projects in the future (from capsule collections to collaborations) using other colors from the Keaykolour palette — I’m absolutely ready to use Lipstick, Orchid and Indian Yellow asap!&#8221;</p>



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<p>Well, you heard it here first! Immerse yourself in all things Keaykolour <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="here (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.mohawkconnects.com/products/paper/keaykolour" target="_blank">here</a> — and shop the marvelous, mischievous world that is xou <a href="https://www.xouxouxou.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="here (opens in a new tab)">here</a>!</p>



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