<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, full disclosure: February is my least favorite month of the year for too many reasons to get into here, but fortunately this February just flew harmlessly by. The fact that I had not one but two fantastic work trips helped a lot: first I went to NYC for <a href="https://nynow.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="NY NOW">NY NOW</a> and <a href="https://shoppeobject.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="Shoppe Object">Shoppe Object</a>, and then I had a quick one-day jaunt to Detroit to judge the <a href="https://www.greetingcard.org/louie-awards/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="Louie Awards">Louie Awards</a>. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"> As tiring as all that road tripping can be, seeing so much great design, to say nothing of so many of my favorite paper nerds, is keeping me inspired and invigorated. With all that rushing around however I somehow missed a week to share a maker, so today I only have three makers for you. First up is <a href="https://www.zariacards.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="Zaria Cards. ">Zaria Cards</a>, founded by the beautiful mother-daughter team that is N’jeri Agyeman and Serwa Kenyetta. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<amp-vimeo data-videoid="544312325" layout="responsive" width="1140" height="641"></amp-vimeo>
</div></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The two named their brand for the Nigerian City Zaria, which dates back to the 11th Century and was also known as Zazzau or Zegzeg. From culture to culture and generation to generation, Zaria has gained a multitude of meanings and has symbolized blossom, light, and radiance, to name just a few. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><br>Together N&#8217;jeri and Serwa have created a charming, unapologetic range that feels like whoever just sent it to you, drew it just for you. These two are unafraid to color outside the lines, and their unflinching cards celebrate every last one of our imperfections.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Untitled-2-2-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010080"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Untitled-3-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010082"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Untitled-4-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010083"/></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Next, meet <a href="https://yardia.co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="Yardia.">Yardia.</a></p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<amp-vimeo data-videoid="545717864" layout="responsive" width="1140" height="641"></amp-vimeo>
</div></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yardia is one of those ranges that invites you look a little deeper than usual at the world around you, and as such, it has completely captured my heart in its relatively brief existence. The brainchild of Brigida Swanson, her mission is to create art to help people love our planet and express all our intersectional identities. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"> Brigida is a Seattle multiracial CHamoru watercolor artist who creates Pacific Northwest-inspired cards, gifts and home decor for gardeners, hikers and nature lovers to lose themselves in and share with loved ones. She has build Yardia upon five core values: nature, creativity, empathy, belonging, and harmony. But don&#8217;t take my word for it — I think the below snapshots I took of one of her work at NY NOW illustrates this wonderfully!<br> </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4338-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010084"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4339-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010085"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4340-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010086"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/yardia-greeting-cards-cover-submission-1081x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010087"/></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rounding out my February trio is <a href="https://www.paperbaristas.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="Paper Baristas">Paper Baristas</a>. If you are not familiar with this exquisite brand, it&#8217;s time to change all that. </p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-80832" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-80832 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="80832" 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-20001 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-favorites tag-art-print tag-colorplan tag-cyber-monday tag-dahlia-press tag-legion-paper tag-letterpress tag-letterpress-art-print tag-limited-edition-print tag-national-stationery-show tag-sarah-schwartz tag-stationery-blog tag-stationery-design tag-stationery-designer tag-stephanie-clarke tag-the-ms-foundation tag-the-paper-chronicles tag-writes-for-women" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/writes-for-women-limited-edition-print-from-dahlia-press/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.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/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.jpg?resize=200%2C200&;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.jpg?resize=293%2C293&;ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.jpg?resize=75%2C75&;ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.jpg?resize=390%2C390&;ssl=1 390w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.jpg?resize=585%2C585&;ssl=1 585w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Womens-Rights_4_800px.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/favorites/" style="color:#b79b0d" class="cat">Favorites</a></div></div><div class="title-wrap"><h3 class="title"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/writes-for-women-limited-edition-print-from-dahlia-press/">Writes For Women Limited Edition Print from Dahlia Press!</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="2017-11-27T13:36:32+00:00">November 27, 2017</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="20001"><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>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<span class="embed-youtube" style="text-align:center; display: block;"><amp-youtube data-videoid="JXdV8eDoxfo" data-param-rel="1" data-param-showsearch="0" data-param-showinfo="1" data-param-iv_load_policy="1" data-param-fs="1" data-param-hl="en-US" data-param-autohide="2" data-param-wmode="transparent" width="1140" height="642" layout="responsive"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXdV8eDoxfo" placeholder><amp-img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JXdV8eDoxfo/hqdefault.jpg" alt="YouTube Poster" layout="fill" object-fit="cover"><noscript><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JXdV8eDoxfo/hqdefault.jpg" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="YouTube Poster"></noscript></amp-img></a></amp-youtube></span>
</div></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"> If the spellbinding sentiments and distinctive presentation doesn&#8217;t enchant you, this marvelous maker&#8217;s commitment to fair trade and upcycling definitely will. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><br>I am really loving seeing Christy&#8217;s work (to say nothing of her color palette) evolve. I took the images below at NY NOW; these notes evoke the idea of a special, one-of-a-kind missive prepared just for you — which of course each is!</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4354-1024x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010091"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4356-1024x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010092"/></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">These are but three makers to discover in the vibrant Greeting Card Association community. Get involved <a href="https://www.greetingcard.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="here">here</a> — and I hope to see you next month in person at *<a href="https://www.greetingcard.org/noted/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="Noted">Noted</a>!</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/desk-finds-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10010093"/></figure>