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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I can&#8217;t take credit for the phrase, &#8220;Paper peeps are the best peeps,&#8221; but this check-in with my dear friend Karla Ebrahimi reminded me of its inherent truth. Karla is the face behind <a href="https://skyofbluecards.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="https://skyofbluecards.com/">Sky of Blue Cards</a>, a Menlo Park, California, house of stationery offering an exquisite array of letterpress cards as well as the magnificent LetterBox subscription box. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Watching the increasing intensity with which Karla responded first to the California wildfires in 2018, then COVID-19 starting this past Spring, and now <a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="https://blacklivesmatter.com/">Black Lives Matter</a>, has not only been inspiring, her journey mirrors how stationers (and indeed makers of all stripes) have gotten progressively smarter and more strategic about partnering with charities and devoting a portion of sales (if not ALL sales) to them. This is especially tricky for white makers wanting to support the Black community while also not wanting to upstage Black voices.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Karla&#8217;s experiences in 2018 with cause-related merchandise led her to carefully consider which three charities she chose for her Reach Out &; Write Someone campaign, which extends through the end of the month. 20% of all online sales will benefit <a href="https://wck.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="https://wck.org/">World Central Kitchen</a>, <a href="https://www.restaurantworkerscf.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="https://www.restaurantworkerscf.org/">Restaurant Workers&#8217; Community Foundation</a> and <a href="https://www.artistrelief.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="https://www.artistrelief.org/">Artist Relief Fund</a>. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Reach_Out_Write_Someone-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10005485" width="1251" height="1251"/></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then, as Karla puts it, &#8220;revolution broke out.&#8221; Wanting to honor George Floyd and his words, Karla returned to her much-loved medium of painting and did just that: shared his words for us all to experience for ourselves. I find her piece below both hard to look at and hard to look away from. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But when Karla shared her work in her Instagram feed June 1, ;just four days after announcing the Reach Out &; Write initiative, although her number of followers decreased, the response wasn&#8217;t entirely negative. Soon Karla realized she was connecting with her audience on an entirely new level. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_6635-740x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10005484" width="1259" height="1742"/><figcaption>Last Words<br>Karla Ebrahimi</figcaption></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Thus empowered, Karla designed her Black Lives Matter collection of letterpress cards, mugs and stickers (currently in production) — ;and is donating ALL proceeds to the ;<a href="http://naacpldf.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NAACP Legal Defense &; Educational Fund</a>, America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. That response has also been very positive so far, she told me. </p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-80946" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-80946 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="80946" 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-18158 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-off-the-press tag-nss2017 tag-showusthemoney tag-alexis-mattox-design tag-at-some-point-press-and-bindery tag-design tag-flair-paper tag-gold-foil tag-good-juju-ink tag-illustration tag-ilootpaperie tag-legion-paper tag-letterpress tag-little-lovelies-studio tag-lovebird-paper-co tag-national-stationery-show tag-paper-lovelies tag-parse-parcel tag-porkchopstick-studios tag-sparkvites tag-stationery tag-stationery-trends tag-stationery-trends-magazine tag-the-witty-gritty-paper-co tag-warren-tales" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/hey-nss2017-showusthemoney/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.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/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?w=800&;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=770%2C770&;ssl=1 770w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=200%2C200&;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=350%2C350&;ssl=1 350w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=460%2C460&;ssl=1 460w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=500%2C500&;ssl=1 500w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=293%2C293&;ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=75%2C75&;ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=390%2C390&;ssl=1 390w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=585%2C585&;ssl=1 585w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Photo-May-09-1-43-24-PM.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/hey-nss2017-showusthemoney/">Hey #NSS2017, #ShowUsTheMoney!</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="2017-05-11T13:36:46+00:00">May 11, 2017</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="18158"><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 class="wp-block-paragraph">Thank you Karla for joining me in The Paper Fold for such a candid chat about such a sensitive subject— ;and helping set the stage for the conversations that need to occur in every last corner of American life. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_6693-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10005317" width="1265" height="1265"/></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. <a href="http://smilesongs.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">smilesongs.com</a></p>