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<p>A decade ago, Emily McDowell of Emily McDowell Studio sparked a greeting card revolution and evolution with the release of her Empathy Collection. Her card reading, &#8220;There is no good card for this&#8221; was both an acknowledgment that the market didn&#8217;t reflect real life, and a challenge to makers to begin doing just that.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/preso-1335x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10012988"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Emily&#8217;s impact on the greeting card medium with her empathy cards was such that I featured some of her early designs in a trends presentation I created for the Greeting Card Association&#8217;s last annual workshop &; retreat.</figcaption></figure>



<p>Emily&#8217;s self-named stationery brand would eventually become <a href="https://emandfriends.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Em &; Friends</a>; in 2022 it was acquired by Union Square Publishing, the publishing arm of Barnes &; Noble. While she currently serves in a part-time consulting role, she is no longer an employee or part of its leadership.</p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-61306" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-61306 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="61306" 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-10002161 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-off-the-press tag-art-prints tag-design tag-greeting-cards tag-illustration tag-journals tag-sarah-schwartz tag-shades-of-expression-designs tag-stationery tag-stationery-blog tag-stationery-design tag-stationery-designer tag-the-paper-chronicles tag-women-owned-business" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/hip-chicks-in-action/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/26-0009-PSD_edited-2a_edited-1a_edited-1.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/2019/08/26-0009-PSD_edited-2a_edited-1a_edited-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/26-0009-PSD_edited-2a_edited-1a_edited-1.jpg?resize=200%2C200&;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/26-0009-PSD_edited-2a_edited-1a_edited-1.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/26-0009-PSD_edited-2a_edited-1a_edited-1.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/26-0009-PSD_edited-2a_edited-1a_edited-1.jpg?resize=96%2C96&;ssl=1 96w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/26-0009-PSD_edited-2a_edited-1a_edited-1.jpg?resize=300%2C300&;ssl=1 300w" 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/hip-chicks-in-action/">Hip Chicks in Action!</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="2019-08-23T14:05:31+00:00">August 23, 2019</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="10002161"><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-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/EMF_Birthdaycards-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10012977"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A few recent Em &; Friends releases</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/EMFriends_MenopauseTracker_InSitu-1-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10012978"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Em &; Friends has several menopause cards + a menopause tracker journal, a collaboration with actress Naomi Watts</figcaption></figure>



<p>Since <a href="https://www.instagram.com/emilyonlife/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">@emilyonlife</a> is currently on sabbatical from many of her endeavors, I am beyond grateful that she sat down with me to reflect on the art of disruption; the importance of timing; writing, rewriting and then rewriting again — ;as well as the dimensions and ultimate limitations of success. This interview was so compelling, I had to stretch it over two episodes!</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/EmilyMcDowell_Headshot_091221-733x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10012975" width="770" height="1076"/></figure>