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<p>Greeting cards have the nearly impossible task of connecting us with loved ones when we don&#8217;t know what to say — so we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to makers like Rachel Kroh of <a href="https://heartellpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heartell Press</a>, who have made it their life&#8217;s work to help others give and get the emotional support they need. Today we travel behind the vibrant Heartell design curtain to learn what drives these irresistible, timeless woodblock designs.</p>



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<p>Rachel well understands grief, our enduring taboo against discussing grief — ;and even the many types of loss and change that can spark this staggering emotion. In fact, she founded her entire house of cards following her own Mother&#8217;s terminal cancer diagnosis. </p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-37219" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-37219 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="37219" 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-22634 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-off-the-press tag-25th-anniversary tag-candles tag-cards tag-design tag-dishes tag-gillian-simon tag-greeting-cards tag-magnets tag-matt-fernandes-vogel tag-mugs tag-pins tag-pouches tag-quotable tag-sarah-schwartz tag-stationery tag-stationery-blog tag-stationery-design tag-stationery-designer tag-thank-you-stationery tag-the-paper-chronicles tag-thinking-of-you-week" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/happy-birthday-quotable/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.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/2018/09/321.jpg?w=800&;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=770%2C770&;ssl=1 770w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=200%2C200&;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=350%2C350&;ssl=1 350w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=460%2C460&;ssl=1 460w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=500%2C500&;ssl=1 500w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=293%2C293&;ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=75%2C75&;ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=390%2C390&;ssl=1 390w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=585%2C585&;ssl=1 585w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/321.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/happy-birthday-quotable/">Happy Birthday Quotable!</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="2018-09-26T14:22:59+00:00">September 26, 2018</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="22634"><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>In this, the first of two episodes, we discuss the evolution of Heartell, which started in Brooklyn but spread westward with a one-of-a-kind production process in tow. While navigating grief is the cornerstone of this brand — and Rachel&#8217;s collaboration with grief counselor and author Lisa Keefauver offers both visual and emotional comfort in stationery form — she also finds a great healing power within arresting beauty. So whether Rachel is figuring out how to incorporate risograph offerings alongside her existing letterpress designs, or working on portraying the powerful bodies of women, her constant experimentation drives our collective growth. </p>



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Rachel Kroh of Heartell
