What makes the perfect gift? Usually it is something so spot-on, it suggests that the giver knows you almost as well as you know yourself. The 2022 Holiday Greeting Card Kit from Sappi is just such a gift if, like me, you adore paper, and wish you were better about sending handwritten cards throughout the year.
Designed by VSA Partners and produced by our good friends at Classic Color, the kit arrives in a shipper box flooded with an elegant Blue, broken up only by the words “Sincerely Yours” in Metallic Copper ink, and a Copper Foil seal that holds the lid shut. An embossed botanical illustration on that seal gives us a tantalizing hint of the theme just waiting to be discovered inside.
“A handwritten note is a gift of precious time” is printed on the inside of the lid, revealing the sentiment behind the entire kit, while your first glimpse of the packaging inside tells you that a truly elegant experience awaits.
Resembling an exquisite recipe box, the case, made of 18 pt. C1S (Coated 1 Side) Sappi Spectro [PaperSpecs PRO members: Get the Swatchbook!], features a telescoping lid that reveals just enough of a Copper hint – between the Blue of the upper and lower halves – to intrigue.
Embossed and hot stamped in Copper foil are the words “2022 Reflect Connect,” matching the Copper foil floral accents, while Spot UV artwork adds even more depth to the botanical theme.
While ostensibly included to remind us to slow down and remember our connection to nature, these illustrations, glimpsed throughout the kit, are also a subtle reminder of the days when it wasn’t uncommon to press flowers in cards, books and diaries.
A Soft-Touch coating makes this box one no one could ever bear to part with. From the shipping box to the cards inside, every piece boasts this same finger-pleasing feel.
Removing the lid reveals – ta da! – a wooden pen held firmly in place by 2 die-cut tabs, all against a Blue background surrounded by more Metallic Copper floral illustrations. And just below the pen sits the printed phrase “Give the gift of words.” This pen holder is actually part of a larger 10 pt. Spectro C2S tri-fold card, which includes an introduction letter and the production details for the whole kit.
Inside, 10 greeting cards, printed on different weights of Sappi Spectro, celebrate the incomparable impact of paper. Ranging from “Joyful Holiday” and “New Year’s” wishes to more versatile salutations like “Let’s Celebrate” and “Warmest Wishes,” each card boasts its own unique design and finishing technique, including sharp embossing, die cuts, and Spot Gloss UV. And of course every card is blank inside, allowing you plenty of room to handwrite your thoughts using the pen supplied.
Even the envelopes are adorned with Metallic Copper or Blue floral elements and matching printed interiors, brilliantly tying them to the rest of the kit. Once written, envelopes can then be sealed with embossed Copper foil seals made from 100 lb. Sappi McCoy.
But wait, there is more… if you can believe it.
Inside the “Warmest Wishes card,” depicting a wreath, is a sticker sheet – 100 lb. Sappi McCoy Silk Text [PaperSpecs PRO members: Get the Swatchbook!] – encouraging you to use the provided stickers of pinecones, Christmas ornaments and more to customize your wreath.
The designers have thought of absolutely everything here, going so far as to include tabbed dividers – complete with peel-off, pre-printed labels – so that the cards can be sorted according to occasion.
Even after you’ve used all the cards, you’re sure to hold on to the box – serving as a constant reminder to both “reflect” and “connect” by sending handwritten notes year-round.
Exquisite! Is this available to purchase? I would buy a half dozen in a heartbeat.
Alas it isn’t as far as we know, Cheryl – it was a holiday gift for Sappi clients.