From 2015 to 2017 I was working in a comic and boardgame shop in Leeds. Science Fiction and Fantasy games, film and literature have always been a huge part of my life, entities such as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons forming the backbone of my tastes from early childhood, so it was a perfect fit for a LARPer like me!

Almost every week we'd be asked if we stocked greeting cards and would end up in a lengthy discussion about how difficult it can be to find unique, crafty gifts and cards for our fellow geeky friends! It took me over a year to bite the bullet and give it a shot myself - after all, there was clearly a gap in the market for our existing customers!

I designed and printed five seasonal roleplay cards and got them up in the shop with only a week until Christmas, just the acquellero card and a kraft envelope. Despite the last minute release and complete lack of packaging I was pleasantly surprised with what happened next - we sold out!

Another year passed of planning and preparing around my full-time job and the weekly RPG group I DM'd while I slowly built up more designs and began selling them in the other stores of the comic and games chain I worked for as well as my LCS.

Overtime the cards developed to come with MORE stuff, MORE packaging and LOTS MORE designs! My wonderful partner joined the team to help me deal with the massive increase of cards being packed every month and eventually took over the shipping side of our Etsy once it was launched.

I now work from home as a designer and photographer with a part-time retail job, giving me more time to focus on the work I really love. In the last year The Card Abides has changed so much, now with a new, more gift focussed format, a rebrand, the addition of posters and stockists spanning 7 locations but a few things have stayed the same: my love for this little business and the many amazing things that inspire the designs, and of course the classic acquellero stock and little kraft envelope.