Creative Cartolina

Cartolina is an established greeting card and paper products company that recently won an award for innovation

by Lisa Crane — November 13, 2012

Fiona Richards is the artistic designer behind Cartolina. — Photo courtesy Fiona Richards

Who knew about all the amazing talent in Nelson? Well, a lot of people—and it just keeps emerging.

One such talent is Fiona Richards, previously a hairstylist/artist/painter and now an artist/painter/graphic designer and business entrepreneur.

Richards is the founder of Cartolina. Inspired by her travels and her upbringing with relatives in a little Scottish town called Dollar, Richards designs and sells innovative, one-of-a-kind cards and paper products. Her imagery reflects beautiful, rare and ancient designs that are truly unique.

“Our patterns and images are licensed for all sorts of giftware, such as tablecloths, rugs, shower curtains and book covers,” said Richards.

Pretty designs sent from your iPhone

Cartolina also sells creative apps. There are three to choose from, allowing users flexibility for any sort of greeting, card or letter: a little bit of vintage, a pretty touch—or users can even add their own special something to their communication.

“Our iPhone app was literally a response to a changing industry, so we figured out a simple concept for a mobile greeting app,” said Richards. “We wanted something that arrived in your email immediately.”

Richards said that they tried to make it not look like a card, and designed it so there was a limited amount of text.

“We developed the app almost two years ago, and it went crazy,” said Richards. “It was a huge hit, and since then we have developed other apps.”

Innovation that catches attention

Richards has just been recognized as winner of the Most Innovative Entrepreneur Award at the 2012 Spirit of Innovation Awards in Nelson, B.C. The Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST) holds the awards every four years to honour local businesses and talented individuals.

Although Cartolina is distributed worldwide, stocked in and acclaimed by many well-known and iconic stores and retail outlets, Richards said she is very proud to have received this award: she said it is really nice to be recognized close to home.

Richards is married to illustrator Doug Jones.