Welcome to Julie Heppe Greeting Cards

Thanks for taking interest in following a story of a long time dream and passion of mine. You will see this dream come to life and grow. I hope this will inspire you to do whatever it is that you have been dreaming about, and make things happen!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Great News!!

       After a long day of riding in the car yesterday, we are finally back home!  The good news to share with you is that my doctor visit went well, and my treatment is continuing to be a success.  This is a blessing from God, and thanks to all that have continued to pray for my health.  I get to remain on my bi-weekly treatment.  He did add an additional chemo pill, but the side effects are minimal if any at all.  The extra pill is because my tumor markers have been on the rise over the past 2 visits.  My doctor wants to play it safe, and see to it that I can avoid the harsh type chemo as long as possible.  I am certain that I will never have to return to that degree of treatment.  Healthy is what I intend to stay!!
     While in Houston, I'm always thrilled to get to stay at Jen's apartment and catch up on things.  Jennifer is a sister to me, only we aren't blood related.  She and I grew up across the street from one another and have so many fond memories of our childhood.  She too, is an entrepreneur.  She is so inspiring to me.  Her company "The Sew Factory" just launched a new line of work out clothes.  We photographed Jennifer in this new line to be put on her website, so in a few weeks, be sure to check out her work out clothes.  Her website is www.thesewfactory.com .  She's 39, and has the bod of an 18 year old!!  Sickening...I know!  But, she works out all the time, and I don't.  She has inspired me to think about working out. 
     Today, my first day back at work in two weeks was a wonderful day!!  Every business that I visited with my greeting cards ended up buying a 48 card rack.  Seeing the cards online look great, but to actually see the real thing is entirely different.  Everyone has been loving them and filling my heart with wonderful words of encouragement and excitement.  This card business is SO much FUN!!  I plan on turning out new lines about every 6 months.  I have my next line already planned out, but you will have to wait... it's going to be a surprise!  While I add new lines, I will also be continuing to add to the current lines.  This weekend we will be photographing cats and kittens.  Dewey has some very unique designs in his mind.  His work AMAZES me!  I've not met a photographer that holds a candle to Dewey's work.  His passion for photography and continuing education in photography is evident in his images!  Be sure to check the web in a few days for the cat and kitten cards.
     Those of you that are my regular customers at the studio, don't worry, we are still running a full time portrait studio.  Nothing has changed with meeting your needs, so please keep calling to schedule your appointments.  We are always taking in new clients as well and we welcome you to stop by the studio to visit and check out our work any time during business hours, Tuesday-Friday 10-5. 

Have a great Memorial weekend, and be safe!

Julie

Monday, May 24, 2010

New York Was Great! Now in Houston.

     New York City was fabulous!!  We learned more in those 4 days at the Stationery Show, than all the time spent in the past researching the industry.  I plan on going back next year.  We walked into the Javits Center and were amazed at how HUGE the market was!!  There is no possible way that one could see every vendor there in one day, it's just impossible.  Our booth was towards the back corner, (assuming this because we registered to attend 6 weeks prior to the show.)  Next year, we plan on being in a spot that would be more prominent.  We generated some wonderful leads that I hope to turn into a long business relationship for the future.  One thing is for sure, we have our work cut out for us in the months to come!  But as I mentioned earlier, I work best under pressure.
     While in New York, we got to visit Times Square, China Town, Central Park, and NYPD museum.  We were given a private tour of the museum.  The museum was touching.  We saw what appeared to be a chunk of steel, but upon close examination, you could see a gun inside the steel.  The gun was on one of the police officers that worked the Twin Towers 911 attack.  It put into perspective why more bodies weren't found.  They had a lot of artifacts from ground zero.  On a lighter note, Wed. night, we were in the audience of the David Letterman Show.  That was so much fun!  I bet we walked about 5 miles a day.  The atmosphere was wonderful, food was delicious, and everyone that we came in contact with was extremely friendly.  The only complaint is that it was very difficult to find a Taxi at the Javits Center at 6:00 p.m., and transportation will magically make your money disappear! 
     We returned from New York on the 20th, then the 21st, I left for Dallas to photograph my nieces wedding.  I am currently in Houston at MD Anderson for my check up.  I'm planning on all of my scans to come back great, and should be returning to work this Thursday.  I'm looking forward to being back to work photographing high school seniors, children and animals, and also getting in touch with our potential new clients for our Greeting Card division of our business. 
     I will be in town working hard for a few weeks, then it is off to Destin, Florida to photograph a wedding.  Please continue to follow my blog for updates on our journey.  Thanks for your interest!  Have a Great Day!!

Julie 

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Julie Heppe Greetings to debut in New York City

     As I sit here at the computer this evening, I can think of a million things I need to be doing other than blogging!  Tomorrow,  four great friends and team members of this adventure and I will be leaving for New York City to debut our line of greeting cards "Molly Anna and Friends" by Julie Heppe.  To get a true picture of what an endeavor this has been, lets back up!
     My husband Dewey and I started our first business, Heppe's Studio 14 years ago.  This business was created out of our love and passion for photography.  The beginning years were primarily on location shoots of children of all ages.  The business took off and grew faster than we had dreamed it would.  I resigned from teaching to enable the business to keep up with our fast growing customer base.  We opened our first storefront studio in 2001 and to this day Heppe's Studio continues to maintain a loyal customer base and through word of mouth continues to bring in new clients weekly.
     As my love for photography and creativity continued to grow, I held a new dream in the back of my mind.  This dream would give me the opportunity to be even more creative in my daily work, and fulfill my urge to start each day with a blank canvas giving me complete control of the final masterpiece!  The dream tucked away was to start a greeting card company.
     Countless hours, and weeks were spent sitting at the computer researching the greeting card industry, then one day I came across a blog that led me to a site that sparked my enthusiasm even more!  The National Stationery Show being held in New York City in May 2010.  My first reaction was "There is no way I can get prepared to be at this show in 6 weeks, I'll just go as a buyer this year to get a feel for how the show works so that I can return next year."  Well, that night I went to bed and couldn't stop thinking about the show.  Those of you that know me know that when I get something in my mind that I plan on doing, then there is NO stopping me.  I work well under pressure, and love doing things spontaneously.  That night I decided that not only would I be going to the show, but I would be attending as a vendor to debut my new greeting card company.
      I gathered what I call my "dream team" to help me launch and promote my business.  I had just finished reading "The One Minute Millionaire" and had learned some incredible information on building a team that would give a proper balance to enhance any business.  The book was accurate, we were able to see the values that each one of us could bring to the table to enable one another to grow a successful business.
      With my team on board, next came long days of intense research, and long meetings that went way into the night hours.  We stuck to our agendas and everyone had jobs to accomplish before the next meetings.  The undertaking was HUGE!  We had NO idea how big this project was going to be, but we were all determined to do this and to produce a product of the finest quality.  Printing companies, envelope companies, producing enough cards to present to the market, invoices, policies and procedures, displays, advertising, promotional pieces,  pricing, catalogs, and web sites were just a small portion of the work that we had to sort through to be prepared for the show.  Not to mention the booth design and travel arrangements!  The booth design was left to Tina P.   She spent hours on the phone and computer with the company that builds the booth.  She drew out a sketch letting them know exactly how we wanted the booth to look.  Everything from color of walls, scallops on walls, logo, type of floor, lighting, electricity, table, chairs, and even trash can was discussed.  When we arrive at the Javits Center in New York City, our booth should be built and ready for us to put up our products!  Travel arrangements were my department.  This was a breeze, except for the fact that so much of our things had to be shipped to our hotel prior to our arrival.  This makes me a little nervous! 
     The final cards arrived yesterday, and we will be carrying them onto the plane with us.  They are already packed away in our carry on luggage.  It's amazing that this is all happening and not just a dream anymore, but a new business endeavor.  I couldn't be happier in the way things unfolded right before my eyes.  I know without a doubt that God has had his hand in this from the beginning.  He has given me the resources and shown me the ways and I am so thankful that I followed the path.  It has been a huge undertaking with long hours of work and few hours of sleep, but I would do it all again in a minute.  I have no doubt that this company will take off and grow.  The company is driven by love and passion.  I will see to it that this business gets whatever it needs to grow and become successful.  It is a new business born from our existing business, and like Heppe's Studio, Julie Heppe Greeting Cards will be taken care of with love and passion so that the company can withhold the test of time.   I plan on Julie Heppe Greeting Cards to become a household name that will forever be. 
     Follow my journey as we leave for New York City.  I will try and blog each day and provide pictures to document the beginnings of a great company.  And don't forget...always work towards your dreams!