Last weekend I bought a greeting card. When I flipped it over, I saw something I'd never seen before: a writing credit. That's right, the back of this Hallmark card shows the writer's photo and a short bio.
Hallmark is a $4.1 billion dollar company that employs more than 700 artists, designers, stylists, writers, editors, and photographers. I'm sure that every card is a collaborative effort and yet for this card, one person was singled out and recognized: Dee Ann Stewart.
I found a little more info about this writer at the Shoebox Blog. Here's one of the quotes on her page: “Maybe wild turkeys are wild due to all the whiskey.” Here's another: “79 is the number of tiny chocolate-covered pretzels one can eat before getting really sick.” Sadly, Dee Ann died in 2009, according to a lovely tribute by one of her coworkers.
The blog features a list of folks who write for that greeting card line and a lot of funny bits. My favorite section is "funny, but no" which features rejected card ideas—about 80% of what staffers write. It's a fun inside look at an unusual job at a corporation that respects celebrates the efforts of its creative employees.
P.S. I'm not showing you the front of the card because it's for Mother's Day, which is this Sunday. (Hi, Mom!)