Ivory Tower Studios with

laren stover & paul himmelein

WDear Readers: This is the last in a series o Etsy shop owner profiles. Enjoy learnin more about the unique cardshop,IvoryTowerStudios.

What made you want to start this shop?

We have always loved snail mail and started out making cards with collages for our friends many years ago. One year we wrote a Halloween goblin poem and illustrated it with an image from The Giant Golden Book of Elves and Fairies. Our friend Tom Robbins (author of Jitterbug Perfume) loved it so much he called to say, “Paul should run around to stores and sell them.” That wasn’t quite how we envisioned things—and the idea of launching a card company lay dormant like buried treasure. Then the Covid lockdowns came and staying in touch became so important. Things were far from perfect, and wehadonlytwocarddesignsbutwethoughtwhynotputthemuponEtsyand seewhathappens.

Where did the love of art come from for both of you?

We both went to college for art and are always creating art. There’s never been a time when we weren’t designing, painting, filming, photographing, writing something. Laren used to show her paintings and photographs at a Soho gallery and I designed furniture and painted Ancient Greek-style red-figure-vase motifs on them for stores in New York and Palm Beach before we started writing books. Creating art, whetherliteraryorvisual,isthebestthingintheworld.

Why cards? What makes them so special for you?

Cards and letter writing have always been a passion, you could say an obsession. At home, ours is a world of pen and ink, fine stationery and sealing wax, candles and pots (and pots) of tea. We’re always writing letters and cards (often illustrating and embellishing them) to friends whether they live on the other side of the world or just across town. A card or letter connects and resonates with the recipient in ways a text message never can. Texts were meant for deleting,cardsaremeanttobesaved.

Chance,1901

Are there specific sources of inspiration that help you achieve the look of your cards?

Wewantourcardstobesomethingyoumightfind in a cabinet of curiosities. We are steeped in nostalgia and the antique. Our aesthetic is influenced by 18th-century and Victorian-era imagery which we reimagine into lush, whimsical designs that dance between the exotic and arcane. We want each design to be a miniature world—rich, beautiful, unexpected and entirely new. Our cards are never snarky, but that doesn’t meantheyaren’tplayful.

What else would you want our readers to know about Ivory Tower Studios?

We just won a LouieAward (this is basically the Oscars of the greeting-card industry) for our Year of the RabbitLunarNewYearcard.We’reexcitedaboutourupcomingyearofthedragoncard!

We’d like to say a little about the cards themselves. Some are traditional folding cards, but we also design single-panel cards with envelopes. Many of our cards are on the larger side (5" x 7") and are printed on thick,premiumstockandaremeantaskeepsakesasthey’recolorfulworksofartontheirown.

We’re also getting ready to launch our website: ivory-tower-studios.com but until then you can find us at etsy.com/shop/IvoryTowerStationery.