| Local greeting cards grace CVS racks Kathryn Koch GateHouse News Service With a signature line of photo cards due out in CVS stores this month, the owner of a local greeting card company has some unique workers to thank for helping her. |
| Located at 135 Summer St. in Plymouth, Plymouth Cards has been in business for about three years, but new partnerships with CVS and the nonprofit New England Village have owner Jode Brunson excited. Brunson has reached an agreement to distribute her line of Color Classic window cards in 14 colors at 4,000 CVS stores this month. To package the cards, she turned to New England Village's Employment Services Program based in Hanson. The program provides working solutions for individuals with disabilities. Brunson said New England Village workers are a great source for local companies in need of additional help from time to time. She can't say enough about how helpful they have been working on putting together 4,000 kits with half a million cards. "I'm amazed at their work ethic and their dedication to their work," she said. "They work with a smile, and they are so appreciative." It's a win-win for Brunson and the Employment Services Program at New England Village. The workers have a job to do, and Brunson benefits by gaining a competitive edge. As a non-profit corporation, New England Village provides piecework pricing so there are no questions about what the cost will be. With competitive pricing, there's usually a significant savings over profit-based companies. "Their services allow us to take large pieces of business without having to hire additional employees or rent additional space," she said. The partnership with New England Village keeps the packaging jobs local. Otherwise, Brunson would likely have to send the job overseas to be competitive in her industry. She also a factory in Pennsylvania, but the company's design center, warehouse and samples are located in Plymouth. She also handles custom orders through her Web site, www.plymouthcards.com. For 25 years, Brunson worked for the now defunct Winthrop company in Middleborough, producer of promotional paper products, as director of sales and marketing. After the company closed, she drew on her entrepreneurial spirit to start Plymouth Cards. She wanted her company to be different. Brunson prides herself in producing cards made in the United States. She buys the paper for the cards from a company in Wisconsin. She's also proud to produce eco-friendly or Earth friendly cards. Overall, there are 80 different colors. "Our product is 100 percent recycled stock," she said. "Not one tree is used in the making of our paper." Plymouth Cards primarily supplies product to the stationery gift industry but also sells to art and hobby stores and to the photo industry. Brunson said it was a coup as an independent wholesaler supplying product to the retail market to land CVS. She also had a line of holiday cards at CVS stores at the end of the year. |
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