"Scott- your cards are incredible!
We had a $50+ sale today-
of just your cards!!"
—Cindy Lynch, Yesterday Antiques & Collectibles, Ruidoso, NM
"People are making a special trip to my store just to read and buy these foolish cards!"
— Kim Bernier,
Gatherings for the Home,
Lincoln, ME
Thank you sooo much for your excellent customer service. "I want to be just like you"...
I got everything before time and intact for our opening! Thanks Scott!
—Denyse Harrison, R&R Jewels & Gift Shop, Philadelphia, PA
I just wanted to let you know we received our order and before I even got them on the display, customers were grabbing and buying them! They have already become a favorite item of our store. Thank you so much for your help, and I'm sure we will need another order sooner than I thought! Talk to you soon.
—Jenna Gould, The Powder Room, Hannibal, MO
"We have a number of different cards in our store. I put the Snafu display next to the register so I can hear my customers laugh."
— Teri Case, Boutique Repeats and Gifts, Aurora, IL
"Our customers absolutely love your humor! What talent you have in all of your designs! Our customers come in purchasing 3 and 4 at a time. Their laughter is contagious! Thanks so much!"
— Bart and Beth Woolsey, B & B Crafts, Hilliard, FL
"These cards do great at all five of our stores. I love to watch the customers read them and break into laughter. The service and shipping times are both fantastic. Thank you!"
— Dina Christensen, Schuler Books and Music, Grand Rapids, MI
"I've never heard someone bust out laughing like I did the other day in the store. I looked up to see what was so funny, and there they were, reading the Snafu cards!"
— Amy Sullivan, The Balloon Gallery and More, Bellefontaine, OH
"Holy Cow!! You folks are a hit! We can't keep your cards in stock! Please rush our reorder!!!"
— Kathy Telgard, owner, Tampico Imports, Leland, MI
"We opened our store with these cards on the shelves. Nearly 3 years later they still fly out the door! Laughter is a great gift."
— Denise Kanyon, Garden and Soul, Taos, NM
"Thank you so much for offering an off-the-wall line of cards! My customers can't get enough!! Keep up the good work!!"
— Kim Moerke, Main Street U.S.A., Waterford, WI
"If they laugh, they always buy."
— Ken Fritchie, The Island Shop, Tierra Verde, FL
"Great cards, great price, fast delivery. Need I say more?"
— Carol Pope, Sheepish Grin Novelty Shop, Shelbyville, IN
"I can't believe I hadn't carried Snafu sooner! Now I can't keep them on the shelf! Thanks for the great addition to my store!"
— Joan Schiefelbine, The Paper Place of Bend, Bend, OR
"I recently started selling Snafu cards. They have been flying off the rack. Most people can't resist and buy 3 or more for future use. Everyone loves them!"
— Joette Mancuso, Joette's Gifts,
New Hartford, NY
"Always a delight to hear and watch our customers stand and laugh at our cards in the Snafu display! Once they read them they always buy them! Thanks!"
— Chris and Jan, D'Vine Gallery,
Shipshewana, IN
"Snafu cards continue to sell over and over and over...."
— Annette Suchy, Birdie's Gifts, Portland, OR
"I always know that my customers are reading the Snafu cards because I hear lots of chuckling then they walk up and buy 5 or 6 at one time. Your cards are soooo funny! Thanks - keep 'em coming."
— Toni Halvatzis, Carried Away, Cape Coral, FL
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"Snafu cards are a great add-on sale. They grab anyone who glances at them, and usually customers buy 3-4 at a time."
— Carla Bickert, Java Rose Floral, Washburn, ND
"Cactus Flower has carried Snafu cards for a number of years. Our customers enjoy the humorous tone of the cards. It's not unusual for some of our customers to buy a year's supply of your cards in one visit."
— Lynn Culver, Cactus Flower Gifts and Interiors, South Padre Island, TX
"Snafu cards has always been one of our best sellers in out Gift Store. People love to just stand and read them and laugh out loud."
— Joyce Illing, Rusty Crickett's, Bradenton, FL
"Great cards! They are so funny that my customers buy 2 or 3 different ones for upcoming birthdays! You also sent a great variety!"
— Suzan Avies, Suzie's Newsstand Inc., NY
"Snafu is a great company. Wonderful service. Your orders shipped promptly; and they are very funny cards at a good price."
— Anne Rodamer, Sugarloaf Food Company, Summerland Key, FL
"We love your cards - they give our customers such joy - very funny and the illustrations are great!"
— Wendie Monrroy, Wendie Monrroy on Main, Riverside, CA
"Snafu has a refreshing line of greeting cards with delightful humor. Something a bit different from the mainstream."
— Beth Stephens, RoShamBeaux, Denver, CO
"It gives us great joy to often hear our customers laughing in our store. Thanks for making it happen."
— Charlene, Cool Jewels, Delray Beach, FL
"Whenever I hear giggle coming from the other side of the room, I know they are looking at the Snafu Designs!"
— Peggy Reed, Candles 'n' Crafts, Gardnerville, NV
"I love the fresh humor of Snafu cards - a little edgy but in good taste - so often the perfect combination for my customers."
— Mary Rossing, Present Perfect, Northfield, MN
"I can always tell when people are looking at the Snafu cards because of the laughter in the cards section. They make my customers feel good, and are a great addition to our product mix."
— Tom Williams, My Laguna Office,
Laguna Beach, CA,
"We often sell groupings of Snafu cards as our customers want to store them away for future use. Snafu cards have my customers giggling!"
— Leslie Hakala, Best of Time Bookstore,
Red Wing, MN
"From the years in my Art Gallery in the early 90's to present day and my new company, "It's in the Bag," Snafu Cards have consistently brought joy to my customers. Snafu means a guarantee of repeat business for me. Thanks Scott!"
— Sara Lawrence, It's in the Bag, Junction City, OR
"These unique cards bring loads of giggle from my customers!"
— Cathy, All Seasons Lawn and Garden Center, Mexico, MO
"Your cards are great sellers! When I hear giggling in the store, I always know someone's looking at our Snafu greeting cards!"
– Pam Wagner, Liberty Square Shops,
Egg Harbor, WI
"Our visitors, employees, and volunteers all love your cards! They are funny and unique and offer many styles appropriate for a hospital gift shop."
— Ann Svingen, Lake Region Hospital Gift Shop, Fergus Falls, MN
"We love Snafu and so do our customers! The uniquely different cards are a hit at our downtown market. Keep up the good work!"
— Amy Powell, Patrick's Market, Omaha, NE
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SNAFU Designs was started in the basement of my parents' home. I had finished
college a year earlier, and like many other recent graduates, found myself
asking the question, "now what?".
Growing up, I loved to draw, and spent countless hours filling up sketch
pads with cartoons of goofy looking people and animals. When it came time
for college, I did what every aspiring artist does whose parents were
footing the bill, I majored in economics.
After graduation, I felt my creative side pulling at me again. I tried
to satisfy it by finding a job in advertising, but all of the agencies
I interviewed with failed to see the connection between a degree in economics
and the type of creative job I wanted. With plenty of extra time on my
hands, I started drawing all the time. My childhood cartooning bug had
come back, and it bit me hard! I managed to sell a few cartoons to some
magazines and newspapers. But the truth is, it was a hard way to make
a living.
The question was, how to draw cartoons and earn an income at the same
time? And then it struck me, if I want to see my cartoons in print, why
not just print them myself? Why not start a greeting card company? How
hard could that be? So I printed up 10 designs, and headed off to New
York City and the National Stationery Show to find fortune and fame. I
spent three days wandering around the show wearing a blue T-shirt with
white iron on letters that read, “SNAFU Designs Is Looking For Sales
Reps”.
I got a lot of funny looks, but no reps.
Needless to say, the first couple of years were a struggle, but they were
also exciting. It was a thrill to actually have stores ordering the cards
I drew... and reordering them! To finance my business during those lean
years, I worked a variety of forgettable jobs and ate a lot of macaroni
and cheese. My line gradually started attracting more sales reps, and
SNAFU greeting cards began to pop up in stores across the country.
I'm happy to report, that SNAFU Designs is no longer headquartered out
of my parents' basement. (They kicked me out years ago!). We now occupy
a 2,000 square foot warehouse, and continue to grow. Today the cards sell
in most of the 50 U.S. states and also in Canada.
Looking
back, I remember sitting in that basement and wondering what I would be
doing in ten years. I am happy to say, ten years have come and passed,
and although I have a little less hair to show for it, I am still doing
what I've always loved to do...drawing cartoons!
—”Scott Austin |
