For Jennifer Hunt, there is a high value in the care shown from a friend when a beautifully designed piece of mail arrives. And that’s why she developed a brand of cards and more that works with accomplished artists and high-end paper production to create special items that feel thoughtful and planned. We talked with Jennifer, who calls Mountain Brook home, to learn more about the brand’s new name and what new designs to look for at dogwood-hill.com.
Take us back to 2015 and why you started a paper design business.
The whole reason I started the company is because there was no middle ground between the mass-produced cards and super high-end, fully custom artist-commissioned work. I wanted something that looked like a high-end custom piece that had a price tag that was reasonable, and I wanted to turn it over quickly. Our cards look like what you would have gotten if you hired an artist, but you can get it in two weeks or less. It’s on luxurious paper with a beautiful printing process because we want the art to look hand painted.
Why the name change and rebrand this year and what was the vision behind it?
We had 12 artists who were all located in the South when we started back in 2015. As we started growing and expanding, we picked up artists from all over the country and as far away as South Africa. I wanted a name that was representative of everything in the company, including our artists, and a name that could grow with us and more fully reflect our company mission of spreading joy through beautiful products. The name Dogwood Hill is a combination of the street I grew up on, Dogwood Lane, and the neighborhood we lived in, Woodland Hills. Holly Hollon created the original branding, so I wanted her to do the second set for brand familiarity and it was important to me to keep the dog in the logo since Dixie Design Collective was named after our family Boston Terrier.
The holidays have just passed. What other occasions do your products celebrate?
We have Valentine’s Day photo cards for those who didn’t get to sending them at Christmas, or we have Easter cards for that too. For those school Valentine parties, we have the cutest Valentine mini sets the kids will be excited to give. We sell paper pieces to use on tablescapes— table numbers, menus, place cards— and items for birthday parties, bridal events, birth announcements, anything you need for something special. We also offer art prints at affordable prices, milestone cards that are thoughtful baby gifts, weekly planning notepads, calling cards and notepads, as well as greeting cards for all occasions.
What is coming soon from the brand?
We have a lot of fun product lines on the horizon where we incorporate our art into other mediums, so be on the lookout! Our new 2021 wedding suites will come out the middle of January, and we will have more than 50 suites in our wedding collection then. We are releasing our new everyday wrapping paper in January with eight different designs, and I really love this collection. People go crazy over our wrapping paper!
Why do you think mailing paper designs like yours is important in this time?
We saw orders for our stationery go up 300 percent during the pandemic. I think that moment when you go to the mailbox and find a sweet note means a lot. Plus, with social media, emailing and evites, there is a personal touch lost. We saw growth in holiday card buying in 2020, including people who said they haven’t sent holiday cards in years. That personal communication may have been lost in years past, but people are more excited about it with the limited ability to visit with friends and family in person.
