Depressing Times Funny Financial Crisis Christmas Cards

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Video

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[December 22, 2008] "Depression Chic" on CBS Early Show

[December 22, 2008] Order of St. Nick Profile on FOX Affiliate

[November 19, 2008] DepressingTimes.com Video

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Archived press releases are available online at MarketWire.com

Wholesale Christmas Cards

2009-03-23T18:34:00.001-07:00

They've been called “a trend for 2009” (The Toronto Star). Your customers have seen them on the CBS Early Show, Comedy Central, and FOX News. In a crowded retail marketplace, Depressing Times Christmas and birthday cards are a fresh alternative that have been drawing attention.

And, now through July 31, you'll receive free shipping and 10% off your first wholesale order through Wholesale-Cards.com.

“A dash of humor and whimsy always helps... These cards are poised to draw attention and sales.”
- Patricia Norins, Publisher, Gift Shop Magazine

Visit www.wholesale-cards.com to request your free catalog today.

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FAQ

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How can I receive news from Order of St. Nick? You can sign up for e-mail updates at here.

How do I contact Order of St. Nick for a comment or interview? Drop Order of St. Nick an e-mail at press@orderofstnick.com.

How can I request product samples for my news story? Drop Order of St. Nick an e-mail at press@orderofstnick.com. Samples are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, and may not always be in stock.

Can I use Order of St. Nick images and thumbnails? Andrew Shaffer's artwork is licensed under a Creative Commons license. You are free to copy, distribute, and transmit the work, provided that you attribute the work to Order of St. Nick and/or Andrew Shaffer. You may not use any Order of St. Nick work for commercial purposes. Please note that images licensed from third parties are not licensed in the same manner. Third party images are tagged with a copyright symbol, and copying and distribution for any purpose is prohibited by their authors.

How can I submit my photo, artwork or writing for use on an Order of St. Nick card? Drop Order of St. Nick an e-mail at submissions@orderofstnick.com before submitting any work.

Does Order of St. Nick accept advertising or offer an affiliate program? Order of St. Nick does not have a referral program, and does not accept advertising or exchange links/banners with third parties.

Will Order of St. Nick donate products to my organization’s fundraising effort? Possibly. Drop Order of St. Nick an e-mail at donations@orderofstnick.com.

Does Order of St. Nick print cards on recycled paper? All Order of St. Nick greeting cards are available in a choice of paper stock. The high quality, chlorine and acid-free matte paper consists of 30% post-consumer waste and 50% total recycled fiber. The twelve-point, one-sided glossy paper does not contain any recycled material.

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Press

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For press inquiries, please contact press@orderofstnick.com or call 1-877-895-3691. Archived press releases are available online at MarketWire.com.

About Order of St. Nick

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Order of St. Nick, founded in 2007 by comedy writer and graphic artist Andrew Shaffer, is a greeting card publisher specializing in alternative and edgy humorous cards.

Shaffer started the company after a fruitless quest to find winter holiday cards that expressed secular beliefs to send to the atheists on his holiday card list. “Almost 15% of the United States population is either atheist or non-religious. To borrow a phrase from a popular religious author, these are people that the greeting card companies have ‘left behind,’” explains Shaffer.

He launched Order of St. Nick’s online store in November 2007 with cards featuring Charles Darwin and phrases such as “Evolve Your Beliefs” and “The Evolution of Tradition.”

Marketing industry maven Brandweek stated in a review, “In these new times, everyone should be accommodated in their beliefs and traditions, so there might well be a place for the Order of St. Nick line of greeting cards.”

Order of St. Nick has since branched out into other niche markets with products such as “gay Christmas cards” and “gothic Christmas cards.” The “funny Christmas card” series has resonated with a younger, male demographic—unheard of in the greeting card industry, where over 85% of customers are traditionally female.

In 2008, the “Depressing Times” card line introduced customers around the globe to Shaffer’s unique brand of humor. The financial crisis cards, featuring vintage Great Depression photos juxtaposed with statements such as "Have a Great Depression and a Subprime New Year", cemented Order of St. Nick’s status as a major new player in the greeting card industry.

Order of St. Nick’s online store now features over 120 original holiday greeting cards celebrating multiple holidays, including Winter Solstice, Christmas, Halloween, Darwin Day, and Valentine’s Day.

Contact Order of St. Nick at info@orderofstnick.com.

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Marketing the Great Depression

2009-03-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Order of St. Nick owner Andrew Shaffer was featured in a recent Adweek story on "Depression Chic" by Robert Klara.

Don't look now, but the Great Depression has suddenly become the hottest thing in marketing

Andrew Shaffer had a problem on his hands. The Order of St. Nick, the irreverent-greeting-card company that the former office manager runs out of his Iowa City home, was gearing up for Valentine's Day -- a bread-and-butter occasion in the card business. But few things can kill a romantic evening like a limp GDP. If your beau just lost his job, chances are you're not getting two dozen long stems and a box of Godivas this year.

So when Shaffer sat down to write his cards, he scoured for a theme that was right for the times-memorable, romantic yet realistic.

He found it all in the Depression.

Yes, that Depression -- the "great" one, with breadlines, shantytowns, work-relief programs and all the rest of it. One card shows a Dust Bowl farmer and his wife cooking a pot of slop in an open kettle. Its caption reads: "William took Martha out to eat for Valentine's Day." Another shows a bunch of down-and-out guys in fedoras loitering outside of an automat. "Box of chocolates?" exhorts the caption. "She'll be lucky to get a box of rocks from me this year."

Read the rest of the article online here!

Order of St. Nick to Debut “Great Depression”-Themed Birthday Cards at 2009 National Stationery Show

2009-03-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

Order of St. Nick has confirmed its participation in the National Stationery Show, running May 17-20, 2009. The irreverent greeting card company will debut its new line of Depressing Times “Great Depression”-themed birthday cards at booth 1856 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

“A sense of humor is essential to making it through tough times,” Owner and Creative Director Andrew Shaffer says. “The global recession shows no signs of abating; it may even get worse. Order of St. Nick’s Depressing Times cards have resonated with customers because people are frustrated with the doom-and-gloom and need a release.”

The “Great Depression”-themed birthday cards follow in the footsteps of the successful Depressing Times Christmas card line, which was cited as a “trend for 2009” by The Toronto Star. While most businesses saw a decrease in sales in 2008, Order of St. Nick sold over 10,000 Depressing Times greeting cards—a 500% increase over the previous year’s sales for the small Iowa-based company.

While consumers have cut back on spending in recent years, greeting cards are becoming increasingly popular as substitutes for lavish gifts. “Your friends and family will actually think it’s funny that you couldn't pony up for a Starbucks gift card this year,” Holidash’s Sandy Maple said in a review of Order of St. Nick’s cards.

Depressing Times Christmas cards have appeared in Adweek, Time Out New York, the U.K.’s Progressive Greetings Worldwide, and in television spots ranging from large market FOX affiliates to Russian news stations.

This will be Order of St. Nick’s first time at the National Stationery Show. “The NSS is the perfect place to debut new product and meet buyers,” Shaffer says. “After two years of selling cards exclusively online, it will be exciting to introduce our cards to retail buyers face-to-face.”

Can't Afford a Valentine's Day Card This Year?

2009-02-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

Don't panic! Right-click on the image below to save it to your desktop. You can print it out or e-mail it as an attachment to your Valentine--it's totally FREE!

High resolution image also available.

Friends With Benefits? Only if You're Talkin' Health, Dental, and 401k

2009-01-06T09:08:00.001-08:00

Editorial by Shamus Greensboro

I got this ladyfriend, she done broke up with her boy-toy last month. She calls me up to cry on my shoulder, because I'm such a good listener she says. Nevermind that I lost most of my hearin' in the war.

We meet at Paddy's Irish Pub, down in the meatpacking district. She's talkin' my ear off about what happened between her and this guy, how he left her for her hairdresser, Lance, and how now she's got to go find a new place to get her hair done. "Where's your lady, Shamus?" she asks me.

I tell her that at the present time, I'm between girlfriends. I usually dump 'em before the holidays, and pick up a new one after Valentine's Day. It's a tough economy, and ever since I been laid off at the steel mill (two years and counting), I've had to save money wherever I can.

"Do you know what friends with benefits are?" my ladyfriend asks. "We have drinks together--why can't we do other things?"

Can't say I'd ever heard the term before, but she says it's an arrangement between two friends to have sexual relations...without entering into a romantic relationship. No strings attached. She and I been friends for a while, but we ain't never made it with each other, she says.

"I don't need no sex," I says to her. "What I need is to get my teeth fixed. What I need is to visit the doctor for the stones rattlin' around in my kidneys. What I need is a retirement plan.

"Unless you can sweeten the package, I'm going to have to pass."

She's a good-lookin' gal, but a man's got needs. Friends with benefits? Only if you're talkin' health, dental, and 401k.

I Made You a Christmas Present, But I Had to Burn it in a Trashcan to Stay Warm

2008-12-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

by Jennifer Fenton

Times are a little tough at the old Fenton household this year--but not so bad that we couldn't take the time to send you this Christmas card.

Money has been tight; there's no denying that. But Bobby and I were adament that we were still going to send out presents to our closest friends for Christmas, financial crisis be damned. Instead of contributing to our national orgy of consumption, though, we decided make our own presents.

For the first two weeks in December, we transformed our house into Santa's workshop. Bobby, newly unemployed after that whole Leamen Brothers mess, even picked up a glue stick to help me out. It's amazing what you can make with regular items from around the house! Among the gifts we handcrafted were a cardigan sweater, a seashell necklace, and a DVD rack.

So, after hearing about this flurry of activity at the Fenton household, you're probably wondering where your present is. I'm sorry to say that we ran into a bit of money trouble* and were evicted.

Our first night "on the streets," we had to burn everything that we'd made just to stay warm: The sweater, the necklace, everything.

Huddled around the crackling flames, I told Bobby how lucky we were to still have each other. "It's funny that you say that," he said, "because I'm leaving you." Apparently, he had been planning this for a while, but hadn't found the right time to tell me. Bobby dialed his mistress on his Blackberry, and she picked him up 10 minutes later.

Thankfully, that was my only homeless night. Glenda, our daughter, has graciously put me up in her spare bedroom and loaned me the money to send out Christmas cards this year. I'm confident that this whole "mess" will blow over. Once the economy picks up, I think I'll start job-hunting--but 25 years as a professional housewife doesn't make for a solid resume.

While the future looks bleak, the holidays are here. My troubles aren't going to stop me from wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If Bobby was here and not with that whore, I'm sure he would wish the same.

*The mutual fund that Bobby had been putting our money into, the "Coke" fund, turned out to be actual cocaine--I forgave him on the condition that, as soon as we could afford it, he would check himself into a rehab clinic.

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To view and order Great Depression greeting cards, click on the cards below. Now shipping to the U.S., U.K., and internationally!

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To view and order financial crisis greeting cards for the holidays, click on the cards below!

From Best Buy to the Bread Line

2008-11-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

Staff reporter Carrie Edith Woods checks in with two laid-off computer technicians in this "man-on-the-street" profile.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - As Thanksgiving approaches, layoffs are mounting and the economy is slipping further into recession. Two men, standing in line for free bread at the Cedar Rapids Shelter House, reminisced about "the good ol' days, y'know, like in 2006."

"Two years ago, on Black Friday--the day after Thanksgiving--Ben and I camped out for three nights at Best Buy to be among the first 50 in line for a Playstation 3," Phil Romanoke, 29, said.

"But it was so cold on the first night that I got frostbite on the tips of my fingers and had to have them cut off," he said, showing me his hands. They looked pretty normal, I said. "They grafted skin onto the tips from my ass cheeks," Romanoke said.

"I wasn't ready to give up. Ben saved my spot in line, and I returned--with gloves--two days later on Thanksgiving," Romanoke continued. "The next morning, we both scored our own Playstation 3 video game consoles. Of course, I couldn't play it for six weeks because of the bandages on my hands, but man, was that a good time or what?"

Ben Guiles, 33, nodded. "You're tellin' me," he said. Romanoke and Guiles were co-workers at a local computer consulting firm "in a previous life," Guiles said. The company laid them off in November of last year, but neither man has been able to find another job. They're now roommates.

So what happened to the coveted Playstations? "We sold them when our unemployment ran out," Romanoke said. "Our electricity was shut off a couple of months ago anyway, which would have made it extremely difficult to play video games."

The men told me that they are planning to camp out again this year at Best Buy. "They're going to have the first three seasons of Entourage on DVD for $9.99 each," Guiles said.

I pointed out that he wouldn't be able to watch them without electricity. Guiles laughed, and said, "How can you pass up that kind of bargain? I've never seen Entourage, but I hear it's pretty good."

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To view and order financial crisis greeting cards for the holidays, click on the cards below!

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Great Depression Dirt Farmer Christmas Cards
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Depressing Times Selling the Kids Christmas Cards
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Standing in the Bread Line Holiday Cards
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The Worst is Yet to Come Holiday Cards
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To view and order financial crisis greeting cards for the holidays, click on the cards below!

2008-10-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

To view and order financial crisis greeting cards for the holidays, click on the cards below!

For Local Man, Health Care Reform Can't Come Soon Enough

2008-10-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

SIOUX CITY, IOWA - Local curmudgeon Barry Winters said that he's looking forward to presidential candidate Barack Obama's health care plan. "He's got my vote," Winters, 43, said on Friday. "His health care plan will definitely help Americans without health insurance like myself."

The health care plan will be especially helpful for Winters. "Earlier this year, I was laid off from the steel mill and sold one of my kidneys to pay my mortgage. I still have my house--knock on wood--but I severely underestimated the convenience of having all of my internal organs."

"The pain is constant," he continued. "Because I'm diabetic, my remaining kidney just isn't up to the task. I'm pretty sure that the dull ache in my back is the beginning stage of acute renal failure. I guess I won't know until I can get me some of that free national health care that Obama's been talkin' about on the T.V."

Obama's Health Care Plan Christmas Cards are Available From Order of St. Nick