Hey hey, FYA! How've you been? Those of you old-timers will remember when I said a fond farewell to do a few things, like work on my book (still working on it), a couple of different day jobs, and hang with my kids (I just realized I can order books for myself through their Scholastic flyers!). And if you don't remember, maybe we've passed each other in the halls of Inkcouragement (heeeeeyyyyyyy!). Anywho, it's one of the day jobs I'm here to talk to you about! Don't worry, not the one where I write the indexes for nonfiction books (unless you just want me to). This one's a website-biography-quote-pretty stationery platform called Quotabelle.
What exactly is Quotabelle? Pretty much what it sounds like -- a place where we collect quotes by fabulous women & girls, as well as the true stories behind them, and you can save and share all your favorites. And for all the Lady Nerds out there, you can also be confident they're accurate and have links to the source -- unlike, say, all those motivational quotes your Aunt Betty posts on Facebook.
But why does it matter? Besides the fact that ladies are awesome and deserve to be heard? Well, betcha didn't realize that less than 15% of the quotes in major sources are from women. Yep. We counted. And that's totally not cool.
So why am I really here? Because there're some super awesome paper products you can buy to support Quotabelle's mission (and just use to make your office prettier and to send letters to your penpal). Each one is designed and/or illustrated by a lady artist (including award-winning illustrator Rashin Kheiriyeh) and printed on a small press here in the US.
Some of my faves:
signature notepaper
for those who can't be bothered to use their own words. I kid, I kid! But seriously, what better way to start a letter than with a kick-ass quote by a kick-ass woman?
coloring cards
these are included in the little belle set below, but if you want 'em on their own you can get 'em on their own (and who can resist grown-up coloring and quotes from women from Louisa May Alcott to Sonia Sotomayor? Not me, that's who).
little belle gift set
for nieces, daughters, sisters, friends, yourself.
custom art prints
not one for being told what to say? We have you covered with these custom prints. You choose which design and what to say, we do the rest.
little box | big ideas
this one won't ship until March, but it's worth the wait. I adore these decks of tiny business-card-sized cards, each sporting a great quote and nifty design. Good for gift tags, pick-me-ups, lunchbox notes, or just to hoard. The #mondaymotivation set includes one from required reading Anne of Green Gables.
the signature collection
for those who can't decide, there's the (almost) whole set (everything but the notepaper).
Hope you like what you see! The Indiegogo campaign runs through Dec. 24, but order now to get things by Christmas. And of course, it helps to share the campaign with others who'd be interested! Quotabelle's on Facebook, Twitter + Instagram (@quotabelle) for easy repost-style sharing.
You can get a weekly dose of inspiration from the Quotabelle newsletter, each featuring 3 different women, by signing up at Quotabelle, and can also create an account to start your own collection and submit suggestions.
And finally, here's one of my current faves, from Virginia Woolf:
Word.