By Gretchen Crowe
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 8/26/04)

Most people don’t think of September as "the holiday season." But in Barbara Cassidy’s world, September is the month when things get cooking.

As founder and owner of the Catholic greeting card company Halo Greetings and Stationary, Cassidy is ever-busy with marketing the perfect combination message of holiday cheer and Catholic faith.

Sitting in a coffee shop with greeting cards spread around her, Cassidy, a parishioner at St. Leo the Great Parish in Fairfax, displays her new collection, "Divine Praises," which celebrates special holidays with rich colors, unique artistry and a Catholic twist.

According to Cassidy, over 70 billion greeting cards are on the market — but very few are religious.

The "Divine Praises" cards are "very Catholic," and "people are so happy to see a Catholic card with Scripture and verses on the inside," Cassidy said, carefully taking a well-protected stack out of her briefcase and arranging them on the table. Her customers "love the colors of the cards. They are very eye catching."

And indeed they are. Rich blues and purples glow from a "thank you" card, which depicts the three Wise Men reverently presenting their gifts to the infant Jesus. Greens and pinks shine off of a "happy birthday" card, which says, on the inside, "This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad!"

The verses inside each card find their origin in either sacred Scripture or Mass prayers. The content depends, of course, on the occasion the cards celebrate. Baptism? "You are My beloved child reborn to innocence." First Communion? "Take this, all of you, and eat it." Confirmation? "Be sealed with the Holy Spirit." From weddings to ordinations to cards filled with patriotic spirit, "Divine Praises" gives eloquence to all occasions. Find pride in creating original messages? Cassidy provides blank note cards, as well.

In preparing and copyrighting her cards, Cassidy worked closely with the Catholic Marketing Network, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the International Council of English Literature.

"The focus of the company was to really start an apostolate to have the means to spread God’s word," she said. "There really was a limited amount of good Catholic cards available." The cards would often look good on the outside, but the payoff was not there on the inside, she said.

Halo Greetings and Stationary opened its doors in fall 2003, and business took off. Cassidy’s three-year projection plan was surpassed in nine months, and she is now looking to get involved in new markets, possibly through designing and trade booths at craft shows.

Some of her biggest clients include the gift shop at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Franciscan Monastery and the Washington National Cathedral. And, of course, Cassidy targets the basic Catholic retail stores.

Christian stores have also begun to show interest in her greeting cards, she said. But "they pick some of the more generic ones."

The artwork on the cards, a combination of photographs and hand-drawn images, is created by an "anonymous artist" with "such an eye and talent and skill," Cassidy said. And that’s all she would say.

Because every card is a piece of original artwork, each is individually copyrighted.

Cassidy also emphasized the high quality of the cards, including the envelopes and packaging. "No matter what writing utensil you use, it (the ink) won’t smear or spread," she said proudly.

In addition to spreading God’s word, "one of the goals in setting up the company was to find a fundraising means for Catholic organizations," Cassidy said. She offers 40 percent back to the organization selling the cards and has received a "fairly good response" from nine or 10 elementary schools from across the country. Many of the people who order the cards are "priests and nuns representing Catholic elementary schools." She is currently trying to get involved in youth organization fundraisers to support efforts like WorkCamp.

Cassidy has over a quarter of a million cards in inventory waiting to be immediately shipped. Her one-person business was initially based out of an office, but because the space soon became filled with boxes of stationary, she moved her business home and rented a storage unit nearby to house the cards until they are ordered and shipped.

Though the Knights of Columbus also sell greeting cards around Christmastime, Cassidy said there is no competition between the two. Halo Greetings and Stationary is "very aware of being good neighbors" and "not interfering" with the Knights, she said.

Cassidy said her faith has "definitely" been enhanced through the experience of running her Catholic greeting card company. Through researching passages for her cards, she has become more familiar with the Bible, and "being exposed to more of the Scripture has really opened my eyes."