Just a card........?
When artist and designer Sarah Hamilton started the online campaign JUST A CARD in 2015 she couldn't have foreseen that there would one day be over 80k followers on their Instagram account. The JUST A CARD campaign certainly seems to have caught the imagination of those sections of the buying public that want their purchase to make a difference to support small, independent makers, galleries and shops. JUST A CARD is a grassroots campaign on a mission to encourage people to support, value and buy from artists, makers, independent shops and small businesses. Every sale, even just a card, is vital to their prosperity and survival.
Sarah's light bulb moment came when she read a quote by the owner of a gallery that had recently been forced to close: “If everyone who’d complimented our beautiful gallery had bought just a card we’d still be open.” The stark truth hit her-compliments don't pay a business' bills. She set about promoting the JUST A CARD message on Twitter and today, over 17,000 shops worldwide display the JUST A CARD sticker, thousands take part in Indie Week and there is a wonderfully supportive network of like-minded people who continue to spread the word of buying from makers, artists, independent shops and small businesses.
The JUST A CARD WEBSITE provides helpful pointers for shoppers. Whenever you buy something, always ask yourself, " Could I buy this from an independent?". Make your purchase count, invest in your local community and think about shopping small whenever you can. There are resources to buy to show your support-campaign pins, posters and stickers. Get involved on social media-like, follow and share the JUST A CARD campaign on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.