Open Me Partners with Threadless® to Bring Thoughtfulness into the Digital Age

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Me, a new personalized greeting card company seeking to reignite thoughtfulness in the digital age, launches today. The company offers hassle-free greeting cards for both email and traditional mail delivery, and a creative selection that spans from heartfelt to humorous. Open Me has partnered with design crowdsourcing platform Threadless^® to hand-curate an online card boutique for people who want to send personalized, unique cards to their loved ones. Inaugural members can send cards for free delivery by email, or opt for mailbox delivery for just $4.

Open Me is a one-stop-shop for both printed greetings and eCards, and its partnership with Threadless offers an incredible catalogue of cards hand-selected from the 200,000 artists in their community. Endless customization options ensure that no two cards are identical, perfect for those who feel like everything they see in the greeting card aisle is stale and impersonal. An integration with Facebook allows users to choose the cards' recipient, invite others to sign the card as a group, and get personal reminders for future card-worthy occasions. Among other things, Open Me allows members to distinguish themselves among the dozens of well-wishers on Facebook walls, and instead connect with loved ones in a way that is becoming increasingly rare: an ink and pulp card.

The greeting card industry has seen significant transformation over the past decade. While the industry as a whole saw revenue decline by 5.4 percent in the past five years, greeting card sales in the digital space have increased by 20 percent, with 2013 revenue reaching upwards of $4 billion. Open Me sees this transition of buying cards online as an opportunity to innovate around the digitalization of our lives, while preserving the sentiment and thoughtfulness conveyed by sending a card. By offering both electronic and physical cards, Open Me provides the convenience, choice and personalization options that cater to the growing needs of modern consumers.

"I'm a busy guy, so I try to use technology in ways that make my life easier and leaves me more time with my family," says Open Me Founder and CEO Ilya Pozin. "That's how Open Me came about. What excites me about our product is that it frees up your time, so there's more of it available to do the things you love. Open Me helps you be more thoughtful toward people you care about most."

"Partnering with Open Me was a no-brainer," says Jake Nickell, Founder of Threadless. "I love the concept of using greeting cards as a canvas for our amazing artists' work. Plus, Open Me's crowdsourcing strategy for their card designs is a great way to create new opportunities for artists around the world."

How it works:

• Join the club for free - Choose from a catalogue of cards hand-picked from the 200,000 artists in the Threadless community.
• Customize with photos and a personal note - Choose from a selection of fonts, write your own message in the personal note. Make your card even more personal by including a photo from your desktop or Facebook albums.
• Decide your delivery method - Choose if you want to use email or snail mail, and Open Me will deliver your card to their inbox or mailbox on your behalf. You also have the option to share the card on your friend's Facebook wall, showcasing it to everyone else.
• Set your delivery date - Open Me's calendar will show you exactly how long your card will take from creation to delivery. eCards can be sent on the spot with just one click, while printed cards take a little more time.
• Invite others to sign - Use Open Me's social signing technology to invite your friends to sign the card, too. Just like passing a card around the office, everyone will get their chance to sign before the card gets delivered.

Joining the Open Me team as Head of Product is Brad Sharkey, formerly of Ciplex where he was the Creative Director, and Alison Taffel Rabinowitz, formerly of Inc. Magazine, as Head of Brand Marketing. The company has raised seed funding from Rothenberg Ventures and other notable investors.

About Open Me
Open Me is a new kind of greeting card company backed by Threadless that is helping define what thoughtful means in the digital age. Offering both electronic and paper card options, Open Me works with the best artists around the world to create amazing greeting cards that have multiple delivery and customization options. We invite our members to join us in our effort to be more thoughtful. Open Me is on the web at www.openme.com. Follow Open Me on Twitter and become a Facebook fan.

Industry Statistics:

• Americans purchase approximately 6.5 billion greeting cards each year. Annual retail sales of greeting cards are estimated between $7 and $8 billion.
• The most popular everyday card-sending occasion by far is Birthday.
• The most popular Seasonal cards are Christmas cards (1.6 billion units purchased).
• Greeting card prices vary from 50 cents to $10. The majority are between $2 and $4.
• Seven out of 10 card buyers surveyed consider greeting cards "absolutely" or "almost" essential to them.

SOURCE Open Me