[Closed] Monday Morning Musings: Cycling themed greetings cards

I wouldn't buy them, but i'd certainly expect Mrs Weeksy or my boy would for me as Xmas/birthday cards if cool enough.

I'd like to see them in Sainsburys or Tescos as i've not been to my LBS in 3 years.

yup, I wouldn't give them as I don't know that many cyclists but would love to receive some.

Would you be happy to have your mates/other half send you a cycling related card that was basically massively insulting? Generally regarding your abilities, or the gulf between your perception and the reality

Yes.
Have done a few homemade/photoshopped specials in the past.

[i]I'd [s]like [/s] hate to see them in Sainsburys or Tescos[/i]
get them on Wiggle or CRC 😉

Weeksy has the right idea if the intention is to 'normalise' cycling (and probably make shedloads of pennies), Fasthaggis is looking more to the converted and the knowledgeable (those who aren't known for wantonly spending their pennies unless it shines or has an extra gear).

Which market is your target?

Edited for missing question mark, other grammar mistakes models own.

Good Question Sandwich? Just thinking out loud at the moment, while sketching some ideas out.

I'm thinking Tesco's/Sainsburies might be a bit of a stretch. Thats the next step in my plan for world domination obviously, but best not to try and run before I can walk.

I'm thinking LBS, just because a few are now stocking my prints, and they also sell cards, and also the kind of gift shop places you tend to get in picturesque places like the Lakes, where you tend to get a lot of cyclists

Would I buy them? Without a doubt. They'd be great for both family and friends. Well, the ones that cycle anyway.

Scribbler does insulting cards. Maybe talk to them about selling them.

'Hi my name's binners and I'm from up north, I'm asking the dragons for £50,000 for 2% of my company'
you'd have to go in in full lycra (pulled down over tum) and spd shoes of course.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3D0rSm9tMLy9m9wJth7Fl7S/apply-to-enter-the-den

Binners I'm straying into marketing territory and starting to feel dirty. Nothing a wash in carbolic acid won't but right.

Great idea. Been thinking along the same lines myself!

I'd like to receive one of them, no doubt!

It's interesting that greetings cards are still surviving in this age. Now you can Tweet/Insta/Snapchat/Facebook your Happy birthday/anniversary/baby/new house etc, it seems rather quaint to have pieces of card propped up about the place. Will it survive into our children's generation?

"Happy birthday bro!
Click this link for a pic
Have sent £10 by Paypal. Enjoy!"

Olly - your stuff would be perfect for cards. I'll drop you a mail when I've got something a bit more concrete on this mate. I'd already mentioned it too Clover (of this parish) about using her designs too

Hmmmmm..... this could be turning into some type of Corbynite socialist collective enterprise type thing. Maybe we should ask for funding as part of the new 'entrepreneurial state' 😀

Dezzy Baby... weirdly, from my experience, greetings cards seem to be immune to the whole inter web thang. I still think we all love to get them, so like to send them too. I've had people buying packs of christmas cards off me already

Good idea. If you had them in the LBS (Cooksons in my case) I'd probably get one along with the now customary voucher that I get for my birthday.

This is the sort of shit that I usually get.

[img] [/img]

Or this.

[img] [/img]

Despite not having swung a golf club for 20 years.

I get a LOT of cycling themed cards, mainly because that all my wifes massively card sending side of the family know about me.

The only issue is that I don't think any of them would ever set foot in a bike shop, maybe you could get them put next to the gift boxes of smellies I might get one, as that's all I ever get for christmas 😀

Would you buy your mates/other half a cycling related card that was basically massively insulting?

I recently had to buy a 40th card for my brother. Nearly everything we could find was insulting in some way or about drinking.
I had to go a long way to find a decent one.
So no, basically, I wouldn't buy an insulting card for anyone. Funny yes. Cool design yes. But not insulting.

Don't really buy cards and on the rare occasion I do it's a 5sec job at whatever supermarket I am in. I don't really get many cards either these days as people have cottoned on to the fact I think they're a waste of time and money and end up quickly in the recycling. I suspect a lot of males are similar therefore your target market could be quite small.

I'd definitely buy them, and it'd be nice not to be on the receiving end of some awfully twee thing, just because it has a bike on it.

Pretty picture, cool statement, insult; any of these would be ok!

Don't really buy cards and on the rare occasion I do it's a 5sec job at whatever supermarket I am in.

km79 - its fair to say that you're not my target market 😉

I suspect a lot of males are similar therefore your target market could be quite small.

Interestingly, my best selling existing card design features a heavily stylised illustration of a steam train. So its either blokes buying them, or wominz buying them for blokes. I reckon its probably a 50/50 split. I've actually seen blokes buying them.

I suppose for other hobbies there can be an obvious market place for the spouses/families of the hobbyists. St Andrews, for instance, is well geared for golf widows to spend idle hours and cash. Cycling is a bit less stationary though but you'd maybe want to look at visitor attractions close to cycling destinations - crafty gift shops and cafe's close to trail centres etc. The sort of places the families of forumites mill about on the holidays cycling-dad booked them on.

Thats the point of trail centres after all - they're about the foot fall in neighbouring towns and money spent there - the non cycling companions of the trail centre users do much more of that.

Bike shops would only find a market of cycle-keen couples buying gifts for each other which is a bit of a niche within a niche really.

No, I wouldn't. But I would buy artier illustrations such as Guy Shield's stuff [url= http://guyshield.bigcartel.com/products ]http://guyshield.bigcartel.com/products[/url]

I'd try and get them into cafes/art galleries in popular cycling spots (like this - http://www.chrisgeall.com/ - which is in Grosmont and always has mountain bikers around it), I suspect that'll increase sales as you're starting up.

People seem to go to a surprising effort to get me nice cards so I think you'll do well.

Thats precisely what my thoughts were munrobiker.

Righty ho! Just to give you an idea of one of my chains of thought at the moment, I got the Rotrings out and drew this. I don't think this needs to be directed purely at cyclists. Its a generally expressed sentiment towards the ones we love...

[img] [/img]

What do you reckon? Would you like to receive this?

Is that a Giro Hex?

I'd be happy to receive a Binners Birthday Card.

It is indeed a Hex.

Just working on some more. I'm on a bit of a roll. Debs has suggested a line of 'Happy Birthday you big baldy biking bastard!' which I quite like 😀

More stream-of-consciousness ideas....

[img] [/img]

What do you think then?

Just working on some more. I'm on a bit of a roll. Debs has suggested a line of 'Happy Birthday you big baldy biking bastard!' which I quite like

Just for me or to go on general sale?