From Jivana... with love!

Did you know that the first greeting cards were simple slips of papyrus exchanged by the Egyptians and Chinese as messages of goodwill? Then the Europeans picked up on the idea and started creating beautiful works of art that they sent to their friends, family and loved ones. In fact, you can admire the oldest known Valentine card in the British Museum in London. It dates back to the 1400s. Aah, sooo cute! Of course all that romance got lost when cheap colour printing turned the works of love into a mass-product.

Pop into your local greeting card shop and you’re bound to be overwhelmed with the choice on offer. Today the UK greeting card industry is said to be worth over 1 billion pounds annually, an amazing figure if you know about the cheaper and quicker option of sending an e-card by the press of a button. Truth is that we all like to receive a fancy card via the post, but aren’t we all disappointed when we read the same old jokes, look at the same flower bouquet and that same blonde baby’s gap-toothed smile? Don’t blame the sender; the fact is that it’s darned hard to find the “right” card, especially if you are as choosy as Samantha Alfred! When she got fed up looking for the right Christmas card that reflect her identity as a Christian British Asian, she decided enough was enough: she canned her corporate career and began to slave over the drawing board. Her hand-made cards became an instant hit with her family and friends and when a little shop in Windsor gave her the break she needed, there was no looking back for Sam.



Why are your cards such a success?

The fresh and funky cartoons on my cards reflect the young, dynamic and fashionable British Asian community of today. I mean, look at the Masala Girls , the Desi Boyz and the Chutney Kidz, they’re selling like hot cakes! That’s because they are different and something out of the ordinary. My wedding cards do extremely well too, because I use beautiful textured papers, gems, gold and silver trimmings, and colours that are related to the new British Asian identity.



Do you only cater for the British Asian Market?

No, absolutely not! My Mehndi Art and Simply India Collections are great for anyone and I get a lot of customers who are into Asian culture or who have Asian friends and who feel that my cards are more relevant to them than the standard designs you get everywhere else.


Are your cards only available in shops?

No, you can also buy them via my website www.jivanastyle.com. There you will find that we offer a range of bespoke cards. For example, you can pick one of the cartoons or mehndi designs from the website and then add personal details and a personal message.

We also offer a cartooning service for wedding or party invitations. People can send me their images and I make a little cartoon for them and put that on the front of their invitation.  This is the ultimate in personalisation and is very popular.



Sam is passionate about her business. She recently fought the dragons in the BBC 2 series “Dragon’s Den”, incensed by their critique of her business idea. She feels quite smug that so far she has proved them wrong and that her cards continue to sell well in Clinton shops across the UK.

“We’re not about pretty cards. We are trying to create a brand, something that people can collect. The Desi Diva, the Bhangra Boy and the Bindi Babes are the first in a number of British-Asian cartoon characters that we are developing along with a range of mugs, coasters and key rings. We are also looking into new designs for mobile phone wall papers, games, T-shirts and other stationery products.”



What is the most rewarding part of your business?

For me, because I am also the artist, it is people saying: “Sam, this is a really fabulous idea, we love your cartoons”. When people actually love what you do and you can enrich their lives with your product, then the purpose of setting up this business feels fulfilled.



Indeed, what more do you need? Perhaps, a drop of tea served in your fave Desi Diva mug?

To purchase Sam's extraordinary cards, visit www.jivanastyle.com.