Finding Meaningful Moments Through Creativity

Often spoken of in ways that make it seem like a rare talent, creativity is, in fact, a part of all of us. Perhaps most simply described as the ability to make connections, creativity helps us to solve problems, foster resilience and, above all, it helps us to spark joy – so it’s no wonder that it is the key to everything that we do here at Hallmark. 

Because connections are what we are all about at Hallmark, and we focus our creativity on constantly developing and evolving new and exciting ways to build those connections, whether that is finding fresh ways to help consumers connect with their loved ones or building new partnership connections as a business to help us reach a wider and more diverse audience. 

Ever since our humble beginnings as a couple of shoeboxes full of postcards in the arms of a young and enterprising JC Hall, the aim of Hallmark has always been to create a more caring and connected world through our creativity. 

In everything we do, from card designs to wrapping paper, gift bags, ornaments, toys, wrapping accessories and more, our creativity is fundamental. And it’s not just about the designs or the sentiment behind our products, it’s about using that creativity to find new ways to help people connect. We are always looking at the world around us and investigating new ideas and technologies that can help us to further evolve our products and our business. 

This can be anything from finding new ways to create finishes that are better for our planet, like replacing glittered elements with foil that achieves the same sparkling finish (and is still recyclable), or developing a whole new way for people to share special messages and celebrations through combining a classic greeting card with video sharing technology to create a unique, replayable video greeting that can be enjoyed time and time again. 

We also like to bring our creativity to our business relationships, searching out partnerships with other organisations that share our belief in the power and importance of connection and communication. In particular, we have established strong partnerships with Barnardo’s UK and Ireland and Andy’s Man Club, who we support both through financial donations and also through working closely with them to help get their important messages and work out to a wider audience.  

Through the work that we do we are lucky enough to take part in all kinds of inspiring creative projects but, whilst acts of creativity certainly can be incredible things, ideas don’t need to be super-artistic or world-changing to be considered creative. Creativity lies in so many different things and really can be almost anything you want it to be. Life requires constant inventiveness and ingenuity, we’re always having to problem solve and work around issues that crop up, so we are all constantly being creative in big and small ways. 

And, as it turns out, those little acts of creativity can be, ultimately, even more significant than big creative projects. A tiny creative act every day can help to boost our mental health, to reduce negative thinking and change fixed thought patterns, it helps us to express ourselves more freely and opens us up to new ways of viewing the world and ourselves. And making these small creative acts a habit will get us into a creative frame of mind that very soon becomes our natural state of mind, rather than something intimidating. 

So, on that note, if you’re feeling inspired and wanting to get creative yourself, why not do something like flower pressing to spark your creativity. Just remember, it doesn’t have to be neat, organised and perfect, it can be messy, scrappy and even a failure, but as long as you’re creating it really doesn’t matter, just keep the bits that work, try again and keep failing better next time!