Two Milwaukee women recently launched Write Hook, an online company that enables people to create custom greeting cards.
Lori Palay and Seraya Amirthalingam created the company to allow people to create greeting cards for some of the "less typical" moments in life.
Readers can browse hundreds of images and sentiments, and choose elements that express their exact thoughts at the company website (www.writehook.com). The custom cards can then be mailed to recipients.
"I am a cancer survivor, and when I was sick, people were incredibly generous," Palay said. "I was too sick to write thank you notes, and I kept thinking there has to be a better way to do this. There has to be other people who are in my position."
According to Palay, inspiration for the cards also came from the lack of already available cards to express what people really want to say.
Shortly after her radiation therapy, Palay met Amirthalingam, and they "just clicked."
"The concept of the way our company works came from both of us. I do more of the creative side of things, and she is definitely more of the infrastructure," Palay said.
The site was launched Nov. 11, and in addition to the traditional birthday, love, friendship and holiday greetings, Write Hook also carries cards for occurrences such as divorce, cancer and even menopause.
The site is designed to be user-friendly and allows users the ability to upload and create a personal address book, calendar, set alarms for reminder dates, and the ability to create cards one year prior to mailing.
Write Hook cards are sold for between $2.25 and $4 and are printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. Write Hook also donates five cents from every card sale to designated charities that customers can specify from a list of selected charities.
"The website is designed specifically so consumers can find the right card for the right occasion, or just send something off quickly," Palay said. "It was our goal to create a company that could create old world communication with new world technology."
