SHELBURNE FALLS — What does “The Yule Frog,” “A Whale in a Manger” and the “Merry Christmouse” have in common? They all come from the punning minds of Jeff and Cameron “Teddy” Grader of Charlemont. And now each Christmas pun has a greeting card of its own.
The Graders have just wrapped up a new line of “Warped Whimsy” greeting cards for this holiday season. (The cards can be purchased at Boswell’s Books in Shelburne Falls.)
The cards were created and evolved over 2½ years. Last year, the two sent out “The 12 Puns of Christmas” as 12 daily Facebook images to online friends, which got plenty of “likes” and “loves.”
But as more card ideas came up, they gave up on having only 12 cards in their line.
Jeff Grader, a local bartender, is also an award-winning children’s book illustrator. He did the illustrations for “Change: A Story for All Ages” and “Kindness,” both books written by Judith Barnes and Erick James.
Jeff and Teddy, the writer of the pair, are also working on a children’s book series, besides their new card line.
Teddy is from Australia; the two met online, visited each other and eventually married after Teddy moved to the United States this year. But there was a 1½-year separation, when each lived in a different country.
While separated, they kept in touch through Facebook Messenger, which is where the first sparks of the Christmas card line began.
One night, Teddy wrote to Jeff: “What do spiders give each other for Christmas?”
Then Jeff sketched out the answer: “Fruitfly cake.”
“We actually dropped the fruitfly cake from this line,” said Teddy.
But “The Re-Gift Horse” is there, with a bunch of brightly wrapped packages, and so is “The Dam Tree,” where beavers are toiling.
Jeff said they discovered “the way his words and my artwork immediately clicked.”
“We are each other’s muse,” Teddy said. “He inspires me to write.”
Fenway Group Printing saw the images and invited them to put the cards for sale online.
When asked if they will do eCards, the Graders said they’ve considered it, but think having actual paper cards is better. “For the message you’re bringing across, physical cards are important,” said Jeff. “We considered eCards … but people like something tangible that they can look at, like art.”
Nancy Eisenstein, co-owner of Boswell’s Books on Bridge Street, says she is delighted to have the cards for sale in her store. “Everyone loves them. Everyone thinks they’re beautiful, the puns are great. The quality is high and the paper and printing is beautiful,” she said. “I got them to send to my friends; you can pick out the one that’s best for each person.”
Some of their customers have asked if they could buy a box of cards with just one favorite image, and the Graders are thinking of setting up an online shop where people can order single designs, or single cards or customized cards with personal messages for the occasion.
Warped Whimsy is also planning a line of “Monster Love Letters” for Valentine’s Day. They are also working on a children’s book called “Bear and His Boy,” and developing a separate website for Jeff Grader’s artwork, separate from what he does through the Warped Whimsy site.
The box of 25 cards sells for $29.95, which seems expensive, but each card is different. “We were a bit concerned about the price,” said Teddy, “but it was to offset printing costs. Also, if you went to a store to buy single cards, you’d pay at least $3 a card,” he said.
Warped Whimsy Christmas cards, are also available online at:
www.warpedwhimsy.com