About Us
GrammaBurp's Story
When I was 12, my friend Kim broke her leg. Apparently there had been some unnecessary roughness during a soccer game. She asked me to sign her cast. I'd never signed a cast before, so I looked to see what the other kids had written. There were names, happy faces and other "heal fast" wishes. I wrote, "Hit her back." Well, Kim laughed...really hard...and so did her mom. I really wasn't trying to be funny, I just wanted to write the right thing.
Over the years, whenever a card was being passed around at work for everyone to sign, I became kind of well known in my little circle of coworkers for writing very 'different' things. People actually waited to see what I had written.
I'll never forget the first card idea I sold. It was a humorous get well card. Oatmeal Studios bought it. The best part of selling it was knowing that potentially thousands of people would feel the healing power of laughter, because of the card I wrote. There's something amazing in that.
Then one day while browsing the internet, I saw some old black & white snapshots. The photos spoke to me. I started hearing funny captions that would go along with them, so I bought the photos.
When I resigned from my thirteen-year human services job, I was thinking about starting my own greeting card business. I drove from Massachusetts to California to see my daughter and granddaughter, who were living alone on a Marine Base. Halfway into my trip I got lost, pulled off of the highway to get my bearings, and that's when I realized I was parked in the Hallmark Cards headquarters parking lot. I knew it was a sign, and that's the moment when I knew that starting my own business was meant to be.
I'd already had photos, poetry & greeting cards published. I attended Berkshire Enterprises, an intensive entrepreneurial training program in Pittsfield, MA. They provided me with practical business knowledge & gave me the tools & skills I needed to develop, operate and manage my own business. I did a ton of market research. With their help I developed my implementation strategies & wrote my business plan.
Well, that's how it all started. If only I had figured it out way back when I was signing the cast on Kim's leg.
Oh, & in case you were wondering, the business name "GrammaBurp" came about after my first granddaughter was born. My son-in-law was a Marine serving in Iraq, so my daughter & baby Nora were staying with us when she was first born. Nora didn't always burp after feedings, but for some reason, I was almost always able to get her to burp...even when everyone else had failed. So every 4 hours my daughter would call out, "Gramma...Burp!" And it just stuck.
And these days, all of the children I know (and a lot of adults) just call me Burpy.
Our Business Philosophy
People are way too serious a lot of the time. Greeting cards are a reminder that there is a funny side to most everything.
A greeting card isn't just a greeting card. It's a gift, it's a form of communication, and best of all, it's a wish. Wish you well, wish you'd cheer up, wish you a happy birthday...
There really is a genie. And you really do get wishes. They come in the form of a greeting card, from a friend who cares. (And you don't have to rub anything.)
Our Company
Since 2004 a small, family-run business located in the heart of Northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
The reason we're here is to write funny freakin' cards and make the world a happier place through laughter!
We're very excited about the new designs we're currently working on.
More magnets will be added to the line soon.