Growing Gratitude: One CEO’s Vision for a Better World through Kids’ Stationery

My passion for note and letter writing has led me to meet many wonderful entrepreneurs and old-fashioned correspondence lovers who share and channel that passion in wonderful, creative ways. One such person is Ashley Cruz Campbell, founder of the Coral & Blue Paper Co. in Saratoga Springs, New York, with a mission of making stationery for children that encourages gratitude, thoughtfulness, and creativity. She wanted to bring back the Thank-You note with cards and paper designed to make note writing both simple and joyful to do. She has also linked her business with an inspiring philanthropic outreach to children in Africa.

I was honored to have an email interview with Ashley in March 2023 to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of this vibrant enterprise and see how she could help us all encourage the children in our lives to love note and letter writing.

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Interview with Ashley Cruz Campbell

ELIZABETH: Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got interested in stationery for children?

ASHLEY: Hello! I’m so happy to be doing this with you Elizabeth, thank you so much!  My background is in sales and marketing, but I was a stay-at-home mom for nine years before launching Coral & Blue. I created and patented this line of children’s stationery because I wanted to inspire my own kids to express gratitude as well as make writing both fun and simple. I searched the market for kid-friendly cards, and after coming up short I decided to create my own.

ELIZABETH: What inspired you to start a stationery company that focuses on products for kids? And am I correct that you focus primarily on elementary-school-ages?

ASHLEY: Yes, Coral & Blue stationery is made for elementary schoolers, and some in preschool. As a mom, it’s important to me that my kids have good manners, say, “thank you,” and truly connect with others. My husband and I both grew up writing thank-you notes and I wanted my kids to carry on that tradition. But much of this is also about inspiring human connection, which I fear we’re losing in our digital age.

For years we made our own stationery at home, drawing lines on construction paper with a ruler and gluing in their artwork from school. They were adorable but this was too time-consuming, especially after a birthday when multiple notes were needed. Finding envelopes that fit was difficult as well. That’s when I decided to approach a local printer to create my vision: kid-friendly stationery. Every card is spacious enough for kids to form their letters, elementary-lined to help keep sentences straight and avoid writing frustration, and a space to get creative.

ELIZABETH: Tell me about the name of your company: Coral & Blue Paper Co.

ASHLEY: Coral & Blue are the colors of traditional elementary lines which was my inspiration—cards that make it easy for kids to write on.

ELIZABETH: What do you think sets your stationery products apart from others in the market?

ASHLEY: I do have a US Design Patent, so I’m the only product on the market like it. I combined the beauty and quality of good paper with a layout that makes note-writing easy and fun for kids.

ELIZABETH: You have lots of Thank You note stationery and your multi-pack includes cards for “Get Well,” “I’m Sorry,” “Happy Birthday,” and “Thinking of You.” Do you find that children use the others, or mostly the Thank you cards? What have you found that works and doesn’t work?

ELIZABETH: What are some of the challenges you face when creating stationery products for children?

ASHLEY: Where I see the challenge in my business is helping parents to understand the benefit of taking the time to handwrite notes, and getting their kids to do the same. So many of us, myself included, are moving through life so rapidly and we’re all so busy.  It’s something we have to carve out time to do, but when we do, it’s rewarding on many levels. I encourage parents to take their kids to the library or to their (the parent’s) favorite coffee shop and write notes. Getting away from barking dogs, dirty dishes, and piles of laundry can help us to focus, relax, and enjoy the experience.

ELIZABETH: How do you come up with new and innovative designs for your stationery products? Do you create the designs yourself or do you have collaborators?

ASHLEY: I design them myself, but I have a wonderful printer and a graphic designer to help create my vision. I was extremely intentional with the look of my brand. The outside of every card is a timeless, brightly colored silhouette of a child at a writing desk, with a fun decoration on each desk like a fishbowl, paintbrushes, or a globe. The cards are made so that they could be any child—any ethnicity. 

ELIZABETH: What kind of feedback have you received from parents and children about your stationery products?

ASHLEY: I have amazing and encouraging customers. I often get thank you notes in the mail from customers thanking me for creating the stationery. Mostly, moms are grateful for the kid-friendly design and for making their lives easier when it comes to getting their kids to write. Grandmothers often come up to me at craft fairs to talk to me about the lost art and thank me for helping to revive it. I think they’re hoping to get a thank you note in the mail from their grandchildren.

ELIZABETH: At almost every talk I’ve given about Heartspoken notes, I get the question, “How can we get our children and young people to write more notes?” What advice do you have for parents who want to encourage their children to write more handwritten notes and letters?

ASHLEY: This is such a great question. Two things come to mind quickly. Note writing is really about gratitude, happiness, and human connection, three things we are all craving today. When I am with groups, I love to explain how taking the time to write deepens connections with others and enhances gratitude and even self-confidence in children. Secondly, putting pencils and crayons to paper is extremely calming for kids. They are so used to keyboards that handwriting and artwork have become a novelty, but one that helps them—helps us all—to find peace and balance.

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“Note writing is really about gratitude, happiness, and human connection, three things we are all craving today.”

Ashley Cruz Campbell, CEO of Coral & Blue Paper Co.

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ELIZABETH: I noticed that beyond etiquette, you write on your website about the importance of teaching children to express gratitude. Tell us more about this and about the mental health benefits for children who write more notes.

ASHLEY: Grateful kids are often happy kids. When we teach our children to focus on what they’re grateful for instead of what they want, that innately creates the blessing of peace and contentment. 

ELIZABETH: How do you think technology has impacted the way children communicate, and are there ways to harness technology to encourage children to write more notes?

ASHLEY: My mission with Coral & Blue is to help kids become happier, more well-rounded people by enhancing their ability to connect with others and express gratitude through note writing. I think we’re finally moving in the right direction in that I think people are craving more of this, and mourning the loss of good manners and personal connection. Technology can be wonderful and there’s an important place for it, but we need to find balance. To do that, we need to put the screens away sometimes.

ELIZABETH: Can you share any exciting plans or projects that you have in the works for your Coral & Blue Paper Co.?

ASHLEY: I’m working on a teen and adult line of inspirational stationery. The cards are regular in size (instead of larger like my cards for kids). They’re lightly lined for easy writing, and they will include an inspirational quote or a Bible verse on the top, inside of every card.

I’m also creating a monthly note-writing get-together in my local community called, Well-Noted Saratoga. It will be at a local coffee or tea shop and I’ll provide stationery and envelopes. Folks can also bring their own stationery and we’ll enjoy time away from the house to write any kind of notes we want or need to write. I’m thinking this will be especially helpful after the holidays. 

I also have a non-profit in Burundi, Africa where my cards are printed and used to help kids write and do art. I didn’t initially intend to start a non-profit there, but I was blessed with one. My friend, Maurice, is a Sunday School teacher there. I sent him a set of cards for his classroom as a surprise gift. Instead of the outside saying “Thank You,” I had them printed to say, “Urakoze Cane,” which means, “Thank you very much,” in Burundi. He explained that the cards have been life-changing and are now used for English Language Arts (ELA), reading, poetry, art, and public speaking. Burundi is ranked the poorest country in the world, and paper and art supplies are difficult to come by. Maurice has them read their letters aloud and explain their drawings. This has helped reduce trauma, so writing has been a form of therapy for this poverty-stricken country. [See photos from Burundi below.]

It’s probably the thing I’m most grateful for, that has come out of my small stationery business.  

ELIZABETH: Ashley, on behalf of snail mail fans everywhere, and as someone who has written a book and launched a #HeartspokenMovement to share my belief that pen (or pencil, crayon) and paper are powerful, affordable, and overlooked connection tools, I want to thank you for working towards the same goal by creating a new generation of note and letter writers. We’re so proud to have you in our Facebook Group “The Art of the Heartspoken Note,” and I hope you’ll let us know when you have new products or programs. Good luck!

ASHLEY: Elizabeth, thank you so much!

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