In a world where communication largely consists of sliding into DMs and sending quick voice memos, a new wave of slow-paced stationery stores and handwritten love notes is emerging. One such stationer is Dog Eared Paper Co., a tiny, one-woman-owned greeting card company based in Charleston, SC. Created by Loren Routhier Hughes, the greeting card company’s name nods to the owner’s English Lab, whom she had for 16 years. Loren describes her greeting cards as colorful, lighthearted, quirky, and always inspired by real life. Her “GIRLS Collection” is a perfect example of this approach—a range of cards designed around her close girlfriends, including titles like “Niki’s Chickies,” “Sierra’s Tomatoes,” and “Heather’s Pickles.” 

Quirky By Design

“There’s always a moment when I finish illustrating a card that feels personal or humorous to me in a very specific way,” she reflects, “when I’m hesitant that it will be too niche. But sure enough, a store places an order for them. It has slowly proved to me that we should revel in the quirky things we love and worry less about what feels ‘perfect’ or ‘professional.’ The whole point of a greeting card is to bring a little joy, celebration, or comfort to someone’s day. Let’s not make it too serious. I always hope someone sees one of my cards on a shelf and it reminds them of their own inside jokes or their own specific relationship. It’s also a happy accident that my illustrating style mirrors the imperfect nature of my brand’s name—’dog eared.’”

From Textbook Margins to Etsy

She describes herself as someone who was always doodling in her school textbook margins and who had a deep love of stationery. Yet she never imagined building a career out of both. After writing and illustrating a children’s book that failed to find agency, she relegated art to a hobby. But everything changed when she started a weekly tradition of drawing cards for her husband. “Every Friday, which was a slow day at work, I’d pass the time illustrating cards for him. I’d come home and hide them around the house for him to find.”

Loving her cards, he encouraged her to start an Etsy store. After realizing there was no harm in this part-time hobby, she began offering her greeting cards online. 

Building Something Real

Over the next year and a half, Dog Eared Paper Co. grew into a legitimate stationary business. Following her steady Etsy success, Loren’s husband again encouraged her to branch into the wholesale market and approach brick-and-mortar stores. “I still can’t believe this turned into a real thing,” she says. “I’m always happily surprised when anyone places an order, whether it’s one card or three hundred. But this feels like what I was meant to do all along.”

Dog Eared Paper Co. now features over 25 original, hand-illustrated card designs available in stores across California, Texas, New Jersey, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina… And now available in Sarasota!

Love in Every Detail

“I love every single second of what I do,” she says. “I could draw all day, every day. But I even find joy in hand-stamping each card, packing orders in the loveliest way possible, watching the business grow, and building relationships with stores I admire. But my favorite part? I love that a tiny piece of my dog, Rocco, lives on with every card that’s used as a love note or to celebrate a special moment—he’s right there on the back.”