What was the darkest day for Smart Alex?
I had to learn that if you are well-known for one thing, that’s what people want from your company. It is like a brainwashing that happens out there. People want what we originally sell them. Back in the early ’90s, we started a second company called Silver Dog. It was an avant-garde, high-design, greeting cards company. My partner, Mark Taylor, joined Smart Alex after working as a graphic designer for Montgomery Ward for years. He is the senior art director for Smart Alex today. We just had our 19th anniversary. He is my “ear.” Maybe it was a way to show off some of the designs he and I are capable of… something different. Two years later, all the clean cards companies were doing the same things. We had to go back to the places where they can’t go. Nothing poetic or flowery. And we had to do the things they can’t do, which is humor, edge, but with nice, highly graphic designs. Also, when we tried making gift tags, coasters, and other things, they just weren’t as profitable. It’s like
