The number one gift given on Valentine’s Day isn’t flowers or chocolate industry insiders say, but cards. Many are designed and shipped from Siloam Springs, inside Hallmark owned Dayspring. We went inside the company for an inside look.
Jonathon Huckeby, a designer at Dayspring asks this, “If you think back, when’s the last time you got a card in the mail? How did it make you feel?” He goes on to say, “It’s like the highlight of your mailbox visit.” 68 million of those mailbox visits start in a building just off Highway 16 in Siloam Springs.
Huckeby says, “It really is a big thing, to be able to give someone a tool to be able to use, to help them say something-that maybe they couldn’t say their on their own.” It is a responsibility not taken lightly for Huckeby and the team of nearly 300 employees at Dayspring. In the age of social media, email, and internet, their field is dependent on something more tangible.
Carla Whisenand, a Product Manager at Dayspring says, “We’ve kind of seen that boomerang back. I think what’s missing in electronic media is that sense of having something in your hand that you can hold onto and you can keep and really becomes a memory maker and something you can pull out time and time again.”
The card process starts and ends at their office, with the exception of production which happens at a Hallmark site. The cards are designed in Siloam Springs and shipped globally from their warehouse there as well. You’ll find their cards in big box stores, gift stores, pharmacies, and more in the United States and an even broader span. Whisenand says, “We have a reach that’s pretty much throughout the country and throughout the world.
On Valentine’s Day, people of all ages will be exchanging cards. Dayspring manufacturers cards for kids to adults. Industry insiders say cards are the most popular gift given on the holiday, but it is not their most popular selling day. They tell us the most popular day is Christmas, followed by Mother’s Day, and then Valentine’s. Whisenand says, “Valentine’s Day is largely a card sending occasion, but it’s also a largely hand delivered card-giving occasion. Not only are they being sent via the mail, a lot of the cards you send to your loved ones, like husband, wife, your significant other, those are going to be hand delivered.
And whether it’s deeply romantic, cute, or whimsical, in the end it still means I love you. Huckeby brings us back to a motto Hallmark once brought it, and he agrees with saying, “A greeting card is the biggest little thing you can do, and I think that’s true, I really do.”
To find out more about Dayspring you can visit their website.
