á la cards Wins 2008 LOUIE Award

New York, NY May 29, 2009 – à la cards, a boutique handmade greeting cards business located just outside of San Francisco, CA, has won a prestigious award for the Blank-Everyday category for the 21st Annual Greeting Card Awards competition, otherwise known as the LOUIE Awards. This marks the third time in four years that à la cards has won this distinguished award.

From almost 1,000 entries, 176 designs from both U.S. and international publishing companies made it to the final round of judging held on January 29-30, 2009 in Washington, D.C. To be eligible for judging all entries had to be marketed and sold in the U.S. during calendar 2008. à la cards WL-06A, "Wedding Bouquet," was selected as one of the 176 finalists. From that group, this card won the award for the best Blank Everyday cards price above $3.00.

A panel of 13 judges scored entries on a scale of 1-10 for Imagination, Impact, Artistry, Harmony, Sendability and Value. Winners in each of the 58 categories were announced at Captiale in New York City on May 18th, 2009. The event included a viewing of all LOUIE Award finalists, followed by an awards presentation.

“The companies named as LOUIE finalists clearly show the creativity and artistic talent that are evident in our industry’s products,” said Greeting Card Association President Steve Laserson of American Greeting Corporation, Cleveland, OH.

Winners were also on display at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center during the National Stationery Show, May 17- 20, 2009 in New York City.

WL-06A, “Wedding Bouquet,” may be purchased at hundreds of boutique card and gift shops throughout the U.S., including all the Crane & Co Paper Makers locations. Visit www.alacards.com and select the “Find a Store” link for a retailer near you.

About à la cards:

Dedicated to artistry in personal greetings, á la cards offers retailers a distinctive line of handcrafted three-dimensional greeting cards, gift cards and invitations. á la cards designs range from the endearingly whimsical to the classically formal, covering such traditional holidays, events and designs as Birthdays, Weddings, Christmas, Gift/Place and Baby.

á la cards features the mother-daughter design team of Suzette and Victoria Keet. Suzette’s handmade greeting cards have been sold around the world for almost a decade. Her talent and energy built the operation from a small individual enterprise to its present international position. Daughter Victoria brings bold youthful concepts to the á la cards line.

For information, visit www.alacards.com, call 707-748-0338 or 800-549-8995, or e-mail: info@alacards.com.

For information about the Greeting Card Association and the LOUIE Awards, visit www.greetingcard.org.

Press Contact:
Mari Branzuela
à la cards
PO Box 1993
Benicia, CA 94510
707-748-0338
mari@alacards.com
http://alacards.com