Duck Blue

What started as a tentative venture following the birth of her first child has become a successful greeting card business stocked in the National Gallery. Ruth Cahill of Duck Blue discusses her creative process and the joy of daily chats with her local post depot workers.

Ruth Cahill’s journey into the greeting card business began unexpectedly. Following the birth of her first child, she made the difficult decision to leave her career as a graphic designer and production manager at a leading design agency. 

“It was a big transition giving up a great job that I loved as well as juggling a child with complex needs,” Ruth recalls. “Looking back, it was a push I never would have done if life didn’t throw me this curveball. I feel so lucky to have my own successful business which I was able to grow at the speed I needed.”

The first decade wasn’t easy. Ruth juggled being a carer with building her business part-time, attending every course available through her local enterprise office. She tested the waters at markets and fairs, gradually building connections and understanding her customers’ needs. “I learned what people wanted,” she explains. “It was a learning curve every year but so important for my businesses.”

A mention on Ryan Tubridy’s radio show in 2020 proved transformative. ”To this day I have customers who heard of me on that occasion and order from me constantly,” she says. Being selected for Bloom in 2022 and getting stocked in the National Gallery of Ireland were other important milestones. 

Creative Process

Working with quality materials - watercolour, fine ink pens, and the finest watercolour papers - Ruth creates each illustration by hand in her Maynooth studio. Once a drawing is complete, she scans or photographs it, digitalises it, and prints everything on site using Italian paper called Tintoretto. 

“I create ‘cards you want to keep’. I let the illustration do the talking and keep my designs simple and make sure they can be used for many occasions,” she explains. The cards are finished with Kraft brown envelopes and packaged in biodegradable cello bags. Duck Blue’s commitment to sustainability extends to shipping practices. All packaging is eco-friendly and compostable, and Ruth reuses delivery boxes for wholesale orders.

When lockdown hit in 2020, in just three days Ruth built a fully functioning e-commerce website using Shopify and YouTube tutorials. “I wanted to be able to edit the website myself as I am always creating new designs,” she explains. The website now represents approximately 70% of her business, with retailers accounting for the remaining 30%. She also maintains a wholesale shop on Faire, where retail customers can order directly.

A strategic decision to stop taking bespoke orders and focus solely on her own designs proved “hugely beneficial”, allowing Ruth to streamline operations and maintain consistency across her product range. Duck Blue’s marketing approach is organic, and Ruth maintains a list of subscribers who receive monthly ezines with offers and news. “I don’t do ads as I have never needed too,” she says. Instead, she relies on social media posts to keep customers engaged and informed.

Postal Connection

An Post has been integral to Duck Blue since day one. Most website orders go out via envelope post, while wholesale orders use parcel post. Ruth takes advantage of the Advantage card for better rates and upsells to maximise the 500g large envelope postal rate, offering incentives for customers to buy more.

The An Post relationship goes beyond logistics. “Being self-employed and working alone, sometimes the only chat I get all day is the five minutes of fun and craic with the post office workers in the depot,” says Ruth. “They really look after me when I’m running late with last minute post.”

Sympathy cards are amongst Duck Blue’s most popular range, alongside baby cards and communion cards. Duck Blue’s ‘Places in Ireland’ cards perform well in tourist areas, while floral cards are popular with florists and garden centres. Christmas brings its own rhythm, with Ruth enjoying the challenge of creating new designs each year. She also gives back during the festive season, donating €1 per pack sold to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, a charity close to her heart.

Why Cards Still Matter

In an age of instant messaging, Ruth believes physical cards retain their power. “I think people still value the sentiment of giving and receiving a card,” she reflects. “I still have cards from my childhood from special people like my grandparents, my children’s baby cards etc.

“People may not send as many cards as before but the ones they send are special,” she insists. “Receiving a letter or card in the post may be the only joy someone gets in a day, and even a chat with the postal worker when the card is delivered is a connection.”

For Duck Blue, the Christmas period is crucial, not just for card sales but also for gift boxes and personalised notelets featuring customers’ addresses. Ruth concludes: “I would urge everyone to pick three people who might be very lonely or have a difficult Christmas ahead and send them love.”

Duck Blue cards are available online at www.duckblue.ie and in selected retailers nationwide.