“Inklings is here today because of slow, steady and sustainable growth,” she asserted. They are so fun to paint, and they deliver both a gift and a card in one.”Īs far as experiencing overnight success when launching a company, Henry had four words of advice: Don’t. “Just dip the brush in water and run it over the card to bring the colors to life. “They feature all of our own illustrations and each one comes with a paintbrush,” she said. Speaking of the paint-with-water card, it happens to be Henry’s favorite at the moment (although her products are like children in that she loves them all). Whether it’s a greeting card you can scratch off like a lottery ticket with a handwritten message underneath the surface, a pop-up card, or a paint-with-water card.” A gift and card all in one An example of an Inklings paint by color card “Our products are all about delivering that moment of surprise and delight. So it’s very important to me that the relationships both within our team and also with our customers are front of mind. You send someone a card because that relationship means something to you. “What we do is all about relationships,” Henry said. Below the large message was a scratch-off feature that, once revealed, read: And I’ve never been more proud to know you. One said in bold white letters on a green background: I SEE HOW MUCH YOU ARE GIVING AND SACRIFICING RIGHT NOW. What makes Inklings stand out from the stationery crowd - in addition to Meijer, Henry has also collaborated with Starbucks - is its distinctive, well-thought-out products, that range from scratch-off greeting cards, lunch-box notes and customer cards.ĭuring the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Inklings manufactured scratch-off cards for front-line heroes. So we signed our first lease on a space in the old Burroughs Factory in Plymouth.” Distinctive products tug at heart strings
“But as we grew and began storing more inventory, and as our packaging helpers were coming in and out of our house, we realized that it was becoming impossible to live and work in the same place. “On one hand, it kept our operating costs low and our kids (two sons, now 9 and 14 years old) were young at the time, so it gave us the freedom and flexibility to work around their schedules. “There were many pros and cons to (running the business out the Henrys’ Canton home),” she said. When she arrived home - her husband left his corporate job to join the growing stationery business - her work day continued with the building of her own brand.
In the beginning, Henry was working a full-time gig as a brand consultant, helping companies and non-profits grow their brands. Inklings’ success has been a journey fueled by hard work, long hours, patience and a purpose to help people connect. In all, 22 of us worked on this project from start to finish.” Working day and night Lindsay Henry and her Inklings team prepared 15000 journals for delivery to Meijer “It still feels surreal that we were able to manufacture at that volume when just five years ago we were working out of our garage and basement. “I would say the most significant ‘pinch me’ moment was seeing the Meijer truck arriving and filling it front to back with our products,” said Henry, who moved her company from her home to a spacious Burroughs office space in 2018. Rarely does the arrival of a Meijer semi-truck ignite a wave of feel-good emotions to the level one did earlier this month outside Plymouth’s former Burroughs Factory, parts of which have been converted into trendy studio office space.įive years after Canton resident Lindsay Henry was running her cooler-than-cool stationery company out of her family’s home, one of the largest retailers in the country was picking up 15,000 Inkling Paperie journals to distribute in its nationwide stores.Įven the entrepreneurial experts on ABC’s hit show “Shark Tank” would have given Henry a fist bump after seeing how she engineered an against-the-odds success story.
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