0.. I Cf) a: w 0 <( w _J ~ 0 N 'HANWRITTEN' ENCOURAGEMENT DIGITAL PEN TO MEDIA DIRECTOR PUTS IN TRADITIONAL BUSINESS PAPER GREETING CARD WORDS Katie West I I PHOTOS Kalry Burks Hannah Owens, director of digital media, was a lover of cards, so much so, she started her own greeting card company called Hanwritten. This had been a dream of Owens' since she attended Harding as a student from 2007 to 2011. When Owens was a student at Harding, she remembered going to stores trying to find a card that was just right. When she realized how important cards were to her, she decided she wanted to take a chance and start a business. "I'm a dream person, so I always have [that] big thing that I'm looking toward and trying to accomplish," Owens said. However, when Owens first started to think about her company, she struggled to find inspiration to begin. In fall 2015, while working to attain her MB from Harding, Owens revived her idea for a card business. Women for Harding, a scholarship-funding organization, was hosting a craft fair and O wens put together some cards for the show. It was then that she came up " ith the name of her company, Hanwritten - a play off her name. This time, wens' plans followed her dreams, and her ne\\' company was a success. Or. ndrew Baker, assistant Bible professor and director of the Mitchell Center, was one of Owens' biggest cheerleaders. "I like Hannah, and I think there's a strong argument to be made for handwritten cards in a world of technology," Baker said. "Hannah gets that and is passionate about that." Baker u ed Owens' cards for events such as Uplift and ational Day of E ncouragement. Jennifer Hannigan, copy editor and publications writer for Harding, knew Owens from their college years and knew of her trong passion for cards. They worked together on the Petit Jean yearbook in 2007 and 2008. "It's been fun because I've [been able] to see [Hanwritten grow]," I lannigan said. "It ties into what she does: the writing, storytelling and sharing. She just wants to connect people and encourage people." Ar the end of the day, that was Owens' mission: to help others. ' he wanted to spread love, not just in earcy, but all over the world. "Encouragement is really important to me," Owens aid. "Words that build people up are important, and I think that we don't do enough of that in the world." Owens typically writes her cards in black ink, scans rhe card into her computer and digitally recolors, resizes and fine tunes the design to then print anc! sell. Owens enjoyed adding many special touches to her cards like rounding the comers by hand and using a blunt paper cutter to obtain rough edges. // Photo by Kaley Burks Hannah ONens, director of digital media, creates custom gree ing cards to fit any occasion because of her passion for the sentiment behind a handv1ritten card ,n a tecnnology-driven society. Owens started her business in 2015 and sold her cards locally at crnf+ shows and nationally through her website. // Photo by Kaley Burks
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