People I've Loved

What People I've Loved does

People I've Loved is a privately held, founder-owned e-commerce and wholesale business founded in 2011 by artist and illustrator Carissa Potter in Oakland, California. The company designs, produces, and sells hand-illustrated greeting cards, journals and notebooks, card decks, art prints, and small gift objects (mugs, socks, stress balls, pins, trays, blankets). Production is largely performed on-site in the company's Oakland studio using digital printing and select letterpress techniques, positioning the company as a maker-led creative studio rather than a scaled manufacturing business. Pricing is set per unit, ranging from $5.50 stress balls to $160 blankets, with bundle pricing at $40-$60 and digital gift cards in $10-$100 denominations.

The company's go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer e-commerce on Shopify with wholesale distribution through the Faire marketplace and curated retail partnerships, including Anthropologie and the SFMOMA Holiday Makers Market. It serves two primary customer sets: individual gift-giving consumers seeking emotionally resonant, themed products for occasions such as birthdays, grief, friendship, graduations, and stress relief; and wholesale retailers (gift shops, bookstores, museum stores) purchasing at roughly 50% of retail pricing. Marketing is multi-channel, driven by organic social (Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook), a Substack newsletter, a podcast ('Bad at Keeping Secrets'), free downloadable content, and a calendar of craft-fair and museum-event appearances.

The business is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, a team of 1-10, and global shipping but no mobile app, API, or other technology platform. Recent product extensions have emphasized wellness and self-reflection themes — notably the 2024 'Sitting With Sadness Deck' (a collaboration with ____ LESS Journal) and the 2025 'Unplug Journal' (with Friends NYC) — while co-branded partnerships with Conveyor Studio and Goods for the Study continue to broaden the catalog without expanding headcount.

Name

People I've Loved

Legal name

People I've Loved

Website

https://peopleiveloved.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

People I've Loved is an Oakland-based, founder-owned e-commerce brand founded in 2011 by Carissa Potter that designs, produces, and sells hand-illustrated greeting cards, journals, card decks, prints, and gift objects directly to consumers worldwide and via Faire wholesale to gift shops and museum retailers such as Anthropologie and SFMOMA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Stationery and Greeting Cards

NAICS

Greeting Card Publishers (513191), Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942)

SIC

Greeting Cards (2771), Costume Jewelry & Novelties (3960)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRALAJAE

Greeting Cards, Wrap & Party Supplies Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Specialty Retail (Hobby, Books, Office, Pet, Toys)/Gift, Novelty & Souvenir Retail

SECONDARYHSACANAF

Gift Wrapping & Presentation (Wrapping/Boxes/Ribbons)

Home & Personal Services/Event & Personal Concierge Services/Gift Planning, Wrapping & Delivery Services

SECONDARYHSACACAM

Party Favors, Gifts & Custom Merchandise

Home & Personal Services/Event & Personal Concierge Services/Party & Social Event Services

Keywords

• Hand-illustrated greeting cards
• Letterpress prints
• Emotional wellness journals
• Self-care card decks
• Stationery gift objects

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct E-commerce Sales: One-time product sales through their Shopify-powered online store. Customers purchase individual items like cards ($6), journals ($12-$18), prints ($40-$99), and gift objects. Free domestic shipping on orders over $75.
2. Wholesale Distribution: Products sold to retail stores through Faire wholesale marketplace at discounted bulk pricing. Retailers receive approximately 50% off retail pricing with favorable payment terms.
3. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards available in $10, $25, $50, and $100 denominations. Funds never expire and are delivered via email.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

People I've Loved designs and produces hand-illustrated greeting cards, journals, card decks, art prints, calendars, books, and gift objects (such as mugs, socks, blankets, pins, trays) that are intended to help people have authentic, emotionally honest conversations and process difficult feelings. Products are illustrated and assembled on-site at the company's Oakland, California studio and sold directly to consumers via their online store, with worldwide shipping available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hand-Illustrated Greeting Cards Individual greeting cards priced at $6 each, featuring original hand-illustrated designs by founder Carissa Potter and collaborators. Available across themed categories (baby, birthday, congratulatory, everyday/encouragement, holiday, love/friendship, moms/dads, sympathy, thank-you). Buy 5 cards get 1 free.
• Journals and Notebooks Guided journals, notebooks, and planners priced $12-$18, including wellness-focused, gratitude, creativity, and planner variants such as the Make It Happen Journal, Unplug Journal, Only Good Things Notebook, and Sitting With Sadness Journal. Designed for self-reflection, mindfulness, and goal-setting.
• Card Decks Curated card decks priced $18-$20 per deck, featuring themed prompts for grief support, anxiety, decision-making, and connection. Examples include the Sitting With Sadness Deck (45 prompts, 7 wishes) and the Anxiety Deck.
• Art Prints Hand-illustrated letterpress and digital art prints priced $40-$99, featuring original artwork suitable for home or office display. Standard prints start at $40, with premium and larger prints ranging $50-$99.
• Gift Objects Branded gift objects including mugs ($20), socks ($14 with buy 2 get 1 free), stress balls ($5.50-$12), blankets ($160), pins ($12), and trays ($20), all featuring original People I've Loved illustrations and messages.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards available in $10, $25, $50, and $100 denominations. Delivered via email; funds never expire. Redeemable across the People I've Loved online store for any product.
• Only Good Things Wall Calendar 2027 12-month wall calendar priced at $26, featuring monthly favorites, moon phases, and space for notes. Created in collaboration with Goods for the Study.
• Unplug Journal 365-page yearlong journal in collaboration with Friends NYC, designed to encourage logging off and being present. Features prompts for doodling, venting, and breathing. Sized 3.5 x 4.625 inches, priced at $18.
• Sitting With Sadness Deck Collaborative grief support card deck created with ____ LESS journal (Madeline Park and Marcella Biven), containing 45 prompts and 7 wishes designed to help process grief and mourning. Includes 52 paper cards with prompts and 2 paper instruction cards in a paper box.
• Wellness Journal Series Wellness-focused journal collection targeting mental health and self-care, including titles such as A Wellness Journal, The Creative Unblocker Journal, and Life Is Happening Planner. Designed to support personal reflection, creativity, and life planning.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Friends NYCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'Unplug Journal' - a yearlong journal designed to encourage logging off and being present. 365 pages, 3.5 x 4.625 inches.
• ____ LESS Journal (Madeline Park and Marcella Biven)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'Sitting With Sadness' deck - a grief processing tool with 45 prompts and 7 wishes designed to help navigate difficult emotions.
• Goods for the StudyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 2027 'Only Good Things' Wall Calendar featuring monthly favorites, moon phases, and space for notes.
• Nettle StudiosminorGTM or Marketing PartnerParticipating in Nettle & Friends Summer Sample Sale event in Berkeley, CA (August 2026).
• BAMPFAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHosted 'Still Together' breathwork and reflection event at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (March 2026).
• Happy Women DinnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on 'The Artistry of Your Wild & Precious Life' event in Burlingame, CA (January 2025).
• SFMOMAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated in SFMOMA Holiday Makers Market - one of their flagship retail partnerships at a major art museum.
• AnthropologiecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail partnership for selling People I've Loved products in Anthropologie stores.
• FairecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary wholesale distribution platform enabling global retail partner network.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Anthropologie: Major specialty retailer that both sells People I've Loved products and operates its own private-label stationery/gifting lines; broader incumbent in the same shelf space.
• Hallmark: Largest mass-market greeting card manufacturer and retailer; frames the broader category, including emotional-expression sub-segment where People I've Loved competes on authenticity and design.
• Paper Source: National specialty retailer of greeting cards, stationery, journals, and gift wrap; competes for the same gift-giving consumer and retailer shelf space.

Direct peers

• Ban.do: Lifestyle brand selling greeting cards, stationery, journals, and gift objects at premium price points through DTC and wholesale; comparable product breadth and target consumer.
• Emily McDowell Studio: Indie studio built around emotionally honest, sometimes difficult-conversation greeting cards and gifts; same positioning ethos around authenticity and emotional resonance as People I've Loved.
• Rifle Paper Co. Illustrator-led greeting cards, journals, prints, and gift objects sold DTC, wholesale, and through major retailers (including Anthropologie). Closest direct analog in category, scale, and product mix.
• Papier: Premium stationery and greeting card publisher with DTC customization and collaborations; direct overlap on cards, journals, and illustrated paper goods.
• Ohh Deer: Illustration-driven greeting cards, stationery, gifts, and prints sourced from independent artists; comparable artist-network model and product mix.
• Knock Knock (formerly Compendium Inc.): Gift and stationery publisher with joke cards, journals, boxed gift products, and impulse-gift SKUs; overlapping wholesale distribution and gift-shop customer base.
• Red Cap Cards: Los Angeles-based indie greeting card maker with artist collaborations and a curated gift/novelty assortment; parallel craft-positioning and DTC-plus-wholesale model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/peopleiveloved
• Facebookfacebook.com/peopleiveloved
• Instagraminstagram.com/peopleiveloved/?hl=en
• Pinterestpinterest.com/peopleiveloved
• TikToktiktok.com/@peopleiveloved
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/people-ive-loved

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about People I've Loved