Retro-Ho-Ho Christmas Cards - Page 2

That led to Eames and Cobb chairs appearing on her cards along with mid-century housewares such as Sputnik lamps and fondue pots.

"I've always been a very historically, vintage-influenced person," said Dempsey, whose husband is an optometrist by day and business manager for the card company by night. "I've always collected vintage toys. I think it's a pretty common thing for art directors.

"He got the bug and started collecting the toys of his childhood," she chuckled about Brent, whose office now boasts numerous models of Matt Mason astronaut figures—which in turn helped inspire the company's 'Space Age Santa' and 'Jet Pack Santa' cards.

Inspiration for other cards have come from specific buildings the couple found in Palm Springs, including Peaks Restaurant on Mount San Jacinto, and songs like 'Silver Bells' and 'We Need A Little Christmas.' The latter tune comes as no surprise if you know that Diane listens to holiday music even in spring, when she designs new cards each year.

"Sunset magazine was a big influence on the one called 'Snow Globe,'" said Dempsey. Describing the pencil drawings that she uses to develop eight to ten new card designs each year, she said, "I do layers and layers of [overlapping] tissues, and rework it until it's going to lay out perfectly."

This year, for the second time, Palm Springs has played a big role in moving the business forward. A recent story in that community's Desert Sun newspaper has provided a late-season boost in sales of Dempsey's retro cards, which are printed in Florida and shipped by Dempsey herself.

As art director of the company, Dempsey selects a handful of existing designs to reprint each year, along with new ones, so they can offer about a dozen choices each fall. Sales for Retro Christmas Card Company have grown exponentially over the past two years, so Dempsey continues to search for new inspiration in old copies of Sunset, Better Homes and Gardens, Popular Mechanics, and Women's Home Companion.

"When you're building a nostalgic product, you have to tap into those shared experiences," said the designer. "Things that will trigger the memory turn out to be my most successful products. That's really my goal: for people to pick up a card and say, 'This looks like something from my past!'"

For more on the Retro Christmas Card Company, click here.