Thank-you cards from the Aloha series! (# 2025-001 to # 2025-015)
The Aloha series contains the first cards I've ever put out there. It's taken me 1.5 years to get to this milestone. Thank you for checking out this page! Check the shop for current availability :)
Card numbers in this series
Allow me to start by just listing the card numbers in each set, in case you have one of these cards. (On the back of each card is its unique number.) Then Iāll share more info about the series.
- 2025-001
- 2025-002
- 2025-003
- 2025-004
- 2025-005
- 2025-006
- 2025-007
- 2025-008
- 2025-009
- 2025-010
- 2025-011
- 2025-012
- 2025-013
- 2025-014
- 2025-015
Types of cards in each set
Each set of 5 cards contains both of the series' 2 styles. That way you can receive a mix of the materials used in the series:
- cards with a paper backing ripped from a typewritten newsletter, and
- cards with a paper backing ripped from a black-and-white art print.
What's included in a set
- 5 handmade thank-you cards that are one-sided (write on the same side as the thank-you message or heck go wild and write on the other side)
- 5 hand-stamped envelopes
- Each card is intentionally imperfect ā please see detailed photos before purchasing :)
- Made in early 2025 by me, Megan
Pricing information
- Each set is $25 CAD, inclusive of taxes, shipping, and payment processing.
- $5 CAD from the purchase of each set will be donated to Standing Together, a progressive grassroots movement organizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel against the occupation and for peace, equality, and social justice.
Materials used and their sources
- Newsletter paper and art print: 1985 seasons greetings mailing by Aloha Investments
- Cardstock: Boxed set of Christmas cards bought second-hand in Courtenay, BC, Canada
- Brown paper: mainly from Amazon purchases
- Envelopes: Old Hallmark envelopes from Patricia's Estate Sale Warehouse in Hawthorne, NV, USA
- The letter stamps used were purchased at a thrift store in qathet (Powell River), BC, Canada
A story about the Aloha Series
I have enjoyed making these sets because of the texture of the different materials involved, and the play between the different lettering of the hand stamping combined with the typewritten newsletter and the edition imprint and writing on the art print. Nerding out over here!
This series is so named because it's created by a newsletter and art print sent from Aloha Investments to its members for the 1986 winter holidays. This means that 39 years agoāat the time of writingāthe newsletter and print used to make these cards were rolled into a tight cylinder, and sent out from Hawaii to, among others, a member living in Comox, BC.
I found it at a thrift store in the slender box it was mailed in, and purchased it for $1.00. Although I live by the ocean, stumbling upon it felt as close as I was going to get to finding a message in a bottle.
Aloha Investments was a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. They do not seem to be active anymore. The newsletter wished its members Merry Christmas. It also shared advice and updates in furtherance of building oneās downline. (I had to Google thisāa downline refers to all of oneās leads, like the next layer down in the MLM pyramid). The āOpportunity is Knockingā video cassette would be available for shipment in the new year. It was important to clarify to prospective downline people that the monthly fee was due monthly, not once. To assuage skepticism, references from Aloha Investments were available on request.
There was a time in my twenties where I was in a lot of flux and lacked a sense of meaning and excitement. I was vulnerable to charismatic people promising purpose and challenge. I was nearly taken in by an MLM. For this reason, and because I both write and read (digital) newsletters in my day job, I found this paper package to be nostalgia and, perhaps surprisingly, helpful:
Moreso than the video cassette or references, a memberās āpersonal noteā sent to prospective downline people was the best way to STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD!!! The advice wasāisātimeless: Quality beats quantity. Tell your story. It made me think about the ubiquitous power of building a feeling of connection and trust through actions that make someone feel seen and valued as an individual. Of course, that power is a tool that can be wielded for whatever purpose.
The art print is from a certain Dulu Shaka, who by way of āAfricaā and āChicagoā ended up working as an artist in Hawaii. Aloha Investments was sending out monthly mailings with an enclosed art print as a perk, and the first Dulu Shaka print included was apparently so popular that they did a repeat.
Picture of the intact newsletter
Picture of the intact art print
Thank you
I am truly excited to send these cards out into the world, into your hands and through you into the hands and hearts of those you seek to connect with and show care to. I think itās a good sign when itās a bit hard to sell somethingāIāll miss holding these cards in my own hands because of their textures and stories.
Please check the online shop for whether sets in the Aloha series are still available :)
If you got this far holy shit thanks for reading! I'd love to hear from you, you can reach me at in our hands cards at gmail dot com.