A Greeting Card Company: Crafts molded from boundless imagery

All it takes is an eye for the aesthetics and the passion to create exceptional crafts. And, Tony Gonzalez, owner of A Greeting Card Company (AGC) did not fail to miss out on that! He imprints on local materials an imagery beyond ordinary as he transforms them into works of art.

Handmade paper, abaca fiber, capiz shells, glass, and leather are all made into fine artistry as they evolve into home decors, gift items, notebooks, stationeries, and greeting cards. Original, intricate, and bright – a craftsmanship that spells warmth and glow as it uses exuberant colors lightening up a bland backdrop.


A Creative Ingenuity

Before AGC, Tony rendered his designing expertise to GSG Industries. A company owned by his father, Geoffrey S. Gonzalez, GSG Industries specializes in producing handmade papers from indigenous Philippine fibers.

AGC started out as the design development and conversion arm of GSG Industries. With Tony as the creative mastermind, these handmade papers take a full spin as they were used as main material for housewares and gift items.

It didn’t take long for Tony and AGC to gain independence from its mother company. Using GSG Industries’ special handmade papers, the two dimensional element comes alive as it plays around with shapes, colors, and textures. Not limiting to just one component, Tony also used other materials that showed the flexibility and creativity of AGC.


Greeting Cards for All Season

A Greeting Card Company will not be named as such if it wasn’t for, of course, greeting cards! These cards were the first product line that launched AGC to the exporting arena.

AGC’s greeting cards are a cut above the rest! Bejeweled and a total eye-candy – AGC went beyond the ordinary greeting cards. “I think we are the first to do 3-dimensional with accessories. We went over the usual printed greeting cards,” Tony proudly shares.

The subtlety of the cards’ designs does not overshadow whatever message within your card. In fact, it adds spice and shows warmth and affection to the receiver. So may it be birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter… name all the holidays in the world and AGC is sure to have a unique card for your celebrated occasion.


Beyond Greeting Cards

The success of Tony’s greeting cards has put the company a step ahead in the manufacturing/exporting industry. Having regular buyers from Europe and US, AGC has expanded to other lines and introduced a variety of collections that are suitable to the discriminating standards of the international market.

Lamps, tabletops, and other housewares were made unique with the use of abaca fibers. From flattened greeting cards, handmade papers were compiled and made into unusually looking notebooks and stationeries. Capiz shells stand out as it was immortalized into vases, bowls and plant holders. While crocheted vases bring a retro feel to the ordinary household.

Tony plays a lot with other materials. Aside from abaca, capiz, and paper, he also uses rattans for his wicker furniture, resins for some of his bowls, and felt paper for his cards and stationeries.

And just like the greeting cards, his housewares and gift items were openly accepted in the market and also share the same success of his first product line.


Innovation + Brilliant Design = A Sensational Product

Designs play an important role in creating a product. One must come up with something that is not ordinary, colorful, and sturdy. In short, every product must be of quality.

However, there is another important quality that designers must always look out for – a penchant for innovation. Most of the products in the market today often look the same. There is nothing special nor spectacular about it. It’s okay that designers use the same materials. Yet, creating something peculiar is sure to make heads turn. And this is what Tony keeps in mind.

Though he admits that the company’s edge was the design. Still, the continuous innovation, keeps them ahead of the game. Like for example, who would’ve thought that abaca could work as a lampshade? Or, greeting cards be accessorized with fancy jewels? This interplay of materials is a novelty of items. “By being innovative, fast, and as always, in product development, you have to keep up also and come out with new products all the time,” Tony said.


Behind every successful business is a humbling obstacle

AGC’s rise to the export business may not come as a surprise for some. Since the company was an offshoot of GSG Industries, Tony knows, more or less, the ins and outs of the business because GSG Industries itself dealt with exporting handmade papers.

The company itself experienced some challenges too. Managing 30 to 150 persons and ensuring that the production goes well may be quite a handful for Tony. Along with it are the financial difficulties that may probe during production.

However, he hurdled such trials because he continuously learns from his experiences and led to the company’s stability and recognition in the global market.


Greetings to the world!

Eleven years in the export business is no joke. This only proves that their clients adore their products. Having found its niche in the international and high-end European market, AGC is determined to explore and create more specialized products that show the ingenuity of a Filipino manufacturer.

What also led AGC to its prime was its participation to trade events particularly of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM). Manila F.A.M.E. International, a CITEM-organized trade event, helped AGC introduce and sell their products to diverse foreign buyers.

“Well, that’s the point of sales. It is where we display and sell our products. It’s a tool of trade. Of course, it helps a lot,” Tony lectures.

In the recently concluded April 2006 Manila F.A.M.E., AGC won best product design for gifts on his Prince of Welcome at the Katha Awards. This recognition is given to manufacturers who best demonstrate ingenuity through their products.

Recognitions do not stop AGC to create more. Instead, it inspires Tony to venture out to new product lines and expand their trade in places where in Filipino manufacturers need to be recognized. “Maybe we’ll go into distribution or trading more around Asia to specialized shops,” he relates.

As of now, the brain behind AGC is concentrated in creating and marketing specialized good quality items. He and other Filipino manufacturers may have started selling at a small niche market. Yet, Tony sees that the future of Filipino small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) will be recognized all over because of its exquisite craftsmanship.

“There will always be a place for us as long as we continue to create good creative products,” he ends.


Want to see more of A Greeting Card Company’s products? Visit his website at www.agreetingcard.com.ph. AGC is located at Lot 7 Block 2, Meliton Espiritu Compound, San Antonio, Parañaque, Metro Manila. You may also contact Tony Gonzales at (+632) 820-1541. Or email him at: tony@agreetingcard.com.ph.