Atsui Cards is dry printed without solvents, inks, or vapors. These cards are pressed by our local printer using post consumer recycled content, alternative resources, and/or FSC Certified paper.
Everything is designed from an environmentally conscious mindset. The words are timeless and designed to be used for many occasions, preventing waste often generated by seasonal trends.
I’ve been fortunate to have found a warm and amazing community here in Los Angeles. After spending some time in solitude over the past few years, I ventured out of my shell because I had an idea that I wanted to pursue for myself. It began with Yes and ended up being a much bigger project than I imagined. I found many people along the way who did their best to help bring this project to life. Thank you.
When my father (C.S. Tsui) passed away a few years ago, I went to Hong Kong with my sister and mother to tie up some loose ends. We met up with his best friend during our last day there and after dinner, he surprised us by bringing out a box of my father’s letters.
In that box, on all kinds of paper, we quickly, but very delicately, picked apart his letters and slowly poured over each word. We read about how he wanted to improve his English by writing frequently and only in the language. We noticed how quickly his grammar and vocabulary got better when the letters were actually weeks and months apart. His handwriting revealed his hesitation, excitement, and hardships. We read about how he struggled financially and needed to borrow money to continue his college education in America. These stories all unfolded and led us to know more about the man who became Dad. There, in writing, the new stories we had craved of him were now in this tangible form, unedited and in his own voice. His letters contained a truth that his best friend would never be able to fully convey.
We were offered one letter from that precious box at the end of the night. My sister remarked how lucky we were to find them all written in English. She has that letter today and confided that she takes it out to read every now and then.
My father’s absence made me realize what is valuable in life. I can still feel his presence in the letters we have at home. His legacy lives on in the people he helped build a better life, and in my family and me. I hope to do the same, beginning with this small step to strengthen ties between strangers and friends all over the world.
April has always loved letter writing since she was young. She experimented with the combination of alternative fibers and traditional letterpress technology for dry printing. Atsui Cards is the result of her experiment.
Atsui Cards is about the power of a single written word to move the human spirit.
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If you are a hospital or a church interested in using some of our cards for writing donors, patients, families that could use some encouragement, please send us your request. We have been donating to local Southern California hospitals’ volunteer services and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.
I’ve met many people this past year and a half who have all shared their stories about how my cards inspired them to communicate with their spouses, friends, and family. Some told me they chose to frame the cards and a few used them to provide closure.
Thank you for being a part of this project. I’ve been touched, moved, and inspired by all your stories. This project also has helped me heal and lighten up. I realized how simple it can be to contribute something meaningful in our world.
New collections are being unveiled often, including the new Terms of Endearment series that launched at Whole Foods Market in January as a test run. One of these cards, Buttercup, is now on sale at Amazon and more will be sold online in February and March. We will also begin to move this series and others online for international sales on Amazon later this year. Please check back frequently.