Local Company Partners w/ARC on Greeting Card Project

(MATT UNKRAUT, GENERAL MANAGER OF M-B-S COMMUNICATIONS, PRESENTS A CHECK TO REPRESENTATIVES OF A-R-C COMMUNITY SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR THE AMOUNT EARNED IN FIRST QUARTER ROYALTIES FROM "ARTABILITIES" PROGRAM)

There is an artist inside every one of us. 

When you see the amazing artwork created by the participants in the art classes at ARC Community Support Systems, that is immediately evident; and that is what the new “ArtAbilities” line of greeting cards from MBS Communications Inc. hopes to share with the world. 

With the help of Lisa Koester of Creative Designs, ARC has been creating greeting cards and selling them as a fundraiser to support the art program for the past three years.   Koester was familiar with a local company, MBS Communications, and its success selling postcards and greeting cards to veterinarians, dentists and optometrists across the United States and Canada.  Together with Barb Kessler, ARC-CSS developmental training coordinator, she approached the owners of MBS Communications, Mary Antrim, Becky Doty, and Steve Sehy, with the idea of marketing a line of greeting cards on a much larger scale.

It was perfect timing for MBS Communications, which had plans to launch a website, mbsgreetings.com, for the purpose of selling their line of greeting cards to the general public. “We saw it as a natural fit for our line, and a great way to spotlight the talented artists at ARC,” said Doty.

The employees at MBS Communications rallied around the idea – even having a contest to come up with a name for the card line.  The winning entry was the idea of longtime MBS employee Tina Vonderheide, who promptly donated half of her prize money to the ARC art program.  MBS Communications’ General Manager, Matt Unkraut said, “We knew that was the winning name as soon as we saw it. It was the perfect name to convey what the line is and what it supports.”

The ArtAbilities line of greeting cards launched in January and includes note cards and sympathy cards, with plans to introduce several Christmas designs later this year.  MBS is also using several of the images on scenic postcards that can be used by dentists and optometrists to market their services and remind patients of upcoming appointments.

The relationship with MBS Communications is already paying dividends for the ARC-CSS art program which received its first quarterly royalty check in early April.  While both parties are pleased with the results, nothing compares to the excitement of the artists themselves. 

“We feature a photograph and a short bio of the artists on the back of our cards, in our catalogs and on our website,” said Antrim. “Just seeing the smiles on their faces when they see how famous they are, makes it worth it.”