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The Story Behind Bonair Daydreams...
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Bonair Daydreams, my inspirational greeting card line, combines black and white photography and inspirational quotations. I have been told that my cards evoke warm feelings and capture special moments in time. The images are intimate, human and fragile. I photograph everyday people and everyday moments and I try to make the ordinary extraordinary.
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Bonair Daydreams was created in 1993. I spent years pondering the idea of starting a card line combining my photos and my collection of favorite quotes, but it took a deep tragedy to inspire action: My sister, Tracy, passed away after a long struggle with cancer. We were soul mates and her death was an incredible loss to me.
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I designed a Thank-you card for those who had attended the funeral using a photo I had taken of Tracy years before. It was a silhouette of her dancing on a rooftop in San Francisco. This had been my mother's favorite picture of Tracy - it captured her essence, her love of life. Under the photo, I hand wrote Ecclesiastes 3:4 from the Bible: "A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance." The response of friends and relatives, touched by that card was so overwhelming that I felt led to start an official card line.
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I borrowed money through my credit cards and started with one small gift pack. After showing that to a few big card representatives at the Los Angeles Gift Mart, I decided to expand the line to 3 gift packs and 32 counter cards. Soon I was hiring reps across the country and within one or two years, had one covering almost every state.
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My second year in business, I won my first LOUIE AWARD from The Greeting Card Association. I was asked to fly to New York City where the National Stationery Show was being held to accept it. My first child, Annie, was only 7 months old and still nursing so I took Annie and my Mom along for an incredible adventure in the Big Apple.
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The business grew steadily, so that I was designing 10 to 12 new cards a year to satisfy my reps and customers and stay competitive with the big companies. In 1999, my second daughter, Lily was born and I realized that I needed help filling card orders that were now coming in on a daily basis. I was grateful that my cards were doing so well, and felt blessed to be able to stay home with my young children. |
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| To date, I have won 6 LOUIE AWARDS at The National Stationery Show in NYC and 13 of my designs have been selected as finalists from thousands of entries. A few years ago, I signed on with a licensing agent, GRACE LICENSING, facilitating the placement of my images on bookmarks, framed art, music boxes, calendars and more. |
I am grateful that I have my business to pay the bills. I wake up everyday thanking God for the gifts He has bestowed on me. The wonderful inspiring notes and emails that I receive from people who are touched by my cards keep me going.
My work has been an exciting and spiritual journey. I feel in my heart that I am doing the work God intended me to do, and somehow I know Tracy is a part of it all. It is no coincidence that her card has been my best seller all these years. Who says there's no such thing as guardian angels?
Chrissy graduated from San Diego State University as a TV and Film Major. She then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and cinematography. Throughout the eight years in L.A., she worked with companies such as National Geographic, CBS Television, Time/Warner, People Magazine, American Red Cross, United Way, Pasadena Star Newspapers and PBS. Chrissy is currently living in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina with her two daughters, Annie and Lily, and their four-legged companions, Shanna, Buddy, Tigger and Cross.
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