Today, I am so honored to introduce Brynn from Brynn Fowler Designs for the second interview on Hanha Hobson. I came across her page on Instagram and was immediately inspired. Her puns are awesome, and I’ve already begun to start planning ways that I can send out happy mail because of her. Want to learn how you can put your encouragement into action? Keep on reading, and find some reflection questions at the bottom of this post.

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1. Tell me about yourself and how Brynn Fowler Designs came to be.

Hello everyone! I am Brynn and I created Brynn Fowler Designs out of a love of paper, letters, stationary, and design. While I have a deep love for all things creative, I am also a person that really enjoys engaging my analytical side. Because of this, I work in pediatric cancer survivorship research during the day and fill every other inch of my life with creative pursuits. I finally decided to make my creative side more of a priority in my life last fall and launched Brynn Fowler Designs. Life gets a bit crazy juggling these two passions but I love it!

Why greeting cards? Well, I am a person that is passionate about people and relationships. I love encouragement and do my best to encourage people around me. It can be challenging to find ways to do this effectively in our lives overrun by hustle. I have learned however, that sending someone a hand written card is a beautiful way to provide encourage, slow down, and reverse the hustle. Who doesn’t love getting a hand written card in the mail? It is such an easy way to add joy to someone’s day. I also design all of my cards around puns to add some extra joy. Puns are a demonstration of wit and cleverness, which never fail to yield a smile or a laugh (yes, those fake/forced laughs count too).

My “why”: In college, I studied abroad in Tanzania (yes, it was awesome!). My primary method of staying in touch with loved ones for that semester was through sending cards and letters. While this felt like a slow and laborious form of communication, I found so much joy in this and treasured each piece of mail I received. I realized through this experience that when you sit down to write someone a letter or a card there is a different kind of intentionality that goes into crafting your message that is unparalleled with the convenience of email, texting, talking on the phone, snapchatting, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of those forms of communication but the power of a hand written note is totally unique. Knowing that someone took the time to pick out a card, write a note, buy a stamp, and get it in the mail, speaks volumes to the recipient.  All of that to say, in all of this, I found a passion for the “why” of my business. That is the purpose, behind my creative business. Having this strong “why” behind Brynn Fowler Designs is what makes it all worth it and also makes it that much more fun!

2. What type of products do you sell and where does your inspiration come from? 

I create punny greeting cards and stickers for people from all walks of life to challenge them to extend a little extra encouragement and love through happy mail. I get inspiration for my products all over the place. I have a running list of pun ideas that I keep on my phone. Sometimes, a pun will come to me randomly and so I jot it down. I also get ideas for good puns from friends. I always welcome a good pun, so if you have any ideas, send them my way!

3. Tell us a little more about the happy mail challenge. 

The happy mail challenge encourages others to take a few minutes and send a card to someone they love. I challenge everyone to fill the insides of the card with reasons you care about them, to offer encouragement, thank them, or just to say hello. Like I talked about earlier, there is something about those written words that are powerful and important to share. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but I do encourage people to make a little bit of effort to add happy to their mail. I have a series on Instagram called #thehappifymailseries with all kinds of ideas for this!

4.Why do you think it’s so important to encourage other people? 

I love getting the chance to encourage people to be encouragers through my business. Words of affirmation and encouragement mean a lot to everyone but so often we forget to do this or just don’t do it often enough. One of my favorite quotes is, “If you see something beautiful in someone, speak it” –Ruthie Lindsey. I promise that no one will be mad if you practice this. In fact, I think it means a whole lot. Ultimately, I believe that we are called to be encouragers and to love one another deeply and authentically. It is through this that we can be a tangible display of the Lord’s love in this world. It is really easy to fall into the role of being a critic in our society and I am doing my part to challenge that.

[bctt tweet=”“If you see something beautiful in someone, speak it.” -Ruthie Lindsey” via=”no”]

5. How can people be more intentional about encouraging others in their lives even outside of mail? 

There are so many wonderful ways to do this and I think so much of it is up to an individual and their personality. I think, overall, just being conscientious of making an effort to encourage people as often as possible is a wonderful start. Give yourself a challenge to encourage one person each day. You can start by doing this over a text, leaving a note on a desk/windshield/front door/mirror (get creative), dropping off flowers or homemade cookies, or sending a card (#thehappymailchallenge) until it becomes natural to just speak encouragement to others.

6.Do you have any exciting projects or products coming up? If so, what are they?

I have lots of other products up my sleeve and some that will be moving to production very soon. My primary focus is greeting cards but have other ideas to diversify my shop as well!

7.How can my readers stay connected with you?

The best way to stay in touch with me is through Instagram (I love insta) at @brynnfowlerdesigns. You can also visit my website at www.brynnfowler.com. I am also getting ready to start an email list so keep your eyes peeled for that! It will be a fun email list to be on (I promise) with a once a month email with freebies, tips, and updates!

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Y’all, isn’t she so cool?! I want to add my comment about how she plans to challenge the criticism that is so prevalent in this world. Like yes to combating the problems of this world. Thank you so much for your courage, Brynn! If you’re interested to know how I’m trying to challenge self-criticism that can come from an internal perspective, learn more about #TheConfessionsProject. If not, I’ve got some reflective questions that will help you decide how you can be a better encourager. Grab it down below!