Maaike built a beautiful brand around her own creative vision. Her dream? To make people happy with original, handmade cards and stationery that come straight from the heart. But like many entrepreneurs, Maaike noticed that her old webshop at Mijnwebwinkel was starting to limit her. She was ready for something more flexible, something that could grow with her ambitions. That's where SYSO came into the picture - we helped Maaike take the leap to Shopify and developed her new webshop .
Who is Cards by Maaike?
Kaartjes van Maaike is a creative greeting card brand that focuses on original and cheerful illustrations, prints and cards. Each design by Maaike is made with love and attention and is characterized by a unique combination of playfulness and positivity. Inspired by everyday moments and feelings, Maaike brings colorful designs to life that make people happy. In addition to cards, her webshop also offers other stationery products, such as notepads, stickers and calendars, all with the same sense of creativity and detail. Maaike's passion for drawing and illustrating shines through in every product she makes, which gives her brand a very personal and warm character. In the meantime, she and her brand have grown into a trusted name among lovers of original greeting cards and stationery.
Result
The transition to Shopify brought Maaike many advantages. Thanks to her new webshop, Maaike can now present her products in a clear and user-friendly way, resulting in an improved customer experience. With the extensive features of Shopify, she now also has more options to manage her inventory clearly, optimize the ordering process and personalize her webshop with a look and feel that perfectly matches her brand. In addition, the new webshop is faster and easier to find in search engines, which has since increased the number of visitors and sales. Maaike now has an online store that grows with her ambitions, and is ready to make even more people happy with her beautiful designs.
We asked Maaike from Kaartjes van Maaike a few questions
When and why did you start your business?
I have always had a great love for cards. After my studies I started working in the notary. I still remember well that I often walked around the city center during the break and let myself be inspired by the beautiful shop windows. I often stopped at the AH because there was a card mill with my favorite cards. I think I bought them all at some point haha.
I missed a lot in my job at the time and could not express my creativity in it. I tried to compensate for this by getting creative every free hour and that is how I quickly discovered designing & Adobe programs. I spent many hours in our attic room to master these programs, followed courses and discovered what I really like; designing greeting cards.
The result of that I had printed more and more often, I built a webshop and that's how Kaartjes van Maaike became official in 2019! Two years later I decided to go for it and follow my heart. I said goodbye to the notary and went completely for Kaartjes van Maaike!
What do you think is the nicest product (category) in the range?
Oh what a difficult question! I am especially crazy about all the colours in the range. With a new collection I am always in love with the combinations of colours that you can make with it. If I had to choose a favourite card, I would choose the mini card with the text ' Big hug for you '. I send this one the most and I still think it is such a cute card!
What made you decide to hire SYSO?
It was time for a step to the next level within Kaartjes van Maaike! The website no longer met my needs and was increasingly facing limitations. It was time for a completely fresh new website that works well and fits perfectly with what Kaartjes van Maaike is today! I discovered SYSO via showUP and started investigating. Shopify seemed like a good match for Kaartjes van Maaike and that made the choice for SYSO quickly made!
What are you most happy about when it comes to the new webshop?
It is just completely Kaartjes van Maaike, really down to the last detail. The website works fast, it looks professional and everything works very well. The options behind the scenes are also endless and that also works very well!
Can we know from you what your future plans are?
How nice, that is certainly allowed! At the moment I am mainly looking forward to this fall. Kaartjes van Maaike will then be five years old and I would like to celebrate that of course! In addition, we are busy expanding our B2B points of sale , which is a lot more fun and easy with the renewed B2B website . For the future I hope that I can enjoy everything that comes our way for a long time!
Would you recommend SYSO?
Oh definitely! I was helped very nicely & quickly by SYSO. Mariko immediately understood my wishes and style of Kaartjes van Maaike, it was a very nice collaboration. Thanks again Mariko!
Thank you Maaike!
It was so much fun working for you and everything went so smoothly. Your designs now have a beautiful place where they can be shown to their best advantage and where you can grow considerably in the coming years. Something your brand will undoubtedly do. I wish you much success and fun with that!
