Beach Christmas Cards & Custom Greeting Cards
Maryland & Baltimore Christmas Cards

Home-state holiday wishes

BY JENNIFER E. MABRY
December 14, 1997
Baltimore Sun
Today Section

Inspiration: From a picture of a friend in a Santa suit, John Strohsacker developed the idea for a business of his own.

Being a self-taught photographer, the accountant took a picture of a friend dressed as Santa, had it printed as a greeting card and mailed it out.

Three years, a little research and several greeting-card photos later, Strohsacker is now the consummate young salesman of his own greeting-card line, featuring scenes from Maryland. The cards are currently debuting in area stores.

Mystro Greeting Cards offers 14 scenes, from Baltimore's Mount Vernon decorated in holiday splendor to Maryland great horned owls at the height of a winter storm. They come packaged -- 10 cards, one scene per box -- for $10.

"When you look at some of the scenes, you gasp," says Strohsacker. "You say, `Wow! that's my city.' And you're proud of that."

Strohsacker has incorporated the work of two well-known Baltimore photographers -- Middleton Evans, who has published three books, and Herman Heine, who has been in the greeting-card business before.

Harvey Pollack, owner of Harvey's Cards & Gifts on West 41st Street, says the cards have "far outsold" other lines in his store.

Paul Kuppalli, owner of Manasa's Cards, Gifts and Flowers on South Charles Street in Baltimore, says he's had to order a second shipment. Kuppalli, a Baltimore businessman for more than 20 years, says this is the first year he has had a line of cards with ties to the area.

Strohsacker quit his job as an accountant early in November to concentrate on his business, but says he will be back at work, somewhere, in January.

"I probably couldn't do this full-time," says Strohsacker.

Holiday greeting cards put local culture in spotlight

BY MEREDITH SCHLOW
Patuxent Publishing Company

When John Strohsacker snapped a picture of a friend dressed as Santa sitting on an Ocean City lifeguard stand, he had no idea that the resulting holiday greeting card would be such a hit.

"I just wanted to see what would happen, so I had 20,000 printed and I sold 13,000, "says Strohsacker, a former lifeguard and Towson native. "I was surprised how well they took off, especially in New Jersey."

That was in 1994, and Strohsacker's business, Mystro Greetings Inc., still receives unsolicited orders for the card. But for the 1997 holiday season, Strohsacker has enlisted the cooperation and talent of two local photographers and the resulting cards give Marylanders a chance to send a little bit of home along with their holiday wishes.

Photos for two of the cards were taken by Baltimore's own street-corner astronomer, Herman Heyn. They depict a decorated Washington Monument in Mount Vernon and a bedecked rowhouse on Hampden's famed 34th Street.

The remaining 12 were shot by Charlesbrook's Middleton Evans, whose work is seen in the books ''Maryland in Focus," "Baltimore" and "Maryland's Great Outdoors."

Pictures of a sparkling Baltimore skyline reflected on an icy harbor, a pair of great horned owls in a winter storm and an aerial view of snow-covered downtown Annapolis are just a few of the ways Evans captures the magic and beauty of the holidays.

"This is the first time that Middleton has done anything with cards," says Strohsacker, 29. ''We're really blessed to have such an incredible talent in the area. ... And Herman has been extremely helpful -- he's a terrific entrepreneur.

"The main reason I kind of switched focus is that it was getting difficult to keep a handle on all of my retailers," adds Strohsacker, who has almost 200 retailers in 15 states. "What I've found in the small business world is that it's really important to maintain close ties with your retailers. That relationship is more profitable and more valuable than anything."

Strohsacker, a former accountant with degrees in business management and accounting, says the past few years have been "a terrific learning experience. I feel like I've been through a great MBA program, but instead of paying money, I made a little money."

The cards, which are manufactured locally, cost $10 for a box of 10 with 11 envelopes. They can be purchased at Greetings and Readings, Valley View Farms, Eddie's markets on Roland Avenue and Charles Street and in the Pratt Library gift shop.

"I'm very excited and proud of the way the product turned out,"Strohsacker says. ''The cards really put Baltimore in a terrific light."