For over four years now, Frank and Leslie Grima of Franconia, NH have owned and operated Pine Needle Card and gift Company. Their Company produces Scenic New England note cards, prints, and gifts. Their company is a proud member of NH MADE / NH STORIES. Frank and Leslie are firm believers in helping the local economy and they travel to many places around New England capturing the beauty that is right in front of each and everyone of us! They capture the very essence of New England, from the mountains to the ocean and all places in between. Their products have struck a chord with tourists and locals alike. With over 100 retail stores selling their products their success has been proven in the New England marketplace and beyond. Frank and Leslie exhibit their products at many Trade Shows around New England and attribute much of their success to the Natural Beauty around them. Pine Needle Card and Gift Company is located in Franconia, in the heart of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Their shop does have gallery hours by appointment and all of their beautiful products can be seen and purchased on their website at www.pineneedlecards.com It is their sincere hope that you spend some quality time with your friends and family enjoying the beauty found in their products.
Pine Needle Card Company
was recently featured on NH Chronicle as a premier New Hampshire Made Company. Please click on the picture link to the left to see all about our little company as it was seen on TV. This video is provided courtesy of: Channel 9 WMUR-TV/NH Chronicle We are pleased to have this video available for your viewing and we hope you will enjoy learning about our family run business.
Here's an actual story found in Natural Entrepenuer Magazine, May 18, 2005....
Leveraging NH's natural and business resources
Pine Needle Card and Gift Company, Franconia, NH
My wife Leslie and I believe that capturing a moment in time and spending some quality time in the great outdoors is an excellent way to keep healthy and in our case, to earn a living. It only seemed natural to us to try our hand at making note cards,prints, and various gifts out of the photography we had. So, Pine Needle Card and Gift Company was born in November 2002. With many retail stores selling our products, we are pretty busy around here these days however, Leslie and I always take some time during each day to "stop and smell the roses".
We are the Owners and photographers at Pine Needle Card and Gift Company. Living in the heart of the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Nature's splendor and beauty surrounds us. There is so much to do and see in this beautiful area of Northern New England. It doesn't matter what tickles your fancy, walking, hiking, biking, swimming, skiing, all these things are common place and quite doable here. The natural majestic beauty of the Presidential Mountain range, the Spactacular rugged Coastline of Maine, and the beautiful Green Mtns. in Vermont can make any photo enthusiast giddy with delight. There is so much to see and experience if you take the time to relax and get in touch with Nature.
That being said, my wife Leslie just loves to photograph and an excellent photographer, she is. She started photographing nature years ago and she is the main photographer for our products at Pine Needle Card and Gift. I started photographing a short time ago in comparison to her. I truly love to get out and spend some time exploring new places and capturing some of Nature's best with her. It doesn't matter where we go, Baxter State Park in Maine, Wells Beach, ME, Vermont, or just outside our door yard in Franconia, New Hampshire. New England is beautiful!
As you will see in the Product Gallery, our subject matter is diverse and we only put the best photographs in note card and print form. All of our note cards are blank inside as to facilitate one's own interpretation of the picture when sending it to a loved one or friend. Travelers to our area and World Wide Web enthusiasts just love the pictures and much to our delight, they can't seem to get enough Pine Needle Products! Our products are sold in many retail stores and anyone around the World can see our product and order some if they'd like on PINE NEEDLE CARD AND GIFT WEBSITE at www.pineneedlecards.com.
Now it wasn't easy getting our Pine Needle Note Cards and prints in all these stores, it took some work. We hooked up with and joined www.nhmade.com which is a group of folks who make NH products that bear the NH MADE LOGO. We are very proud of the fact that many of our products are printed in New Hampshire. The integrated network of NH Craftsmen and NH Artisans was an ideal market for our products to be introduced to...after all, who wouldn't want to send a nice note card or print in a gift basket to someone you love and for whom you've bought a excellently made NH craft? I should also mention that NH Made has two Retail outlet stores on I-95 North and South in Hampton, NH right next to the State Liquor Stores in a main corridor used by millions of folks each year on their way to and from the beautiful State of Maine and into the North Conway, NH areas. The uniting of our businesses seemed destined and we are very pleased to be a part of their great Stores.
There are other Community Organizations that we looked into and joined such as WREN standing for The Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network which has a retail store where our products are sold and WREN is a huge network of valuable resources for other entrepreneurs who love working for themselves and have a zest for running a business in the North Country.
These resources are in every community and prove valuable to folks just starting a business as well as folks who may be running a more established business. Many of these type of organizations provide an excellent venue for key Seminars, Courses, and "think tanks" for helping make your business a success. Frank is on the Board of Directors at the Franconia Notch Chamber of Commerce. The Franconia Notch Chamber of Commerce is a key and crucial part of Pine Needle Card Company as the many members are like minded and have forward thinking approach to enhancing area businesses. Join your local Chamber and start networking! Here's the Franconia Notch Chamber of Commerce website filled with tons of ideas for great local shopping, lodging, resturants, entertainment, and lots of other outdoor adventures!
Another key point to make is the fact that all of these business resources have done lots of your "homework" for you, already. No need to re-invent the wheel! We are able to do press releases and public announcements for free with the click of a button. All the resources were at our fingertips and ready for us to use and use them, we did. Press releases announcing new products or business's are very welcomed in most newspapers and trade magazines. Use the tools you have... as my Mother used to say, "given lemons? Make lemonade.." !
We encourage everyone with a love of Nature and a zest for the best Mother Nature offers to get out and take a hike, walk, bike, fish, ski, canoe, in the Majestic beauty of the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the beautiful State of Maine, and throughout the splendid Green Mtns. of VT and spend some time to... as our motto says, "...live, love, and celebrate life..."
Frank and Leslie Grima
Pine Needle Card and Gift Company