By Clyde Noel

Gwen Francis and Kendra Gjerseth, co-owners of Birch, prepare the displays at their new location on Main Street. Birch specializes in upscale custom and award-winning greeting cards.

People of all ages and backgrounds exchange greeting cards, and the most popular recipients of everyday cards are friends. Last Saturday an upscale greeting card studio opened on Main Street to make it easy for local residents to express their feelings. The store is called Birch.

Co-owners Gwen Francis and Kendra Gjerseth waited for the right storefront to introduce award-winning greeting cards to the Los Altos clientele. They have moved into a vacated art gallery location.

“The store was a cave, and we refurbished the old building and brought it back to what it once was,” Francis said. “We removed the old carpet and the subfloor down to the original fir floors and patched, sanded and finished the flooring. We removed the drop-down ceiling and repaired the original high (12-foot) ceiling.”

The store will showcase high-end, designer, award-winning greeting cards. There will also be boxed note cards, journals, photo albums, gift wraps and ribbon.

The Gwen Francis Design Group has been located in downtown Los Altos for 18 years. They have worked on different design projects, including the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce Business Directory. Two years ago they began designing a line of greeting cards.

The cards won awards from the Greeting Card Association of America and the Western Art Directors Club. Entries are judged on imagination, impact, artistry, harmony, sendability and value.

More than 500 stores across the United States and Canada are carrying the award-winning Gwen Francis Design Group cards. They come in over 200 styles, and all the illustrations are original.

In addition, Birch will carry cards from other manufacturers that have won awards.

“There are fans fanatic about paper cards,” Gjerseth said. “There is something uniquely appealing about the tactile, highly personal way ink-on-paper cards connect the sender with the recipient.”

“Greeting cards are more thoughtful than most other communication options, and our cards are more thoughtful and unique than mass-manufactured greeting cards,” Francis said. “We want the store to look like an art gallery of greeting cards.”

“Another thing that sets us apart from other card stores is our custom designer services,” Gjerseth said. “We have designers on site who can make a custom card for wedding invitations, baby announcements and save-the-date cards.”

The average U.S. household purchases 35 individual cards per year, and the average person receives more than 20 cards per year. The most popular recipients of seasonal cards are parents, who receive about one out of every five such cards.

Birch has a sophisticated and minimalist look, and it displays the top-selling cards in the country.

The store is at 357 Main St. Information: 948-5800.