Federalisms: The Origin Story

The name “Federalisms” came to me nearly instantly when the idea for the company was born.

I was in a meeting with colleagues, and one manager announced that a woman on her team should now be found in the Global Address List with a different last name. Another manager piped up, “Oh congratulations to her on her marriage!” The first manager replied, “She got married 18 months ago, they just finally got around to updating her in Outlook,” to which the second manager responded, “Ha! There should be like a federal greeting card for that.”

And that was it for me. “I’m on it! Wait, I have 40 more ideas.” And in that moment, I saw it all unfold. It didn’t sound like it would be work at all. I knew from prior ventures that you needed 40 greeting cards to have a respectable (and marketable) line, which I easily could hit. It felt like I had just claimed a niche that was waiting for me.

As I walked out of the meeting thinking of all of the federal things the greeting cards would celebrate, I immediately knew what I would call the line. Federalisms. At my first non-work moment (I strictly adhere to not mixing outside employment with work!), I peeked to see if Federalisms.com was available AND IT WAS I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. (Note: it was not available on Instagram, even though it’s not an active or even visible account, despite my pleas to an empty inbox at Instagram, hence “@cardsforfeds.”)

You may be asking, as one person every three markets does, “Is this about Federalism?” by which they are referring to the division of power among the national and state governments, specifically a limited national government and strong individual state governments. Sometimes they are really excited about this, and sometimes they want to cancel me. People feel very strongly about things!

But, this is not the case. Federalisms is not about advocating for division of powers (omg I have such other plans for my limited free time), nor is it partisan in any way as long as we are vaguely on the topic. No, Federalisms is about advocating for federal friendship, collegial camaraderie, and other alliterative affinities.

“Federal” you get (I hope). But because some people have questions about the “-isms” part (and how it is a little but but really a lot different from just an “-ism”), I am here to clear this up. The isms in Federalisms derives from the definition of “ism” as a “noun suffix”: manner of action or behavior characteristic of a (specified) person or thing. It’s plural because there are a lot of them - both “manners of action or behavior characteristics of a federal thing,” and all the great cards, gifts, and quips you can find on Federalisms.com, at in-person markets, in retail locations that carry Federalisms, and on Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn now (sigh).

Oh, and that first card is still in print and I love to share its story!

Federalisms Camouflage

I am excited to share something new and exciting with you. I have been working on a Federalisms camouflage for a while and I am finally ready to share it.

I designed each component of this pattern and hand-drew the symbols, and my amazing graphic designer brought it all to life. The background swirls that are the trademark of a camouflage pattern are taken from American Sycamore trees downtown Washington, D.C., about a block from where I was living at the time. The bark of the trees naturally peels in this way, and I found it beautiful and inspiring. It was what gave me the idea to make a camouflage pattern.

Crazy beautiful, right?

I then searched for Americana symbols that would be meaningful for me and other federal employees and contractors (and hopefully others would identify with it too). I landed on four, and hand-drew them.

As a lawyer and a libra, using the scales of justice was pretty much a foregone conclusion for me.

On the inside of the Capitol dome, there is an enormous circular fresco called the The Apotheosis of Washington, which depicts George Washington ascending to the heavens in an allegorical manner, surrounded by classical mythological imagery. Among this imagery is Freedom (a woman, also referred to as Columbia), personifying war and fighting for liberty. She holds a shield to defend herself, and it is this shield I chose to include in the camouflage design.

The olive branch from the Great Seal was another image I really wanted to include, complete with 13 leaves and 13 olives.

Finally, what American imagery would be complete without stars.

I will be rolling out this pattern on Federalisms products as much as I can. I love the simplicity of the black and white text I have been using, but I also am crazy in love with this camouflage, so keep an eye out for it. First up is this dog bandana! I can’t think of anyone more deserving than our four-legged co-workers (and best buddies).

Federalisms "Takes This Show On The Road"!

I have freshly returned from Phoenix, where Federalisms was so fortunate to have a booth in the Exhibit Hall at the Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) 22nd Annual Leadership Training. This was my first event outside of the National Capital Region, and I loved pushing myself out of my comfort zone and figuring out logistics to get all my equipment - including a greeting card spinner - to Phoenix.

I did it! And even upped my game with a 48-card spinner and some poles to string card decorations on, above the table, which will improve my display at future events. Now, here’s to hoping it all makes it back from Phoenix.

There were definite highs, including the people who jumped in front of my booth and said “THIS IS THE MOST FUN THING HERE!!!” (fact) and a few people who recognized me from other events or whose friends had sent them links. I still am surprised when people have heard of Federalisms, but of course I love it. Everyone who says “I love every single thing here, it all speaks to me!” is why I do this.

Another high was getting to meet my new cousin, Noah, who is five months old and lives (…with his parents) in Phoenix. He and his parents were a big draw to get me to this event.

One low from the event was that a few things were stolen overnight, the second night. I had not locked everything down because I had not had a problem in the past, but live and learn. Someone who had access to the area who wasn’t an attendee may have thought that everything was a giveaway (like other tables with pens and stress balls). Less stuff to ship back, I guess :)

The show inspired me (before) to get a few new products ready, and (after) to reach out to federal agency museums and gift shops, to see if I can interest them in a retail display. I love talking to people and getting new ideas and just talking federal stuff.

Do you have an event you think would be perfect for Federalisms to attend? Let me know!

Holiday Market Memories 2021

At a holiday market last week, two women were checking out all of the cards in the floor spinner, sharing the jokes and laughing together. I watched as they each picked out their favorite, and then discussed how there was no one else in their friend group who would understand the jokes, but they thought they were so funny and they wished someone would send that card to them.

They looked at each other, and I am pretty sure without words, exchanged the cards and said in unison, “I’ll send this to you on your birthday.”

Happy birthday from Federalisms, ladies!

Federalisms IRL

Something funny happens when you see people in real life. In “3D” as someone said to me not long ago. Or was it long ago? What is time.

That something is SOMETHING. It could be something funny, or something sweet, or something awkward, or I guess there are other emotions too. And the past few weekends, I have been party to some SOMETHINGS.

I am “back out there,” at outdoor markets in person at a Federalisms booth for the first time since winter 2019, and it is s.o.f.u.n. It is why I started Federalisms in the first place: so people would tell me I’m funny to connect with people over shared experiences and let them know I “get it” and we are all in this together.

In fact, so many SOMETHINGS have happened at the few shows I have done in the past 6 weeks that I decided to collect the things that warm my heart, or made me have an emotion other than envy, or even hungry, and share them in this blog post format.

I started Federalisms because something funny happened in a meeting in November 2018. But I have kept at it because people tell me I made their day (you made mine right back, CDC global health employee on TDY working on OAW!), or they feel heard, or MY WORD they got a federal job, or literally picked up a DATE in front of my eyes bonding over federal things at the Federalisms booth.

Send me pictures and stories of how Federalisms have played into your day and life. I can’t wait to hear about your SOMETHING.