Julie Ashworth, owner of Yoojoo card company finds herself with an unusual business obstacle to overcome in order to be able to fulfill a significant order – she needs 4,000 used plastic gift cards.
Julie upcycles spent plastic gift cards by cutting guitar plectrums from them, which then form an attractive part of the card designs in her appropriately named Plectrum range.
“So many retailers offer plastic gift cards. Once they are redeemed the cards themselves cannot be reused and generally go to landfill,” explains Julie. Historically she has gone into shops in her local area, explained that she can give them a second life and most have been happy to collect them from customers and then hand them over to Julie.
However, Julie has something of a supply issue that precludes her from satisfying a significant order she received at PG Live.
“I was so delighted when a lovely French distributor ordered 5,000 of the Plectrum cards at PG Live – but I currently only have enough plastic gift cards to make 1,000 cards. I generally can make up to five plectrums from each gift card, each one slightly different, so need around 1,000 cards to fulfill this order order. Any help from retailers would be gratefully received!” implores Julie.
Julie came up with the idea for the innovative range as her son is a skilled luthier (aka guitar maker) and had a gizmo for cutting out plectrums that she purloined for her card business. “If though, anyone wants a bespoke beautiful guitar to go with their bespoke plectrum, I am happy to put them in touch!” she joked.
“I hope that one day there will be no plastic giftcards, but until then, I want to help make music not waste!” she adds.
Any retailer, publisher or supplier who can help Julie in her plight should contact her on info@yoojoo.co.uk or by telephoning 01274 621419.
Top: A selection of Yoojoo’s Plectrum cards, the design of each plectrum is slightly different as Julie cuts the shapes in different angles.
