Mrs. Grossman's Paper Company

Andrea Grossman is a graphic designer with a keen eye for design and a sharp interest in business. She put both of these skills to the test almost thirty years ago, when she saw an opportunity that most people would have missed. And it all happened because of one little printing error.Growing up in Pacific Palisades, California, Andrea knew from the time she was three that she would be an artist.  She studied at the prestigious Art Center of Design in Pasadena and moved to San Francisco in the early '60s to pursue a career in graphic design. After much success, Andrea launched Mrs. Grossman's Paper Company from her home in 1975. In 1979, a local paper store asked for a red heart sticker to decorate shopping bags for Valentine's Day. Andrea couldn't find anybody who made such a thing, so she carefully cut a heart out of black artist's paper and sent it to a label printer, and forgot about it.Three weeks later, a big carton arrived from the printer. When Andrea opened the box, she gasped! Instead of being printed on flat sheets like she expected, the hearts had been mistakenly printed on rolls, like ribbon. The visual impact of these beautiful rolls was extraordinary, and suddenly Andrea realized that these hearts had the potential to be way more than a Valentine's Day novelty - they could be a product!