The cheeky sentiments in Beth Roszkowski’s Tiny Hooray stationery line—from “dumpster fire” stickers and pun-filled notebooks to birthday cards for tired people—are born of her lived experience.
As owner, designer and self-proclaimed “wearer of all the hats,” Roszkowski says her one-liners often arise from quips she’s shared with friends, pop-culture touchstones and the daily chaos of parenting young children.
“I’m at the stage of life where I could just cry, but I laugh instead,” says the Arlington mom of three, a natural wordsmith, doodler and former librarian at George Mason University who now works out of her home in Tara-Leeway Heights (although she says some of her best light bulb moments happen while sitting in D.C. traffic).
Launched in 2014, her product line also includes pens ($12) imprinted with funny mantras for introverts, grammar police, book snobs and “grown-ass ladies.”
The bestselling Horrible Meeting Bingo Notepad ($10) features such relatable squares as “awkward silence,” “meeting runs late” and “speaker laughs at his own joke.”
Like any good comedian, she keeps a notebook of musings that carry her through moments of writer’s block. The custom lowercase font featured in many of her greeting cards ($5.50-$6) is her own handwriting.
“I’m kind of a Luddite,” she deadpans, “which I guess is why I like stationery.”
Find her stuff at Covet, Shop Made in VA, Penny Post and Bards Alley, or online at tinyhooray.com.