Is there a single mom who isn’t stressed out by holiday cards? Like I don’t already have enough to do, let alone trying to find one picture where everyone in the family looks halfway decent and then praying that the photo cards we order will be halfway decent.
Well, this year, we have the chance to order our holiday cards from a brand new site that may very well make the most beautiful holiday cards in everyone’s mailbox.
I was lucky enough to sample the offerings from Pinhole Press, and love my holiday cards so much, I am counting down the days until I can send them out. The array of card options is terrific–everything from a standard single photo card, to accordion style cards that can incorporate several pictures.
The picture quality is superb, and as serious photographer I don’t use that term lightly.
You’ll find the site is incredibly easy to use. Just upload pictures, and drag and drop them onto the product of your choice. Plus my cards arrived fast–only two days after I ordered them. Not sure if that’s par for the course, but I was impressed.
Pinhole Press uses paper that is certified by Smartwood for FSC standards and made using Green-E certified wind-generated electricity (the hippie in me just swooned). And they apply all this good stuff to their gift selection too, like calendars, photo books, brag books and lovely modern framed photos.
Looks like I can get nearly all of my holiday shopping done in one place and know it will all all look beautiful. How’s that for no more stress? -Torrie
Pinhole Press is giving our readers 10% off their photo holiday cards and photo gifts! Just enter code “coolmompicks” during check out.
*EDITED TO ADD* 12/26/10 Because of consistent complaints from our readers about exceedingly slow shipping times and unresponsive customer service, we’re going to temper our recommendation of Pinhole Press for now. It’s possible that in this, their first year, orders overwhelmed their capabilities. We still adore their finished product and green manufacturing, and so we hope next year they’ll have ironed out the kinks. We’ll keep an eye on it for you.
Yummy – finally a holiday card that a graphic designer can love (when not designing her own). Thank you Cool Moms!
The photo pads from pinhole press are the perfect stocking stuffers for the grandparents! We have so many great photos from our travels this year and this was a great way to make good use of them. Thanks for the suggestion.
i love pinhole press! i just ordered my holiday cards from them last week!
While the cards look beautiful, I am having a horrific time with their customer service. After seeing the cards on this site, I quickly ordered my holiday cards the day after Thanksgiving. I received no confirmation, and when I finally got a response to my inquries, I learned that there was a problem with the transmission of some of my photos. I immediately sent the photos they requested, and since then, NOTHING. No responses to several emails and voicemails. It is a shame because the products look beautiful but I am ready to cancel my order, scramble for new cards, and will never order from them again.
Frances, we’re so surprised and upset to hear this! We’ve had nothing but good experiences with them. We’ve forwarded your note onto some folks there. Please let us know if it’s remedied to your satisfaction.
FYI-I have had a horrible time with Pinhole Press. Ordered Dec 1. Cards were supposed to have a 2-3 turnaround, I got 2-3 day shipping. It is Dec 16 and they still have not shipped yet. Customer service has been very unhelpful. I will not be able to get my cards out to my clients before the holiday, what a waste. VERY frustrated, because the product LOOKED great, and I thought I had allowed ample time.
Thanks for letting us know Elaine. We’ve forwarded your complaint on and we hope they take care of it for you. Clearly there’s a customer service issue there and we’re happy you’ve let us know about it.
Just want to echo the slow Pinhole service which others have experienced. We ordered two calendars and a personal year planner on Dec 9, supposed to have 3-5 bus day turnaround, paid extra for the expedited 2-3 day shipping and just received our calendars on Christmas eve afternoon. Which would almost have been ok except our gifts needed to be shipped to their recipients.
We also ordered calendars on 12/13 from Shutterfly, which arrived in plenty of time. They even forgot one in the shipment and remedied the situation before the Pinhole calendars arrived.
In the future, I will order from Shutterfly. Better service, better price and I was even impressed with the quality.
Sorry Pinhole. Maybe when I’ve got more time but I’m a working mama of two wee ones!
My husband ordered me a calendar from Pinhole Press with pictures of our children for Christmas as a gift. He read about them on the web and despite previous good experiences with Shutterfly he decided to go with Pinhole.
I should also mention that we live in Canada – and unlike Shutterfly, Pinhole won’t ship to Canada – so he had to get the calendar shipped to our friends in MA and then have them ship to us. So because of this additional step the calendar did not arrive until well after Christmas but he thought that it’ll be fine because the product is exceptional, right? Wrong. They shipped us a calendar featuring lovely photos of Dan & Casey and not of me and my kids.
My husband sent them an email and they haven’t bothered to respond. I am with my fellow moms Tanya, Elaine and Frances. When it comes to Pinhole Press I say, don’t bother.
PS. I love this blog. Keep up the great work.
Wow, I had a very different experience … I ordered four calendars in mid-December and they all arrived on time before Christmas.
We’re really pleased with the quality and will very likely order from them again. Sorry to hear others had issues with the customer service.