Pushing The Envelope Entrepreneurs get their messages across with specialty greeting cards.

Carla Ventresca was a young copywriter whose budget was sopinched, she made her own greeting cards to save money. Herlighthearted approach and whimsical, twenty-something characterswere so popular, friends began asking Ventresca to make cards forthem to give.

In 1993, she took samples of her work to a local card shop, andthe owner agreed to put them on her shelves. Carla Cards was born."I do fun cards with a positive spin," Ventrescaexplains. "My cards are humorous, but people won't crack arib laughing." Now living in Boston, the 32-year-oldentrepreneur is one of a growing number of designers who'veturned creativity into cash by tapping into the market forspecialty greeting cards.

After years of settling for traditional mass-market cards withimpersonal, crass or overly sentimental greetings, consumers aredemanding--and getting--an array of cards that cater to virtuallyevery group and taste imaginable, from ethnic groups and divorcedpeople to businesspeople and pets. Yes, pets: Animal lovers can nowreceive cards that look like they were sent by Fluffy or Fido.