LOSING a child isn’t easy for any mother or family to handle. The grief, shock and pain can last for years, and even the rest of their lives.
The same can be said for Mary Elizabeth Hohenkirk, a young mother whose business surrounds the design, creation and distribution of various types of cards.
When she lost her child in August of 2005, it could have been easy for her to spiral into depression and leave her business behind, but Hohenkirk says that the loss of her child is what pushed her to build her business. In 2000, when Mary started out making cards, she had resigned from her job to take care of her young family. And, after being at home for one year, being the industrious and creative person she was, she decided to get creative and design her own greeting cards to send to family and friends in Guyana and abroad. Her family, impressed by her creations, encouraged the young mother to find a market for them, thereby prompting her to transform her new hobby into a business venture.

After exploring the market and being discouraged by some prospective buyers, her persistence paid off eventually, when one large department store in Guyana, Fogarty’s, decided to sell her cards. When demand became greater than what she was able to supply locally, Hohenkirk began to import additional greeting cards from recognised companies, including Blue Mountain Arts, American Greetings, Hallmark, and so forth, to satisfy her customers’ demand.
After the loss of her child in 2005, her business had kept up fairly well, and Mary Elizabeth continued to distribute her cards on a wholesale level. However, one day, during the month of December, in that year, as she was passing by the then newly-constructed City Mall at Camp and Regent Streets, Hohenkirk seized the opportunity to enquire whether spots were available.

Luck appeared to be on her side, as she was able to open a small store within the mall, which was the beginning of the retail venture for her and her family.
“Out of the loss of a child, a business was born,” Hohenkirk said in an interview with this publication. The logo, she says, was crafted to honour her child.
Kards Plus Greeting Card and Gift Centre has been in operation for 15 years now, according to Mary Elizabeth. “Kards” was intentionally spelt differently to give her business an air of uniqueness that would resemble that of the products she stocked.
Over time, with the growth of her customer base, and the need for diversification, two more stores, adjoining Kards Plus, were rented for its expansion. There, customers could find a wide assortment of greeting cards for all occasions: birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, congratulations, retirement, love expressions, seasonal greetings, among countless others.

The store also stocks gift items for all occasions, both every day and seasonal. These include religious gifts, birthday presents, tokens of appreciation, handbags, perfumes, and other traditional gift items. Kards Plus Gift Centre has maintained a high standard, both for goods and personal services to its customers. It is through this that the business has managed to bring them back time and again. Hohenkirk boasts a staff complement that is both well trained and courteous, making customers’ shopping experience both enjoyable and worthwhile. Kards Plus can be reached via their Facebook page, Kards Plus Greeting Cards and Gift Centre, or by their website kardsplus.com, where customers can purchase products online, and have their purchases delivered locally, without leaving the comfort of their offices or homes. The motto of the business is “Providing a quality standard of goods for maximum customer satisfaction.” Mary Elizabeth takes great pride in her work and continues to find ways and means to improve the business with the help of her younger son, David.