Halesowen Artist Launches Greeting Card Business to Preserve Black Country Dialect

Artist Maisie Stokes has embarked on a mission to preserve the Black Country’s distinctive history, humor, and dialect, including the phrase “It’s Christmas ay it,” through a collection of greeting cards she has designed and produced. The 24-year-old from Halesowen initially created Christmas card designs for a college competition. After the contest concluded, these ideas were set aside for several years. It was during the pandemic, when she encountered difficulties finding employment, that she decided to establish Black Country Cards, offering a Christmas gift “From our ‘ouse to yowers.” Ms. Stokes stated that the lockdown period left her “feeling quite despondent about the whole ordeal.” She recalled her mother’s suggestion: “‘Hey you’ve got the greeting card design’, it’s got the Black Country flag on, why don’t we sell it.'” Ms. Stokes remarked, “The rest is history.” She explained that her parents frequently visit her office, providing “a phrase at the ready” and preliminary drawing concepts. Ms. Stokes adapts these ideas into designs that incorporate Black Country slang linked to animals, drawing inspiration from sources such as 1930s cartoons. For instance, one of her cards features a rabbit saying “Tara a bit,” while another depicts a zebra with the caption “Z is for stripey oss.” She added, “I’m very into history myself and from there we started looking at words and messing around and here we are today with all sorts of things.” The Black Country Living Museum became one of the initial businesses to stock the cards. Ms. Stokes described the process of approaching businesses to sell her products as “intimidating” and causing “a sense of trepidation.” However, securing an agreement with the museum marked a significant turning point. She elaborated, “Once we got into there, we could get into everywhere else.” She also noted, “I don’t want to sugar-coat it, it is a challenge of course, but it really has been quite dreamlike.” Ms. Stokes, whose creations are available online and in various regional shops, expresses her aspiration for continued expansion of her business’s reach.