CLOSE-UP
them off to friends with the same pride
they had shown off their new-born 12
months before.
In 1981, the Dales lugged a display to
the New York Stationery Show. Near the
end of the show, representatives of Re-
cycled Paper Products, the leader in "alter-
native" greeting cards, came over and
made, said Jim, "a cautious feeler."
In August, 1981 the Dales sold their
card company to Recycled. The Dales
would be the creative wing of the company;
Recycled would handle the business end.
Phil Friedmann, co-owner of Recycled,
said he was attracted to Dale Cards
because they "deal with topics that could
be considered racy or risque, but they do
it in such a sweet way that it's delightful
and not offensive."
Since affiliating with Recycled, said
Friedmann, Dale Cards' sales have in-
creased 40-fold.
In March, 1982 the Dales moved to
Baltimore. Jim, who had recently been
named to W.B. Doner's executive commit-
tee, had been commuting for the previous
four months. They packed their card studio
into boxes and moved it east with them.
Since arriving in Baltimore, the Dales
have continued to add about 150 new cards
a year to their catalog. They currently
market about 500 different cards. In 1985,
they appeared briefly on the New York
Times' best-seller list with The Working
Woman Book — Or, How To Be Every-
thing 71) Everyone. The book is crammed
with such indispensable advice as "Look-
ing the Part, or dress for distress" and "Ex-
ercises for the Working Woman, or thin
nerves in 30 days." Its very knowing — and
very sympathetic — stance toward the
woman who earns a buck is probably sum-
marized by the motto, "Behind every work-
ing woman... is an enormous pile of un-
washed laundry."
Joys of Motherhood, the Dales' new
book, will be released in November. A col-
lection of five years' worth of their car-
toons interrupted by a running dialogue
from an anonymous mother, Joys offers
such hand-holding Mom-to-Mom chit-chat
as, "O.K., it's time to take mental stabili-
The chipper
Dales, Jim and
Barbara, are
giving such
industry stalwarts
as Hallmark a run
for their money.
24
FRIDAY, OCT. 2, 1987
Fan club organizers Sheldon and Judy Levin.
ty inventory... What was the last movie you
saw? Anything that stars a puppet doesn't
count. How about books you've read? lb
_
yourself:ill"
The Dale wisecrack factory is also com-
ing out with a 1988 Joys of Motherhood
calendar, replete with such inspirational
thoughts as:
"Put your fingers into your ears. That's
what it's like not to have children."
And:
"Are you exhausted all the time? You've
got 'Motherhood:"
Despite the Dales' jests about parent-
hood, they are fond of it. "Best thing we
ever did," says Barbara about their having
a child.
Obviously adept at churning out quips,
the Dales say that one of the harder chores
of the card racket is writing cards during
the summer for the upcoming Chanukah
and Christmas. "Warm weather is not the
time to think about chilly months," said
Jim.
Also, being Jewish makes it easier for
the Dales to write about Chanukah. Typic-
ally Jewish, for instance, is their card
featuring a pile of Chanukah gelt (or,
money) on the front and, inside, an immor-
tal line of "Chanukah guilt:"
"You could pick up a phone and call once
in a while."
And one of this year's Chanukah cards
has an eye-boggling message on the front:
"Happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah" And inside, there's
the affectionate confession:
"You gotta love a holiday that has 8
days."
The Dales have also been able to turn out
messages that straddle the gentile and
Jewish worlds, such as their card intended
"for Jews to send to WASPs." Open it up
and it's signed,
"lb Biff and Muffy
Love, Abe and Naomi."
With their creative energy, the Dales
have cemented friendships with such peo-
ple as Cathy Guisewite, creator of the na-
tionally syndicated "Cathy" comic strip,
and Lawrence Kasdan, director of such
films as "Body Heat," "Silverado" and
"The Big Chill."
Speaking from her home in Los Angeles,
Guisewite said the Dales "have a totally
unique brand of humor. They are great at
being blunt, but gentle at the same time."
Guisewite has been friends with the
Dales for 14 years. From Jim, who hired
her as a copy writer for W.B. Doner in
Southfield, she learned to improve her
writing: "He's brilliant at looking at other
people's jokes and coming up with a new
thrust?' And from both the Dales, she
learned "a style of thinking, a view of the
world that frees you up to do your own