Straight Couple Makes Fortune Creating LGBT Greeting Cards

A millennial Canadian couple have used their creativity and business savvy to serve an audience that is too often ignored by the mainstream greeting card industry -- the LGBT community.

Stephanie MacDonald of Halifax, Canada, took it upon herself to design a greeting card for her lesbian aunt's wedding after she couldn't find one on the market that portrayed two women tying the knot, according to a profile published recently inForbes. That initial effort to create a personalized card for her aunt's special day eventually gave rise to Halifax Paper Hearts, a company run by MacDonald, 28, and boyfriend Lucas Rowe, 27.

"I got excited about the idea and started creating," MacDonald told the publication of the inspiration behind her business. "I came up with 25 designs based on my own real-life relationships and experiences."

Since launching the company last fall, MacDonald has sold over 5,500 greeting cards. Her designs, which include cartoon depictions of same-sex and interracial couples, are now sold in over 30 stores in the U.S. and Canada, Forbes reports.

See some of Halifax Paper Hearts' designs on its official website here.