When photographer and webmaster Ric Wallace left Ontario for Canada’s west coast, he didn’t know he’d be calling White Rock, BC his new home, but White Rock Beach’s scenic beauty has provided the opportunity for his photography business to thrive. From sunrises and sunsets to the numerous birds and other animals that make their home here, as well as White Rock’s many year-round events, there’s never a shortage of images to capture.
In need of a medium to showcase his many images, Ric registered the domain WhiteRockBeach.ca. As traffic to the site increased and he’d meet people who had viewed his photography online, many commented they felt his images should be on postcards. Back in 1997, three time zones away from White Rock, Ric had produced a White Squirrel postcard and presold 2500. He now had the idea for a series of postcards promoting the beauty of White Rock.
When Ric first created his line of White Rock Beach postcards, he noted there were many Vancouver postcards for sale locally, but very few dedicated to the White Rock area. He started with 30 designs and now has 41 different postcards for sale in about a dozen stores in town. The WhiteRockBeach.ca postcards and greeting cards have a “Virtual Edge” over other locally-produced postcards and greeting cards because of the inclusion of UPC barcodes (used by People’s Pharmacy, Price Smart Foods, and Save On Foods), as well as a QR code and a website containing lots of photos, videos, and links for people to check out.
To Ric’s surprise, businesses in Tsawwassen and Langley, while gladly selling Vancouver-themed postcards, weren’t interested in retailing postcards that promoted White Rock. To Ric, that indicates a limited local market, so he decided to expand his postcard line with online sales. Since Ric had never ventured into large-scale postcard production before, he likes to joke that he’s making it up as he goes. With the summer tourist season ending, Ric told many of the retailers that he would do one more count before the end of the year, even though he expected sales to have dropped right off. Here was another surprise for him: sales had actually increased from the month prior, and here it was only mid-October.
Ric never passes up an opportunity to let people know what he does as he shares the love he has for White Rock. That includes a recent visit to the dentist for some desperately needed repair work for a broken tooth. He found Dr. John Rogers of White Rock Dental Clinic online offering a free initial consultation (xrays extra), so with a couple of White Rock Beach postcards in hand, he thought he’d let them know the postcards were available at two Semiahmoo Mall merchants, as well as other merchants mentioned online. Using both xrays and a pencil-like camera, Dr. Rogers showed Ric why he felt a crown was the best option for his broken tooth. The digital images clinched the deal for Ric, who felt he had found his dentist of choice. Dr. Rogers appreciated the sample postcards – one of the large white rock on the beach – and showed Ric how that rock inspired the dental logo for White Rock Dental Clinic.
Two weeks later, Ric returned to begin the process for the crown replacement. Dr. Rogers asked if Ric was the same person who had given him the postcard of the white rock. When Ric confirmed he was, Dr. Rogers proceeded to tell him an interesting story. The dentist had just returned from a vacation in Kenya, and he showed Ric a photo of a Kenyan tribesman, standing in front of a mud hut, holding his postcard. Dr. Rogers had regifted this postcard to the delighted Kenyan, who badly wanted to keep it. The villagers he met also liked the postcard known as “The Bird Dance” – an image of a seagull on the beach.
After hearing the Kenya story and how some of his postcards brought some excitement to people in Africa, Ric thought it would be both a boost for White Rock tourism and his postcards and greeting cards sales if others act as goodwill ambassadors like Dr. Rogers did and share the Spirit of White Rock while on their next trip. Naturally, not everyone can afford vacations to faraway places such as Africa, but anyone can share them via Canada Post.
With the popularity of some of the bird and animal postcards, Ric decided it was a good time to expand his postcard business and create a line dedicated to Canada’s feathered and furry creatures he’s photographed. Known as the Wildlife of Canada series, he has 41 different postcards with 13 of the bird postcards having been photographed at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Delta, BC. They were proud to have some of their local residents featured on the postcards and greeting cards and a plug on the back. On his return visit to White Rock Dental Clinic, Ric brought in a sampling of his WildlifeOfCanada.com postcards and created more excitement in the office. Many people have never seen a black squirrel, white squirrel, or even some of the colourful birds found in the White Rock/Delta area.
Things have come full circle for Ric Wallace: his new line of Wildlife of Canada postcards and greeting cards featuring some white squirrels are currently for sale in White Rock, Surrey, and Delta, as well as online. What do white squirrels and a big white rock have in common? Both are rare, and when something is rare people associate it with luck. On WhiteRockBeach.ca, Ric even has a list of reasons why he feels White Rock Beach is the LUCKIEST place on the west coast. Ric likes to say that when LUCK knocks on the door, you’d better answer – he’s opened that door many times!
The latest postcard creation is just in time for the upcoming holiday season and was suggested by a previous customer who had purchased some of Ric’s WhiteRockBeach.ca postcards. Ric has created a Season’s Greetings card of the White Rock pier to cater to the two-month window to market a holiday-themed postcard. And should he sell out of the 1500 Christmas postcards, Ric says he is just five days away from more inventory. With the current economy, anyone can share some gifts of WhiteRockBeach.ca and WildlifeOfCanada.com postcards and help carry the tourism torch for White Rock and Canada.
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- WhiteRockBeach.ca- Buy Online - We ship worldwide
- The White Rock Beach Gallery - Waterfront Promenade Gallery – (weather permitting)
- Mr White Rock - Ric Wallace 604-259-0105 - VISA, MasterCard, Debit & CASH
- Beaches Swimwear 14885 Marine Drive, White Rock BC V4B 1C2
- Sunnyside Evergreen Pharmacy - 2397 King George Blvd. Surrey BC V4A 5A4
- Pier Souvenirs - 14969 Marine Drive, White Rock BC V4B 1C3
- The Snappy Corner Store LTD. - 1117 Vidal Street, White Rock BC V4B 3T4
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Season's Greetings Postcards
Season's Greetings Greeting Cards
Merry Christmas Postcards
Merry Christmas Greeting Cards
[WOC-retailers]
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WhiteRockBeach.ca - Buy Online - We ship worldwide.
- The White Rock Beach Gallery - Waterfront Promenade Gallery – Artist Walk Outside (weather permitting)
- Mr White Rock - 604-259-0105 - Purchase directly from Ric Wallace - VISA, MasterCard, debit or Cash
- Beaches Swimwear 14885 Marine Drive, White Rock BC V4B 1C2
- Sunnyside Evergreen Pharmacy 2397 King George Blvd. Surrey BC V4A 5A4
Starving Artist Fund For Ric Wallace – TRUDEAU has made everything so EXPENSIVE
