Remember to grab that Valentine's Day card?

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report – February 13, 2026

Episode Title: Remember to grab that Valentine's Day card?
Host: Sabri Benishour (in for David Brancaccio)
Featured Guest: Michelle Byrne, Founder of Paper and Stuff
Topic: Health care access, the economic impact of greeting cards on Valentine’s Day, and a greeting card entrepreneur's story

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Overview

This episode blends urgent business and health stories with a lighthearted but insightful profile of a greeting card entrepreneur as Valentine's Day approaches. Starting with news about tariffs and health care access, the episode's highlight is an engaging interview with Michelle Byrne, a graphic designer turned full-time greeting card maker, sharing the behind-the-scenes of her career and how personal connections drive card design.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tariff Policy Updates & Consumer Costs

• [00:46] Sabri Benishour reports multiple sources say the Trump administration plans to reduce certain steel and aluminum tariffs.
  • The move comes as officials increasingly acknowledge what was previously denied: tariffs raise consumer prices and complicate business cost calculations.

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2. Primary Care Access & Health Care Costs

• [01:37] Kaylee Wells summarizes new research from the Robert Graham Center:
  • Adults with chronic diseases who have a dedicated primary care doctor cut healthcare costs in half.
  • Hospitalization risk falls by 20% for these adults.
  • For children with chronic conditions, the benefits of primary care are even more significant.
• Dr. Morgan MacDonald (Milbank Memorial Fund) highlights obstacles:
  • "One in three adults in the US can't get primary care. Lack of insurance can be a significant barrier. Cost can be a barrier. And the other barrier? Only 5% of US healthcare spending goes toward primary care." [01:57]
• JB Silvers (Health care finance professor, Case Western Reserve University) adds:
  • "You make a lot more money as a specialist than you do as a primary care doc." [02:35]
  • U.S. medical institutions steer new doctors toward lucrative specialties, leaving a shortage of primary care providers.
• The report recommends increasing investment in the primary care workforce to preempt larger health crises (and costs).

Notable Quote:

"One way to avoid major medical bills is to catch major medical problems early or prevent them."
—Sabri Benishour, [00:54]

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3. Health Care as a Subscription (Preview)

• [02:55] Sabri Benishour teases an upcoming segment on subscription-based fast medical care, airing later that day.

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4. Greeting Cards Industry & Valentine’s Day

• [04:56] Greeting cards are big business for Valentine’s Day:

  • Americans buy 6.5 billion greeting cards annually (Greeting Card Association).
  • Valentine’s Day drives a significant share of yearly sales.

• Spotlight Interview: Michelle Byrne, Founder of Paper and Stuff

  • Michelle pivoted from graphic design to full-time cardmaking during the pandemic.
  • Her creativity is deeply rooted in family tradition:

  "My mom is a fine artist and she's always encouraged us to draw and create as kids... She loves a handwritten, hand-drawn [card] more than anything." [05:29]

  • Success emerged organically:

    • Started with crafting for friends and family, then signed up for the National Stationery Show thinking it was a local craft fair, catalyzing her wholesale launch:

    "It was kind of like it went from hobby to full time wholesale real quick." [06:06]

  • Creative Process & Brand Ethos:

    "My brand and my cards are a reflection of me in that they are silly, yet they're sincere and caring. Like, I could be sarcastic... but I'm also…emotional, I am super nostalgic." [06:20]

  • Memorable Card Ideas & Consumer Connection:

    "One of my first cards ever says, 'I love you enough to build IKEA furniture with you,' and it is still a top seller because it really resonates with people." [07:19]

    • She describes her mission as connecting with customers in "specific relationships" and providing cards that truly "get" them.

  • Reflections on Growth:

    "When you think of all the times that someone has opened up one of my cards and read what was written on the inside…it's shocking to think of how many little moments my cards have been a part of." [08:03]

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5. Valentine’s Day Spending Trends

• [08:36] U.S. consumer spending for Valentine’s Day is expected to hit a record $29.1 billion (National Retail Federation).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On health care barriers:

  "Only 5% of US healthcare spending goes toward primary care."
  —Dr. Morgan MacDonald [01:57]

• On the economics of medicine:

  "You make a lot more money as a specialist than you do as a primary care doc."
  —JB Silvers [02:35]

• Entrepreneurship revelation:

  "It went from hobby to full-time wholesale real quick."
  —Michelle Byrne [06:06]

• On card design and connection:

  "This card really gets me. So I think it was just like kind of putting my own little stamp on the world with those moments."
  —Michelle Byrne [07:39]

• Top-selling Valentine’s card inspiration:

  "I love you enough to build IKEA furniture with you."
  —Michelle Byrne [07:19]

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Important Timestamps

• [00:46] Start of episode content: Tariffs, health care access.
• [01:37] Report on primary care and health care cost savings.
• [02:16] Barriers to primary care access.
• [02:35] Commentary on med school and specialty selection.
• [04:56] Shift to Valentine’s Day greeting cards, Michelle Byrne interview begins.
• [05:23–08:36] Michelle Byrne shares her story, process, and impact.
• [08:36] U.S. Valentine’s Day spending data.

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode maintains Marketplaces' signature blend of brisk, factual reporting and personal storytelling, employing an easygoing, genuine tone—especially during the interview with Michelle Byrne, which is both lighthearted and reflective.

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Summary

This episode of Marketplace Morning Report provides a fast-paced primer on overnight business and policy news before settling into a thoughtful, inspiring look at the Valentine’s Day greeting card business. Listeners are taken behind the scenes into a creative, entrepreneurial journey and learn about the economic and personal significance of exchanging cards. Health and business news are delivered with clarity, while the human interest segment enriches the day with heart and a reminder of the power of small, shared moments.

Transcript

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[Sabri Benishour]

Nipping medical problems and medical bills in the bud From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Benishore, in for David Brancaccio. First, the Trump administration is planning on paring back some tariffs on steel and aluminum goods. This is according to multiple media reports, partly because officials are recognizing something the administration has repeatedly denied that tariffs raise prices for consumers. The tariffs were also very complicated for businesses to calculate. One way to avoid major medical bills is to catch major medical problems early or prevent them. That is why we have annual checkups and vaccines and antibiotics. But if you don't have good access to a doctor, all of that becomes harder. Researchers calculated just how big a difference that access makes. Marketplace's Kaylee Wells has more if you're.

[Kaylee Wells]

An adult with a chronic disease, having a go to primary care doctor cuts your healthcare costs in half. The report from the Robert Graham center for Policy Studies in Primary Care center says it also lowers your chance of getting hospitalized by 20%. And then for children with chronic disease, the benefits were even more striking. Dr. Morgan MacDonald is the national director for population health at Millbank Memorial Fund, which co funded the report. She said one in three adults in the US can't get primary care. Lack of insurance can be a significant barrier. Cost can be a barrier. And the other barrier? Only 5% of US healthcare spending goes toward primary care.

[Michelle Byrne]

So we have moved more and more physicians into specialty care, so we only see them when we have something specifically wrong.

[Kaylee Wells]

Health care finance professor Emeritus JB Silvers at Case Western Reserve University says med school pushes students toward picking specialties rheumatology, dermatology, oncology, that kind of thing.

[Michelle Byrne]

You make a lot more money as a specialist than you do as a primary care doc.

[Kaylee Wells]

That's why the report says the answer is increasing spending on the primary care workforce. More money means more primary care doctors, which means more more health problems solved before they get really expensive. I'm Kaylie Wells for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishour]

Having a doctor is one thing. Being able to get an appointment quickly is another. Later today on Marketplace in the evening we'll have a report on fast medical care as a subscription. You can catch that on your public radio station or on podcast.

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[Sabri Benishour]

If you are in the greeting card business, Valentine's Day is more than just a holiday. It's an opportunity to drive sales And a huge one 6.5 billion greeting cards are bought in the US each year, according to the Green Greeting Card Association. For our series what's that Like? We spend time with people doing jobs you don't hear about every day. And today we connect with Michelle Byrne, who pivoted from graphic design to become a a full time greeting card maker during the pandemic.

[Michelle Byrne]

I have 50,000 cards sitting around me, so it's really great whenever people come over and they're like, oh, I forgot to get a card for my mom. Can I just grab one? I'm Michelle Byrne and I'm the founder of Paper and stuff. So my mom is a fine artist and she's always encouraged us to draw and create as kids, myself and my sisters. And she just loves a greeting card. And she loves a handwritten hand, hand drawn one more than anything. It's just like a very normal thing in our family to do that for each other. So I kind of started off hand making them for friends and family, and then I kind of put my design background to work and started doing it, I guess, a little bit more officially. I was googling craft fairs around New York and came across the national stationery show, naively thinking it was a small craft market. After I had signed up and they let me know that I got in and started asking me for some official business details that I did not have yet, I decided to just go for it and figure it out as I went. Yeah, it was kind of like it went from hobby to full time wholesale real quick. My brand and my cards are a reflection of me in that they are silly, yet they're sincere and caring. Like, I could be sarcastic. I crack a lot of jokes, but I'm also like, I'm a cancer. I'm emotional, I am super nostalgic. And then, yeah, pairing it with my need for things to be on a beautiful grid. Kind of like my office, which is super organized.

[Marketplace Host]

Don't you have, like, 20 cards to write by Friday?

[Kaylee Wells]

Nope.

[Marketplace Host]

All done. Really? Can you help me?

[Michelle Byrne]

Because I've run out of ways to say congrats.

[Marketplace Host]

Okay, I got good job, well done, way to go.

[Kaylee Wells]

That's it.

[Sabri Benishour]

How about every day you make me proud, but today you get a card?

[Michelle Byrne]

One of my first cards ever says, I love you enough to build IKEA furniture with you, and it is still a top seller because it really resonates with people. So I think it got started probably for that exact reason. Like, can I find something that speaks to my specific relationship? Or is it the kind of moment that's like, oh, my gosh, this is so us? Like, this card really gets me. So I think it was just like kind of putting my own little stamp on the world with those moments. And then like, combining it with my graphic design background was a little space that I felt like I could fill. I think holding my first cards was probably like, probably a little bit of imposter syndrome, A little bit of like, can I consider this real? And now when I look around my office and I see how many cards I have, it kind of compares to that first time. And when you think of, like, all the times that someone has opened up one of my cards and red was written on the inside. It's shocking to think of how many like little moments that my cards have been a part of. Road trip to Ikea. We can sleep in the store.

[Sabri Benishour]

That was Michelle Byrne, founder of Paper and Stuff, based in New Jersey. Consumer spending, by the way, on Valentine's Day is expected to hit a record $29.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. Our executive producer is Nancy Fargali. Our digital team includes Adam twinette, Brock, Emily McCune and Dylan Mietanen. Our engineers Artessa Block and David Schreck. And in New York, I'm Sabri Benishour with the Marketplace morning report. From 8:00pm American Public Media.

[Michelle Byrne]

Hey everyone, I'm Rima Reis. And this week on this is Uncomfortable, I'm joined by my fellow podcaster Sam Sanders for a special Love Advice episode. We tackle listener questions about money and relationships, everything from secret investment accounts to parents making risky financial choices.

[Sabri Benishour]

I have told people all the time, when you are experiencing an adult in your life who is acting like a child, that is the time at which you most need to be an adult.

[Michelle Byrne]

Listen to this is Uncomfortable on your favorite podcast.

[Kaylee Wells]

Apparently.