Rachel and Warren Hart-Phillips, 42 and 45, launched LoveLossDiscoballs, an online card company selling colourful sympathy and support cards, in January. 

The Woolton couple spoke to the Echo about the idea, grief and men’s mental health. Having both experienced loss in their lives, Rachel recalled the moment she had the idea: “I was writing a post on Instagram about sympathy cards and how out of date they were and how, because I’ve had a lot of them, they don’t fit with our generation. They’re all a bit miserable and depressing.

Rachel explained where the ‘LoveLossDiscoballs’ name came from: “I had an Instagram profile that I’d had for quite a while. Those were the sort of things I was talking about on there: about love, about loss, and we’re both big fans of dance music [...] so we love disco balls. We both really like the analogy of a disco ball being lots of pieces of broken glass put back together or turned into something more beautiful. We think that’s so fitting with our brand and our story as well.”

Experienced graphic designer Warren elaborated on the “straightforward” designs on the cards and said: “I’ve been a designer working across the board for over twenty years. In terms of the designs, colours and messaging, it was quite straightforward and easy because we’ve both experienced some profound loss in our time.

"I know what we would have wanted to have received. I wanted to design something that maintains and upholds our mission which is that we believe difficult times don’t have to be done in the dark so we bring in light and colour.”

They also sell a range of cards for men to send to their male friends to spark conversations around men’s mental health. In 2023, Samiratans found that men in England were three times more likely to die by suicide than women. Rachel commented: “We have a card that says ‘Here for you mate’ and even if it’s just writing ‘To Tom, Love Barry’, it means a lot. That card would be there to remind the person everyday, if they kept it up, that someone is there for them and someone thought of them.

"We’re thinking of creative ways of maybe getting our cards into barber shops or gyms or places like that. It’s a big talking point and people talk a lot about male mental health these days so I think this is a big way to contribute in a different way.”

When asked whether they hope that their cards will inspire a change across the wider card industry, Rachel said: “I have a bit of community on Instagram of people who are grieving or have known grief. Within that community, there is a lot more hope.