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Founded by writer and illustrator Emily McDowell, we make products that speak to the human condition with honesty, humor, and heart. As Em & Friends (previously Emily McDowell & Friends), we partner with different authors and artists to create gifts and cards for the relationships we really have. Our mission is to help people connect when they're not sure what to say. We’re perhaps best-known for our Empathy Cards, designed for people going through life’s hardest times: major illness, loss, and grief; and inspired by Emily’s experience with cancer in her 20s. In our culture, most of us don’t learn how to talk about illness and death. Emily was struck by how lonely and isolated she felt when people disappeared because they didn’t know what to say when she was sick – and traditional “get well” card messages weren’t terribly helpful. With Empathy Cards, we wanted to create something that helped people going through a hard time feel seen and heard, and which also helped friends and family to find the authentic words of support they struggled to come up with on their own. In January of 2018, we joined forces with fellow Southern California-based, woman-owned company Knock Knock to become the Who’s There Group: two kick-ass brands under the same roof, united by one very high-maintenance espresso machine.