The Craft of Getting it Right
Printed keepsakes for the funeral home industry
Mooney Keehley is a specialist in the printed keepsake business for both the funeral home industry and most importantly for the people the industry serves. Ken Hampson, the owner and President of Mooney Keehley (MK), had a vision, and to bring it to life he focused on fresh stationery designs that reflected different times and varied cultures.
The belief that everything Mooney Keehley produces has the potential to be a keepsake treasure for twenty, forty or a hundred years from now is true. There are no analytics on quality and care. Ken has worked hard to personalize Mooney Keehley’s products and offerings and make it easy for the customer, every single day. That is the true craft of getting it right.
Where We Came From
Mooney Keehley was established in 1925 in Rochester, NY when the John O. Mooney Company hung its shingle as a quality engraver in a town steeped with a rich history in printing. Rochester, NY has been home to industry giants like Case-Hoyt, and Great Lakes Press, as well as print education leader, the Rochester Institute of Technology and print innovators such as Xerox and Kodak. https://mooneykeehley.com/history/print-town-usa/
Who We Are
As part of this history, Ken Hampson, a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology print management program, has owned Mooney Keehley since 2005.
https://mooneykeehley.com/our-people/
Through all the changes that have taken place through the years, Ken has tried various approaches to connect to the funeral home industry all while investing in hand press equipment that engraves, foil stamps and embosses, fine papers, and boards to an artful effect.
As the craft printing business in Rochester reduced its work force, and retreated, Ken grew Mooney Keehley by hiring talented pressmen and craft print operators left in its wake, to provide jobs and keep the trade alive.
https://mooneykeehley.com/craft-printing/
Many of these tradesmen operated their own places and had experience working at the highest levels the industry.
The Mooney Keehley Branding
With an unclear view of what the future would hold for the funeral industry or at least Mooney Keehley’s place in it, Ken stepped back. He looked for direction and asked a colleague who had worked with several branding and marketing firms as a creative for his opinion on the shifting landscape. This friend asked Ken a simple question - What was Mooney Keehley at its heart? The answer was - a craft print company that could produce amazing surface qualities on beautiful paper and board. Instead of trying to be a funeral home products generalist, Ken focused on what he had built. He put together a print finishing business that serves the funeral home stationary industry. Ken realized he should focus on that, alone.
Keepsake to Honor Life is Born
After a careful review of the competitive landscape, Ken felt the funeral home stationary category was underserved. Most of the stationery category creative or theming had been developed a long time ago when tradition still ruled. Staying with the tradition of great paper and beautiful production, while focusing on new ideas about how to present or market the products was carefully considered. Instead of simply selling commodity cards, register books and other remembrances, new designs based on how real people honor and celebrate the loss of a loved one were developed. These contemporary approaches assist to serve different demographic niches and cultures and to simply put the traditional sentiments in a more current language. Thus, MK Collections was born.
https://mooneykeehley.com/products/mk-collections/butterfly-be-free/
Combining the elements of craft printing, fresh designs and a thoughtful retool of the website, including product display and ordering process all equate to make Keepsakes to Honor Life a reality.
https://mooneykeehley.com/products/
Ken and his Mooney Keehley family love craft printing and their hands-on approach to stationery. This love and attention to detail can be discerned in every single item and by putting in that little extra, even simple prayer cards and register books have been taken to a keepsake level.