Crafting the perfect Christmas

from Christmas in January 2022

by Lema Publishing

Festive Lights have that ‘Twinkly’ Feeling

Ji PROFILE Artcuts

Crafting the Perfect Christmas

Craft, gift and decoration experts Artcuts have been producing beautiful and truly unique product for a decade, and these core values still run right through this family business…

It’s been a tough two years for everyone with expertise in the festive and gift trade, and Surrey-based sustainable designers and manufacturers Artcuts are no exception.

After attending five trade shows in January 2020, garnering fantastic feedback and receiving a stack of huge orders from American-based buyers, they then felt the weight of COVID hit – seeing 27 cancelled orders on the Monday that the first national lockdown was announced.

But this is a family-grown business beloved by trade and retail buyers alike, with its highly original laser cut wooden pieces and craft kits, manufactured in small runs, from Scandinavian Birch wood. The coveted pieces are completed with a range of paper and fabric designs, ranging from Japanese silk-screened Chiyogami papers to iconic William Morris Liberty London prints, and Tartan finishes.

Now almost two years on from the onset of the pandemic, and the Artcuts team has been supplying John Lewis stores to huge acclaim since March 2021, with staff doing demonstrations in store, and has also clocked up five years of supplying pieces to National Trust England.

As they look ahead to their decade anniversary in April, Artcuts founder and owner Derek Cox says he is pleased to put a chaotic 2021 behind them, with a jam-packed first few months of the new year to enjoy.

“We’re looking forward to showing at Christmas & Gift, Top Drawer, Spring Fair and Scotland’s Trade Fair Spring,” Derek says. “Having attended a couple of retail shows in the late autumn that are a good barometer for the trade market, we were thrilled because we couldn’t keep up with demand!

“Customers and retailers alike are still buying, but it’s in a more considered way I think. They want a quality design and product, and that is what Artcuts is all about. The trend seems to be about pared back, simple pieces and getting back to nature.”

Amongst the company’s product being showcased at Harrogate, will be Hamish, their famed tartan cow design – which sells really well in the States – alongside 3D stags, hares and rabbits finished in beautiful prints, as well as a large number of craft kits, including festive crafts.

“The organic style of our product range sits really well with buyers at Harrogate,” Derek says. “Our pieces are very tactile, wood-based with hints of metallics and copper. They’re very popular with heritage sites such as Cathedrals and Abbeys and of course garden centres.

“We’re also really happy to help our buyers with merchandising ideas, and have even built display stands for some garden centre customers.

“It has been a tough couple of years, but we’re holding our nerve with some beautiful new designs coming through, as well as planning some extra deals to mark our 10th anniversary.”