Gifts Today March/April 2021

Gifts Today Month: March/April 2021 Issue: 4 Volume: 32

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Taking inspiration from the British countryside, crafting and tradition, Wildflower by HESTIA® is a celebration of nature. Floral and animal motifs appear throughout combined with wood, linens and velvets adding warmth with traditional detailing.

Spring is in the air and we’re looking forward to a beautiful British summer. Refresh your home and bring some extra charm and character with our range of rustic home and garden accessories, inspired by all things quintessentially country cottage.

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Gifts Today March/April 2021

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Contents Regulars 7 10 12 14

Message from the editor News Exhibition News Bira

Cover story 16 PTMD The Dutch lifestyle brand, an exclusive partner of The Orangery, creates beautiful home accessories for the independent retailer

Retail

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28 Charisma gift shop, Bedford Owner Jan Lawrence shares why she’s hopeful for the future of the high street

Gifts Today team

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Editor

Leading suppliers talk garden centre gifts

18 Home interiors & accessories A growing category as consumers seek to reinvigorate their living spaces

Advertisement Manager

Layout/Design

Special features

Sally Norton sally@lemapublishing.co.uk

Mark Horsnell markh@lemapublishing.co.uk

30 Trade Talk

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Rick Vickers rick@lemapublishing.co.uk

32 Gifts for garden centres Classed as ‘essential retail’, garden centres have proved themselves to be a great gift destination

55 Giftable stationery

Managing Director

Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

From furnishing the stylish home office to a source of affordable treats, stationery is a must-have category

Production Director

62 New products

Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

Profiles

Chairman

15 Enesco

Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Q&A with new sales director Phil Atherton

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Lema Publishing Ltd

1 Churchgates, The Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930

www.giftstoday.media

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Message from the Editor www.giftstoday.media Instagram: @giftstodaymedia

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well as some fantastic launches from our wellloved regular advertisers.

Our cover stars are PTMD, the Dutch lifestyle brand that’s an exclusive partner of The Orangery, and creates beautiful home accessories for the independent retailer. Described as ‘interior design trailblazers’, the company offers thousands of products to help you create a completely unique look in your store.

I really enjoyed working on our garden centre feature for this issue, too. As part of my ‘research’, I took a tour around my own local ‘essential’ garden centre with my 18-year-old daughter, where we spent a happy hour browsing and shopping. As Keith Edmondson from Richard Lang & Son says: ‘Garden centres have everything for customers.

From parking to cafes to play areas, they are almost like a destination in their own right.’

Perhaps, then, it’s no surprise that this feature is so packed with such a variety of product, from jewellery and pet treats to lamps and Christmas baubles. We introduce this feature with a special Trade Talk on garden centre gifts on page 30.

Home interiors have definitely been a growth area for Gifts Today over the past couple of years, and I feel this issue is the one where it has really hit its stride. Not only are people hungry for ways to make their home spaces as practical and comforting as possible, but there’s now truly so many fantastic home interior and accessory ideas for you to consider stocking. The feature starts on page 18.

There’s so much more in this issue, too. News, views, comment and even a look at Giftable Stationery. I do hope you enjoy this issue as much as Mark Horsnell and I enjoyed putting it together for you.

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fter an extraordinary and testing year, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel at last for retail. Non-essential shops have just opened their doors again, and we’re all holding our collective breath to see whether the research released by Barclaycard Payments is correct – that the 91% of Brits who have been shopping locally throughout the pandemic will continue to do so as they said they would.

If you’ve opened your shop again recently, I wish you the very best of luck and I’d love to hear from you about how it’s going. Jan Lawrence, owner of Charisma gift shop in Bedford, tells me she has remained positive despite all the challenges, saying she ‘truly believes high streets will return again, but with a new feel.’ You can read her story on page 28.

As well as shops opening, trade shows are on the horizon again, too. First out of the blocks is Home & Gift, set for Harrogate on 18-21 July, followed

by Autumn Fair at the NEC from 5-8 September.

While the past year has proved there’s definitely room for the convenience of virtual showrooms, it’s quite exciting to think that soon we’ll be seeing product – and people – in the flesh again.

It’s the same with Gifts Today. As well as our digital editions, we still feel it’s very important to deliver our print editions directly into our readers’ hands. Lots of our readers tell us that actually feeling the paper in their hands helps them engage with the content and spend longer with it. I can’t help but agree.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why our March/April issue has turned out to be such a bumper one – our big glossy pages are the perfect way for suppliers to showcase their launches, especially at a time when trade shows are on temporary hold. We have so many new companies to introduce you to across our key features, as

Our big glossy pages are the perfect way for suppliers to showcase their launches

The views of the contributors expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the publisher. Comments, letters and criticism are welcome.

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Present Time

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M O S N E Y

M I L L

OPEN YOUR DOORS

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7KH 6ZDOORZ &ROOHFWLRQ Lazy Summer Days Ahead Mosney Mill’s Swallow Collection evokes the feeling of long summer days ahead featuring swooping swallows placed on a pale sky background. The fine china and kitchen textiles will make a beautiful addition to any country inspired home.

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7KH +DUH :LOGÁRZHU &ROOHFWLRQ Mosney Mill’s newest design features a majestic hare nestling in Mosney Mill’s abundant wildflower meadow bringing a feeling of hope for the spring and summer that lie ahead.

Manufactured in the UK the 100% organic cotton textiles place Emma’s illustrations on a soft blue background, whilst the coordinating ceramics showcase the design on a white backdrop.

3ODQWDEOH :LOGÁRZHU 6HHG &DUGV A Gift of Hope for the Future Each card is supplied with a 100% recyclable brown Kraft envelope and protected by 100% compostable clear packaging.

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News Springboard predicts bounceback Prior to the reopening of non-essential shops on 12 April, Springboard predicted a significant footfall increase as the high street returns, and outdoor hospitality re-opens, with 59% increases being seen in high streets.

A recent Springboard report predicts that shopping centres and retail parks’ footfall will rise by 46% and 26% respectively in the first week of opening, while greater rises are expected following the success of the UK vaccination programme and the opening of retail and hospitality.

The predicted increase in footfall suggests that it will be 128.5% higher than in the same week in 2020, although it will remain 61.8% below the 2019 level. ‘As we reach the 12 month mark since the start of the pandemic in the UK, lockdown fatigue is at its height and the increases in footfall over the last few weeks has indicated the pent up demand for a return to normality,’ commented Diane Wehrle, Springboard’s marketing and insights director.

Freepik.com

Wentworth puzzle raises £12,000 for charity

Gifts as treats

New shopper research amongst a sample of 1250 people has revealed that consumers’ focus on mental health and wellbeing during consecutive lockdowns has led to an increase in the number of people buying gifts for others or just as a way of treating themselves.

The study, conducted by Bridgethorne Research, reveals 42% of respondents buying gifts for themselves or for others if they think the product will enhance their own or somebody else’s sense of wellbeing; 39% said they have been buying products as treats because they are unable to go out and a third said they have done so as a reward for themselves or others.

‘We are also starting to see what some of the long term legacies from our behaviour in lockdown are likely to be,’ says Andy Grout, head of research at Bridgethorne. ‘For example, we expect the emphasis on mental health and wellbeing to be sustained beyond Covid.’

10 Gifts Today

Last July, Wentworth Wooden Puzzles based in Malmesbury, Wiltshire released an exclusive jigsaw puzzle, to say ‘Thank You’ to NHS Staff and all the other key workers for their essential work during the Covid crisis. The aim was to raise £3000 to donate to their local charity, the Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Response Fund. However, the puzzle received such an overwhelming response from customers, that far exceeded anyone’s expectations, it sold out in all three sizes and raise over £12,000 over four times the initial target.

‘With the added proceeds, we have decided to increase the amount donated to the Wiltshire Community Foundation, as well as make two additional £4000 voluntary donations to other charities close to the business’s heart and cause,

Mind and Dementia UK, and the remainder going to the Cotswold Home for Cats and Dogs,’ says MD Sarah Watson.

Creative Retail Awards deadline extended With the announcement that the Creative Retail Awards will run live on 14 October, an unprecedented number of companies have requested an extension to the submission deadline. In light of this the organisers have extended the entry deadline until 30 April 2021 for all projects completed within 2019 and 2020.

If a project was previously entered into the postponed 2020 Awards the entry has automatically been rolled over and entered into this year’s. All entries will be judged together to create one giant ceremony. This also means there is more time for companies to enter the prestigious Supplier of the Year Award. Simply ask your customers to vote for you at: creativeretailawards.com/supplieroftheyear.

The Creative Retail Awards’ Partnerships with leading bodies including Shop & Display Equipment Association, National Association of Shopfitters, British Display Society and the 2020 London Design Festival has helped to solidify the Awards’ position as the pinnacle showcase of worldwide retail design and display, with the UK as its centre.

Take a tour with Puckator Make an appointment to visit the company’s virtual showroom while we wait for the trade fairs to return. It is easily accessible, just visit puckator.co.uk, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on the link to the virtual showroom.

If you want some extra help, Puckator are also offering appointments through the screen, where one of their team members can show you around and point out the newest products as well as the ‘old but gold’ bestsellers.

Email: customerservices@puckator.co.uk or call 0800 011 6969 to book a time that suits you. Place an order during the appointment and Puckator will offer carton price.

PMC celebrate 17 years Personalised Memento Company are celebrating 17 years in the personalised gift business, reflecting on their amazing journey from one humble engraving machine to their current extensive personalised powerhouse! With the giftware market becoming increasingly trend-led, adapting to suit consumer expectations and innovation is now second nature to the team.

With the massive momentum in online sales, fuelled in part by the lockdowns, they have their sights set high for their future continuing as the leading UK personalised trade gift supplier.

Gift cards in the post-Covid world Freepik.com

188,685 retail jobs lost Research conducted by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has found shown that almost 190,000 retail jobs in the UK were lost between the start of the first lockdown on 23 March 2020 and 31 March 2021. 15,153 stores permanently closed their doors in the same period.

The figures revealed that 83,725 jobs lost in the period were due to administrations, including major collapses by Debenhams and the Arcadia Group; around 11,986 jobs were cut during Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) restructuring processes; another 92,974 jobs were axed through rationalisation programmes, which included supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Asda cutting thousands of roles.

The devastating impact of the pandemic resulted in 15,153 store closures in shopping destinations across the UK, the figures also revealed.

As UK high streets reopen following a year of chaos, new research reveals that gift cards could be the key to reattracting anxious shoppers back to stores and boosting sales. The State of the Nation 2021 research, that surveyed 2000 UK shoppers to determine evolving buying habits and attitudes towards gift cards, found that: ■ ■ ■

65% of shoppers become new customers of a brand after receiving a gift card.

67.8% of shoppers spend more than the original value of their gift card.

Gift cards most likely to sway Millennials and Generation Z towards a new brand.

Gail Cohen, director general of the GCVA, commented: ‘Between their convenience, ease of use and versatility, gift cards have gone from strength to strength over the past year. Shoppers love gift cards, whether buying or receiving them, and it is clear that retailers and other high street businesses cannot afford to ignore their importance and continuing relevance to consumers, which is only growing over time.

‘Throughout the pandemic gift cards have been, and continue to be, an invaluable customer loyalty and engagement tool. With their ever-growing popularity amongst retailers, businesses and the public alike, gift cards remain vital for high street businesses as they emerge from this challenging period.’

Gifts Today 11

News Exhibition

Home & Gift due to return this summer

Clarion Events, the organisers of the summer trade buying festival, have announced their intention to return to a live show format in Harrogate for 2021.

Taking place from 18-21 July across the Harrogate Convention Centre and grounds of the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate, the show will offer the retail industry the first and largest face-to-face opportunity for buyers and brands to unite and do business in over a year.

In planning for the show, the Home & Gift team extensively surveyed their audience to see how they could best provide solutions for their needs, revealing that 87% of buyers said they would attend the physical show in July.

With safety remaining paramount, Abigail Quesnel, senior operations manager says: ‘Delivering a safe, secure event for everyone building, exhibiting at, and visiting Home & Gift in July is our number one priority. From the very beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the team and I have been working closely with the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) who are liaising with the government directly on live event guidelines. We will continue to work with both them and our suppliers over the coming months to monitor the situation as it evolves, adhering to guidelines in every way as, together, we plan for the summer event.’

homeandgift.co.uk

Giving & Living goes online The virtual 2021 show will run online 10-12 May 2021. Originally due to take place in January and then moved to May, the show cannot take place physically this year, unfortunately, due to the staged plan to exit lockdown.

‘We’re disappointed not to be able to hold the show face to face,’ says Jennifer Trotman, marketing manager of Hale Events, the show’s organisers.

‘But we’re delighted, that this May, we will be able to present the exhibitors and all their new product ranges to even more buyers than usual.

“Normally most of our show visitors are from the South West, so for us to be able to promote Giving & Living Online to buyers nationwide, gives exhibitors access to new markets, and enables buyers from all over the UK to attend and browse and meet new suppliers.’

You can register at: online.givingliving.co.uk.

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Autumn Fair set to run 5-8 September The show is set to return to get you ready for the Golden Quarter, retail’s busiest and most profitable time of year. Held at Birmingham’s NEC, and with new key shopping destinations, Home, Gift and Fashion, Autumn Fair is a curated show for a new era of retail.

For the first time, Moda will now be co-located at Autumn Fair. Also known as the National Footwear Show, Moda will co-exist alongside Jewellery & Watch and Fashion (JWF) to create a new unrivalled Fashion buying destination. Offering an additional touchpoint for leading fashion and footwear brands to showcase, the new Fashion hall will facilitate greater crossover-buying opportunities to a wide, diverse and relevant audience looking for the latest must-have pieces.

autumnfair.com

London Stationery Show moves to October The 2021 edition will now run 5-6 October 2021 at the Business Design Centre, London.

‘We understand that it will take some time for retail to recover from the recent lockdown,’ commented event director, Alex Butler. ‘We believe that the October dates will allow for a successful show for visitors and exhibitors alike.

‘We’re very grateful for the support of the industry and are looking forward to welcoming everyone to the Business Design Centre in October when we can finally meet and do business once again.’

stationeryshowlondon.co.uk

Messe Frankfurt reveals management changes Exhibition organiser Messe Frankfurt has announced a change in the leadership of its consumer goods division. Julia Uherek and Philipp Ferger will take over as vice presidents of Consumer Goods Fairs from 1 June, while Nicolette Naumann, who is leaving the company of her own volition, will continue to serve in an advisory capacity until 30 June.

The pair will be responsible for trade fair brands including Ambiente, Christmasworld and Paperworld, as well as future fair formats and platforms. They will continue to report to management board member, Stephan Kurzawski.

Since December 2017, Julia has been responsible for the strategic orientation of Paperworld, Creativeworld, Christmasworld and Beautyworld, as group show director of consumer goods fairs.

Philipp Ferger started as an assistant to the company’s management board in 2011 and worked in this capacity for Detlef Braun, who is responsible for the business’ Consumer Goods & Leisure division. Philipp took over responsibility of Tendence as group show director in 2016, and was appointed second MD of nmedia, alongside Nicolaus Gedat, in 2019.

Nicolette has held various positions at Messe Frankfurt since 1986, and is currently responsible for Ambiente.

Detlef Braun comments: ‘With Julia Uherek and Philipp Ferger, we have found our new top team for the consumer goods industry. They both bring detailed knowledge of the consumer goods markets as well as extensive skills and experience in marketing, PR, sales and the organisation of a wide range of trade fair and online formats to align our leading trade fair platforms for the future in an increasingly challenging global industry environment.

‘We are delighted to have been able to recruit them for this challenging roles and thank Nicolette Naumann for a 35-year career at Messe Frankfurt and her countless successes at home and abroad, which are unparalleled in the industry. Her name will forever be associated with Ambiente.’

Spring Fair @ Home now ‘on demand’ Whether you missed your favourite speaker, or just want to watch again, all the exclusive content and showcases are available for you to watch 24-7.

There are over 25 hours of content to discover, including inspiring keynotes, product discovery and industry awards.

If you didn’t manage to register first time around, you can still do so by registering for your unique on-demand access link: springfair.com/springfair-home-registration.

Christmas & Gift 2021 cancelled Harrogate Christmas & Gift 2021, which had been postponed from its original date in January to May, has now been cancelled for this year. The next event will now run in 2022, from Sunday 16 January to Wednesday 19 January 2022 at the Harrogate Convention Centre.

Simon Anslow, show organiser explains: ‘Following the government’s announcement that the UK will not be able to resume events until 21 June, it has been decided to now focus on the 2022 show. It is very disappointing for everyone involved, but hopefully life and business will be back to normal by January next year and we can all look forward to another bumper show.’

harrogatefair.com

Exclusively offers live Launchpad for smaller suppliers The 2021 Exclusively Show’s initiative showcases products from suppliers in the housewares, small electricals and gift industries, including start-ups.

The concept was trialled successfully at Exclusively Digital in 2020; but has never run as a live element of the show.

Exclusively has a proven track record for enabling established brands to get in front of buyers and the media and the idea of Launchpad is to do the same for companies who have not previously had such an opportunity.

Stands for the Exclusively Show in general, which returns to The Business Design Centre, Islington, on 24-25 August are now 95% sold following a positive industry response from exhibitors and visitors with renewed confidence following the Government’s ‘roadmap’ announcements.

The curated Launchpad area has 18 stands of which just two remain

available to book. Each favourably-priced stand comes with inclusive carpet, table and chairs, lighting and electrics, and benefits from the same promotional package which is available to all exhibitors.

Will Jones, Chief Operating Officer at BHETA and Chair of Exclusively, says: ‘One of the unique aspects of the Exclusively show is that it has always provided a level playing field for large and small brands. The Launchpad 2 initiative allows the newest and the smallest businesses to get in front of some of the industry’s most significant buyers as well as the Show’s many media visitors. Equally the Launchpad is an opportunity for buyers, journalists and influencers to find something that little bit different, which they are unlikely to have been seen before elsewhere.’

exclusivelyshows.co.uk Gifts Today 13

GT INTERVIEW BIRA

What a difference a year makes CEO Andrew Greenacre from the British Independent Retailers Association explains that, while he welcomes the measures pledged during the Budget, he would like to see the Government go one step further

CEO Andrew Greenacre

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12 months ago wasn’t the go-to choice for most people I know.

As I have made it clear over recent months, Bira wanted a clear message from the Treasury that it was prioritising the independent retail sector in aiding its recovery.

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Bira wanted a clear message from the Treasury that it was prioritising the independent retail sector in aiding its recovery

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I

t is hard to believe that when Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his first Budget in March 2020 we were on the cusp of a year like no other in history.

At that point - as he pledged a £5 billion emergency response fund to support the NHS in England, and abolished business rates for a year - we had no idea quite how much coronavirus was about to disrupt ‘normal’ life.

Twelve months on, more than 124,000 people have lost their lives, billions have been borrowed, the UK economy has shrunk almost 10% - its largest annual contraction since 1709.

Many non-essential retailers are still closed after lockdowns prevented them from opening for eight months of the last 12. Staff have been furloughed, bounce back loans taken, local authority support grants awarded.

Witnessing this year’s Budget was somewhat different as members of Bira’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee (LPAC) gathered via an online Teams call - a mode of communication that

I have personally spoken to Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng on a number of occasions, lobbying for extra support for the hard-hit sector; one in five indies did not reopen after the first lockdown, research tells us.

And, broadly speaking, the LPAC members welcomed the measures pledged during the Budget statement. We were

pleased there will be discounted rates relief for the next year; restart grants of £6000 per retail business; an extension of the furlough scheme until the end of September, as well as other initiatives.

We would, however, like to see the Government go one step further in extending the rent moratorium for three more months, and abolishing business rates until 2022 – following the example of Wales and Scotland.

Financial certainty is what indie retail needs right now and removing these burdens would aid recover over the next 12 months and beyond.

After all, a lot can happen in a year.

If you would like to discuss any of this article with the team at Bira, or would like to find out more about the association and the support it can give independent retail business, then please contact their membership team on 0800 028 0245 or visit bira.co.uk

GT Profile: Enesco

Q&A with

Phil Atherton We catch up with Enesco’s new Sales Director to discover what plans he has for the company in the coming year Phil, what’s your career journey before joining Enesco?

I’ve been in a sales role for some thirty-five years in three different industries - alcoholic beverages, textiles and latterly home and gifts before joining the Enesco team. I’ve been in a sales leadership role for the past twenty three years, and all the experiences and challenges I’ve had through my career will allow me to see things through a different lens and hopefully assist Enesco with doing things differently where required. We are always looking to add value to our customers and having this experience will allow me to guide the team to do this through our activities.

What is it about this well-loved gift supplier that attracted you to the role?

It was the great range of brands and products combined with the strong customer base that the business services. Once I had met the people and understood the culture I felt Enesco offered exactly what I was looking for in a new role that would allow me to grow personally as well as helping to grow the business.

How have the past five months been in your new position?

Very exciting, very busy and very productive.

We have a real sense of purpose to grow the company and solidify our relationships with our customers.

How do you feel about the lack of trade shows?

Enesco have always had very successful trade shows with significant numbers of range launches and good sales orders achieved, so we have missed them in 2021. We have, however, been one of the first businesses in our industry to launch a virtual showroom and the business has embraced technology to make sure we maintain our customer relationships and to launch product with as much success as usual.

We have trade shows planned in Europe for later in the year, depending on what the Covid situation is like at the time.

What will your focus be for the coming year?

Delivering great product at great value and with great service to all our customers throughout 2021.

We already have a strong order book for the year and we are planning on spending as much time as we can to support our customers once lockdown comes to an end.

Special plans you have in the pipeline?

We will be releasing some limited editions signed pieces

of Willow Tree in 2021 for the first time, to support the 21st birthday of the evergreen brand. We also hope to hold some virtual consumer workshops where we will be doing ‘meet the artist’ sessions to support our retailers. In 2022 Peter Rabbit celebrates his 120th anniversary so we will also be planning how we celebrate this during the latter half of 2021.

What homeware ranges have done particularly well for you?

We’ve seen an increase in demand for any accessories that relate to home entertaining such as glassware, mugs, bamboo dinnerware, and so on. Our Ginology collection has performed particularly well with significant growth year on year, along with Lolita glassware that appeals to a modern thirty something who is looking for good quality fun glassware.

Why should a gift retailer consider stocking Enesco?

Enesco offers a unique range of gifts that appeal to all age and demographic groups and have self-purchase and giftable items that always please. Our ranges cover figural, glassware, ceramic ware, bamboo, baby products, as well as some of the world’s most favorite brands – Harry Potter, Disney, Marvel. The list goes on.

As people emerge from lockdown with a different mindset gifting will remain a key demonstration of our love for family and friends and ranges like Willow Tree or our new Licensed Facets range will have real appeal.

enesco.co.uk

Gifts Today 15

GT COVER STORY: PTMD

Home in style with PTMD The Dutch lifestyle brand, an exclusive partner of The Orangery, creates beautiful home accessories for the independent retailer. From faux flowers to glassware, mirrors to Christmas décor, this interior design trailblazer offers thousands of products your customer will love

P

TMD collection is an independent design house exclusively for the independents. With a boundless love for innovation and craftsmanship, this Dutch lifestyle brand travels all over the world to collaborate with exceptional artists to create their signature eclectic glamour aesthetic.

In 1992, interior designer, Jos van Opdorp, grew frustrated by the limited and unimaginative selection of interior pots available in the interior and gardening sector. Seeing an opportunity to appeal to current home styling trends, PTMD was born, and began by supplying a curated range of interior pots to florists, at the world famous Aalsmeer flower market. PTMD have since developed their selection into a best-selling home interiors collection and are proud to present an ever-evolving assortment of over eight thousand interior creations, including houseplant pots, faux-flowers, lighting, dried botanical, glassware, candles, mirrors, interior objet, furniture, Christmas and wall décor.

PTMD believe that imperfection is perfection and stand against the unobtainable aesthetic conception that beauty is defined by symmetry, scarcity and refinement. Their design aesthetic is created by embracing the philosophies of biophilic design. Biophilic design is founded upon mankind’s innate desire to surround 16 Gifts Today

oneself within elements of nature, which fuels positive wellbeing. PTMD’s home interior collection is designed for the creation of spaces that exude positivity and personality. Their eclectic home interiors collection is a canvas for balanced, complementary colour palettes and seductively tactile textures.

All pieces designed by PTMD are limited edition, meaning that once a design is sold out or reaches its production limit, the brand ventures to create something new and exciting.

With over half their collection of thousands of designs metamorphosing biannually, PTMD are interior design trailblazers, and are certainly one to watch for those seeking the latest trends in home styling.

Through their unique collaboration with talented global collective of artisan designers and skilled producers, PTMD’s pot collection embraces a vast array of traditional and innovative modern manufacturing methods to create expressive, original designs with soul. With a vast array of unique houseplant pot designs, their collection draws its aesthetic influence from organic forms, iconic Indonesian ceramics and edgy Dutch design. Their collection showcases a diverse spectrum of textured finishes, which are expressed across a wide range of sizes. Their

Leone design is testament to their design philosophy. Available in four sizes, from 11cm diameter, the Leone features a textured bubble underglaze, which allows each pot in this collection to organically develop its own unique identity.

PTMD’s lighting design influences draw from botanical and organic origin. From hanging lamps capturing the effortless elegance of horticulture, to statement table lamps with rough and raw architecture and playful monstera leaf desk lamps. This season, their lighting collection debuts metal botanical light forms, such as their dramatic Bexley design, a statement Chinese palm leaf globe design, whose gilded appearance elegantly elevates the status of nature. For a more subdued, boho aesthetic which showcases natural materials, this season PTMD introduce their Kailey collection, a series of lighting crafted from carefully woven bamboo.

Showcasing the best of Dutch Design, PTMD work in partnership with award winning Dutch floral artists to develop their best-selling faux botanical catalogue. In a seasonally evolving collection of over 500 dried and faux designs, their floral artists utilise their wealth of horticultural expertise to develop a selection that reflects the true form of each plant to ensure maximally convincing pieces. Their botanical

All pieces designed by PTMD are limited edition, meaning that once a design is sold out or reaches its production limit, the brand ventures to create something new and exciting

collection is designed to aid the creation of a no maintenance botanical displays for retail, hospitality and residential projects. From large potted bamboo trees which are constructed using natural branches, to delicate cherry blossom stems with interior wires, you’d be forgiven for doubting the faux nature of these designs. In their SS21 season they introduce a series of dried pampas grasses that are dyed in their signature moody colour palette that can be used to achieve a balanced Japandi aesthetic by angularly positioning in a distressed ginger jar.

PTMD’s assortment of home accessories seeks to create positive interior spaces with designs inspired by the soothing colour hues and sculptural forms of nature. Their collection of interior creations celebrates powerful representations of precious flora and fauna.

This season they debut the Luxe Safari trend introducing the luxurious divinity of the natural world into home interiors. Polished hand-painted animal print pots meet gilded polyresin predatory figures and vibrant print cushions, offset against opulent gold ceramic pots and grandiose accessories to create a chic home oasis.

From clean, utilitarian industrial pieces to cosy, glamorous designs, PTMD’s furniture catalogue

presents a diverse collection of aesthetics.

Their furniture design remixes minimal Scandi aesthetics and intermingles neutral staple pieces amongst designs with a modern, playful energy.

Full of lively personality, their bestselling Janne chair is the epitome of their contemporary aesthetic. Cleverly contoured for comfort, this curvaceous piece is available in four jewel toned colour ways and is suitable for use in both domestic and hospitality environments.

PTMD’s eclectic Christmas catalogue features a diverse spectrum of aesthetics, ranging from sophisticated classical seasonal designs to unconventionally contemporary lifestyle pieces and playfully quirky decorative creations. This season features hand-blown jewel tones, oiled effect glass baubles, opulent globes dripping with petite silver beads and unconventional seasonal lanterns. With up to a 15% price incentive, they advise clients to reserve their stock for the Christmas season to avoid disappointment as this collection is exclusively limited edition and designs are reaching their production limit.

PTMD have a keen eye for the uniquely wonderful. PTMD’s vintage curators travel all around the world to discover one of a kind, vintage lifestyle pieces. With a prolific assortment

of new discoveries appearing at their warehouse bi-monthly, they venture to surprise their clients with our curious finds. Their reclaimed, handpainted Indian wooden furniture pieces are ideal for curating a distinctive in-store collection or for specifying in interior design projects.

Unique vintage pieces can be used to create alternative, quirky shop interiors; attach their vibrantly, distressed painted reclaimed doors to a wall to create a feature backdrop.

PTMD showcase their complete collection at their Style Centre. Located a short journey from Amsterdam, in quintessential Dutch flower town, Aalsmeer, the style centre displays exemplary Dutch styling and inspiring lifestyle spaces. You can view their complete collection with a member of The Orangery team and a Style Advisor in the Netherlands from June onwards (Subject to travel restrictions) or via a private live video tour. Please contact The Orangery to arrange a showroom tour.

Call: 07872 606299 Email: sales@theorangery.org Visit: b2b.ptmd.nl Gifts Today 17

Product Focus Home Interiors

Nick Munro

PTMD

Lene Bjerre

A focus on the home

Over the past year, for many of us, our homes have been our place of work, a classroom for our children, a playroom, and a space to eat, relax and nurture ourselves. No wonder, then, that consumers have sought to reinvigorate their homes with new products to boost their living spaces and make them more comforting than ever. We take a closer look…

F

or many of us, 2020 and the first months of 2021 presented us with the opportunity to really think about the way we live within our homes. Customers were looking to make the most of the space they have, maximising every function for their multitude of everyday needs.

They were also looking for the home accessories that would enable them to create a new look in their homes with minimum fuss for maximum impact.

‘Throughout the last year we have seen a real interest in our home interior ranges,’ commented Paul Hooker from Joe Davies. ‘Not all home accessories are purchased as a gift. By stocking home accessories, retailers can increase sales by increasing the opportunity for selfpurchases by the customer.’

Trend forecaster Phil Pond of Scarlet Opus predicted this surge 18 Gifts Today

in consumerism for the home in a London Stationery Show webinar at the end of last year before the second lockdown. ‘Our homes will be personal retreats in which to nurture ourselves and cultivate happiness on a broader scale’, he said. ‘We will be looking for more meaning, more understanding, more connection, more freedom and more time.’

Made’s design director Ruth Wassermann agrees, commenting that she expects ‘a rise in the popularity of natural materials, textures and colours.

Soft palettes of earth tones and off whites, and finishes including linen and light woods are growing in popularity, driven I suspect in part by trends across social media like Pinterest.’

A recent survey by Roofing Megastore backs this up. They analysed Google Trends data

throughout 2020 to reveal what home styles are set to dominate 2021 and revealed that comforting cottage and Scandi looks are set to be the top trends, as we begin to do away with harsh industrial looks and seek to bring more homely comfort into our surroundings. The survey also reveals that many of the other trends increasing in popularity have a connection to natural materials and a more traditional and homely style as well. Dried flowers, macramé, antiqued mirrors and wall panelling are all looking like they’ll be key interiors trends in 2021.

Phil Pond also highlighted the rise of the eco-conscious consumer. ‘With a reduction in pollution during the first lockdown, most people became more conscious of the environment and the world we live in. Therefore, more than ever, from a retailer’s perspective, consumers will want to

Mandarin Arts

• £500 minimum order • No tariffs to pay or customs fees • £1000 carriage paid Come and see our virtual showroom where you can shop the look yourself – www.presenttime.com Please see overleaf for more information on our themes for SS21

If you are interested in stocking Present Time, please contact us Luke Felton Country Manager UK & Ireland lf@presenttime.com | 07975597855

www.presenttime.com

About Present Time Present Time brings the cutest home decor and accessories to your interior. The Dutch label designs trendy items keeping in mind the warm, cosy and uplifting feeling that you want to experience at home. Present Time’s mission is to give your interior a personal touch with a little wink to trendy Scandinavian design. The use and mix of different materials and colours creates unique/original settings for every room. We intend to bring all the colors in to our grande collection with our three Brands: Karlsson - Leitmotiv - Pt,

Arctic Air We introduce this collection in two themes, with us bringing a new theme for the Summer – Arctic Air! This theme is based on nature and the colours from the early dawn, such as warm grey to the colours dark purple and night blue. These colours fit perfectly to materials like bamboo, black metal, stone and nickel metal.

This theme has a cool, stylish look that matches in a natural or industrial interior.

Check out our newest double cuckoo clock and the cutest pet sofas that come in all the new trend colours.

Elegant Earth Our second theme – Elegant Earth - is all about natural colours and materials. We introduce new plant pots, vases, candle holders and many more items in our well-known theme Elegant Earth.

You will recognize the items due to the use of luxurious materials such as glass, porcelain and velvet. These are combined with the all-time favourite sun-kissed colours such as ochre yellow, grayed jade and dusty pink.

This theme has a warm luxurious look that completes your cozy, hearty interior.

Come and see our SS21 collection in our virtual showroom: presenttime.com Contact details: Luke Felton Call: 07975597855 Email: lf@presenttime.com Visit: presenttime.com

Colour Trends ‘The selection of two independent colours highlight how different elements come together to express a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting, conveying the idea that it’s not about one color or one person, it’s about more than one,’ Present Time

Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute.

Mezu Silk Flowers know about a product’s provenance, with Made In Britain a big trend,’ he said.

Ruth Wassermann agrees: ‘There’s a growing shift in the way that consumers are approaching buying decisions, accelerated by the events of 2020,’ she said. ‘Having had time to reflect on their behaviours and how they impact the world around them, we’re seeing customers making much more considered purchases.

Where possible, they are buying less but better, and investing in pieces that they have a strong emotional connection to, with a view to holding onto them for generations to come.’

As we begin to emerge from the third lockdown, there is a great opportunity for consumers to reset.

Much like a spring clean, changing things up at home could be the fresh start that we’re all searching for. Colour and energy will play a huge part in this, potentially driving people to make braver decisions with their decor than they might previously have considered.

Colour will play its part. There are two Pantone Colours of the Year for 2021. Ultimate Gray and Illuminating.

The two independent colours were brought together to create an aspirational colour pairing, conjoining

deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the optimistic promise of a sunshine filled day.

Illuminating is a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power. Ultimate Gray is emblematic of solid and dependable elements that are everlasting and provide a firm foundation. The colours

‘Not all home accessories are purchased as a gift.

By stocking home accessories, retailers can increase sales by increasing the opportunity for selfpurchases by the customer’ Paul Hooker Joe Davies

of pebbles on the beach and natural elements whose weathered appearance highlights an ability to stand the test of time, Ultimate Gray quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness and resilience.

‘The selection of two independent

colours highlight how different elements come together to express a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting, conveying the idea that it’s not about one colour or one person, it’s about more than one,’ commented Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Colour Institute. ‘The union of an enduring Ultimate Gray with the vibrant yellow Illuminating expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude. Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a colour combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted, this is essential to the human spirit.’

Luke Felton, country manager at Present Time, also thinks colour is key for the coming seasons. ‘For us our focus is on trend colours which our designers research for each season,’ he said. ‘For SS21, we see olive green being the stand out colour, whilst soft pink, warm grey and other colours such as dark blue and dark green continue to be strong. We also see Gold and Brass being popular still for SS21 as these offer an elegant look in people’s homes. We really have a unique brand

that offers fantastic Dutch and Scandinavian design, whilst also bringing the whole range together with trend colours.’

Phil Pond also highlighted some key seasonal, transitional trends for the coming months. The trend ‘Soul Searching’ is dominated by a ‘happy’ yellow colour palette, also featuring teal, jungle green and bronze. Also expect plenty of oversize botanicals, lush jungle and animal motifs.

His second is called ‘Biotopia’, full of botanical and oceanic themes as we dream of escape to other worlds.

Expect purples, blues and greens, and plenty of recycled materials.

As customers start to venture out again, keen to explore new trends and accessories for the homes, there really has never been a better time to get on board with home accessories in your store. From Nick Munro to PTMD, Present Time to Lene Bjerre, Mandarin Arts to Mezu Silk Flowers, there are so many beautiful products to tempt your customers with.

Gifts Today 19

Product Focus Home Interiors

Coffee culture

Nick Munro

Designed by Nick Munro, the Domus Coffee range has stood the test of time as an iconic piece of industrial design. First made in Sheffield in pewter, the selection of cafetières is now made in stainless steel by expert craftsmen and can be found in some of the most prestigious hotels and restaurants in the world. The range consists of five different designs including the widely recognised Bistro and Fatso designs with their Turkish-inspired side handles.

What is the inspiration behind the design?

Whilst growing up, Nick’s dad had a garage full of tools nuts and bolts and ‘things that might come in handy!’ One of them was an old bicycle pump from the 1930s, and this dusty object became the inspiration behind the collection.

Have there been any changes or improvements to the design?

Since its conception, the first major change that the Domus range underwent was the material composition. Having previously been made in pewter, it was developed in stainless steel to ensure it was more durable and practical. Now it is dishwasher safe and extremely difficult to break and is also better at making coffee too.

Recently, the whole range has been redeveloped to make it more practical than ever. The Small Domus and Bistro Pot have been made wider so that they are more stable and can hold more coffee.

The thumb tag has also been introduced to give more control over pouring. Alongside this, they have added a skirt on the lid for a snugger fit. This prevents coffee from shooting from the spout during plunging as well as has the added benefit of stopping the heat from escaping and keeping the coffee hotter for longer.

The final and most important change to the range is the use of thicker steel keeping coffee hot for even longer and making the Domus more durable than ever. Every adaption of the range was made with the goal of maintaining its timeless style whilst also improve its functionality.

Call: 01244 515514 Email: trade@nickmunro.com Visit: nickmunro.com

Fabulous frames Rex London

These brass photo frames from Rex London are not only great for photos, but also a fantastic way to display other precious keepsakes such as art prints, postcards, concert tickets, drawings and pressed flowers. Working with a wide range of interior design schemes, these bestselling hanging frames are elegant home decor pieces that will be a hit with customers looking for boho chic vibes through to contemporary glamour.

Call: 020 8746 1700 | Email: info@rexlondon.com Visit: rexlondontrade.com

Lamp light Mandarin Arts

Call: 01873 812255 Email: info@mandarinarts.co.uk Visit: mandarinarts.co.uk The company are excited to unveil two more new lamps, one depicting a repeating white fish motif on a cobalt blue background, 74cm high; the other lamp base is a ginger jar decorated with a traditional landscape scene with a palace, a lake, bridges and boats and an old man wending his way across the bridge, 63cm high. Both lamps are coming into stock very soon, as are many other favourites.

20 Gifts Today

With thousands of references in stock, and managing customs clearance on your behalf, now is a great time to become a Lene Bjerre stockist.

Visit our website or contact our country manager.

Simon Pykett Country Manager UK & Ireland spp@lenebjerre.com | www. lenebjerre.com Mobile: 0044 (0) 7967 209156

Product Focus Home Interiors

Handcrafted, handpainted blooms We caught up with Donna Zurcher, founder of one of the leading companies in the world of exceptional silk flowers, to discover why her business is growing so well, and why your customers will love her beautiful blooms Donna, what makes Mezu Silk Flowers so special?

Mezu was borne out of my own personal passion for flowers and the desire to find realistic silk versions I could enjoy throughout the year. I source handcrafted, hand-painted products directly from the supplier, at a price that represents good value. It’s all very personal, as is the relationship I have with customers, and the finished product is paramount.

What’s the story behind your company?

After a good number of years in retail and then over 15 years senior management within the global PR and marketing sector, I was looking for a change in life. My son was living in China so the dream and possibility of having a business selling quality silk flowers suddenly became a reality. I couldn’t manage the business without having the base in China, and it allows us to quality control and for me to go over there to personally source new lines.

What’s the ideal retail environment for Mezu?

We work on the basis that we’re large enough to offer a substantial range of products, and small enough to provide the level of service and personal touch that make a difference to customers.

Mezu’s clientele is largely independent businesses - online retailers, high street gift shops, florists, wedding and event planners, interior design as well as garden centres. Our philosophy is if the product, price and service are right, the rest will follow.

Do you have a typical customer?

The growth of the silk flower market reflects consumers’ desire to enjoy their favourite blooms all year round as well as having floral arrangements, such as wedding bouquets, as a lasting memory of a special occasion. Similarly, TV, film and theatre productions are using silk flowers and of course, programmes such as BBC’s Interior Design have

raised some of the many benefits for artificial flowers. I do not think there is a typical silk flower customer.

How has the past year been?

The environment has been tough for everyone. The need for silk flowers has risen in some areas, unfortunately such as funerals, and decreased in others such as weddings and large events. We are fortunate, however, due to our size and resilience to have been able to continue business as usual and we have adapted to meet our customers’ needs. I think it’s still a little early to talk about the longterm changes that will come with Brexit.

Courier costs are certainly higher to some markets and there have been delays in delivery. The floral market is a resilient one and florists are resourceful - we have and will continue to respond to meet our customers’ needs.

Any ranges that have done particularly well?

Roses are the flower I initially built the

business around and we do have an extensive array of varieties and colours. On a more general basis, it’s all about the cottage garden flowers inspired by mine. We feature most of the country’s home-grown range - peonies, foxgloves, daisies, hollyhock, lupins, iris, sweet peas, lilacs, scabious, nigella and so much more. Hydrangeas are one of our most popular ranges but I like to think we have something for every occasion.

Any special offers/services for new clients?

We are happy, within reason, to offer samples so new customers can see and feel how good our silk flowers are. We have a strong offering with minimum orders at only £150, low compared with other wholesalers, and orders over £200 are carriage free. That said, I am always happy to talk to new and existing customers about what they want!

Call: 07768 605121 or 01248 422279 | Email: info@mezusilkflowers.com | Visit: mezusilkflowers.com 22 Gifts Today

Product Focus Home Interiors

Contemporary Nordic style Lene Bjerre is a Danish company with Scandinavian design items for the entire home. Combining the love for handicrafts with contemporary designs, the company offers beautiful products for every room in the home. With stock levels high and ready to deliver, we catch up with new CEO, Per Nybo Nielsen, to learn why the Lene Bjerre style is perfect for the UK retailer What’s the story of Lene Bjerre?

The company was founded in 1975

by Danish designer Lene Bjerre, who founded the business on beautiful design, high quality and a love for nature. Incredibly successful in her own country, Lene started to introduce the brand outside Denmark. The company still is a family company, now owned

by Suzanne Sand and Bjarne Poulsen together with Per Nybo Nielsen and a German partner. In the later years Lene Bjerre Design A/S has been taken even further into large export markets.

What’s your career journey to joining Lene Bjerre as CEO? I have a long and solid background in the interior business, and joined the Lene Bjerre family last year.

How would you describe the Lene Bjerre look?

It’s a contemporary, Nordic and organic look that stays faithful to

the original DNA of the company.

Everything is designed in Nibe, Northern Denmark, with a great concern for the environment. The company thinks carefully about social responsibility and sustainability - the benefits they give their workers, how many trees they re-plant when using them for furniture, and much more.

How long has Lene Bjerre been in the UK market?

We’ve been here on a small scale for three or four years, with many customers staying with us all this time.

Now we are ready to expand and are here with a new sales team, full of energy and ready to introduce you to the world of Lene Bjerre. We’re here to help, whether you’re an existing account holder or a retailer who’s new to the brand. We have plenty of stock available, and are actively are looking to extend our network of retailers across the UK right now.

Per, what is it about Lene Bjerre designs that strikes such a chord with UK retailers?

I think it’s because Lene Bjerre offers classic classy design that is able to live on for a long time, and can always be mixed and matched with more contemporary items. The combination of a classic style with trend-based items creates a unique and personal interior setting.

What can a new retailer expect from Lene Bjerre in terms of support?

We have a devoted team in the UK, consisting of Simon Pykett, Country Manager, and his team of agents. This gives us a local presence, where we can be in touch with customers on a daily basis.

How has the company dealt with Brexit – and how are you helping retailers navigate the new rules?

Become a retailer!

Country manager Simon Pykett employs a full sales team covering all areas Call: 0044(0) 7967 209156 | Email: spp@lenebjerre.com | Visit: retail.lenebjerre.com 24 Gifts Today

We spent last part of 2020 preparing ourselves and are managing Brexit well.

We have our system set up so we can help with everything from our side. In this way, it’s easy to trade with Lene Bjerre for our UK customers.

What are the key looks and key ranges you have available right now for Lene Bjerre customers?

Lene Bjerre has its SS2021 ranges available divided into Heritage, Living, Tabletop and Outdoor. Right now we feel a strong demand for our Stoneware called Amara, same for most of our flowerpots, the Portia Bath series as well as Outdoor products such as our organic garden furniture, Mandisa and Norah. We have also started selling our beautiful Christmas 2021 collection, which has had a fantastic receipt on all markets.

www.jhdesignpoint.net enquiries@jhdesignpoint.net tel: 44(0)141 339 4927

Mezu

Exceptional Silk Flowers

Mezu is passionate about providing customers with the most realistic silk flowers that can be found inthe marketplace.

For our full range of gorgeous stems visit: www.mezusilkflowers.com Or contact Donna on: T: 01248 422279 E: info@mezusilkflowers.com

Product Focus Home Interiors

Helping hands Richard Lang & Son

Flying high Present Time

While the company are well known for their clocks and timepieces, they also offer a wide range of home accessories, including furniture, kitchen accessories, home accessories and lights. They also have a fabulous new selection of indoor planters.

Shown here are the Plant Pot Set Essence Straight in Warm Grey iron, and their Plant Pot Set in Matt Black Iron, with tripod legs. On the wall you can see their Wall Hanger Origami Birds in Warm Grey and Jungle Green.

Call: 07975 597855 Email: lf@presenttime.com Visit: presenttime.com

So sentimental Joe Davies

Check out the new Scrabble Message Table Plaques from Joe Davies, based on the Scarbble tile holders that are in the traditional scrabble game make the perfect gift and home décor accessory.

Designed in the shabby chic style to match the rest of the range in cream and natural wood they are sure to evoke happy memories especially as family games are having a moment in lockdown! Choose from many popular captions such as Friends, Family, Best Mum and I Love Dad. Joe Davies are well known for their trademark ‘little & often’ ordering quantities and their awardwinning customer service team.

Tel: 0161 975 6300 Email: sales@joedavies.co.uk Directions: Stockport, SK5 7GA Visit: joedavies.co.uk 26 Gifts Today

The giftware company have launched the Lang’s Helping Hands Platform which is full of downloadable product images, articles, shoppable brochures and so much more: langshelpinghands.com. You can also book a Zoom call or make an appointment directly on the platform.

You can discover lots of home accessories, including these LED Balls (above, right) with cutout stars, and the Gnome Stoneware Jug and Mug.

Call: 01332 340927 Email: sales@richardlang.co.uk Visit: richardlang.co.uk

Design-led homeware Widdop & Co.

Widdop & Co’s talented in-house designers create a diverse selection of homeware – from garden ornaments to home furniture and accessories.

Remaining consistent with modern trends across a collection of eight unique ranges, popular Hestia offers a huge selection of home furnishings and accessories to suit all tastes while maintaining affordability and elegance.

Their Ice & Slice range is proving to be a popular choice for the summer. Highly commended at 2020’s Gift Of The Year awards, this range of glassware is a unique concept, offering the perfect statement pieces for gifting or serving up cocktails. Each glass is carefully crafted to embed a refreshing piece of fruit or ice cube.

Still recognised as a designer of exceptional clocks with unrivalled quality, William Widdop remains one of their best-selling clock brands. Incorporating their flagship brand’s traditions, with new and innovative designs, their range of wall, mantel, alarm and miniature clocks guarantee a long-lasting home accessory.

They’re also the home of two other clock brands. With stunning 100% Swarovski crystal embellishments and unique sound quality, Rhythm is globally renowned as the number one clock brand for its beauty and quality. Launched in 2010, Hometime brings trend-led but practical style, alongside functional quality.

Naturecraft is a popular choice for wildlife enthusiasts and those looking to inject the beauty of nature into their homes during lockdowns. With a selection of highquality, traditional animal figurines, gifts and keepsakes, this brand offers the perfect range of home accessories to celebrate nature in the UK and abroad.

Bringing some much-needed vibrancy and personality into homes this spring, their collaboration with Meg Hawkins embraces the beauty of modern art with a collection of watercolour illustrated home and gifting products - perfect for modern homes.

As a signature name behind a diverse range of ornaments, Julianna Collection can be seen in their home and gift showrooms. From classic figurines to modern collectables celebrating world culture, with branded packaging, these items make perfect gifts or contributions to a stylish theme.

Covid-safe showroom tours can be booked on their website or through sales representatives.

Call: 0161 688 1226 | Email: sales@widdop.co.uk Visit: widdop.co.uk

Birds, bees…and flowers!

Mosney Mill Bee and Wildflower Inspired by Mosney’s own wildflower meadow, the textiles feature a vanilla yellow background with an abundance of wildflowers and bees feeding on the nectar they provide. The kitchen ceramics mirror the vanilla yellow with addition of a white background within the range.

Swallow For a contemporary look, flying swallows feature on a pale blue background on British manufactured ceramics and textiles.

Call: 01772 822525 Email: info@mosneymill.co.uk Visit: mosneymilltrade.com

Gifts Today 27

RETAIL INTERVIEW:

Charisma gift shop

‘I truly believe high streets will return again, but with a new feel’ Located in a beautiful old Edwardian arcade in Bedford that also boasts a raft of other small indie businesses, Charisma gift shop has opened its doors again after its toughest year ever. We catch up with owner Janice Lawrence to discover how, after efforts to build a new website to boost sales and a sense that customers are keen to shop locally, she feels positive about the months ahead Janice, what’s the story behind Charisma?

I worked in retail when I was younger and dreamed of having my own shop. I started my business in 2000 in a little town called Rushden, 20 minutes from Bedford, after my youngest child had started school. It was quite a risky thing to do but I decided it was better to try something rather than look back and wonder ‘what if?’ I relocated my shop in 2007 to Bedford, as it was a larger town with more trade and opportunities.

Along with relocating I also completely rebranded the shop to reflect the style and design that I love - quintessentially English with a shabby chic cottage feel. The shop has been described as charming and exquisite with a treasure trove of beautiful gifts.

How have the various lockdowns and restrictions been for you?

It’s been really tough I can’t lie, financially, mentally and physically. I’ve tried to stay really positive over the months but it’s had 28 Gifts Today

such a huge impact on my business and for many others locally. After the first lockdown I was so happy to get the shop back open and to welcome my lovely customers in again, so having to close twice more was truly disappointing and a massive blow. Like so many others, we’ve missed Mother’s Day, the Christmas main trade, as well as our everyday sales that would normally carry us through the quiet times.

Have you managed to trade during the lockdowns?

I don’t have a transactional website yet but it’s something I’m working hard to get up and running right now, so I’ve really had to rely on social media to keep us out there and showcase our products. We’ve been able to offer Order & Collect, plus free local delivery, but not being physically open and with no one in town it’s had a huge impact on sales and one I’ll be recovering from for a long time. I am so grateful for the grants that the government so promptly

put in place to help businesses try to survive; they’ve been such help.

What’s the mix of gift merchandise in your shop?

I sell a mix of jewellery, accessories, bath & body products, candles, sentiment, baby and toddler clothes, soft toys, greetings cards and wrapping, plus much more.

The companies I like to use are ones that help the small independents by doing little & often ordering and with low delivery charges too. This way we can help to keep each other going. Some of the companies I use are Joe Davies, Langs, Bomb Cosmetics, Rodney Holman, Carrie Elspeth, Marmalade of London, Peace of Mind, Fable, Blade & Rose, Powell Craft, Wrendale, Woodmansterne, Berni Parker, Tatty Co, and many more.

Any surprise hits?

When we re-opened after the first lockdown masks had been a huge hit and thankfully I

had placed a big order for these, and I’m glad I did. Having been closed for most of the year it’s hard to gauge what will go well for the year ahead, especially as we’ve missed a few of our key dates already, but I tend to go on my gut instinct and when I spot something new that catches my eye straight away and if I think ‘ooh, that’s lovely’, then I’ll order it.

How are you sourcing new products?

I haven’t really attended any of the virtual trade shows I’m afraid, apart from listening to Theo Paphitis at Spring Fair speak as I know he is one for helping the small independents and I value his opinion.

Some of the companies have sent virtual links to their new products which I have been looking at and found very useful. I must admit I’m quite old school and find it very handy when I receive a brochure in the post to order from.

How confident do you feel about the future of your business?

I feel very confident and quite excited too about the future. The events of the past year have made me more positive to keep my shop going and especially excited when my online shop is up and running alongside it.

After the first lockdown returning customers were so lovely and I also noticed lots of new faces too, people who were determined to shop locally, especially with

‘I must admit I’ m quite old sch ool and find handy w hen I re it very ce brochu re in the ive a post’

the small independents. I truly believe high streets will return again but with a new feel – lots more independent shops offering something unique and making the towns a true shopping experience again. Rome wasn’t built in a day but we need to stay positive.

My youngest son opened up his own shop Rewind Merchandise a retro shop in October 2019 next to mine.

Obviously it’s been a hard start for him but he remains positive and determined to keep things going in the right direction.

Plans for the rest of 2021?

I’m looking to do a full stock check and streamline my products to ensure I’m offering the best I can to my lovely customers. I’m currently working on my new website, so I’ll be able to reach a larger market and post to the rest of the UK. Technology doesn’t come easy to me but thankfully I am getting a lot of help from daughter and both of my sons. I hope to sell a range of my bestselling items and I hope this will work alongside my bricks and mortar shop to bring in more sales, fingers crossed!

Gifts Today 29

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Trade Talk We have a special focus on Gifts for Garden Centres in this issue.

Leading suppliers share their views

Charlotte Gillan

Stephen Thurlow Partner, Alexander Thurlow

MD, Classic Canes

Do you supply to garden centres?

Yes, we are working with a number of independent garden centres and country house gardens already, so we know there is a market for our products.

The ‘Love Nature, Love Flower’ range is really popular and will aptly reach an audience with the appreciation for our nature focused, detailed and beautiful designs.

Are garden centres a good destination for gift shopping?

Yes, they’re becoming more than just an outlet for practicality and more about the experience. Adding gift centres, cafes and the like to these destinations provides a multitude of draw-ins to the shops and allows like-minded customers to take away gifts that meet their taste.

Sally Moore

Owner, The Wheat Bag Company

Keith Edmondson Joint MD, Richard Lang & Son

Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

Yes, absolutely. However, no one garden centre is the same. We like to understand their individual requirements, so we build trust and ensure a great longterm relationship. Garden centres have everything for customers. From parking to cafes to play areas, they are almost like a destination in their own right!

30 Gifts Today

Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

We supply most of the big chains of garden centres including, Dobbies, Blue Diamond, Webbs and a vast majority of the independent ones. Most of them have one of our bespoke display units to display the stock and reorder regularly.

Do you think garden centres are a good destination for gift shopping?

I think going to a garden centre is a great destination to buy gift products.

There is normally plenty of space to browse without being too close to other people. The displays are attractive with lots of product choice.

Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

Classic Canes sticks are stocked in many garden centres, mostly the better-quality independents. They sell best in the ones that take care to display and merchandise them well. Garden centres are wonderful places for gift shopping, with lots of space for lovely, imaginative displays. You can wander around with your trolley choosing from all sorts of gift and clothing ideas, wheelchair users and disabled people can get about easily, you can stop for coffee and cake mid-shop (when Covid regulations permit) and then wheel all your goodies back to your car. No wonder we often spend more than we mean to when we go to garden centres; it’s all made so easy for us there.

What trends do you predict will be big for the rest of 2021?

Feel-good presents to cheer us all up after the privations we have endured. For our products, this means cheerful prints on sticks such as bees, ladybirds and owls: make people smile with your stick!

Victoria Eggs Owner, Victoria Eggs Do you think garden centres are a good destination for gift shopping?

Absolutely! Visiting a garden centre is a stand-alone retail experience. It’s a lovely and relaxed environment to shop in and to find special gifts for loved ones. This, combined with wandering around the beautiful plants and enjoying a cup of tea and slice of cake make for a great day out.

Phil Atherton Sales director, Enesco

Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

We’re stocked in many quality garden centres throughout Germany, Austria, Guernsey and the UK. We have good presence in many independent garden centres and in the multiple garden centres such as Blue Diamond.

Do you think garden centres are a good destination for gift shopping?

Yes, people tend to be quite relaxed when visiting a garden centre with the ambience and natural surroundings that can put them in the right mood for purchasing gifts. We feel that getting the merchandising right in the garden centres can lead to some great partnerships and this is an area we will continue to drive through 2021 and beyond both in the UK and across EMEA.

Simon Carswell Fancy Metal Goods

Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

We have a strong garden centre representation of our products, especially Alice Wheeler London. Beauty and fashion accessories have sold particularly well from Alice’s seasonal collections, and we have also noticed larger accessory lines such as tote bags and backpacks have been very popular.

Do you think garden centres are a good destination for gift shopping?

They have been a saving grace to many suppliers throughout lockdown, as many have been fortunate to be able to keep trading. They offer the consumer a complete one-stop shopping experience, they provide a great all round service with strong brands and products whether outdoor or home and gift. I have seen the evolution of the garden centre for many years. Restaurants have become an integral part of their businesses, as has free parking.

Donna Zurcher

Owner, Mezu Silk Flowers

Paul Hooker Commercial director, Joe Davies

Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

We supply many independent garden centres with a wide variety of products.

Ranges performing particularly well at the moment include Village Pottery Planters and tealights, Thoughtful Words collection of sentiment plaques and mugs on a display spinner, large home ranges such as Provence ‘Tree of Life’, and Equilibrium Jewellery. We also do well with vases, particularly our Silver Butterfly and Leaf collections.

Do you think garden centres are a good destination for gift shopping?

Garden centres are a great place to pick up larger gifts and thrive on impulse purchase shopping. A garden centre generally has a space advantage and can give a really good spread of ranges in depth and make maximum use of display aids such as spinners and stands.

Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

We work with many independent garden centres and they have and continue to be wonderful and many stock my whole range.

Do you think garden centres are a good destination for gift shopping?

The look and feel of garden centres has certainly changed over the years and they have become the shopping destination to visit throughout the year. The fact they cover the garden and the home as well as the gift market makes them an ideal outlet.

Emma Ball

Owner, Emma Ball Ltd Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

We supply a major garden centre chain in the UK, along with a few overseas - the furthest being in the Falkland Islands. We supply successfully around 150 centres in the UK with our gifts, homewares, greetings cards and stationery. A few centres include Goch Garden Centre in Wales, Par Garden Centre and Simpsons Garden Centre in Scotland.

Do you think garden centres are a good destination for gift shopping?

I think garden centres have been essential over the last year, in England they have been one of the only places I personally have been able to get gifts and greetings cards.

As usually they are bigger than your average gift shop, it’s great place to browse a vast range of gifts - I cannot walk out of a garden centre without a greetings card and a gift, along with some form of home plant.

Bridgette Sturgeon

Group head, National Key Accounts, Vital Pet Group Do you think garden centres are a good destination for gift shopping?

There’s a strong correlation between a love of gardening and pet ownership.

Garden centres are also great venues for putting people in a more recreational and relaxed mind set and browsing is a big part of that experience.

Are your ranges stocked in any garden centres?

Every garden centre is different and there is an increasing recognition of the importance of pet as a traffic driver. A dedicated pet section should stock pet foods to generate high frequency sales but all garden centres could benefit from selling pet treats and the Elkwood range is a great choice. By catering for pet owners there’s scope to uplift products across the outlet.

Gifts Today 31

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Inside & out Puckator

Call: 0800 011 6969 Email: customerservices@puckator.co.uk Visit: puckator.co.uk 32 Gifts Today

Puckator celebrated their 30th birthday in 2020, and they’ve come a long way from their humble beginnings in 1990. Initially, the business imported arts and crafts from around the world, and then 10 years ago, Puckator hired their first product designer. From that point, they began to design as much as possible and now around 80% of their product range is designed in-house. This year has also seen changes brought about by Brexit, but Puckator has focussed greatly on what the company can do to provide the best level of service to all of their customers worldwide.

As we all look forward to the future, summer is the perfect time for highlighting seasonal flowers and fresh, vibrant patterns.

From simple daisies and buttercups to the more extravagant protea, Puckator’s newest Pick of the Bunch designs burst forth with feelings of sunshine and the outdoors. This botanical pattern features a range of eco-friendly, reusable products, including Puckator’s 2021 Gift of the Year Tech and Gadgets finalist, insulated water bottle with a digital thermometer. This bottle features a touch-activated thermometer with an LED screen telling you exactly how warm or cold the contents are, which is perfect for anyone who makes a habit of burning their tongue on their coffee. It also features a detachable tea strainer, so you are never limited on choice.

Another top-selling product that is leading the way when it comes to travel and comfort is the Relaxeazzz cushion. The adorable plush exterior, easily mistaken for a child’s fluffy companion, transforms into a super comfortable cushion and accompanying eye mask once unzipped. If you’re no stranger to Puckator’s award winning Relaxeazzz range, then we have exciting news for you - they have a whole new bunch of designs coming your way soon. Including many more animals from their bestselling ‘Cutiemals’ range.

Puckator’s Cutiemals’ range has grown over the last year to accommodate its popularity with customers. Check out the new shaped bamboo kids set and innovative upside-down ceramic mugs.

Head over to the Puckator website to take a look at these lovely designs and more.

Additionally, Puckator’s popular ‘Maneki Neko’ Lucky Cat is also growing. The widely popular and traditional Japanese beckoning cats are seen as a symbol of good luck, health and prosperity throughout the world. Their latest products include; a shaped insulated flask, adorable stacking bento box and travel snack pot. These new insulated snack pots take on the go breakfast and lunch to a whole new level.

Made with a double-walled stainless-steel design, they keep your porridge hot for up to six hours and salad cold and fresh for up to eight. They also feature a fold-down carry strap in the lid, making it perfect for a picnic with the family or the daily commute.

Puckator is also pleased to announce that you will be able to see all this and more at their Virtual Showroom Event scheduled for 15 April. Members of the team will be taking viewers on a guided tour of their showroom with all of these new products and more. The tour will be followed by a live Q&A session.

Don’t worry if you can’t make the date, though; a link will be emailed to all newsletter subscribers.

Beautifully British Wide range of Gifts & Homewares featuring artwork and stories by Suffolk Artist Sarah Reilly sarah@lovecountryuk.co.uk www.lovecountrybysarahreilly.co.uk

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Tales from Mosney Mill Mosney Mill offers a beautiful range of kitchen and homewares, all featuring the drawings of Emma Sutton, inspired by the animals and scenery she can see from her own window. We caught up with Emma to discover more Emma, your company is called Mosney Mill. Is this a real place?

Yes, very real. Although it is no longer a mill, we bought the land to be a family complex about seven years ago. At the time it was a disused market garden and, while applying for planning permission to convert the 17th century barn into our home, we discovered Mosney’s rich past.

During the 1780s Mosney was the site of a famous print works, Mosney Printworks, where the first ever calico printing press capable of printing six colour simultaneously was invented. In fact, Mosney Printworks was noted on one of the first Yates’ maps of the area.

What was it about the overgrown site that made you fall in love with it?

The site was teeming with wildlife and really overgrown. On one of our first visits I was walking our Labrador Finn in the overgrown fields and came face to face with a roe deer, so close I could have touched it. I knew there and then I wanted to make this place my home.

Have you always been an artist or did living in historic Mosney ignite a new talent?

I have always been artistic but, like many people of my generation, I was encouraged to view art more as a hobby and in fact worked as a teaching assistant - albeit a very arty one. When we found out about Mosney Printworks, it ignited a passion within me to bring a new chapter into Mosney’s history; I wanted to use my illustrations of Mosney’s rich and varied wildlife on a range of British manufactured kitchen textiles and so Mosney Mill was born in 2016.

How would you describe the Mosney Mill style?

It’s quintessentially British, featuring native wildlife flora and fauna. As the products are so inspired by my home the company slogan is ‘Home at Heart’. Everyone who works at Mosney soon emotionally invests in the brand and adopts the company’s passion for producing quality products.

We decided to produce kitchen textiles first due to Mosney’s history. The technical innovations made at Mosney were crucial to the development of the cloth industry and established British pre-eminence in the printed cloth trade. It seemed right to start a new chapter concentrating on British textiles given the fact Mosney Mill is based in Lancashire, in the heart of England’s textile belt.

How did you cope during lockdown?

It was hard for everyone during lockdown but we used the time to develop new product ranges and lots of time was spent drawing the fauna and flora in our wildflower meadow. Our wildflower seed cards were particularly popular during lockdown as, when the recipient has finished displaying the card, it can be planted to grow a bunch of wildflowers - something to look forward to in the future. We also launched our Robin and Rainbow Mug with 100% of the net profits donated to the NHS Covid-19 Emergency Appeal.

Why should retailers consider stocking Mosney Mill?

We’re an exciting new business, offering high quality, coordinated British manufactured products, and with a real passion for our work. We enjoy talking to our retail customers and encourage them to purchase products that are complementary to their own ethos. We are proud to be based in rural Lancashire and we are also jolly nice people!

Call: 01772 822525 | Email: info@mosneymill.co.uk | Visit: mosneymilltrade.com 34 Gifts Today

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Indoors & out Widdop & Co.

The company’s extensive range of garden and home accessories has become a popular choice for transforming living spaces all year round. Remaining hopeful of brighter and better days this summer, many are planning to go bigger and better with their garden and home décor in preparation for the much-longed-for reuniting of family and friends.

With shabby chic trends going strong this year, Widdop & Co.’s Country Living brand continues to incorporate rustic aesthetics with modern trends to offer an idyllic, quintessential selection of affordable gifts, homeware and garden furnishings.

Split up into two rustic-themed ranges - The Collection by Country Living and By The Seaside - this selection of accessories transforms both indoor and outdoor spaces with a colourful twist; from the reflection of the picturesque, carefree seaside on home accessories to a rural yet quirky range of cosy cottage-inspired garden furnishings and decorations.

Enduring a year filled with uncertainty and lockdowns has provided us all with some unexpected time to reflect on what and who matters the most. Widdop & Co’s in-house designers have designed an unbeatable selection of items to say more than words can, and Reflections of the Heart and Love Life remain favoured ranges. Incorporating chic designs with touching expressions, Love Life provides a sweet range to be there for every occasion - from birthdays to simply a thoughtful treat.

One of Widdop & Co’s newest ranges, Moments, was created to capture and keep precious moments with loved-ones pride of place with a simple yet stylish collection of photo frames and home accessories. It’s a new addition to their largest giftware brand, Celebrations.

Celebrating the beauty of nature in the UK and abroad has been made simple with Nature Craft’s selection of high-quality, traditional animal figurines, gifts and keepsakes. This brand has proven to be a perfect choice for wildlife lovers and those looking to bring nature into the home.

Bring some entertainment to the year with Harvey Makin Bored Games.

Games can be taken outdoors with a collection of classic sports activities including badminton and frisbee to giant games such as ring toss.

With a team of multi-talented in-house designers, Widdop & Co’s ranges of gift and homeware are continually refreshed to stay on-trend.

Call: 0161 688 1226 Email: sales@widdop.co.uk Visit: widdop.co.uk 36 Gifts Today

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Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Bright & beautiful Something Different Wholesale

Pick of the Bunch It’s no surprise that shoppers are eager to spruce up their outdoor spaces in preparation for warmer weather and eased gathering restrictions. With major changes in consumer buying habits, garden centres have become a one-stop shopping destination for all things gifts, homeware and garden. Bee, daisy and gardening-themed products are now trending more than ever and Something Different Wholesale has everything needed to put a spring in someone’s step this season.

Their new In The Garden range includes practical gardening gifts for the green-fingered and tongue-in-cheek novelties for the wishful thinkers. Seed storage boxes and humorous plant markers make fun gifts for gardeners of all levels, while tool storage hooks and statement mugs let everyone know who’s boss.

More time spent outdoors also means an increased appreciation for all kinds of garden creatures. FSC-certified wooden bee, bird, butterfly and hedgehog houses will encourage tiny garden friends to make themselves at home while providing a safe shelter when the weather gets cold.

With spring in the air and brighter days ahead, Something Different Wholesale have also introduced a fantastic new collection of eco-friendly lunch accessories. Getting ready for picnic season couldn’t be easier. From their bestselling Daisy Picking range of bee-themed gifts and homeware to the brightly coloured Festival Fun collection, reusable bamboo cutlery sets and lunch boxes pair perfectly with colourful printed lunch bags made from recycled plastic bottles to create the perfect outdoor setup.

Bee-utiful Gifts In addition, bees are certainly retaining popularity with customers and the company have extended their bestselling range of bee-themed gifts to include stunning new ceramic products that are sure to put a smile on your face. From plant pots to flower jugs, garden bunting to travel mugs, their stunning bee print has been thoughtfully incorporated across a wide variety of products. The new terracotta plant pots are perfect in size for bouquets large and small, while beehive oil burners and wax warmers are both charming and practical.

If you would like to offer your customers Something Different this season, head to the company website to order your free spring catalogue today.

Call: 01792 940288 Email: customercare@somethingdifferentwholesale.co.uk Visit: somethingdifferentwholesale.co.uk 38 Gifts Today

Alice Wheeler London 2021 Discover the stunning new spring collection of beauty and fashion accessories by Alice Wheeler London, featuring a wealth of new designs and styles in a range of cool colourways and Geometrics.

Alice is available to order.

Tel; 0121 459 9777 – office@fmgsales.co.uk

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Art that tells a story If you’re looking for gifts and homeware that combine beautiful watercolour art with heartfelt words, check out Love Country

by Sarah Reilly. We catch up with artist and illustrator Sarah to discover where she finds her inspiration Sarah, what’s your career journey to setting up Love Country 10 years ago?

Where do you find inspiration for your images?

Like most people I was working full time and dreaming of other possibilities. At a crossroads in life, I took a huge risk and set up a dog sitting business from home, looking after dogs when people went on holiday. This allowed me for the first time ever to work from home. Whilst occasionally painting dogs for clients, I was commissioned to create a cushion as a special birthday gift, and started experimenting with washable fabric paints.

One Sunday, just for fun, I created a little hare in watercolour on the fabric, to see what it would look like. The paints ran and wandered through the fabric making the hare appear to be running….my style suddenly took on a vibrancy and enchanting feel I had been waiting for. I started taking my products to country shows, and then trade shows, and my business was born.

I find inspiration in nature around the Suffolk Coast and its glorious countrywide. My favourite time of day is walking the dogs in peaceful woodland that sparks the imagination and nurtures the soul.

What range of products do you offer?

As well as my prints, I offer cards, cushion covers, fine china, coasters, candles, bookmarks, keyrings, the list goes on!

40 Gifts Today

‘I find inspiration in nature around the Suffolk Coast and its glorious countrywide’

The ‘storytelling’ is as important to your products as the artwork. How did this come about?

I became known for my watercolour paintings of woodland animals. Then, in 2016, I wrote a poem for one of my paintings ‘Hugging the Moon’. This charming print became so popular that I started to write poems for other designs too. I don’t consider myself a poet but I write from the heart.

These little poem stories were so well received that I now print them on the reverse of all my greeting cards – customers love them. All my prints now come with a copy of the poem, too.

What are your most popular characters?

There are many of them to introduce you to…whether it’s cheeky Mr Prickles Hedgehog or the very relaxing Hugging the Moon, each design takes you to a place of happiness. Love Country is quickly becoming a popular choice for collectors, with a wide range of artwork and stories to discover this is an affordable and loveable collection.

How can I stock Love Country?

If you’d like to join our growing list of lovely independent retailers, just fill in a form on my website. A member of out team will be in touch to talk you through, and give you access to the online ordering site.

Call: 07735 918118 Email: support@lovecountryuk.co.uk Visit: lovecountrybysarahreilly.co.uk/trade

Introducing a brand new update to the Cath Kidston Pet Collection. With two new hand-drawn prints, designed with love to evoke the lighter days of Spring.

Contact Vital to set up an account today 01837 883 000

info@vitalpetproducts.co.uk

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Pampered pets Vital Pet Group

The rapid rise in pet ownership has been one of the few upsides to the pandemic, as people increasingly work from home.

Vital Pet Group is the largest pet product distributor in the UK and thanks to this rise, an increase in online shopping and the ability for pet retail to remain open as essential businesses, they’ve seen strong growth across the sector.

Pet retail has a track record of being recession resistant, with spending on pet increasing rapidly during previous recessions. Factor in that 88% of people admit to spending in excess of £50 on gifts for their pets and it’s clearly a big opportunity for the gifting market.

There is increasing demand for gifts that align with trends in fashion or homeware, such as feeding bowls, treat jars, pet clothing and bedding to match interiors. The Cath Kidston pet products always perform really well – especially the iconic ‘London People’ and Provence Rose prints. There is a lot of excitement about the new bee range that will launch this spring. With dog coats and jumpers, treat jars and bedding, it can be merchandised very effectively as a range.

Pet products that are packaged so they can be easily sent in the post are great for online retailers but also for sending to friends and family when visiting isn’t always possible. Vital’s bamboo bowls are a great example and eco too. Pet products that fit with interiors are a good call – pet owners often have multiple beds for their pets to fit the style of different rooms.

Those lockdown puppies are coming of age so training toys that occupy the mind are good news – the IQuties brain training range make ideal gifts. Humanisation is a strong trend in pet, so seasonal pet products always do well.

Need some guidance on what to stock?

Call: Vital’s national sales manager, Bridgette Sturgeon, on 07980 717128 Visit: vitalpets.co.uk

42 Gifts Today

Soft as velvet The Wheat Bag Company

The Wheat Bag Company is an established company manufacturing Microwavable Wheat Bags and other unique items in the UK. The Wheat Bags come in a variety of designs to suit all tastes including their own bespoke range of fabrics that include rainbows, highland cattle, donkeys, swimming penguins and bumblebees.

Each Wheat Bag is filled with cleaned English wheat and optional Lavender buds. Lavender does not only smell delightful but is well known for its natural aromatherapy qualities of helping to aid sleep and relaxation.

This year the company are launching their brand new Luxury Velvet collection. Made from a selection of indulgent velvet fabrics, these will include Wheat Bags, Hot Water Bottles, Eye Masks, PADi Pillows, Door Stops and much more.

Call: 01747 840499 Email: sales@thewheatbagcompany.co.uk Visit: thewheatbagcompany.co.uk

Know your dog Moocow Studios

This range features 50 different dog varieties, including Dick Twinney’s original 20 designs as well as 30 new breeds.

Whether it’s an old faithful, or one of the trendier breeds, there is something for all dog-lovers in the collection. The delightful canine designs are available on mugs, plaques, tea towels, mounted prints or greeting cards.

Moocow Studios offer UK manufacturing at its best, proud to design, print and manufacture an extensive range of giftware products from their East Sussex HQ. Their items are available in low quantities and by not relying on overseas imports you can have British designed and made products ready to inspire your customers in no time at all.

Call: 01424 310057 Email: sales@moocowstudios.co.uk Visit: moocowstudios.co.uk

Become a stockist!

Life Charms

If you are looking for something fresh, modern and fast selling to add to your offer for 2021, consider becoming a stockist of Life Charms jewellery this year.

Life Charms are now entering their sixth year, and garden centres have seen fantastic sales and big profit margins by stocking their gorgeous bracelets, necklaces and earrings. All their bracelets, necklaces and gift sets come with complimentary luxury gift boxes and they really do make the perfect gift for any woman, for any occasion.

Life Charms have a number of collections to choose from, including two ranges that have come runner up in Gift of The Year these past two years, along with a choice of free display options including counter top spinners or floor stands.

To find out more about how Life Charms could improve your offer and increase customer sales please get in touch by email or telephone number or even visit their trade website and register for an account to view everything including prices. Together, let’s make 2021 as great as possible.

Call: 02034882656 Email: info@lifecharms.co.uk Visit: lifecharms-trade.co.uk

Helping hands Richard Lang & Son

As a family import and wholesale business, Langs were established over 50 years ago. They specialise in finding something different your customers will love, and they have plenty for greenfingered garden fans. Highlights include their Gnome ‘welcome’ ornament, face planters and white floral wreath.

The company have launched their ‘Staycation Surprise’ that has lots of handdesigned products in it. They have also launched their Lang’s Helping Hands Platform which is full of downloadable product images, articles, shoppable brochures and so much more: langshelpinghands.com. You can also book a Zoom call or make an appointment directly on the platform.

Call: 01332 340927 Email: sales@richardlang.co.uk | Visit: richardlang.co.uk

Gifts Today 43

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Disney magic Enesco

Email: uksales@enesco.co.uk | Visit: enesco.co.uk Illuminated castles Enesco has unveiled a brand-new collection of illuminated castles by Disney from Dept56, comprising four castles taken from the scenes of some of Disney’s most iconic animated classics including Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty. They make a magical window decoration or stunning table centrepiece all year round.

The castles are carefully crafted and layered using natural elements to build a 3D effect, with LEDs lighting up the windows of the structures, sprinkling a little bit of Disney magic on each scene. Every castle is complete with a 3D cut-out of the corresponding princess, making each piece easily recognisable and the whole range massively collectable with fans of the franchises.

Curiouser and curiouser Enesco has launched new Alice in Wonderland ladies’ accessories into its ever-popular Enchanting Disney collection. With record sales for its Belle and Cinderella pieces, the new ladies’ accessories now feature Alice in Wonderland across several products including a tote bag, purse, jewellery case, glasses case and cosmetics bag. The new design has also been applied to seasonal items including a festive sack and Christmas stocking.

Each piece in the collection features Alice in her iconic blue dress and white pinafore offset against bright florals presented in shades of blues, yellows, pinks, and greens. Each 44 Gifts Today

piece carries a quote from the 1951 film such as ‘Down the rabbit hole’ and ‘Curiouser and curiouser’, making the whole range super functional but highly collectable too.

A tale as old as time A new Belle figurine from Jim Shore celebrates the 30th anniversary of Beauty and the Beast in Enesco’s ever-popular Disney Traditions by Jim Shore collection.

Designed by world-renowned artist Jim Shore to mark 30 years since the cinematic release of Beauty and the Beast, ‘A Rare Rose - Belle Deluxe Figurine’ is a striking piece that any fan of the movie franchise will want to add to their collection.

Standing at 38cm tall, Belle looks stunning in her characteristic golden ball gown, embellished with pearls and Swarovski crystals, making her outfit every bit as special as the movie’s landmark anniversary.

The piece also features Belle holding a clear resin cloche with the symbolic red rose in her hands – an icon of the movie and integral to the plot of this heroine learning to love a beast before the last petal falls.

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Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

In the bag Alice Wheeler London

Introducing the latest collection of spring/summer designs by Alice Wheeler London, a beautiful range of vegan leather beauty and fashion accessories with a fantastic array of colours perfect for every occasion.

Alice Wheeler London is a British design brand, manufactured by FMG Ltd, and created in-house at their Birmingham Studios with Alice and her design team.

You’ll be spoilt for choice with Alice Wheeler’s latest spring/summer collection. They are introducing new beauty and cosmetic accessories, available in a plethora of fabulous and joyful colours with co-coordinating geometric designs, and newly-styled beauty bags providing a wider compartment access for holding all your essential needs.

Latest vegan style leathers, faux suedes and pressed velvets gives an elegance and sophistication to this collection. This is so much more than just beauty accessories.

There’s a luxurious collection of magnolia floral designs this season in two colourways. They offer a stunning black and white magnolia wash and travel range with white vegan leather cosmetic accessories to complement the design and a further collection of beautiful pink magnolia designs, also with co-coordinating vegan leather cosmetic bags in three sizes.

Look and feel fabulous with the latest range of chic Tote bags from Alice Wheeler London. They come in a range of fabulous colours, are fully lined and have a generous zipped pocket to house valuables or even one of Alice’s range of co-coordinating purses. The Tote has a large size compartment to accommodate all your goodies; the bag is styled to wrap around your body for comfort and has a magnetic metal close for added security. They are a must-have luxury treat.

This season introduces a stylish range of fashion accessories manufactured in the latest vegan leather. Alice Wheeler has created a wonderful range of purses, pouches, and bags, available in eight amazing colours, little luxuries perfect for every occasion. There is a cute phone cross-body bag new this season with a detachable chain turning it into a perfect pouch. There’s the versatile camera cross body, an elegant envelope clutch and chic Tote shoppers or backpacks designed to keep you organised and looking fabulous. There are two practical purse designs to complete the collection, available in matching colours and boasting multi-card pockets with metal zipped compartments and Alice’s signature honeybee insignia adding a little loveliness to the range. Alice Wheeler London spring 2021 is now ready to order.

Latest vegan style leathers, faux suedes and pressed velvets gives an elegance and sophistication to this collection

Call: 0121 459 9777 | Email: office@fmgsales.co.uk

46 Gifts Today

A good egg Victoria Eggs – yes, that’s her real name - creates fun and playful homeware and gifts, all proudly made in Britain. We catch up with Victoria herself to learn more…

Victoria, for those who don't know your brand, what makes it so special?

Any ranges that have done particularly well?

We create stylish and charming homeware and gifts, designed to bring a smile to your face. The illustrations are packed full of sentiment and nostalgia and all of our products are proudly Made in Britain and socially conscious; using environmentally friendly practices, sustainable supply chains and recyclable packaging.

We recently launched the new Wildlife in Spring collection for SS21, and have been blown away by the positive reaction to this new design. The timeless floral pattern highlights a nostalgic and hopeful view of this blossoming time of year, filled with wildlife and budding blossom and aims to put a spring in your step!

Available in muted tones of vintage blue the range includes a canvas bag, apron, oven glove, tea towel, set of four coasters, two mugs, tea and biscuits, all proudly designed and made in the UK. It is already proving popular online and we have no doubt it will sell just as well in stores.

How did you come to set the company up? (and what's your background?)

I had just returned from a year of working in Sydney for fashion brand Ben Sherman and had developed a portfolio of British inspired designs. I had always wanted to run my own business and love designing. Whilst drawing a tea cup and saucer one day, I realised that something so simple could transport you to your favourite place in a flash! It was then that I decided to take the leap and create a range of British inspired and made, homeware and gifts which I soon began selling on Spitalfields Market in London.

What’s the ideal retail environment for Victoria Eggs?

Our products have the most impact in stores when displayed as a collection, showcasing a particular design or theme to create a brand story.

Is there a typical customer?

We are often surprised at how broad our customer base is. Our range of designs and products are varied; from bold London buses to delicate wildlife, and fine bone china baubles to children’s aprons. There’s something for everyone.

Has the past year with all its restrictions and lockdowns seen an increase in interest for your ranges? Why do you think this is?

We have faced many challenges since March 2020 due to Covid-19 and we have had to make some huge changes to the business. The pandemic and lockdown forced consumers to buy online and in turn we have seen an increase in online sales with far more orders than ever before being sent directly to friends and family, with heartwarming gift notes attached to them.

Any special offers/services for new clients?

We appreciate it has been a really difficult year and we want to support retailers as best we can. We are continuing to offer no minimum on repeat orders and free UK shipping on orders over £100 until 31st May. We would also like to offer any Gifts Today readers 5% off by using code ‘giftstoday’ at the checkout on our trade site or when ordering directly with us. https://trade. victoriaeggs.com

What ranges are proving popular in garden centres?

Our new Wildlife in Spring collection is bursting with life, filled with birdsong and sweetly scented flowers. The collection invites a country garden into your home and we’re delighted that it’s fresh yet vintage style is proving popular with garden centres this Spring.

Call: 020 8013 3284 | Email: info@victoriaeggs.com Visit: trade.victoriaeggs.com Gifts Today 47

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Put a spring in your step!

Summer evenings

Victoria Eggs

As we prepare for a colourful summer to lift our spirits, this barrel-shaped ceramic stool (or small table) featuring water lilies and koi carp will transport you away to an afternoon daydreaming by a pond.

Likewise, the popular deep red lamp with hand-painted golden jasmine flowers emanates the warm ambience of summer evenings to come. Contact Mandarin Arts to request a catalogue and price list.

The new Wildlife in Spring collection by Victoria Eggs, is filled with the promise of new beginnings and is bursting with life. Using muted tones of vintage blue, this timeless floral design was inspired by Victoria’s childhood memories of exploring hedgerows around the UK on family holidays and invites spring into your home.

All proudly made in Britain, the delicately illustrated collection includes a canvas bag, apron, oven glove, tea towel, set of four coasters, two mugs, tea and biscuits.

Call: 01873 812255 Email: info@mandarinarts.co.uk Visit: mandarinarts.co.uk

Call: 020 8013 3284 Email: info@victoriaeggs.com Visit: victoriaeggs.com

Mandarin Arts

Beautiful baubles Treasure Tree Ltd Known for their exquisite hand-blown, handpainted baubles, Treasure Tree have their own production site in Egypt. Customers love the fact their decorations have been handmade with great skill.

Email: info@treasuretreeltd.com Call: Jane Labib on 01837 657686

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Hop into Spring with Rainbow Designs!

CELEBRATING

1971 - 2021

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Village Pottery Joe Davies

These wonderful, quirky ceramic houses from Joe Davies are a popular and favourite range with their customers. Each one is glazed in beautiful colours with a hand painted style finish. The Village Pottery range includes tealights, money boxes and planters, new exciting styles have just been added, including lanterns with wooden handles, country heart houses, town houses and simplistic Scandi style houses.

All fit perfectly with current home décor colour trends and make the perfect gift for any occasion.

The entire collection of Joe Davies gifts can be seen at their showrooms or on their easy to use website. Everything is available to order in their signature ‘Little & Often’ quantities and the minimum order value is just £100 for free nationwide delivery.

Tel: 0161 975 6300 Email: sales@joedavies.co.uk Directions: Stockport, SK5 7GA Visit: joedavies.co.uk

Love nature, love flower Alexander Thurlow

As we move on into spring, Alexander Thurlow continue to bloom with their bestselling ‘Love Nature, Love Flower’ range. With a surge in demand seen across Christmas and Mother’s Day, these gorgeous gift items are proving a popular, long lasting alternative to a bunch of flowers.

Items such as the forget-me-not and the new feather range hold particular meaning and significance following the year of loss and distanced relationships that the past year has sent our way. These pieces offer a heartfelt way to connect and sympathise with loved ones no matter the distance. Additionally, their elegant Iris range remains a front-runner and a wellloved flower product.

Alexander Thurlow’s entire range offers the opportunity to stock your shelves with colour and vivacity as we move into brighter days.

Visit: alexanderthurlow.com

Teepee time Rex London

Whether they’re quietly reading inside or dreaming up wonderful make-believe adventures, playtime (or downtime) can always be magical in this bright and cheery Rex London Wild Wonders teepee tent - great for garden parties, picnics and bedrooms.

Matching Wild Wonders children’s accessories are also available.

Call: 020 8746 1700 Email: info@rexlondon.com Visit: rexlondontrade.com 36 Gifts Today

Love for nature Mosney Mill

Hare & Wildflower Emma’s newest design features a majestic hare nestled in an abundant wildflower meadow bring a feeling of hope for the spring and summer that lie ahead. The 100% cotton textiles place Emma’s illustrations on a soft blue background, whilst the coordinating ceramics showcase the design on a white backdrop.

Wildflower Seed Cards Inspired by Emma’s own wildflower meadow, these cards provide more than a traditional greeting, as a Mosney Mill wildflower seed card is a living gift for 2021 encompassing hope for the future.

Shortlisted for Gift of the Year 2021 Emma’s range of five Wildflower Seed Cards are printed on eco-friendly wildflower seed paper. These are no ordinary cards as when planted they produce a bunch of wildflowers as they are printed on 100% biodegradable card impregnated with nonGMO wildflower seeds. Each card is supplied with a 100% recyclable brown Kraft envelope and protected by 100% compostable clear packaging.

Spring style Classic Canes

Celebrate spring with new, nature-inspired folding canes from Classic Canes: ladybirds, bees and British songbirds.

The new patterns are full of joie-de-vivre and will make excellent presents for birthdays. They are practical as well as pretty and are easily adjusted in height to suit the user.

Unique to Classic Canes, they are based on artwork by managing director Charlotte Gillan, who says: ‘Walking sticks with light-hearted patterns are popular because they make a mobility aid into a fashion accessory and talking point. If you have to use a walking stick, one that makes people smile and garners compliments can have a very beneficial effect on the user’s sense of well-being.’

Call: 01460 75868

Call: 01772 822525 | Email: info@mosneymill.co.uk Visit: mosneymilltrade.com

Fine china Love Country

Call: 01502 733035 | 07735 918118 Visit: lovecountrybysarahreilly.co.uk Facebook: facebook.com/lovecountryuk For the perfect cup of tea. Love Country have just launched their Fine Bone China collection, featuring beautiful watercolour wildlife and lines of poetry. Handfinished in the heart of the Stoke on Trent potteries, each Story Mug comes with a copy of the story written by the artist to match the design. The collection includes Jugs, Heart Dishes, Trinket Boxes and Tea bag tidies - perfect to brighten up any home.

Visit: classiccanes.co.uk

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Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

Hop into spring Rainbow Designs Call: 01329 227300 | Visit: rainbowdesigns.co.uk The Home of Classic Characters, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has an enviable product collection that is steeped with nostalgic garden centre favourites including Paddington Bear, Peter Rabbit, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Guess How Much I Love You and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The Joyful and inspiring collection of gifts for babies and young children, coupled with much-loved evergreen characters, are firm favourites and natural best sellers in the garden centre marketplace.

As we hop into spring, Rainbow’s portfolio has a fluffle of bunnies to choose from including their four distinctly different, bestselling Peter Rabbit collections. The exquisitely designed Peter Rabbit Signature Collection includes a beautiful range of nostalgic and contemporary soft toys, wooden ring rattles and comfort blankets featuring the muchloved Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny.

These gifts make wonderful keepsakes and parents and grandparents love sharing happy memories of their own childhood with their children, creating heirlooms for generations to come. The award-winning Disney’s Winnie the Pooh Hundred Acre Wood collection is very much at home on garden centre shelves. Featuring Winnie the Pooh and his friends Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet in a variety of soft toys and nursery essential formats, this beautiful highly-sought after collection brings nature to the younger generation of visitors.

The colourful Very Hungry Caterpillar collection is bursting with fun and inspiring toys perfect for inspiring inquisitive little ones to learn about nature. From the Tiny and Very Hungry Caterpillar range, designed specifically for newborn and infant months, to beautiful wooden and plush activity toys for preschoolers there is plenty to capture the imagination.

Rainbow’s Classic Paddington Bear range is inspired by the iconic Peggy Fortnum illustrations and adored by generations both young and old. Each Paddington Bear sports his distinctive super soft lined duffle coat, battered red felt bush hat and a suedette ‘Please look after this bear.

Thank you’ tag.

52 Gifts Today

Into the garden Emma Ball New for this year, Eric Heyman has created an on-trend ‘buzzy bee’ collection, featuring illustrations of different species of bees, designed on a minimal cream background bringing this lovely design to life. Emma Ball has had unimaginable pre-orders for this collection, with many garden centres re-ordering quickly after stocking. Products in this range include trays, a tea towel and other kitchen textiles, and a range of stationery, with most of this range Made in Britain.

Another popular range amongst garden centres is Caroline Cleave’s Florals.

Following her Agapanthus collection, the team at Emma Ball have now extended onto her popular designs of Nasturtiums and Sunflowers. Products in this range feature a range of tinwares, kitchenwares, velvet cushions, stationery, boxed bone china mugs, and a range of thirty greetings cards.

They can also offer countertop display units, to showcase any products from any of their collections, which are great for showcasing coasters, card packs, stationery or their ever-growing tin collection. Spinners are also available with their standard greetings cards. Please get in touch with Lucy if you would like any more information.

Call: 0115 9858081 | Email: sales@emmaball.co.uk Visit: emmaball.co.uk

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Love Country is looking for Gift Agents to join our exciting growing brand We would like to hear from agents who: ■

Are professional and performance driven

■

Are well connected with retail buyers and decision makers to sell our Homewares and Gift Products

We offer a wide range of high quality British Made products in our own highly collectable watercolour designs.

We have just launched a Fine Fragrance Collection which is Vegan Friendly and also our new Fine China Collection.

New products and designs are regularly developed.

A list of current customers, full sales support, catalogue and samples etc will be provided.

Due to licensing our greeting card range to TRACKS Publishing we need product agents only.

This will still include our popular Wooden Card range and Boxed Notecards.

If you are interested in joining us at this exciting time of expansion please send your information to sarah@lovecountryuk.co.uk.

Postcode areas required: WF,HD, BB,PR,WN,BL,M,WA,SK, SN,BS,BA,TA,DT,EX,TQ,PL,BH,SP,SN, OX, LONDON, DA,ME,CT,TN www.lovecountrybysarahreilly.co.uk

Please contact us for a trade catalogue: Tel 01460 75686 www.classiccanes.co.uk

Product Focus Gifts for Garden Centres

On impulse Casa Grande Casa Grande have a huge range of over 4000 items from their suppliers including licensed tin signs, mugs, clocks, plant pots, vases, home interior products, garden items, cushions and furniture. Most of the items they sell are exclusively designed by talented artists and acquired by global purchasing teams.

The impulse gifts that they manufacture in the UK include keyrings, fridge magnets, coasters and many others, which are all personalised. Their customers include the Blue Diamond group, Westminster Abbey and the Royal Botanic Gardens, and their bestselling ranges are licensed tin signs, thermometers, plant pots, garden articles, home interior products and personalised products.

Call: 01752 816181 Email: info@casagrande.co.uk Visit: casagrande.co.uk

Paper puzzles Art & Fable Puzzle Company Premium quality jigsaws featuring beautiful illustrations and stories of forgotten fables. Choose from puzzles that are beautiful, deeply meaningful and just plain fun, all with a distinctive velvet-touch surface. All this while simultaneously contributing to charity. There are three key features that set an Art & Fable puzzle apart: ■ High quality print A beautiful print comes with every puzzle, both for reference and worthy of framing once the puzzle is complete.

■ Box top stand Uniquely designed to eliminate topsy-turvy accidents so you can puzzle in peace.

■ Resealable bag

Call: 0773 358707 Email: sales@artandfablepuzzlecompany.co.uk

54 Gifts Today

Paperworld

Product Focus

Giftable Stationery

Sarah Laker inside Stationery Supplies Premto display Stationery Supplies

Stylish stationery As well as serving a practical purpose, giftable stationery lifts spirits and occupies the mind, too. We take a closer look…

W

hether it’s helping you get organised, giving you a little lift, or helping with mindfulness, giftable stationery is a great way to beat those workingfrom-home blues. Despite the leap into digital tools, stationery has proved popular in lockdown, injecting a little fun and style into those long, grey days. And, it’s not just about completing paperwork or making plans - giftable stationery has shown growth in areas like crafting, journaling and calligraphy.

‘With a growing number of people working or studying from home, we‘ve seen an increasing amount of consumers becoming more conscious of participating in pastimes that can promote well-being,’ says Lawrence Savage, UK marketing manager, ExaClair Limited. ‘This has driven sales in our Rhodia and Clairefontaine journaling notebooks, which allow you to stay organised, whilst also giving you the space to express yourself creatively.

‘A recent survey by Buzz Lives also indicates that since lockdown, parents

are more likely to be involved in crafting activities alongside their children. With this in mind, we’ve seen an uptake in demand for handicraft products, such as origami, that can keep the whole family engaged together. The pandemic has also generated an increased desire to communicate with friends and loved ones using a more personal touch, so there has been more demand for card making activities. To help satisfy this growth, we’ve expanded our selection of origami pack themes to now include insects, forest animals and marine wildlife, as well as introduced a range of multi-paper pads and pop-up card kits, which give hobbyists the opportunity to experiment and produce unique gift cards.’

Sarah Laker, owner of family-run indie Stationery Supplies, shortlisted twice for the Indie Retail Best Small Shop competition (2019 and 2020), reports on what has sold well in the giftable stationery category throughout the past year. ‘During the pandemic, many people have

reassessed their work/life balance and so both organiser type planners or a good old To Do lists are selling well. And obviously you need a new pen in several different colours to facilitate the planning!

‘Children’s stationery has been strong all through the last 12 months as parents are looking for stationery that will encourage the children with their school work or to entertain them during lockdowns. During Lockdown 1, Maped window markers and pavement chalks went crazy as children decorated windows, pavements and walls with rainbows.

‘The shift to working from home has meant that items to help organise the home office are in demand. For example the Premto pastel range from Premier Stationery is selling very well as customers are looking for both pretty and functional products.

‘Journaling remains strong as people want to remember the pandemic and their feelings, so they are writing down memories and adding photos of what they did.

‘Alongside this is the increasing thirst for eco products. Customers are looking for sustainability so there is a growing market for notebooks such as the Make a Note range by Vent for Change which have reclaimed leather covers or Dingbats which are fully recyclable and vegan.’

Lawrence Savage agrees. ‘Consumer preferences for innovative products that form part of a circular economy are set to continue growing as people are becoming increasingly aware of future ecological impacts. Thus, items with an eco-friendly twist, such as our Clairefontaine vegan friendly cork pencil cases and notebooks made using recycled jeans fibres and cocoa shells are expected to be in demand.’

For future trends in stationery, check out the Consumer Goods Digital Day on April 20 organised by Messe Frankfurt, including a keynote speech by management consultant Sanjay Sauldie, entitled ‘Digitalization and the stationary trade – friend or foe?’ You can sign up here: consumergoodsdigitalday. messefrankfurt.com.

Gifts Today 55

Product Focus Giftable Stationery

Inspiring stationery collections ExaClair

ExaClair, the UK supplier of Clairefontaine, has released a stunning new range of premium stationery with the Quintessence and Indigo collections.

Following on from the popular La Vie en Vosges range that was launched last year, the Parisian pattern designer and illustrator at Edith and Co Design, Edith Duprez-Chenu, has now created the Quintessence collection. Inspired by nature, the range incorporates a variety of floral and abstract patterns that are simultaneously timeless and contemporary, capturing her passion for unpredictable colours.

In addition, the Clairefontaine Indigo collection features an intense pattern with a modern style that has been created through a mix of deep blue brushstrokes with golden highlights. Both collections include a variety of stationery items, such as pen pots and cases, magazine files, desk blotters, letter racks and folders, as well as an extensive choice of hard and soft cover notebooks. Available in various sizes and formats including stapled, wirebound, clothbound and sewn spine, these feature the PEFC certified, 90gsm brushed vellum Clairefontaine paper that’s loved by pen fans globally.

Lawrence Savage, Marketing Manager at ExaClair, says the collections add a modern vibrancy to the Clairefontaine range: ‘These collections offer an elegant mix of designs for any modern home environment.

Utilising a combination of delicate watercolour techniques, the serene floral patterns in the Quintessence collection are set to inspire creativity and clarity of thought. Alternatively, the Indigo design evokes a powerful reaction, full of energy and vitality.’

Call: 01553 696600 Email: sales@exaclair.co.uk Visit: exaclairlimited.com

56 Gifts Today

Product Focus Giftable Stationery

A touch of luxury Museums & Galleries

New for Spring from Museums & Galleries Ltd are a quartet of beautiful Luxury Notebooks, part of their product launches from two major British design talents this year: Sarah Campbell and Catherine Rowe.

Museums & Galleries’ premier format notebooks are A5 in size, with 160 lined pages, soft-touch cover, foiled or colour paper edging, coloured endpapers, and lay-flat binding. The journals have branded bellybands. Suggested retail price is £9.99 per notebook.

Leading designer Sarah Campbell has an amazing portfolio of bright, fresh and beautiful prints dating back 50 years, and is still very much working today (she’s just held a ‘shop-in-shop’ at Anthropologie London). What sets Sarah apart from others is the colour, joy, and commercial appeal in her work. It channels the positivity that will appeal to consumers as they exit the long winter months of lockdown.

Cote D’Azur is Sarah’s most recognisable design. It features strongly in the Museums & Galleries collection - on greeting cards, gift wrap, tissue paper, as well as on one of the new luxury notebooks. It is an amazing pattern, both uncompromising and versatile, and in its life has been used on wallpaper, textiles, luggage and even a deckchair. A pattern with a past and a future. The second notebook features a sophisticated and lively seaside pattern, Sandpipers – a joy for bird and beach lovers.

Youthful designer Catherine Rowe’s career exploded when she won the Liberty Open Call competition in 2018 (her winning design is still on sale there). Always a retailer favourite in Museums & Galleries’ card ranges, this year sees two new Luxury Notebooks from Catherine. She has a very distinctive scraperboard technique, with bold patterning of florals against wildlife motifs.

Drawing on fantasy, heraldic, and traditional styles, her beautiful sense of colour and composition is both contemporary and desirable. Her Lobster notebook is a distinct splash of colour and fun, whilst Bees is beautifully inspirational.

Call: 01373 462165 | Email: sales@mgml.co.uk Visit: museumsgalleries.co.uk

58 Gifts Today

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Product Focus Giftable Stationery

Plan ahead Love Country Love Country have just launched their beautiful new stationery range, including Weekly Planners and Desk Jotter Pads. Featuring their popular watercolour artwork and lines of poetry they are beautifully illustrated to keep you feeling both organised and inspired.

On trend

Call: 01502 733035 | 07735 918118 Visit: lovecountrybysarahreilly.co.uk

Back in November, Phil Pond from Scarlet Opus shared three key stationery trends for the year ahead at The London Stationery Show webinar Soul Searching Look for a colour palette of golds, browns and greens, like a lazy morning glow. Motifs include animals like monkeys and elephants and southeast Asian influences. Papaya will be prominent not only for the colour but also the pattern.

Earth Age Expect a colour palette of browns, terracotta, indigo blue, anthracite, brass, stone and clay. There are motifs like spirited patterns (evil eye, hands) stars and the moon. Focus on offering products that help people with their daily rituals.

Biotopia A colour palette of blues, purples, greens and metallics. There’s a sense of luminescence and iridescence with this look. Look for a balance between the natural and the artificial.

60 Gifts Today

How novel!

Rex London Arguably the most popular stationery category at Rex London is their range of novelty erasers that are almost too cute to use! From tasty treats to dinosaur and space mission figures, there’s something for every school bag or desk.

Call: 020 8746 1700 Email: info@rexlondon.com Visit: rexlondontrade.com

CutiemalsPuckator

British design Emma Ball Ltd

Emma Ball have hundreds of lines in their giftable stationery collection. With their craft collection forever growing, they have launched both Washi Tape and Stickers for craft lovers - both products come with packaging suitable to be gifted to somebody special and come in an extensive range of designs.

Other lines that have proved popular amongst the company’s giftable stationery collection include their magnetic notepads, and wipeboards (RRP £3.99 and £7.99), both made in the UK, and are the perfect little gift for a thank you - useful too.

Running over 15 years strong, Emma Ball stock a vast collection of both Padblocks and Slant Pads in all of their artists’ designs. They have added lots of new designs for 2021, including penguins, buzzy-bees, and sunflowers amongst 10 other designs - all also made in the UK. Please get in touch with Lucy if you would like any more information:

Email: sales@emmaball.co.uk Call: 0115 9858081 Visit: emmaball.co.uk

Now that the UK is finally starting to resemble some form of normality it’s time to embrace all the exciting occasions we’re used to, and send the little ones back to school. It gives children the chance, once again, to pick out their new rucksacks, pencil cases and pens ready to show off in the classroom.

Puckator has everything you need to get your store ready for the rush.

Their best-selling Cutiemals range features on a wide range of giftable stationery. On their website you’ll find fluffy notepads with matching plush rucksacks, plus adorable expanding silicone pencil cases with complementary pencils and erasers. And coming soon, there’s a new stationery set featuring a notepad, pencil case, sharpener, pencils, eraser and ruler all in one.

As the Cutiemals design covers a wide assortment of animals, children also have the option to mix and match. Try mixing a fluffy clown fish notepad, neoprene octopus rucksack, silicone penguin pencil case and matching pencils to tie it all together. The little tykes can pack themselves off to school with all their favourite animals.

Call: 0800 011 6969 Email: customerservices@puckator.co.uk Visit: puckator.co.uk

Gifts Today 39

New products Forest creatures Mr&Mrs Fragrance

Check out the latest car fragrance range from Mr&Mrs Fragrance – Forest. Forest’s origins are thanks to the partnership with the designer Marcantonio. His unique collections of interior design and home products evolved into this special collection woodland creatures. Each product can be used in the car or home and is ideal to fragrance that small space and add some personality. This range is becoming a great hit with the caravan and campervan world, as it allows flame and liquid-free safe fragrancing and this will undoubtedly be one of the biggest staycation successes this year.

Call: 01270 335034 Email: sales@mrandmrsfragrance.co.uk Visit: mrandmrsfragrance.co.uk

Christmas Winter Wonderland

All female Subbuteo University Games

2021 will see an iconic UK-first as University Games launches the eagerly-waited Subbuteo official England Lionesses Main Game Set; the first ever all-female Subbuteo Main Game Set to the mass market.

Available this May, the detailed Lionesses Subbuteo players will sport the iconic England kit and feature players of differing ethnicity. The Main Game will contain the 11-player Lionesses Team, an 11-player Red and White Team, along with the Subbuteo pitch, ball and goal sets.

The England Lionesses have been a true inspiration to young players over the past few years and their success at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup has helped a growth in participation across all levels.

Visit: university-games.co.uk

Christmas Winter Wonderland Lesser & Pavey

Available in silver and gold finishes, every detail of a festive forest is captured by the company’s in-house creative team. This range includes 3D tea light holders and wax melt/oil warmers, as well as mirrored coasters, placemats, and candle plates all featuring glitter. Wine glasses, gin glasses and stemless wine glasses complement the range for Christmas celebrations.

Story Time with Animal Friends Lesser & Pavey are delighted to launch a range of Kids Stools designed for younger members of the family, available in 22 wonderful animal designs including a dinosaur, butterfly and bumblebee, with three stools featuring fur and velvet designs.

Whether it’s watching a movie or favourite TV show, reading a book or learning numbers, a youngster will find sitting on a friendly stool will make the whole experience so much fun.

Call: 01322 279225 | Email: sales@leonardo.co.uk Visit: leonardo.co.uk 62 Gifts Today

Lesser & Pavey - Story Time with Animal Friends

Equilibrium boho chic Joe Davies

Stunning on-trend designs that are sure to inspire individuality and bridge any age gap, no matter how old you are. An eclectic mix of designs, including vintage style beaded butterflies and pretty crystal dreamcatchers; just some of the exciting pieces on offer.

See the Equilibrium collection in its entirety at the Joe Davies showrooms - visitors can be assured that everything is in place to allow customers to browse whilst socially distancing. A warm welcome is guaranteed.

Tree of Life Joe Davies

Family and sentiment are at the heart of this new exciting range from Joe Davies.

Family and friends have become even more special and important during the last difficult year so, with this in mind, Joe Davies have developed a wooden range of gifts featuring a tree design and special messages for family and friends. A neutral palette of grey and white has been chosen for this range to match popular home decor colours.

Products include photo frames, standing heart table plaque, coaster set, tealight holders and a lovely addition of a laser cut shaped tree.

Call: 0161 975 6300 | Email: sales@joedavies.co.uk Visit: joedavies.co.uk

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Original hand-painted glass collection Beautifully gift boxed Embellished with Swarovski crystal 4053099 Dragonfly Wine Glass

Stunning botanical designs

www.enesco.co.uk ENESCO LIMITED, Brunthill Road, Kingstown, Carlisle, Cumbria, England, CA3 0EN. UK Customer Services Telephone: 01228 404022 Email: uksales@enesco.co.uk Overseas Customer Services Telephone: +44 (0) 1228 404066 Email: eurosales@enesco.co.uk © 2021 Designs by Lolita.

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