Focus On
Natural Partners art
Perfect partners Managing director Joe Cole introduces us to Natural Partners Art, and explains how the publisher works with artists to produce greeting cards
W
hen in 2010, after more than 25 years working in UK wildlife conservation, I found myself wanting to try something new, my wife Karen and I hit on the idea of publishing art greeting cards. I’d grown up in a family full of artists, so we had easy access to a pool of images and lots of contacts to get more. It seemed like a good idea and it certainly pleased my mum to see the rebel who’d gone off to do scientific stuff being sucked back into the art world! From the start, we were determined to produce highquality cards that were true reproductions of original artworks and we have stuck to that principle throughout. With just one or two exceptions, we do not ask our artists to design cards for us, rather we take their original work and reproduce it in card format, stressing that we do not go ahead unless they are completely happy with the finished results. With my backgound, I’m well aware of just how difficult it can be for artists to get their work seen and to make a living. We pay our artists fair royalties for every card that we sell (although we make it clear that paying for the yacht in the Bahamas may be some way off!), but just as importantly, every sale is bringing more exposure for their work. The cards all have information about the artist on the back and quite a lot of them have sold original works, or been asked to exhibit in galleries or undertake commissions as a direct result of someone seeing their cards. We work with around 50 talented artists and photographers. We started with a few family members and former students of my late father (an artist and respected art college lecturer) who had gone on to have careers as artists and then, as our profile grew, we expanded our portfolio through word of mouth, approaches to artists whose work we admired, and artists who submitted work for consideration. Space won’t allow us to talk about all our wonderful artists, but a few examples are: Lesley Anne Ivory: Lesley’s wonderfully observed and detailed paintings of cats have, over the years, graced an amazing array of stationery and giftware, and her originals are regularly sold through galleries in London and New York. We were honoured six years ago to be asked by her agent to take on the licence to publish greeting cards and prints of her work. Peter M Hicks: Based in his studio in the heart of his beloved North York Moors, Peter produces fabulous, atmospheric and much sought-after landscape paintings that have a huge following throughout the UK and abroad. We are delighted to have been reproducing his work as cards for more than 10 years now.
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“We do not ask our artists to design cards for us, rather we take their original work and reproduce it in card format’’ Kate Green: We began publishing a range of greeting cards featuring Kate’s beautiful paintings, largely inspired by the wildlife around her Norfolk home, just as the pandemic was starting to take hold. Despite the challenging times, the cards became an instant hit with retailers and we have already expanded the range twice, so that it now runs to more than 60 designs. Nikki Monaghan: Nikki has worked with us for more than six years and has consistently been one of our bestsellers. Her range of colourful and vibrant cards inspired by the UK landscape now extends to more than 80 designs. There were times during the pandemic when sales to the trade were, understandably, thin on the ground. Thankfully though, virtually all our trade customers seem to have pulled through and, thanks to the difficult times seeming to help the public rediscover the value of sending hand-written greeting cards, sales are now well up on 2019 levels. A lot of the retailers that we supply tell us how much they value being able to select a wide variety of subjects and styles of art cards from one source. We understand the need to maintain customer interest by interspersing old favourites with new lines, so we are constantly looking to add new ranges to our portfolio, as well as expanding existing ranges with new designs. All being well, we’ll be exhibiting at Home & Gift in Harrogate (Stand DP4-3) in July and Autumn Fair at the NEC (Stand 6A24) in September. We’ll be offering our usual show discount. Please email for a a copy of our new catalogue.
Natural Partners Art Tel: 07714 768956 Email: joe@naturalpartnersart.co.uk Web: www.naturalpartnersart.co.uk
