Spotlight

Love at its heart

Heartandsoulart offers new designs alongside already popular general and occasions cards, with love always an integral focus. The designs are either hand-drawn, hand-painted, monoprint, linocut print or etching print. Coming soon are floral and tree designs.

Heartandsoulart designs have been stocked in the likes of Liberty, Fortnum & Mason and Fenwick in Bond Street, while one-off hand-made pieces are sold through a Cambridge gallery/design shop. Heartandsoulart is looking to also export and further expand. Tel: 07812746596 Web: www.heartandsoulart.co.uk

spotlight

A selection of the latest greetings and gifts ready to adorn your shelves

Easy crafting for all ages

Décopatch is the easy craft to learn and enjoy for children and adults alike.

Suitable for ages three and over, a Décopatch Mini Kit contains everything needed to unleash your creativity: a papier mâché shape to decorate, two colourful paper sheets, a pot of glue and a brush. Simply tear or cut the paper into small pieces, glue the paper on the shape and hey presto - your very own masterpiece!

Choose from a comprehensive selection of different mini kit animals, including a unicorn, dinosaur, butterfly, elephant or dachshund, and seasonal favourites such as a bat and reindeer.

The Mini Kit was Highly Commended within the Best for Children’s Crafts category at the recent Best of Craft Awards 2021.

However, there is more to Décopatch than just these cute kits, as you can let your imagination run free with more than 200 standard and textured paper designs and numerous creatures, shapes and letters available in various sizes, including some up to 6ft tall!

With Easter fast approaching, there are several themed papier mâché products available within the range, including the new waterproof broken eggs and carrot shaped trinket boxes, as well as chickens, rabbits and lambs.

Did you know you can also Décopatch with lots of other materials, including metal, wood and plastic…making it a brilliant way to give new life to faded objects!

ExaClair Limited Tel: 01553 696600 Email: sales@exaclair.co.uk Web: www.exaclairlimited.com

Paeonia is a new collection from Clare Maddicott Publications and Abacus Cards that combines the trademark characteristics of the talented artist and textile designer Chris Chun. Known for his work in contemporary chinoiserie, his style has a distinct twist on traditional Chinese art. Paeonia is a contemporary collection with a distinctive oriental feel. It features exotic images inspired by surface pattern and nature, and dazzles through the use of vibrant colours and opulent finishes. Formatted to a standard 5 x 7, each card is finished with textured foil, making these designs simply beautiful. The designs are accompanied by metallic gold envelopes.

To see these new designs, contact your local sales representative, call the sales team or visit stand M10/N11, Hall 3A at Spring Fair. Tel: 01638 569050 Web: www.maddicott.com

Positive spin

‘She’ is a strong, graphic range of greetings cards hot off the press from Cinnamon Aitch. Bold illustrations pop with colour across the 10-strong range featuring bespectacled women embellished with words of positivity.

Square in format, the range is printed on 350g FSC board and can be supplied wrapped in a recyclable cello, naked or clasped. ‘She’ effortlessly translates into gorgeous soaps and lip balms, which extend the story into carefully considered gift products that resonate with today’s consumer.s

With no palm oil, plastics, or harsh chemicals,the hand-made soap bars make for a fantastic gift for the most eco-savvy of customers. Cinnamon Aitch cards and gift products are all made entirely in the UK with care for the environment and quality that has become synonymous with the company. Tel: 0121 773 6833 Web: www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk

Making a splash

Eye-catching watercolours capture the enduring charm of British birds in Dyson Design’s new range, the Splash Bird Collection.

Artist Laura Andrew begins each image with a random splash of paint that she carefully turns into energetic portraits of familiar garden birds including the blue tit, robin, wren, bullfinch and swallow.

Helen Dyson, founder and director of Dyson Design, said: “It’s been a pleasure to work with Laura to bring her beautiful watercolours to a wider audience.”

The range is printed on textured art card manufactured in the UK. As with all Dyson’s collections, Splash Birds is printed in the UK. Tel: 0116 285 5725 Email: helen@dysondesign.com Web: www.dysondesign.com

Glitz and florals

Wildflower is an illustrated greetings card range from Dandelion Stationery consisting of 18 designs suitable for female birthdays and female relations as well as major occasions. Inspired by UK wildflowers, contemporary, hand-drawn florals are teamed with deep toned bases. The cards are printed on luxury, FSC certified board, and come supplied with white envelopes made from recycled paper.

Also new is a mini card range called Mini Glitz, consisting of 18 shimmery designs featuring a metallic foil finish, which gleams beautifully. Cards in this range have been designed to bring happiness and positivity and are suitable for birthdays, affirmations and messages of motivation. The A7 cards come supplied with recycled kraft envelopes in packs of six cards. Tel: 01332 504940 Email: info@dandelionstationery.co.uk Web: www.dandelionstationery.co.uk

Flower power

A number of flower images have been added to Tilia Publishing UK’s card ranges after six years. Since one of the team is a botanist, this has been a long wait for them to dip their toes into this competitive space. But flowers have such a richness in colour and meaning and can say so much without words that Tilia has decided to bring its own take on them into the marketplace. Most are bright colours, but there is a special secret one - a rare photo of the near-toextinct British Ghost Orchid - something of a holy grail for orchid hunters.

The range launches at the beginning of February and will be ever-expanding, with requests for other plants always appreciated. Tel: 01273 844436 Web: www.tiliapublishinguk.co.uk

spotlight

Northern exposure

Natural Partners has added a range of greeting cards by North Yorkshire artist Sue Ford to its large and varied portfolio. Sue is an experienced artist and well-established art tutor who has experimented with just about every possible medium during her career and is equally at home with watercolour, pastel or mixed media. There are initially 12 designs in the range, inspired by Sue’s Yorkshire surroundings and her travels. The cards are printed on 300gsm FSC certified board and supplied with a white envelope, with the option of no cellophane wrapping if required. The range is available on the company’s website and will be on display on its stands at Home & Gift and Autumn Fair later in the year. Tel: 07714 768956 Email: joe@naturalpartnersart.co.uk Web: www.naturalpartnersart.co.uk

The Eco-Friendly Card Co has a new collection from mixed media floral artist Jane Morgan. Jane’s work is currently available as fine art prints in John Lewis but this is the first time her designs have been printed on cards.

Jane says: “I lose myself when painting, completely absorbed in my happy bubble, enjoying the colours and shapes forming on my canvas. It’s that uplifting feeling I want to capture and share. I use acrylic paint, inks and glitter for a touch of magic and take my inspiration from the wild hedgerows and cottage gardens in the beautiful Somerset countryside around my home. I turned a lifelong love of painting into my dream job in 2013 and now have a studio in Ilminster, selling to galleries across the UK and beyond.’’

The cards collection consists of 12 blank designs as well as special occasions - all printed on 100% recycled board, available wrapped in compostable bags or with a card-clasp. Tel: 01626 369269 Web: www.ecofriendly.cards

Just say it!

Sentiment gifts continue to be popular for 2022 as gift givers want to give a meaningful gift to show loved ones how much they care, and celebrate important milestones such as birthdays.

The Just Saying range of wine and gin glasses from Joe Davies are brightly coloured with heartfelt messages, and now brightly-coloured special age wine glasses have been added to the collection.

The modern font and bright vivid pinks, purples, blues and greens make this a fun and modern present to celebrate a birthday. Choose from 18th, 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th and happy birthday.

This new gift collection is just one of the many gift ranges that will be on display on the Joe Davies stand at Spring Fair, where everything will be available to buy in small quantities with minimum carriage paid orders of just £100. The friendly, award-winning staff look forward to showing you around. Tel: 0161 975 6300 Email: sales@joedavies.co.uk Web: www.joedavies.co.uk

Lunar licence

Carousel Calendars has announced a new licensing partnership with the Sunday Times Bestseller Lunar Living, written by Kirsty Gallagher, about the powerful effects of the moon on our wellbeing and how we can use its cycles to make positive changes in our lives. Having already helped countless people realign their lives, understand rest and self-care and find the natural flow of taking care of themselves and their needs, this partnership brings all this to a comprehensive calendar format.

The square wall calendar will be packed with in-depth knowledge and expertise from the book, combining with our useful calendar format that will help track the cycles of the moon and apply the benefits from this self-help guide.

Another addition to the licensed range is a partnership with wildlife artist artist Bree Merryn. Her highly-detailed yet charming illustrations brim with personality and proved to be very popular, adorning canvases, giftware, home furnishings and more.

Also new are WWF square wall calendars, the Mumsnet Family Organiser calendar, World Travel Destinations calendar, the new Sarah Raven Wild Garden square wall calendar, an A3 Irish Farmers calendar, and finally, a box desk calendar has been added to the Kew range. Tel: 01392 826465 Web: https://carouselcalendars.co.uk

Taking the biscuit!

Love Country has just launched a new offering with its colourful range of biscuit tins. The Suffolkbased company has teamed up with biscuit maker Farrah’s of Harrogate to produce an eyecatching range of teatime treats. The collection offers a 200g drum of biscuits in a variety of flavours and designs including bunnies, hedgehogs, pheasants, donkeys and more. For a slightly more indulgent gift there’s a larger and very stylish Biscuit Caddy (full of biscuits of course), which can be collected and used as kitchen storage, so reducing waste.

With 15 designs to choose from and mouthwatering flavours to taste, there is something for everyone. There’s even an adorable dog and cat design, making these perfect gifts to thank the pet sitter or a fellow animal lover. If you can part with them of course!

Each design has been chosen from Love Country’s watercolour artwork including some new designs specifically aimed at gifts for men. Look out for the adorable little puffin! Each tin is packed with luxury biccies, along with a poem or story, written by the artist and wrapped up inside each tin as a little extra touch. The perfect excuse to invite a friend for a cuppa.

Small orders are welcome and all designs can be mixed and matched with small MOQ’s offering great flexibility to make a fabulous shop display. All the products are proudly made in Britain. Tel: 01502 507352 Web: www.lovecountryuk.co.uk