3 minute read
Dyson Design
Blooming marvellous
Helen Dyson, director of Dyson Design, explains how a one-off snowdrop card blossomed into a greeting card business
Tell us a little about the background of Dyson Design.
I began my career in advertising design and eventually set up my own graphic design studio. Every Christmas, we’d produce a greeting card to say thank you to our clients and to show off our design skills.
One year, I teamed up with my photographer friend Neil Robinson to capture an image of some snowdrops for that year’s card. We had a fantastic response, and the card even won a paper industry award.
Before long, I found myself at Spring Fair showing off our complete collection of cards, which at that stage numbered just 18. Even so, we had a busy show, and it was great to meet suppliers and prospective customers from all over the world.
Fast forward a few years; I sold the design business and threw all my energies into the greeting card business.
What is the aim of the company (apart from selling cards!).
After a long time in advertising, I was looking for a new challenge that would give me more of a free rein to be creative. The card business does that.
It makes for an interesting life and lets me work with amazing photographers and illustrators such as wildlife artist Laura Andrew and vintage motoring specialist Brian James.
I love getting involved in interesting processes such as copper plate printing.
We also get to work with some fantastic materials such as seeded card and rose scent for our scented range, David Austin Roses.
I like staying in touch with our retail clients and hearing about their businesses. We’re also lucky to have some bigname clients for bespoke work. Tell us about your Fabulous Flowers cards
Those snowdrops were the genesis of the Fabulous Flowers collection. The range eventually grew to nearly 100 cards. They feature beautiful photographic images of flowers.
How have the past 18 months been for you?
We have had some challenges on the supply side but overall, this has been quite a successful period for us.
Our bespoke clients have done well. We also saw a mini boom in sales to independents when they bounced back from the first lockdown, which was great.
Last year, we were surprised to be inundated with orders for our Mothering Sunday card until we realised that many customers preferred the traditional wording to ‘Mother’s Day’.
What about new ranges?
I’m excited to be working with Laura Andrew. We’ve launched a new collection featuring her artwork called Splash Birds. Each image features a familiar garden bird in a splash of watercolour.
Our second new collection is our latest birthday collection, Party Animals. For birthdays one to 12, there are creature caricatures from pandas to toucans, and six birthday cards with witty wishes for the young at heart.
How many ranges do you offer?
We have 21 ranges grouped into three collections that we call Floral, Vintage And Artisan.
What are your bestselling ranges? What about your eco-friendly credentials?
We use biodegradable materials, and we produce our products locally in the UK. While most card must still be imported, we’re delighted that our new Splash Birds range is printed on art card made in the UK. Talking of the environment, our newest range is Nectar, featuring vibrant and colourful illustrations of flowers and pollinating insects.
Are you planning to exhibit at any shows this year?
So far, we’re booked in for Scotland’s Trade Fair in Glasgow in March and PG Live in London in June.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We know from customer feedback that many recipients of Dyson Design cards really treasure them, even sometimes framing them. That is a really nice feeling. I’d like to thank all our retailers and bespoke customers for their support, as well as our suppliers and partners.
And no, I’m not related to James Dyson!
