Greetings Today July August 2022

July/August 2022 Issue 4 Volume 23

Over 180 brand new designs for Autumn Winter 2022.

See it all at Harrogate Home & Gift - DP1 Stand C15.

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New gift wrap design collections

July/August 2022

contents the team 18

REGULARS

Publisher Mark Horsnell markh@lemapublishing.co.uk

05 Leader

Looking forward to Harrogate Home & Gift and thinking of autumn and Christmas

01442 289940

Advertising Manager Marian McNamara marian@lemapublishing.co.uk

06 News

Rounding up what’s been happening, with more online at www.greetingstoday.co.uk

10 Eco news

Editor Naomi MacKay naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk

01442 289940

44 John Ryan

John Ryan says this is the time for independent retailers to up their game

Stories about sustainability

Managing Director Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

12 Spotlight

46 Shop Talk

16 Ward’s Words

50 Retail Advice

Design Rick Vickers rick@lemapublishing.co.uk

51 GCA news

Chairman Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

A selection of new products and fresh ideas The Gift Association is planning for a turbulent two years

40 Retail100

Neil Amer challenges some misconceptions about the role of the merchandiser

Production Director Retailers from around the country tell us Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk what’s happening in their stores Henri Davis considers the benefits of location-based greeting cards The latest from the UK Greeting Card Association

FEATURES

Circulation Manager Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

37 Trends Diversity

12

Keep in touch follow us:

38 Focus on

@greetingstoday

39 Focus on

www.facebook.com/ greetingstodaymag

Gift wrap and bags Storigraphic

41 Artist Focus

Stephen Lennon at Umbellifer

41 Trends

greetingstoday

Sport

14 Cover Story:

The Art File celebrates 25 years in business

42 Diary of a Card Shop 45 Retail Interview Williams of Audlem

48 Retail Interview Cards for Good Causes

18 Harrogate Home & Gift preview 28 Feature

greetings-today

Lema Media Ltd 1 Church Gates, Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930 www.greetingstoday.media

Gifts for card shops

33 Focus on

The Puppet Company

Greetings Today has a circulation of 6,076

35 Focus on Pyramid

39

Subscription per annum: UK £60 (free for people in the greetings industry), Europe £80, ROTW £100

Exciting new Designs

and Stunning additions to our Best Selling Collections !

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48

46

leader Editor Naomi MacKay

W

elcome to our July/August issue (I can’t believe we’ve reached this time of the year already!).

Of course, in retail, we’re always looking ahead.

So, while in our home lives we may be planning staycations or holidays abroad (Covid and airlines willing) and welldeserved breaks with our school-aged children, in our business lives we are busy looking towards Christmas.

I’m sure the festive season will be on the minds of many of you heading to Harrogate for Home & Gift, which we preview in this issue. We caught up with show director David Westbrook to find out what you can look forward to at the exhibition - and asked some retailers and suppliers for their top tips to help you enjoy your time both at the event and in the beautiful North Yorkshire spa town. I know that many visitors take the chance to combine business with pleasure and extend their work trip into a longer leisure trip, exploring the handsome town and its surroundings.

Also, with Christmas (and other gift-giving occasions) in mind, we focus on presents suitable for card shops to stock. Do take a look; hopefully you will be inspired to extend your gift range, or perhaps to introduce the category into your shop if you don’t already.

Of course if you’re thinking of gifts, you can’t forget

the wrap - so we have some ideas for new gift bags and wrap that you may like to consider for your own store..

I really enjoy talking to retailers - all of you are so full of enthusiasm and a real passion for the greeting cards industry - and conducting interviews is always inspiring, In this issue, I talk to Jeremy Lune, chief executive of Cards for Good Causes, which sells Christmas cards on behalf of charities, as well as Judy Evans, owner of Cheshire card shop Williams of Audlem, which celebrates an incredible 160 years in business this year! Turn to page 45 to find out more about how Judy grew up in the card retail business - and why the shop appeared on BBC One’s factual TV series The Repair Shop!

As always, we have more news and views from retailers in our Shop Talk section - and the lovely Boris [the dog] makes a return to our pages, ably accompanied

by Paul and Helen Southgate, co-owners of Norwich shop Cards n Things, in our Diary of a Greeting Card Shop.

So, how is trading for you - and what are your predictions for the coming months? I’m always keen to hear from retailers, and if you would like to take part in Shop Talk, or share your story, please do get in touch at naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk or connect with me on LinkedIn. I look forward to hearing from you.

33 14

Send your views and submissions for the magazine to naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk

In the News All change at

Giftware Association

Danilo enters the anime arena Danilo is introducing anime brands into the greetings card domain this year with the likes of Naruto, Dragon Ball Super and My Hero Academia. All are hugely popular anime series whose calendars perform very well for Danilo in this increasingly popular genre.

With a name that means ‘the first sound of the future’ in Japanese, Hatsune Miku is another new addition to the portfolio. She has become one of the most popular synthetic voice programs and is a virtual pop idol, performing songs for her audiences both on screen and as a holographic image at live concerts. Danilo’s new card range will incorporate her iconic image and famous catchphrases.

Umbellifer donates to wildlife charity Yorkshire greetings card brand Umbellifer has teamed up with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) for its two new Christmas ranges to be launched at Home & Gift. Both ranges consist of six cards and are printed on FSC accredited board, carbon offset through the Woodland Carbon scheme. YWT will

6 www.greetingstoday.media

receive 10% of all profits from the two ranges.

Jo White, corporate partnerships officer for the YWT, said: “We’re delighted to partner up with Umbellifer on its beautiful Christmas card ranges, it’s fantastic to receive support from a local small business.”

The Giftware Association (GA) hosted its AGM on 22 June for the first time in person for three years, seeing some big changes to the make-up of its National Committee and officers.

The AGM was held at the GA’s Head Office in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, with a selection of members including suppliers, retailers and service providers who braved the travel chaos to meet the team, network and learn from other members.

Chris Workman, marketing and PR manager, opened the day welcoming the guests, and showcased a brief history of The Giftware Association to its newer members, as well as introducing the National Committee to the room. Chris handed over to outgoing Chair Gert Schyberg from Sebnini and CEO Sarah Ward to conclude the AGM Formalities and the official business of the AGM. Official Business saw Louise Welsby from Buy-From take over as the Chair of The Giftware Association, and Gert Schyberg step into the Deputy Chair role. Jeremy Corner from Blue Eyed Sun stood down from the National Committee and was thanked for his service and support over the years, and Mark Jones from Gisela Graham will step into the role of Vice Chair to form the new officer selection for the next two years.

Louise said: “It is an honour to be the new Chair of the Giftware Association, the first service provider in the association’s 75-year history to take on the role. I am looking forward to continuing the excellent stewardship of Gert Schyberg and am keen to get to work on supporting the GA with new initiatives, including development of their digital marketing and educational benefits.”

The GA also welcomed two new members to its National Committee ranks, both of whom bring a wealth of knowledge and experience with them. Tabi Marsh from Papilio Heritage will offer a valuable retail perspective to the association and on projects moving forwards, and Stephen Illingworth from Widdop, will offer support from his role from one of the largest gift suppliers in the UK. Sarah Ward said: “The day was fantastic, and it was great to meet new and familiar faces. We welcome the changeover in the committee and thank Jeremy for his time on the committee. We wanted the day to be a bit different from a formal AGM and we succeeded in making that happen and connecting a lot of people.”

The Giftware Association likes to do things differently, so the AGM was enlivened by talks from three members, who each shared their incredible business journeys so far: Clare Harris from Talking Tables, Demi Pendakis from F.Y.G and Paul Sun from Gingko.

In the News

Rachel Ellen Designs team mark silver anniversary Rachel Ellen Designs celebrated 25 years in business as the team gathered together at an exquisite country house near Nottingham on 16 June. Everyone donned their finest and enjoyed high tea before company founder Rachel Church (pictured left) was subjected to a ‘how well do you know your staff’ quiz. Then followed a video montage with messages of congratulations and thanks from staff, agents, suppliers, customers, friends and distributors from around the world.

“It was overwhelming and very humbling,” said Rachel. “The video somehow condensed 25 years into about 20 minutes, which was incredible, I feel blessed to have such wonderful customers, work with such fantastic people and have such a great team - and the day was about sharing something special together.’’

Scotland autumn show promises chance to stock up for winter Independent retailers across Scotland and the north of England should ensure 18-19 September is in their diaries if they wish to stock up for winter at Scotland’s Trade Fair Autumn.

With the Launch Gallery packed with innovation, this show promises to offer visitors something special, with a raft of exciting exhibitors. Around 120 exhibitors, many of whom can only be seen at this show, will display their cards, homewares, gifts, textiles, jewellery and food, which will be perfect for shops for their Christmas customers, as well as gaining ideas for 2023 stock.

In The Launch Gallery, new companies such as Christine Allan Art, Fiona Matheson Studio, Joy Nevada, Christine Gilbert Art and Surya Luna Naturals will be exhibiting for the first time at the Autumn edition of Scotland’s Trade Fair.

The Speciality Food area is once again in high demand, featuring companies such as Och Vegan, Cold Town Beer and Scotia Spice Foods.

The show provides a chance to make last-minute orders for Christmas, as well as get ahead of competitors and order for 2023. With established companies such as Barrhead Leather, Glen Appin, Pocket Mountains, Shearer Candles, Pink Pig, Ness and Urban Outline, there will be a huge array of gifts to order.

Show director Mark Saunders said: “Nothing quite beats meeting suppliers and negotiating orders that can only be done face to face at trade shows, especially as many of our exhibitors will only be at this show. However, our Autumn Show is about more than just buying, it allows shops the chance to find out what is on trend in the marketplace, discover new exhibitors, offers the opportunity for networking and catching up with suppliers and is a welcome day out after what we hope will be a busy summer season.’’

8 www.greetingstoday.media

New publisher launches New publisher Utterly Conkers launched at PG Live with its scrumptiously stylish and fun watercolour illustrated greeting cards, offering two collections: Canine Chums and Blooming Bees.

Emma Harrison, the doodling, story-loving designer behind Utterly Conkers, started painting during lockdown alongside homeschooling her two daughters. After years of writing children’s fantasy stories while working in technology marketing, she returned to her first love - art - combining her fondness for creating colourful characters and painting with every, carefully hand-painted, watercolour illustration. Canine Chums features the nation’s favourite dogs, focusing on the playful characters of these beloved animals, giving them generic appeal as well as catching the eye of all dog lovers. More than 35 designs are available as blank cards or with heartfelt captions.

Blooming Bees celebrates our much-loved bumble bees with fun captions mimicking their flight around colourful blooms. Playing on the flower names within the captions, these designs combine fun and style.

All cards are printed on 350gsm FSC Certified board, sourced in the UK, delivered plastic free and are fully recyclable, and made in the UK.

12 Brand New Pizazz designs

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Designs enhanced with shimmering gold and silver foil, great value at C45

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Eco News

Danilo focuses on

sustainability Danilo has been focusing on moving forward with its sustainability plans. In May, new electric car charging ports were installed at the Danilo office, plus an ongoing project with Climate Partner is under way to externally verify Danilo’s carbon emissions and formulate a carbon reduction plan.

Danilo says it is also working hard to assess its internal processes and identify key areas in the business where it can reduce or reuse resources and introduce a more circular economy into the business The company is continuing to collaborate with retailers and licensors to ensure it can deliver products that are both sustainable and commercial.

Davora phases out plastics Davora, the specialist ethnic and minor season publisher, tells us it is making good progress on its journey to remove plastics from products. The company recently committed to phasing out plastic cello wrap on all single cards, and has now begun the process on its multipacks, too.

Just launched is a new range of multipack cards for the occasions of Eid, Diwali and Jewish New Year. Each pack contains six cards and six envelopes in a cardboard wrap, fastened at the bottom by a sticker. The outer wrap also has a fold-out eurohook to give retailers a choice of ways to merchandise the products.

Like the cards themselves, the outer wrap is manufactured in the UK with FSC accredited boards using vegetable-based inks. The new style multipack will be used on all new designs going forward while existing stock of cello wrapped cards are depleted.

sales@davora.co.uk.

22 years of eco production The Eco-friendly Card Co has just renewed its FSC chain of custody – marking its 22nd consecutive year of FSC certification. Back in 2006, most products were FSC certified MIX (paper from responsibly managed forests) but now all its stock line greeting cards are printed on FSC recycled board. The publisher has once again offset all carbonemissions associated with paper used in its products through the World Land Trust.

Director Sue Morrish said: “This year, in addition to offsetting paper used for products, we have also offset all the paper used in our brochures and marketing materials as well as other paper products that fall outside the scope of FSC, for example recycled greyboard.”

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17—20 July 2022 Harrogate

The Summer Buying Festival

Register now homeandgift.co.uk

On-the-Button stationery

Belly Button Designs has long had a strong portfolio of eye-catching signature designs on card, wraps and bags. This year sees a sharp focus by the Manchester-based business to expand its stationery offer, in part due to retail demand for a range that encapsulates Belly Button’s gorgeous inspiration-packed selection of designs. Some of those, like Elle, Electric Dreams and the hit of PG Live, the new Meadow, are picked out in a combination of all-over designs or subtle motifs. The full range of new stationery, which will be on show at Harrogate Home & Gift, covers To Do Lists, A4 Padfolio, ceramic pen pot, sustainable notebooks, weekly planners, spiral notebooks and two-pen sets.

Belly Button Designs 0161 902 0200 www.bellybutton.cards

spotlight

Buzzy as bees!

Meet the whole family of new Bumble Bee Gonks from Joe Davies (Home & Gift, Hall B, Stand B66). These cute little chaps are bright and cheerful and will definitely brighten up any room. Available in three sizes and numerous styles, these cheeky characters have fun, springy, pompom antenna and pretty organza wings. Let these fun bee gonks buzz their way into your heart!

Joe Davies has a reputation for award-winning service and a great range of gifts dedicated to the independent retailer. What’s more, all its products are available in the trademark ‘little and often’ quantities with a minimum order value of just £100 and free nationwide delivery.

Joe Davies 0161 975 6300 sales@joedavies.co.uk www.joedavies.co.uk

12 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

Cards to sing about!

Yorkshire greetings card brand Umbellifer is launching 12 new designs at Home & Gift (stand DP4-79) under the ‘tweet’ sounding name Songbirds & Seedheads.

Each card celebrates one of the UK’s most loved songbirds, including the goldfinch, blue tit, wren and long-tailed tit. The reverse of each card also features cultural information on the bird depicted along with some interesting facts: for instance, did you know that the nightingale is able to produce more than 1,000 distinct sounds? All printed on carbon offset, FSC accredited board and in plastic-free cello. Now that’s something to sing about!

Umbellifer 07510 874363 stephen@umbellifer.co.uk

One for the boys Bloom-ing gorgeous!

All is blossoming at Cinnamon Aitch as the recently-launched range Bloom has grown with some gorgeous new additions just added. The floral range has seen 20 new card designs, vibrant and pretty, featuring birthdays and blanks to complement the current relations. Colour and pattern is key, ensuring the all-over designs will jump off the shelf. Printed on 350g FSC board and made entirely in the UK, each card is supplied in a recyclable cello or can be supplied naked or with a clasp if preferred. This range also sees the loveliness spill into little card packs, notebooks and more soaps and candles making perfect accompanying gifts. All can be prettily wrapped up in new eco-friendly gift wrap, also just launched.

Cinnamon Aitch 0121 773 6833 hello@cinnamonaitch.co.uk www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk

Sweet and smiley Kali Stileman Publishing specialises in design-led greetings cards and wrapping paper for children and the young at heart. We can’t get enough of the new animal tiddly widdly collection: a series of sweet and smiley animals and creatures on muted on-trend coloured backgrounds. These mini cards are perfect for birthdays, new baby cards… or just to say hello!

Kali Stileman Publishing 01305 848899 info@kalistileman.co.uk www.kalistileman.co.uk

Following the launch of its popular range Grace, Cherry Orchard has launched Grayson, its male counterpart.

The demand for the new Male Grayson has seen Cherry Orchard extend the range further from the Open and Relations that are already available to now include Relation Ages and Open Ages. The new male birthday cards feature stunning artwork of popular hobbies and celebration designs and have the signature intricate details of gold foil bringing the design to life - and all are finished with a luxury gold envelope.

The new launch is available to pre-order and has 13 x Code 60 milestone ages from 16th to 100th and 9 x Code 100 Relation Ages Grandson 16th, 18th, 21st and Son 16th, 18th, 21st, 30th, 40th and 50th.

Cherry Orchard 01684 295500 info@cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk www.cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk

Paper view

ExaClair Limited, the UK distributor for Décopatch, has unveiled a range of Maxi Packs of its decorative papers.

The new Maxi Packs contain 100 sheets (30x40cm) in various colour and pattern themes – yellow and orange, pink, red, black and white, blue, green and a children’s collection. Each pack has 20 sheets of each of the five featured designs.

These new additions to the range complement the existing Maxi Pack that holds 11,000 squares of 3x3cm sized paper across a random selection of Décopatch patterns.

Lawrence Savage, marketing manager at ExaClair, says that Décopatch is a great way to inspire creativity and have fun: “These Maxi Packs are perfect for craft groups, schools or Décopatch addicts as they offer great value for money.

Décopatch is a simple and original concept for creating decorative objects and upcycling items, as the technique is suitable for many surfaces including papier mâché, wood, metal, glass, ceramics and plastic. In addition to a number of in-store merchandising options, such as our popular ‘Bunny’ FSDU, we can also provide retailers with a variety of online marketing collateral to support sales, as well as offering demonstration solutions for events and open days.”

Exaclair 01553 696600 | sales@exaclair.co.uk| www.exaclairlimited.com

www.greetingstoday.co.uk 13

Cover Story The Art File

Silver year for The Art File

As The Art File celebrates its 25th anniversary, James Mace, Sales & Marketing Manager, says it’s business as usual - producing an eclectic range of showstopping product for its customers Tell us a little about The Art File, its history and where it is now.

The Art File is a multi award-winning, independent, family-run publishing company, specialising in unique and contemporary greeting cards, gift packaging, social stationery, and Christmas product.

The Art File was created by Ged and Karen Mace in the back bedroom of their family home 25 years ago, when they exhibited at Spring Fair for the very first time… and the rest is well… history!

Today, The Art File’s HQ is located in the heart of Nottingham city centre, with its own retail shop, Behind the Red Door, with a team of 28 highlyskilled people working together to deliver first-class product, service and design content.

It is your 25th anniversary this year how will you be marking this?

We’ve treated our 25th year like any other - by designing and creating showstopping new product for our amazing customers. We marked the start

14 www.greetingstoday.media

“Independent retailers are invited to send us photos of their shop windows featuring Art File products. The photos will be judged and the winners will be given a £250 credit to spend on Art File products’’

of our 25th year by launching more than 250 new greeting card designs, gift packaging and more, as well as launching our multi award-winning Christmas 2022 collection - with more than 300 new designs across the board. More recently for PG Live, and Harrogate Home & Gift, we have launched a further 180 new greeting card designs across new ranges, along with extensions of popular current ranges. We also plan to launch even more at Harrogate Home & Gift, including new everyday gift bags, which are sure to turn the heads of even the most discerning of retailers.

Alongside new product, The Art File will be hosting a number of customer-driven competitions to assist with our 25th year celebrations. One of these opportunities is a shop window competition. Independent retailers are invited to send us photos of - or tag us in photos of - their shop windows featuring Art File products.

The photos will be judged by our design studio and customer service team and the winners will be given a £250 credit to spend on Art File products however they wish. The photos should be sent to us between now

all our Everyday cards here in the UK and while supply chains are being stretched globally you can be assured that your Art File orders will usually be delivered in a timely fashion when you need them. This ensures that you can always have our best selling cards available for your customers.

How many ranges do you offer?

The Art File has a full and concise portfolio of collections, suitable for almost anybody.

From birthday cards to Hannukah Cards, we have them! The Art File launches two major brochures a year; make sure to contact us to get on the mailing list for them.

and September 2022, and winners will be announced in early October 2022. Time to get creative with your window displays!

We’ll also be holding a separate Christmas shop window competition later in the year.

Furthermore at Harrogate Home & Gift and Autumn Fair, we will be randomly picking an order placed at each one of these shows to receive a £250 credit off the order.

Because we like to share the love!

And how has the company changed in that time?

The company has evolved and grown so much over its 25 year period. We’ve been fortunate to work with some extremely talented designers and artists over the years, some of which have gone on to become extremely successful. We have been the recipient of 13 Henry Awards (our industry’s prestigious annual awards), as well as receiving the Queen’s Award for International Trade, which rewards British business for successfully exporting overseas. Above all though, The Art File has grown into a destination for almost any discerning retailer who is looking for something a bit different , as well as being commercially proven. Something that we are extremely proud of as a team.

Does The Art File have a particular style when it comes to design?

Well, that’s the great thing about Art File…

We can design and publish almost anything we like! One of our USPs is that our brand doesn’t corner us into a specific style or look.

This allows us to offer our customers an eclectic mix of design, which is constantly evolving and moving with new trends, and the world as we know it. Our customers have grown to love this design style, and we constantly strive to deliver new and inspiring unique product for them using this mantra.

Tell us about your artists.

We have a team of eight extremely talented in-house designers; each individual has their own style and technique, allowing us to have a strong breadth of design talent. Alongside

“The best way we can support our customers in these demanding times is to continue to publish new vibrant, commercial designs packed with value and rich, creative content’’

What are your best selling ranges? our design team, we license a number of ranges from external artists and designers.

We currently license successful brands such as Sara Miller London, SnowTap, I Like Birds, Heather Flyn, Natural History by Ben Rothery, Nature Trail by Kate Heiss - and many more. This allows us to offer even greater scope on the portfolios we offer our customers. We also work with freelance designers, and young emerging designers and artists looking for their break.

How has the past two years or so been for you - and have you adapted your products?

The past two years have been a challenge but we adapted well and have since moved forward into a strong position, which gives us great scope to continue serving our amazing customer base with award-winning product.

We also launched a new company called Tall Boy Designs in lockdown; this is a wall art company, which is online only - and direct to consumer - a new venture for us, which is going very well. To see Tall Boy’s amazing wall art, head to www.tallboyprints.com.

What about new ranges?

The second half of the year is always a busy time for us at The Art File and we realise just how incredibly important the next six months will be for retailers everywhere. The best way we can support our customers in these demanding times is to continue to publish new vibrant, commercial designs packed with value and rich, creative content.

This is why in this edition we are launching 180 new Everyday cards and four beautiful new Wrap and Bag stories.

As part of this launch we are delighted to be working with designer Emma Turner who has created a beautiful new collection called Richmond Park. There is also Maestro, a wonderful collection of music-inspired cards from our in-house designer Kate Mainard. We also have new Bear designs by the awesome Robert Reader and 20 new large cards, which are also available in a new purpose-built spinner, if you choose to display them that way.

It’s worth remembering that we produce

Sara Miller London has been one of our best selling collections to date, and has consistently performed over its eight-year history with us. Ink Press has also been one of our best selling collections to date since its launch over 10 years ago. More recently, our Bear Collection by Robert Reader (launched in January, with 24 new designs added for launch at PG Live and Harrogate Home & Gift) has been going down a storm - a must have!

What about your eco-friendly credentials?

We are proud to offer all our greeting cards unwrapped, and to have been one of the first publishers to do so over four years ago.

We consider it an important responsibility to eliminate plastic from our products wherever we can. That’s why we’re also excited to announce that all of our new 2022 gift bag designs will be produced free from laminate, meaning our new bags will be 100% recyclable (once the ribbon handle has been removed). Our products are as stylish as ever, but better for the planet.

Our entire Christmas Collection is also completely plastic free, including the outer packaging. Something which we are extremely proud of. All greeting cards are printed on FSC sustainable paper from sustainable resources.

Will we see you at the shows?

The Art File exhibits at six trade shows a year, and we have two more shows this year: Harrogate Home & Gift - DP1 Stand C15 and Autumn Fair – Hall 6 Stand C30-E31

Anything else you’d like to add?

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our amazing customers for their love and support over the past 25 years; we can’t do what we do without you - and we very much look forward to working together for the next 25!

The Art File Tel: 01158507490 Email: sales@theartfile.com Web: www.theartfile.com www.greetingstoday.media 15

Ward’s Words

GIFTWARE ASSOCIATION CEO SARAH WARD

Mentoring, mapping and meetings

The key for the association has been planning ahead for what may be a turbulent two years, but there is no need to panic, says Gift Association CEO Sarah Ward

I

n the past month, there has been so much going on that determining the tone of this column was a bit tricky. A lot of my activity throughout this year has been spent providing one-to-one mentoring sessions with our members as they seek to navigate their way through the challenges before them.

Multiple stakeholder and parliament meetings have taken place, including one at the Bank of England, which provided crucial insight into our industry, and we have been mapping out the next couple of years as best we can with a clearer understanding now of the ongoing challenges we face as a nation, not just within our industry.

The Queen’s Speech on economic affairs and business made for some sobering reading when the insights were published in May. The fallout from the ongoing war in Ukraine has caused inflation to rise beyond problematic levels caused by the pandemic.

What we are starting to understand is our need to map out a turbulent two years managing unpredictable costs, problematic supply chains and further changes to consumer behaviour. I don’t believe that this is a time to panic, however.

We have proven ourselves to be an incredibly resilient industry and

“I don’t believe that this is a time to panic. We have proven ourselves to be an incredibly resilient industry’’

an embracing of new technological marketplaces, a focus on collaboration over competition and innovations in sustainability all mean that we have an opportunity to grow and thrive.

At the Bank of England Meeting at the end of April, I was invited to speak first at a round table event with key stakeholders from the world of business. These meetings take place regularly, so please email me to discuss critical topics affecting your business so that I can raise them in future meetings.

Victoria (head of membership) and I have also had the pleasure of several Embassy meetings in the past few weeks, with the aim of enabling stronger trade links and opportunities for our members. The most recent was with the French Embassy, providing us with invaluable resource for our members, including trade opportunities, understanding the French market, gifting trends in France and distribution routes to enable greater access to French markets and beyond. Please contact the team if you would like us to send you a report covering all the above.

I am pleased to report that we have signed up more than 30 new members so far this year, as a direct result of our

Sarah Ward is chief executive of the Giftware Association, which is at the heart of the gift industry supporting members by offering invaluable advice and assistance. Coming originally from a retail background, she then worked at Penny Kennedy gaining extensive knowledge in the card, wrap and stationery sector, and now uses these skills across a broader environment.

Tel: 0121 236 2657 Web: www.ga-uk.org

16 www.greetingstoday.media

trade show activities and the increased member engagement. One of the key benefits members can access is oneto-one mentoring with me. Chatting to Victoria, earlier, we realised that we have delivered more than 60 mentoring sessions so far this year - each one over an hour long - masterminding members’ business challenges and connecting them with service providers who can help to further their journey. It is one of the great privileges of my role and provides a fantastic insight into how our members are developing and growing their businesses.

The next few weeks are set to be exciting for the Giftware Association with a new website launch and the start of our Shared Lunches, with the first hosted by Talking Tables about sustainability. As ever, please email me if you have any questions about the Giftware Association: sarah.ward@ga-uk.org

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T op Drawer HARROGATE HOME & GIFT

“A truly special event’’ We talk to Harrogate Home & Gift Show Manager, David Westbrook about this year’s show What makes Home & Gift different from other trade exhibitions in the buying calendar?

Home & Gift is a truly special event – in all my years of organising, visiting and exhibiting within the industry, I’ve never come across anything quite like it. Combined with the vast array of brands on offer, the unique, relaxed social atmosphere that we foster allows for both easy networking and (importantly!) successful buying – it’s just completely different to all the other events out there, making it a favourite for both our exhibitors and retailers.

How will you make this the best Home & Gift Show yet?

The show is more than 50% larger than it was in 2021, and importantly more than 25% of our exhibitors are new this summer too, supplementing all the returning suppliers that our retailers know and love, so there really is something for everyone to discover this July. In addition, for the first time ever we’re also giving our exhibitors and buyers the chance to start connecting before they arrive in Harrogate, on our networking platform Browse & Meet, where buyers are able to explore products and

18 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

pre-book appointments with exhibitors at the show. This is an amazing opportunity to start the networking and sales process early, so that both sides can make the most of their time at Home & Gift!

If that wasn’t enough, as a result of the overwhelming feedback we received in 2021, this year we’re also delighted to be able to expand our home interiors offering by launching the Furniture Collection in Harrogate. This exclusive assembly of furniture and homeware brands will be showcasing beautifully crafted furniture pieces alongside stylish homewares, and the line-up of brands involved will be announced shortly.

With Home & Gift taking place in the heart of the British summer, our social events are always popular – and this year won’t disappoint as we’re bringing back all the fun elements that we’re known for; we have regular Happy Hours planned throughout the festival for our exhibitors and buyers, along with the Sunday Sundowner drinks and much, much more besides.

Is there anything new this year that visitors should look out for?

Well over 100 new suppliers will be showcasing their brands in Harrogate for

“The show is more than 50% larger than it was in 2021, and importantly, more than 25% of our exhibitors are new this summer, too’’

the first time, including the likes of Aery, Little Concepts, Albetta, House of Disaster, Do Something David, The Northern Line, Klean Kanteen & Opinel, QUDO, Butterfly Fashion, Ohelo, Okiki Skincare, Heart and Soul Studio, Kind Bag, and Jekyll and Hide – plus we welcome back a whole host of top exhibitors that were unable to join us in recent years such as Enesco, Container Group Buying, Richard Lang & Son, Orange Tree Toys, Depesche, Belly Button Designs, Tilley & Grace, Kikkerland, Charles Farris, Santoro, Wrendale Designs and Oli Olsen.

Alongside all these brands, buyers won’t want to miss our new Furniture Collection, where they can meet top furniture brands and source products

Harrogate Home & Gift

When: 17-20 July Where: Harrogate Convention Centre and Majestic Hotel Web: www.homeandgift.co.uk

any plans in place for visitors and exhibitors to still follow basic safety measures eg masks, hand sanitiser, social distancing etc?

Last year Home & Gift took place as a Government pilot event with no restrictions, and had no Covid outbreak reported, so we’re confident we’ll be able to run another successful show for 2022. We respect peoples’ choice to wear masks and use hand sanitiser if they wish, and the Harrogate Convention Centre will have these both available for everyone at the event.

to build their home interiors offering. We’ll also be running a virtual Shop Talk seminar stream in the lead-up to the show as well, giving everyone the chance to gain important industry insights and knowledge from top experts in the field.

Will there be any changes to the layout of the show this year?

This year we’ve introduced a new Design Point marquee as we expand again, and have blended our products across our design-points to help buyers shop multiple sectors with ease. Plus, the Furniture Collection will be taking over Hall Q and the Kings Suite in the Convention Centre as well, so there’s lots to see!

How many exhibitors and visitors are you expecting?

Following an incredibly successful 2021 edition of the show, this year there will be more than 450 brands to discover across our Halls and Design-Points, and with our visitor pre-registration already looking strong, we can expect a return to something approaching pre-Covid levels of footfall again.

What names – both returning and new – can you confirm will be exhibiting at the Show?

In addition to the all the new brands we have with us for 2022, visitors can still expect to see all their old favourites, including the likes of Gallery Direct, Joe Davies, Captivate Brands, Zelly, Inside Out Toys, By Molly&Izzie, The Art File, Forever England, Quail, Bomb Cosmetics, Steiff, LIGA, Heathcote & Ivory, CHALK, Lisa Angel, Talking Tables, Lagoon Group, Miss Shorthair, DCUK, plus many, many more!

Sustainability is a key focus for a number of trade exhibitions in different industries – is this the case for Home & Gift?

At Home & Gift we’ve always championed sustainable brands and this year is no exception. One of our many suppliers working towards reducing its brand’s environmental impact is One Hundred Stars, who pride themselves on manufacturing their products in a sustainable and ethical way, using AZO free dyes for the bold

prints featured on their beautiful collection of kimonos, loungewear and fashion accessories. Along with utilising recyclable packaging for their online orders, they also repurpose fabric offcuts into headbands to reduce their wastage, too!

Okiki Skincare is another example of our brands following a sustainable and ethical manufacturing method – in this case, for their organic skincare products; their soap bars have a smaller carbon footprint than liquid soap, making them a favourite with consumers, plus, they utilise organic ingredients rather than palm oil in them as well. Additionally, they don’t test their products on animals and they also use recyclable packaging, which is a big plus for retailers.

For our audience, we know sustainability is increasingly important, so we want to encourage more brands to follow the lead of suppliers such as these and play their part in this sea-change.

What product sectors can visitors expect to find at the Show this year?

In addition to the new Furniture Collection, the Harrogate Convention Centre plays host to Jewellery & Fashion, Home & Interiors and Gift. Across our four Design Point Marquees retailers can explore Design-led Gift and the Food Emporium.

Home & Gift is known and loved for being a social show and a great place to meet friends and network.

What are your plans for social events?

Our buyers and exhibitors will be able to enjoy Happy Hours daily from 3pm, as well as the Sundowners party from 6pm on the Sunday. We will also soon be releasing our full calendar of events, with an increase in the number of buyer networking opportunities, so watch this space! The sociable atmosphere of Home & Gift is what makes it our buyers’ favourite trade show, with the relaxed summer setting ensuring networking remains easy and unpressured, allowing buyers and exhibitors alike to enjoy the sunshine and the bubbles!

Although the government has removed remaining domestic Covid restrictions in England, do you have

What is your fondest memory of Home & Gift?

Personally, in one guise of another I’ve been at Home & Gift almost every year since 2006, and the show just keeps getting better and better!

Having such a successful edition last year was a definite highlight for me, but it’s always great to see the industry unite like this in beautiful, sunny Harrogate. A huge part of Home & Gift’s charm is its unique combination of social and business atmosphere, which is why it’s the show our buyers and exhibitors actually want to attend, rather than just have to.

Harrogate hints We asked suppliers about their thoughts on the show…

What do you enjoy about the show?

“It is many years since I attended the show but I always loved the overall ambience of the show, Hopefully the sun shines, business is brisk and then the socialising will begin!’’

Helen Cottrill, Enesco “I have actually been attending Home & Gift for many years as a buyer for both the National Gallery Company and for the RHS but 2021 was my first time as an exhibitor and I really enjoyed it. It always seems to be lovely warm weather and people just seem to be happy to be there! I think the online shows have been really useful but you cannot beat seeing things in person and talking to the creative people behind the products.’’

Stephen Lennon, owner, Umbellifer Any tips for newbie visitors?

Enesco’s Helen Cottrill says: “Prepare for the heat, take water, I do think it’s important to walk as much of the show as you can, and do not go with any pre-conceived ideas,. Visitors will be surprised by the Enesco stand, which is not only small but does not include any Disney! Gifts for Card shops is a growing category and Enesco has adapted its space and offering to specifically service this channel at Home & Gift.’’

“I think it’s a hard thing to do but you have to engage with the retailers and buyers walking by - otherwise they will do just that,’’ says Umbellifer’s Stephen Lennon. “It doesn’t come naturally to me at all and everyone must find their own way, but eye contact is definitely important. At the very least relax, enjoy it and remember that buyers are there to find new suppliers as much as you are there to find new stockists. Chat to your neighbours as it helps to ease your anxieties and you absolutely need a tall stool to perch on otherwise four days of standing is brutal!’’

Any show offers we can tell our readers about?

“Enesco will be offering launch packs with display solutions and discounts across many new collections,’’ says Helen Cottrill. “Visit our stand for details.’’

www.greetingstoday.media 19

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HARROGATE HOME & GIFT

Belly Button Designs Stand: DP1-D47

Belly Button Designs is expanding its giftware and stationery offer with a gorgeous, inspiration-packed selection of designs and product at this year’s Harrogate Home & Gift.

With an ethos rooted firmly in a desire to spread joy, share love and create smiles through connecting people, Belly Button’s new offer builds on the success of a design portfolio that is always inspirational and captures the moment.

The extensive collection includes candles, mugs and stationery items including ceramic pen pots, pen sets, sustainable notebooks and weekly planners. Some of Belly Button’s eye-catching signature designs including Elle, Electric Dreams and the hit of PG Live, the new Meadow, are picked out in a combination of all-over designs or subtle motifs. The full range of new giftware and stationery covers To Do Lists, A4 Padfolio, ceramic pen pot, sustainable notebooks, weekly planners, spiral notebooks, two pen sets, candles and mugs.

Also on show will be the new Luxury Eco Gift Wrap packs for 2023 as well as other products launched this spring including notelets and box-off-three notebooks.

0161 902 0200 www.bellybutton.cards

20 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

“With an ethos rooted firmly in a desire to spread joy, share love and create smiles”

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HARROGATE HOME & GIFT

Umbellifer Stand DP4-79

This year Umbellifer will unveil two new Christmas ranges at Home & Gift, with 10% of profits going to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Owner/designer Stephen Lennons explains: “The Wildlife Trust is a wonderful organisation that looks after more than 2,300 nature reserves in the UK. Its work is essential in preserving wild spaces and improving biodiversity in a way that means all of us can still access it and enjoy it. It’s never been more important to preserve and improve these natural spaces so that they are still there for future generations.’’

Umbellifer will also be exhibiting a new range of 12 cards called Songbirds & Seedheads, which is already proving very popular, and is a bit of a change of style direction. A sign of things to come maybe?

The everyday botanical ranges continue to expand and Stephen has added a Bluebells design, a card showing the connection between the Small White Butterfly and Red Campion, and a card called Three Poppies, which celebrates the beauty of the unmistakeable red Poppy.

07510 874363 stephen@umbellifer.co.uk

Enesco Stand: A3

The Enesco team will be at Home & Gift to answer all your second-half stock dilemmas. Its stand will be packed with proven best sellers - all available this year - and many with in-store display solutions.

The company says: ‘In an economic crisis, we understand the need for affordable, quality, functional gifts, and our 2022 launch is just that.’

Visitors can view the highly successful Demdaco Portfolio Collection: a stunning range of decorative bells, planters, glass, and leather home décor, plus a delightful games selection for those times spent at home with loved ones.

And, having launched Allen Designs at Spring Fair, visitors can check out these quirky clocks, planters, water bottles, home, kitchen, and ladies (or men’s) accessories.

Lolita drinkware will be on display too. These items are gift boxed, with a style and price point for everyone. Lolita designs are all hand-painted and hand-embellished, with Instagram fans all over the world!

Gin drinking shows no sign of going out of fashion and the Ginology collection is testament to this. Designed in the UK, the Copa glasses are decorated with simple and pretty florals for all seasons. Each one is supplied in an eco-friendly fully recyclable box: the perfect gift for this summer season.

Finally, everyone loves something in miniature, and the sheer level of detail in the Kloche collection is outstanding. Little scenes, florals, animals, and birds, are all expertly cut from sustainably sourced wood, hand assembled, coloured, and then protected by a glass dome.

01228 404022 uksales@enesco.co.uk www.enesco.co.uk 22 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

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HARROGATE HOME & GIFT

Joe Davies Stand Hall B, Stand B66

The Harrogate Home & Gift show is a firm favourite with the award-winning Joe Davies team. The company has been trading for over 100 years and has one of the largest ranges of gifts in the industry. Add to that the hugely popular Equilibrium jewellery and fashion accessories collection and more recently the SugarLane sustainable fashion brand and this really is a stand you will not want to miss.

Gonks galore

Gonks continue to be hugely popular and Joe Davies has a whole world of gonks for you to choose from. New for this season is the rustic Woodland Gonk collection; charming country style characters in woodland tones of green and hazel brown, dressed in knitted and natural style fabrics. These quirky gonks will sit perfectly with current home décor colour trends and add a unique touch to any home as well as making ideal gifts.

To add to the woodland theme there’s a new collection of Magical Mushroom Gonks; these eccentric little fellows wearing ornate curly mushroom hats come in warm autumnal colours that sit perfectly alongside the subtle greens of the Woodland Gonks. If you’re looking to create an eye-catching display in-store, combine the Woodland Gonks with the Magical Mushroom Gonks, add a sprinkling of autumn leaves and you are onto a sure winner!

Latest designs The Equilibrium Collection from Joe Davies offers up-to-the-minute designs; great quality, luxury branded packaging and affordable prices - all hallmarks of this highly successful collection. The new Equilibrium Bubble collection showcases stylish necklaces, bracelets and earrings with fixed ‘bubbles’, which give a modern expression to a look that is really fresh on the jewellery scene.

Equilibrium Fashion Accessories are a real must during the runup to Christmas and Autumn/Winter is all about cosy accessories that keep you snuggly and warm. Luxurious colour-blocked scarves, elegant faux fur crossover scarves, soft suede-feel gloves, modern cable knit scarf & gloves sets and more

will all debut at Harrogate Home & Gift. Many pieces come complete with a luxury branded Equilibrium gift box, making them easy to display for the retailer and the perfect gift for the customer; a win-win situation all round!

Snuggle in snoozies!

Snoozies! are cosy little foot coverings.Dubbed the original and the best, they have been one of Joe Davies’ best-selling ranges for over 10 years with in excess of two million pairs sold. New for 2022 are the luxurious Frosty Fur ladies snoozies!; these super-soft, snuggly snoozies! are so soft and comfortable you will never want to wear anything else again! Also debuting are the stylish new Wild Side snoozies!, fashionable animal print snoozies! that are right on trend as animal print is back with a force. Add to this 11 new snoozies! pairables designs including specific dad, grandad, mum, nan and best friend captions to go with this popular range. What’s more there’s an attractive and practical free snoozies! spinner, which is available with any order of 144 pairs.

Serenity scents Room fragrance is experiencing something of a boom right now as more and more people are working from home, and curating a pleasant home ambience has become increasingly important. Joe Davies is launching the stunning new Miranda B at home collection of Serenity Garden luxury scented candles and reed diffusers.

This sophisticated collection is available in six vibrant colours and fragrances, each colour carefully selected to coincide with current home décor trends and includes fuchsia pink, hunter green and indigo. Fragrances include lemon basil and mandarin, orange and bergamot, cotton linen and sandalwood. Aromas can arouse pleasant memories that will be remembered forever - just a few of the most popular essences on offer in this captivating range.

Joe Davies is well known in the industry for its ‘little and often’ ordering quantities, which enable customers to order a very small quantity of each item selected each time they order, therefore allowing a wider selection of products without breaking the bank! What’s more the minimum order value is just £100 for carriagepaid orders, enabling customers to place small orders more frequently.

Joe Davies’ friendly, helpful team looks forward to welcoming you to their stand.

0161 975 6300 | sales@joedavies.co.uk www.joedavies.co.uk 24 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

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HARROGATE HOME & GIFT

The Art File Stand: DP1 C5 The Art File is once again exhibiting at Home & Gift.

Acting as a perfect launch pad for any mid-year launch of product, on its stand you’ll find three new greeting card ranges, as well as a number of range extensions from current popular and highperforming collections.

Among the new collections being launched, The Art File says it is delighted to be working with acclaimed artist Emma Turner, who has created a beautiful art range called Richmond Park. The range of 12 large blank cards are heavily inspired by the lovely Richmond Park, and its contents. These cards are to be finished with tasteful embossing, and utilise a bright, summary colour pallet.

Alongside Richmond Park, after getting asked on numerous occasions from both trade customers and members of the public for a music-inspired range, the Art File is thrilled to launch Maestro. Designed by its multi award-winning in-house design team, this musical collection contains eight designs that celebrate the world of music, instruments and of course the extremely talented people that play them. Each design is finished with a tasteful embossing, and gold foiling - with a mustard envelope to differentiate the range.

Finally, there’s the new range called Pollen; a delightful range of 12 new designs inspired by both

the animals and insects that carry pollen, as well as the aromatic plants and flowers that create the pollen. This range is finished with debossing.

Alongside these three new collections, you’ll find several range extensions from popular and highperforming ranges. These include nine new designs from the wonderful SnowTap (launched only last year), alongside popular collections such as Natural Phenomenon, Soul Mates, Bear, our Peace & Blessings Religious card collection, Nature Trail by Kate Heiss, and much more!

The Art File will have four new Everyday Gift Packaging collections being launched. The gift bags come in six different sizes and are known for their quality and design originality. Introducing four new colourful and fully recyclable designs for 2022: Soulmates, Major Oak, Sakura Heights, and Maestro.

The Art File will also have its award-winning Christmas 2022 collection being showcased packed with must-haves for the upcoming season, such as back-to-back award-winning Luxury Boxes, in smart fully recyclable packaging, the hugely commercially successful Charity Pack collection, and the showstopping Gift Packaging collection.

01158507490 | sales@theartfile.com www.theartfile.com

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Stand: DP5 B12 Ceramic Design Heritage’s focus has always been on producing bespoke fine bone china, and working with other UK firms to provide matching melamine and textile products focused on the heritage sector. It offers a bespoke design and production service with flexible minimums.

It currently creates fine bone china ranges for artist brands Robert Fuller, Katie Cardew, Tim Hall Powderhound, Aurina Lambert, Alice Peto, and The Tale of Ballard and Hill. Ceramic Design Heritage has worked with renowned wildlife artist Robert Fuller for more than five years and has developed the Katie Cardew range over the past three years. But it’s not just mugs: the supplier’s range encompasses cups and saucers, plates, teapots, jugs and giftware including trinket boxes, thimbles and clock boxes.

07909 539574 sales@cdheritage.com | www.cdheritage.com

a range of

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Focus

Gifts for Card Shops

Bearing gifts...

Could adding or expanding a gift range in your card shop bring you more sales this year? We ask those in the know…

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Enesco

“I do think there is a desire to shop in independents again and to be able to offer a card, gift and wrap in one place makes it so much easier for the consumer’’ Helen Cottrill, Marketing & Product Director, Enesco

28 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

reetings Today caught up with some gift suppliers to find out whether the demand for gifts in card shops had changed over the past couple of years.

Mary Caputo, buyer at Joe Davies, says: “The range of gifts that are available to buy in card shops has changed massively in recent years. Previously, gifts were targeted at specific ages and occasions, such as wedding, 18th, 21st and so on, to tie in with specific cards, however in recent years more random gifts, such as jewellery, figurines, candles and home décor items have become more commonplace in card shops. This enables customers to purchase for general birthdays and non-specific occasions, as well as to benefit from self purchases.’’

Rachel Church, owner of Rachel Ellen Designs, thinks demand is growing: “We see a much higher percentage of orders that include gifting. Although we have a huge range of gift lines to suit every kind of retailer, certain products such as our 6-colour pens, sticker books, colouring books and posters, tubes of colouring pencils and best selling secret diaries and writing sets take up very little room and offer perfect pocket money pick-up lines or inexpensive gifts or treats.’’

Helen Cottrill, marketing & product director at Enesco, believes that the shop local trend is driving change: “Offering a complete gift solution has always been in demand but as we come out of the Covid restrictions of the past couple of years I do think there is a desire to shop in independents again - and to be able to offer a card, gift and wrap in one place makes it so much easier for the consumer.

Unless you are purchasing a tried-and-tested brand, I believe the consumer always wants to see the product, the quality, how it’s packaged and to select

something unique to the recipient.’’

She also believes the category will continue to grow: “With the demise of many of the larger store groups, the high street needs to be rethought.

Smaller independent boutique-style stores have a place among restaurants and bars; the fit is probably better than trying to sit beside a department store.

“Going for lunch and afternoon drinks is a huge part of this country’s social calendar at the weekend, and the independent retailer can become part of that culture; making a visit to your local high street enjoyable is the key.’’

Mary Caputo also expects to see growth in the sector: “Going forward we can expect to see more home décor gifts and non-specific age and occasion gifts, therefore attracting a higher average sale and that all-important self purchase.’’

So it is apparent that gift ranges can be a benefit to the independent card shop: “ If someone is buying a card, in many cases they are also looking for a gift, it makes complete sense to offer both,’’ Enesco’s Helen Cottrill points out. “Anything to make life easier for the consumer has to be a win - your sale value goes up, you can offer customer loyalty schemes, back it up with a great Instagram account showcasing what you offer, and you will see repeat sales and more awareness for your shop.’’

Joe Davies’ Mary Caputo agrees: “Card shops have a captive audience as most customers have gone into the shop to purchase a card for a special someone. By stocking a more diverse range of gifts they stand a good chance of selling a gift to go with the card and possibly making a self purchase as well.’’

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Gifts for Card Shops “By stocking a more diverse range of gifts [card shops] stand a good chance of selling a gift to go with the card and possibly making a self purchase as well’’ Mary Caputo, Buyer, Joe Davies Rachel Church at Rachel Ellen Designs, adds: “The main thing is obviously additional sales. Many people looking for a child’s birthday card from our perspective may also be looking for a gift, be that for their own child or a party their child is attending, and card shops need to become that one-stop-shop.

If they have the card, gift bag or wrap, party invitation and thank you cards and choice of lovely gifts that all tie together – happy days!’’

So what do our suppliers have in stock for retailers to choose from?

Mary Caputo says: “At Joe Davies we have many ranges that are specifically aimed at this market, including our pretty collection of Keepsake Hearts, which are available in a host of

occasions and captions including wedding, christening, new baby, friend, mum and many more.

Other card shop favourites include the popular Thoughtful words collection of pretty ceramic sentiment gifts and Just Saying, a range of brightly coloured ceramic items with heartfelt messages.’’

Helen Cottrill recommends Enesco’s “new Demdaco portfolio collections, which have been a huge hit with independent card and gift shops. With unique ways to fragrance your home, thoughtful and sentimental messaging, they also make perfect gifts for spending time at home with your family. All at excellent prices, many gift packaged and easy to display.’’

Ask the retailer We asked Hannah Rudder, at Dee’s Cards in Leighton Buzzard, Beds…

What brands/products do you stock?

As we are a specialist greeting card shop, our shop is 70% cards and 30% gifts so we do have to be selective on what gifts we have in store as we have limited space. We have all the major gifts brands such as Wrendale Designs, Lesser and Pavey, Life Charms, Wild Things, Orange Tree Toys, Stoneglow, Jellycat and more.

What sells particularly well?

Wild Things: Large birthstone guardian angels.

They are excellent value for money as they are embellished with Swarovski crystals and they come in gorgeous, illustrated organza gift bags.

Life Charms: The #justbecause range. They are silver-plated bracelets that come in a sturdy gift box. The friendship and family-oriented ones sell the best. They make a perfect gift because they’re contemporary and have very delicate designs.

Lesser and Pavey: Hand-painted gin glasses, again beautiful designs, which are a perfect gift for the coming summer months. Who doesn’t like gin? And more importantly, who doesn’t like drinking a G&T in a pretty glass? Also its new dog cushions called Man’s Best Friend, which range from Chihuahuas to a German Shepherd.

Devon Wick: A lovely small independent company that started at the beginning of pandemic, and sells the best-smelling snap bars/wax melts. It also sells white label products so you can put your own logo on the packaging. Just out is a citronella range, which is ideal for this time in the year.

University Games: In particular its 3D football stadiums - ideal for Father’s Day. We have almost sold out!

Orange Tree Toys: Wooden toys for young children - especially the jungle animal stacking ring. The wood is sustainable sourced and the packaging and the toy is completely plastic free. I would recommend this brand if you are looking to stock more environmentally-friendly products.

UK Greetings While the gift card market is ever growing, the choice of sending solutions is greatly underrepresented. Which sparked the launch of UKG’s new Gift Card Holder range. The range consists of two beautiful formats: one is a simple but striking print-only design and the second a luxury pop-out design that features a special paper engineered opening method and premium foil finishes. The new Gift Card Holder range is fully recyclable, comes in eco-friendly paper packaging and as an added bonus includes an envelope.

01924 2304197 www.ukgreetings.co.uk

30 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

What does having gifts in store bring to your business?

The most obvious point is that in brings more revenue into the business. However, it is not just about that, we like helping and engaging with customers. That involves finding out who they are buying for, what their interests are and hand-picking a gift that will suit that individual.

Shopping should be an enjoyable experience and if we can help with that then that’s what it’s all about. It helps you build a rapport with your customers and it inevitably encourages them to come back. We absolutely love it when someone comes back and says ‘you know that gift you helped me buy, they absolutely loved it!’.

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Gifts for Card Shops

Joe Davies These pretty ceramic keepsake hearts from Joe Davies make perfect gifts for someone special or for a special occasion. Available in a host of captions including mum, sister, friend, new baby, christening and many more. Each heart is overlaid with a smaller ceramic icon applicable to the caption or occasion; presentation is key and each piece comes complete with a pretty organza bag and a gift box - the perfect gift to treasure forever!

A visit to Joe Davies’ spacious stand at Home & Gift, Hall B, Stand B66 shouldn’t be missed as this is an ideal opportunity to see the vast collection of gifts. Everything will be available in the signature ‘little and often’ quantities with a minimum order value of just £100.

0161 975 6300 | sales@joedavies.co.uk www.joedavies.co.uk

Ohh Deer

Ohh Deer is boxing clever with two products. Papergang is curated stationery in a box. A box filled with brilliant stationery designed by a different artist. Each box has a unique theme, and product selection will vary, but it will include the likes of: greeting cards, notebooks, desk accessories and art prints.

Artful is an Art School in a Box, for people who love to create.

Inside every box, you will find a selection of premium tools tailored to a specific style or medium of artistry. Each edition of Artful works closely with an established artist, who hand-picks the contents of the box and lends their expertise on how to use it via exclusive tutorials and content within the essential Artful magazine included in each box.

01509 812 075 wholesale@ohhdeer.com ohhdeertrade.com

Love Country On the way from Love Country this year is a new collection of confectionery. Get ready for the autumn with this tasty range consisting of spicy gingerbread biscuit buttons, mixed fudge and biscuit boxes, the ever-popular biscuit drums with luxury Scottish Shortbread and Handmade Fudge as new festive additions. Beautifully illustrated with its signature heartwarming winter woodland characters and festive scenes, these are perfect to create that cosy shop display ready for early Christmas shoppers. With lots of matching items across the range you can fill a shelf with robins, donkeys, reindeers and hedgehogs! Love Country will be releasing its first Autumn Winter Gift Brochure at the end of July. There’s lots of new products this year including a gorgeous new range of luxury festive soy candles, scented sachets, wax melts and room sprays.

01502 507352 support@lovecountryuk.co.uk www.lovecountryuk.co.uk

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Plush friends go eco The Puppet Company and its sister company Wilberry Toys have dived headfirst into creating eco-friendly product, with three ranges produced in the past few months - and there are more new launches planned…

I

n the past few years, The Puppet Company and its sister company Wilberry Toys has rightly focused on pushing more eco-friendly ranges of puppets and soft toys into its offerings. The launch of the Eco Walking Puppets late last year (made from 100% recycled plastics) was a huge success, and the company says it had to reorder these quicker than any other range. They also made the finals for Gift of the Year, an accreditation that the Puppet Company is still very proud to have achieved.

This July sees the eagerly-anticipated Wilberry Eco Cuddlies landing in the UK, each made from seven recycled plastic bottles. Wilberry Toys is anticipating that these will complement the Wilberry brand just as well as the Walking Puppets did for The Puppet Company, and has already placed another order before the first container has even arrived!

The ever-popular Puppet Buddies range is also getting revamped to be produced out of the eco material - and will launch A/W this year. This means that three eco-friendly ranges have been launched in a very short time frame, making the initial movement to becoming as eco and sustainable as possible, a real success!

The Puppet Company and its sister company Wilberry Toys will be working with its partners to move more ranges across to eco-friendlier materials and reduce its carbon footprint, which means looking at packaging, going plastic free where possible and creating POS that is sustainably resourced.

Thanks to these new ranges achieving great sales results in a short amount of time, the companies have been looking at new and innovative ranges and products. They have recently employed

“Due to the success of the small versions, we could not be happier with how traditional and eye-catching these larger sizes [of Wilberry Knitted Dinosaurs] are, with many retailers placing forward orders to secure their stock back in February at Spring Fair!’’

Sam Lockey, Sales Director a very talented designer with extensive experience in toys and the film industry, so future new product innovation is already very much well under way.

Sales director Sam Lockey says: “Due to the success of the small versions, we could not be happier with how traditional and eye-catching these larger sizes are, with many retailers placing forward orders to secure their stock back in February at Spring Fair!’’

The development of new products is critical in helping retailers offer fresh new items in store and provide great sales opportunities and the companies are confident that the ideas they have will add significant value to any retailer.

Another huge launch this year are the new Medium and Large Wilberry Knitted Dinosaurs (launching August). Sam adds: “Our core ranges are still as popular as ever, with Sockettes and Finger puppets being best sellers along with our Wilberry Minis - which recently introduced more than 15 new designs - being a key range for us.

“What other plans do we have? We have some very exciting plans, which we will reveal at Autumn Fair - In particular, is our adorable ‘My First Christmas’ Puppet collection, which includes Father Christmas, Mrs Christmas, an Elf, Reindeer, Gingerbread Man, Penguin, Polar Bear and Snowman. This set is suitable from birth, machine washable and a great first puppet for any child. We are really excited about this range, which should be available just in time for those crucial Christmas sales.

“Looking ahead to 2023, many new ideas will come into production and we are excited to show the world once again, why we are global leaders for puppets!’’

01462 446040

info@thepuppetcompany.com www.thepuppetcompany.com www.greetingstoday.co.uk 33

Focus

Gifts for Card Shops

Enesco 01228 404022 www.enesco.co.uk

Whimsical wonders Contemporary gift retailer Enesco has announced a new and exclusive range of ladies’ accessories featuring the wonderfully whimsical works of American artist, Michelle Allen, into its ever-growing Allen Designs collection.

The perfect present for someone special, be it for a birthday, anniversary or other big milestone, or a ‘just-because’ gift or a selfpurchase as a special treat, items in the lady’s collection from Allen Designs are all pretty, yet practical, too.

The range of zipped pouches are sure to be firm favourites with customers. Available in sizes small, medium, and large, these super functional pieces are ideal for carrying pens and pencils, wires and charging cables, makeup or face masks and so much more.

The Fox and Flowers Zipped Pouch is a stylish addition to any handbag or carry-on piece of luggage. Set against a teal backdrop, this ginger fox is surrounded by a bed of bright abstract flowers in clashing colours including hot pink, acid yellow and vibrant orange.

The Boldly Grow Compact Mirror can be kept safe in the pouches or stored safely in a customer’s handbag. This compact mirror is lightweight, durable, and makes an artistic statement with its abstract presentation of plant pots growing their foliage, blooming with bright, bold colours.

The Black Moth Trinket Box is an ideal way to store small valuables at home, or transport little pieces safely while out and about.

Home collectable A new range of decorative pieces and collectables designed for the home, come from artisan brand Demdaco (pronounced Dem-day-koh).

Demdaco features six sub-collections, one of which is the newly-launched Heartful Home range; a collection from artist Tracy Pesche, which aims to bring a wonderful, whimsical and happy touch through her uplifting ceramic art.

With pieces in the collection including planters and bells, all items across the Heartful Home range feature Pesche’s signature style of hand-drawn, line-inspired graphics that bring a sense of joy to her work, paired with bold colours and black edging, off-set against the neutrality of the ceramic backgrounds.

These little planters and bells carry heart-warming sentiments such as Happy, Blessed and Love, as well as having sweet pieces specific to the recipient, including Mum and Grandma.

Retailers can present these lovely pieces instore with a 4-Tier Light Wood Displayer and Heartful Home Bell Pop by Demdaco.

Quiet Moments Also in the Demdaco collection is the newlylaunched Quiet Moments range; which shows how important self-care is and how taking time out is essential. Just one way Quiet Moments encourages calm and serenity is through its new Succulent Oil Diffusers.

With six pieces in the collection, the individually crafted succulent ceramic pots give the ability to create a quiet, peaceful aroma anywhere – combining the senses of sight and smell to encourage a truly serene environment. Customers simply place a few drops of their favourite scented oil into the white sculptured succulent top for slow, relaxing oil diffusion.

Each Succulent Oil Diffuser features a different designed ceramic pot carrying a caring and sweet sentiment, with examples including Blessed, Smile and XOXO (hugs and kisses). Created in calming tones of greens, blues and stone, they also add to the relaxing self-care vibe of the whole collection.

Together Time Finally, the Demdaco Together Time range is a collection that aims to bring families and friends together in fun ways through pieces such as playing cards, a dominoes set, and Tic-Tac-Toe. Each piece is presented in muted tones of greens, blues, pinks and oranges, with game sets such as dominoes and Tic-Tac-Toe featuring wooden pieces. Sure to be a huge hit with this collection is the Family Conversation Starter Jumbo Dice, which encourages customers to strengthen their family bonds in a fun and engaging way.

Simply roll the dice, see what question it lands on, and take part in the conversations that this piece helps to facilitate. With questions such as What did you do today that made you proud? and What are you thankful for today? the Family Conversation Starter Jumbo Dice is a great way to help family members – young and old – develop the skills of mindfulness, gratitude and positivity.

The pieces are super affordable as well as being small, compact and easily transportable.

Each piece can be neatly stowed away at home, easily brought out for a bit of enjoyment at parties, or taken on family road trips to entertain during the journey.

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Licensed to

thrill

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this summer, Pyramid International offers a wide range of licensed merch - including the star of the recent Platinum Party at the Palace - Paddington!

P

yramid International has been a frontrunner in the licensed merchandise industry for 30 glorious years, celebrating its official 30th anniversary on 27 August this year. Specialists in licensed merchandise, the company works with the likes of Disney, Warner Brothers, Netflix and Universal across brands including Harry Potter, Friends, Star Wars, Stranger Things and all of the Disney favourites, new and old. Producing a plethora of exciting ranges across homeware, stationery, apparel, gifting and wall art, Pyramid is widely considered to be a leader in their field.

An exciting and expanding area for this merch specialist is calendars. With a range of licences from Disney Pixar to James Bond, Marvel Comics to music favourites like Ed Sheeran and Bob Marley and everything in between – the full range can be viewed on the website. The calendars also come in a range of fun and practical formats including a desk calendar, 30 x 30cm square calendar, slim calendar, poster calendar and a family planner – something for all customer types.

As well as calendars, Pyramid also produces a range of diaries, again, with plenty of choice to suit all markets.

Also new from Pyramid International is the stunning new range of tableware featuring the beloved bear of the moment, Paddington. Available through both Pyramid, and sister company The Art Group.

The fabulous Tea Time Collection (which co-ordinates with The Art Group’s existing wall art selection), comprises of a fine china teapot, a footed Tea Cup, Toast Rack, 2 x Stacking Mugs, a set of four side plates and a breakfast cup and saucer – full details of which can be found on both Pyramid and

“New from Pyramid International is the stunning new range of tableware featuring the beloved bear of the moment, Paddington”

The Art Group websites As well as the range being a delightfully nostalgic and quintessentially British look back at days gone by, Paddington is obviously a red-hot property right now. The heart-warming video with Paddington and The Queen was live streamed around the world, with 13.5 million live viewers and 2 million YouTube views in just one day! It has received global press coverage, making the front pages of the following day’s national press, including The Sunday Times. Paddington and The Queen were also a social media phenomenon with a staggering 500M+ reach across 146 countries, becoming stars of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. That’s one popular bear, and his popularity shows no sign of subsiding - Pyramid suggests retailers get on board!

Also new at The Art Group is the fabulous range of zodiac mug and coaster gift sets, which have been exclusively designed by artist Summer Thornton. These

stunning sets have been created by one of the most popular artists in The Art Group family, and make the perfect gifting option as they come packaged in their own coordinated gift box. Made from bone china, not only do the mugs look out of this world (thanks to the creative skills of the artist), but they are the perfect vessel from which to enjoy the perfect cuppa!

Both Pyramid and The Art Group have an extensive portfolio of products, with new ranges, artists and licences being added on an almost-weekly basis. The websites are well worth exploring – they are a real Aladdin’s Cave with products to suit all budgets and markets.

Alternatively, the Pyramid and Art Group teams are equally happy to chat through their extensive portfolios and offer their insight into just the right products to complement your range.

0116 284 3640 www.pyramidinternational.com www.artgroup.com www.greetingstoday.co.uk 35

Focus

Gifts for Card Shops

Cinnamon Aitch

ExaClair

01553 696600 | sales@exaclair.co.uk www.exaclairlimited.com ExaClair Limited, the UK distributor for Décopatch has added a selection of space themed papier mâché shapes and textured foil papers to its ever-growing range.

The new shapes include a crescent moon, a rocket and a cute cosmonaut, all waiting to be decorated with the new rocket or moon & stars design papers, which are available in two different size formats.

The moon, once decorated, will look amazing hanging on a wall using the integral hook. To bring a touch of moonlight to a room, LED lights can be inserted into the moon using the opening at the back.

The rocket comes in two pieces and can provide fun storage or simply be used to send the cosmonaut off on adventures into space!

Following the success of the Exacompta pencil cases, which were introduced last year, ExaClair has expanded the range by adding a new selection of items to give customers greater choice.

The versatile Teksto pencil case can be used in the traditional manner for carrying essentials or, with its innovative design, it can be easily converted to a pen pot that stands on a desk for easy access to the contents. Made from rPET (recycled plastic water bottles) with a recycled polyester lining that resists ink and dirt, this Global Recycle Standard (GRS) certified item is available in two colours; turquoise and water green, to match the Teksto filing and desktop items.

Maїa pencil cases are a practical option with a large capacity and two zipped openings for easy access to the contents. The front flap has six elasticated loops to store favourite pens, so they are always at hand. Made from rPET with a recycled polyester lining, these pencil cases are available in four bright colours to complement the Maїa filing and desktop ranges – blue, magenta, orange and water green.

There are also some extra Exacompta pencil case selections being added to the range for 2022. These include the round PU leatherette Glitter models that feature an attractive glittery look in four assorted colours, plus some rectangular synthetic Fur models, which incorporate cute furry faces across four assorted colours. Finally, the round Dream pencil cases include four assorted themed designs – Llama, Nautical, Space and Unicorn.

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For some years now Cinnamon Aitch has produced gorgeous skinny little notebooks to complement its ranges of greetings cards. Available in a smart, contemporary, acrylic counter top dispenser, provided free if filled and retailing at a pocket money price, they have proved successful little gifts.

More recently, Cinnamon Aitch has made a move into handmade soap. Each bar is handmade using 100% natural ingredients without palm oil; they are vegan, contain no parabens, no SLS and are made with no cruelty to animals.

The range was extended into gorgeous lip balms, coasters and tea towels.

Cinnamon Aitch also decided to add handmade candles to its gift portfolio. Each candle is clean burning, low in soot and packaged in pretty, plastic-free packaging, tied up with string and sprinkled with love!

0121 773 6833 | hello@cinnamonaitch.co.uk www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk

International Cards and Gifts Introducing Barley Bear Plush. Barley is a little brown bear. He’s warm-hearted, extra, extra fluffy and has a smile and cuddles to share with your customers.

Barley Plush is available from October in 13 unique designs and two sizes. There are 10 general bears, and two Christmas bears plus one super cuddly extra-large original bear. Not only can customers choose their favourite designs, but they can personalise Barley by choosing one of many gift tags to make it extra special.

Tag captions include; To A Special Mum, To A Wonderful Daughter, For A Special Grandson, Get Well Soon, plus a range of ages.

01202 897494 customerservice@icgcards.com

Cinnamon Aitch

The Art File 0115 850 7490 | www.theartfile.com The Art File won the first Henry Award for ‘Best Diversity and Inclusion Range’ for its collection Fierce & Fabulous. The range captures a broad spectrum of ethnic and cultural diversity and Beth, creator of the range, says: “It’s all about embracing imperfection, owning our identities, and celebrating diversity and what it means to be female in today’s society’’. The collection’s male counterpart You The Man also honours diversity and inclusivity at its core. You The Man is influenced by men’s fashion editorial, while Fierce & Fabulous takes influences from bohemian aesthetics.

Trends: Diversity

Society is becoming more inclusive all the time - and it’s great to see that the greeting card industry is keeping up to date with the times…

01992 702 900 sales@danilo.com www.danilo.com

0121 773 6833 | hello@cinnamonaitch.co.uk www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk

Rachel Ellen Designs Rachel Ellen Designs is probably best known for its card ranges for children, many of them featuring actual human characters.

With that in mind, and with what seemed to be a distinct lack of ethnic diversity in mainstream cards, the company say they felt they were perfectly placed to create beautiful children’s cards that better represent the rich cultural mix of today’s society.

Ranges that include characters with different skin tones include Moondance, Chatterbox and T-Party.

Danilo Diversity and inclusion cards are a key way to showcase the importance of celebrating difference and establishing belonging within our communities. For Danilo, this means increasingly designing cards for top brands that promote this positive message including captions such as ‘Mr and Mr’ and ‘Mrs and Mrs’ as well as for popular LGBTQ+ event Pride. Licensed brands are really starting to support the diversity movement and this is in line with retailer and consumer demands, so wherever possible Danilo is growing its offering in this area.

Celebrating gender and diversity is the contemporary, colour-popping range ‘She’ from Cinnamon Aitch. Bold and graphic, the range sees many new designs added following the success of the launch of the range in January. Spanning across ages and skin tones, the contemporary designs are bang on trend, each card celebrating female faces bespectacled with words of positivity.

Printed on generous heavyweight, FSC board, all are beautifully designed, environmentally kind and proudly made in the UK with love.

0115 970 0321 | sales@rachelellen.co.uk www.rachelellen.co.uk

UK Greetings Diversity and inclusion are so important – especially to a business that celebrates human connection. UK Greetings is constantly introducing new caption areas with fresh designs and sensitive editorial – such as this new card celebrating and supporting someone who is changing their pronouns. The company recognises it is a significant event in someone’s life and something that deserves to be celebrated, which is why they want to ensure its line is always inclusive of every milestone.

01924 230 4197 | www.ukgreetings.co.uk

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Focus On...

Gift Wrap Museums & Galleries While Museums & Galleries Ltd has produced heritage-based and inspired gift wraps since the inception of the company almost 40 years ago, the past few years have seen a major expansion into the gift dressings area, with Everyday sheet wraps now produced in single-sided and double-sided formats, as well as foiled, gift bags sets, gift tissue, and, in the last couple of years, roll wraps.

Christmas sheet and roll wraps, bags and tissue have also seen expansion. M&G has a proactive approach to sustainability issues, and all paper used is FSC certified. All plastics are being phased out across the company’s supply chains, which means the company is currently phasing in recyclable card packaging for the gift tissue formats and roll wraps.

As the company name suggests, M&G sources its gifting designs from its many museum and gallery licences, as well as significant British designers such as Matthew Williamson, Cressida Bell, Sarah Campbell, Catherine Rowe and Helen Ahpornsiri. M&G’s premier gift wrap licence is the V&A, with a particularly comprehensive collection of the museum’s iconic design collections, from Victorian Arts and Crafts designers such as William Morris, CFA Voysey, and William De Morgan to painters and illustrators like Edward Lear, beautiful Chinese and Japanese lacquers and textiles, right up to modernist 70s designs.

M&G also has a collection of character-based wraps: Paddington Bear, Roald Dahl, Guess How Much I Love You, and The Tiger Who Came To Tea. As M&G is predominantly art and design based, general fashion trends don’t have an immediate impact on the company’s offerings and as a result there is no strikingly singular trend in terms of imagery or colour - Asian design is very popular in the range, and birds seem a very welcome motif. Catherine Rowe’s foiled Bees design, introduced last season, has done extremely well - indeed, foiled wraps as a whole are still much desired. M&G sees everyday roll wraps as a significant growth area, with the range doubling in size this year.

01373 462165 | sales@mgml.co.uk www.museumsgalleries.co.uk

Cinnamon Aitch Cinnamon Aitch has launched six gorgeous designs of gift wrap to complement its bestselling card and gift range, Bloom. The wrap, each sheet printed on quality 120g FSC paper, has an uncoated, matt finish and is designed and printed in the UK. The gift wrap is also 100% recyclable and lower than the price of even the smallest gift bag.

Each design blossoms with floral prettiness. The lovely all-over, colour-popping designs include zingy, sunshiny orange florals to dramatic feminine designs, not forgetting gorgeous, on-trend, greens and blues. The florals continue to grow into complementary gift and stationery products, which now include notebooks, little card packs, candles and soap bars ensuring there are plenty of gorgeous gifts to wrap, completing the colourful story.

0121 773 6833 hello@cinnamonaitch.co.uk

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‘We love bold’

Roz Nazerian, Storigraphic Co-founder and Creative Director introduces us to this paperware design studio that produces product with real impact Tell us the background of Storigraphic.

We are a paperware design studio and online store producing statement eco stationery, wrapping papers, greeting cards, gifts and accessories. We launched in October 2019 and then re-launched after the pandemic struck, with a new vision and direction in late 2020.

Nic and I met while studying at art school and quickly became the best of friends. Our commercial partnership began in 1997 when we started our design studio in London (running to this day).

We also had a mutual goal of wanting to set up a separate creative publishing platform - we had ideas for the venture but it was way down the line (nearly 20 years) before we were ready to go for it with our creative team.

Your designs are incredibly bold — tell us more about that and the artist/s behind them.

We love bold. When we started our commercial design studio in the late 90s we were both raring to run, to shoot for the big stars but remain focused on how we fed our appetite and enthusiasm to design. We spent the first 10 years learning as much as we could about the craft of delivering design in a commercial capacity as well as running a business.

Over that time, we also learned much about our design approach and style. We cultivated this while in commercial practice and continue to do so today. We design together as a team; every member inputs and collectively we develop the creative until it’s completed.

Tell us about your gift wrap range.

Our gift wrap range has grown a lot this year with seven new design collections added, including the launch of our new Christmas papers. We now have more than 160 wrapping papers to choose from. Themes for our new collections include mid-century, 70s, 80s, Art Nouveau, Op Art, textiles/yarn and letter-form.

The papers are printed in the UK, using 120gsm FSC certified paper; they are recyclable, produced using the smallest environmental footprint (in controlled batches), cut as sheets rather than on a roll, with no glitter,

“We’re celebrating our win of this year’s Stationery Matters ‘Gift Packaging and Wrap of the Year’ award for one of our wrapping papers’’ foil, metallic ink or plastic used.

We’re celebrating our win of this year’s Stationery Matters ‘Gift Packaging and Wrap of the Year’ award for one of our wrapping papers. We were all so happy when it was announced, it was a huge surprise and a real highlight of our year.

Tell us a little about your cards and stationery ranges.

Much like our gift wrap, they have grown alongside the addition of various new design collections, as well as following the same path of sustainable production.

Keep your eyes peeled; we’re working on new product formats to add to our stationery offering — aiming to launch by autumn/winter.

You have a fabulous range of bullet journals — have you seen demand grow for these?

We think journaling and organisational activity has increased in general, especially since work from home.

Society’s focus continues to shift constantly, however mental health, self-reflection, goal (re)setting, personal and professional development currently sits up high for people’s everyday lives.

What are your bestselling ranges?

Everyone is feeling the vintage vibe this year; our Seventies and Eighties series have been so popular;

as well as the art-inspired Art Nouveau and Op Art ranges.

You have an eco gifts range — tell us a little about it and your eco aspirations/credentials.

Sustainable practice determines our ranges, production partners and overall operations. All of our products are made in the UK using paper and/or responsibly sourced wood.

They are FSC accredited, follow a full chain of custody, plastic-free and created via carbon neutral production.

Late last year, we integrated a new climate action plan by partnering with Ecologi, an environmental conservation organisation. Thanks to its expanding infrastructure and offering, we have pledged to plant a tree for every order made, as well as support its climate projects across the world.

Our next set of steps will be to focus on carbon reduction by increasing our support of those climate projects that directly impact atmospheric CO2 levels..

Storigraphic hello@storigraphic.com storigraphic.com www.greetingstoday.co.uk 39

Preview O pinion

T op Drawer RETAIL100 Retail100 Consulting director and co-founder Neil Amer gives an insider’s view of the role of merchandisers - and his insights may surprise you…

Merchandising: it‘s not what you think I

f I had a pound for every time someone thought a merchandiser dresses windows, I’d be a rich man. In fact, I can’t think of a group of people less qualified to dress windows - the skill sets needed for merchandising and visual merchandising could not be more different.

As a former merchandiser, I must say that the wonderfully creative visual merchandising teams have a talent I could only dream of. However, it’s no surprise the two get confused: call something by the same name and what do you expect? But the similarities really do end there.

Budgets, spreadsheets, KPIs [Key Performance Indicators], WSSIs [Weekly Sales, Stock and Intake]…

“Behind every buyer there is a strong, powerful and expert merchandiser” welcome to the world of merchandising. The reality of merchandising is to manage financial risk. We work hand in hand with buyers to deliver a market-leading range, manage stock, and maximise sales and margins. Buyers can find great products, negotiate great prices, or find great sources to manufacture. But without a merchandiser, none of this would come to market.

A merchandiser sets a framework or boundaries for a successful and profitable trading environment.

We plan sales and stock budgets, plan the number of options a buyer can buy, produce forecasts for suppliers, and work with logistics and warehousing to

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ensure the smooth and timely delivery of stock. We monitor sales patterns, deal with underperforming ranges, and plan financially viable ways to exit stock.

That’s just a few of the things we’re responsible for.

It’s quite often the case that a merchandiser’s head is in three seasons at once - the one you are currently trading in, the next one where you are trying to make sure everything is on time, and the one eight to 12 months ahead, which you are planning for.

To be a successful merchandiser, you need to have many skills, but my top three would be: multitasking - you need to keep many a plate spinning; prioritising - as you simply cannot do everything that’s asked of you; and collaboration - because you need to work closely with people/teams (not least the buyers) to deliver results.

For the best results, buyers and merchandisers work closely together, often referring to each other as ‘work husband’ or ‘work wife’ as they spend so much time collaborating, celebrating, and arguing (or do I mean healthy tension?).

I believe the best merchandisers love the product as much as they love a spreadsheet, and the best buyers love a spreadsheet as much as they love the product. It’s very much like a Venn diagram, where the skill sets should overlap, but it’s the skill sets that don’t overlap at the opposite ends of the spectrum that call us to become a merchandiser or buyer.

This can be even more complicated in a small business, where the buyer and merchandiser roles can often fall upon the same person. One skill set will shine through, most probably the buying one as this is more focused on the ‘sexy’ product.

It will often be difficult to have that ‘healthy tension’ in one person’s thought process, so I fear merchandising is often overlooked. You may not be great with a spreadsheet, nor know what a WSSI is or have the tools to forecast, and that can be okay: your business can succeed without these things.

But I guarantee that if you don’t have a framework or a proper grip of your stock intake versus sales (essentially the finances), your business will not be as successful as it can be.

A huge generalisation, I know, but in my experience most buyers are extroverts and most merchandisers are introverts and as such are often referred to as the unsung heroes of a buying office.

So, to all you merchandisers out there, whether your family and friends think you dress windows, work in a shop, or are Meryl Streep in A Devil Wears Prada: I know how tough it can be when you feel the weight of millions of pounds on your shoulders. And, you have my word: I will never stop banging the drum for you. Because behind every great buyer, there is a strong, powerful and expert merchandiser.

Neil Amer is a director and co-founder of Retail100 Consulting, which is a consultancy firm with 100 years of retail experience that helps retailers and brands grow. Coming from a retail background, Neil worked as a merchandiser for John Lewis for 17 years.

Email: hello@retail100consulting.co.uk Visit: www.retail100consulting.co.uk www.linkedin.com/company/retail100-consulting

ArtistFocus

Stephen Lennon, Umbellifer

A blossoming business Meet Stephen Lennon, who has grown his love of gardens into a greeting card business “I am the owner, artist and designer of Umbellifer greetings cards and prints. I set up Umbellifer after I moved back to my home county of Yorkshire in 2012 to set up and run my own plant nursery; I began sketching the plants in quiet times and the whole thing grew from there. I sold the nursery in 2018, which is when Umbellifer was born.

I trained as a graphic designer and illustrator back in the 80s but my career went in other directions, leading to a job with the Royal Horticultural Society at its flagship garden at Wisley where my love of plants blossomed and led to my plant nursery adventure. I’ve loved it all but really feel I’ve found my calling now.

Each card begins with a plant, normally something flowering in my own small garden or a plant I’ve photographed elsewhere – I visit a lot of gardens! Once

I have a drawing I’m happy with, I add the colour digitally and produce the artwork, which is then printed in my hometown of Skipton. This means the whole thing, from the initial drawing to posting out the finished cards at the post office, is done in one small market town in Yorkshire.

It’s lovely to think that my cards are on sale in some of my favourite gardens, including York Gate in Leeds, Dawyk Botanic Gardens in Scotland and Helmsley Walled Garden near York. I find these places immensely inspiring and rejuvenating and feel that we are lucky in the UK to have so many great gardens.

The range has grown close to 200 cards now, including more than 30 charity Christmas cards. When I think back to the first card I produced, called Foxgloves with Bees (still a bestseller!), I’m not sure I ever thought the range would grow so much and do so well. New ranges such as

the recent Songbirds & Seedheads are taking me in a new direction but it’s important to try new things as a way of keeping the work fresh and interesting.

I always work with a relevant charity partner for Christmas cards. This year’s two new Christmas ranges are benefiting Yorkshire Wildlife Trust – a charity that works to preserve and enhance Yorkshire’s wild spaces. It’s something I couldn’t be happier about.’’

Umbellifer 07510 874363 stephen@umbellifer.co.uk www.umbellifer.co.uk

Trends: Sport With a super summer of sport ahead, with the women’s Euros, Commonwealth Games and the World Cup following later in the year, sporting pursuits are going to be high on the agenda

Cherry Orchard Or ard

2022 has started off as a bumper year in the sports world. Horse racing at Ascot not only had the crowds but also the heat, the nail-biting English Cricket tour of the West Indies and the World Cup at the end of the year. What a busy sporting year we are having already and with lots still to come; combined with the return of visitors and crowds at these events it certainly has brought excitement to the sporting scene.

Knowing how popular sports are to fans from budding grass root players to avid supporters, Cherry Orchard recognised this and has included many sports-themed birthday card designs in its portfolio. “We have always seen that the selection for male cards has been limited and that is why we have extended our collection, and they have proved incredibly popular with customers who are reordering already from our initial launch to keep up with demand!’’ says owner Jackie Collins.

The new Grayson collection Code 60 has Open Birthday cards with designs including fishing, hiking, fitness, football, golf and cycling. All the designs feature gold foiling and a luxurious gold envelope. Cherry Orchard also has a new range of Timeless Moments Code 55 Open Birthday cards perfect for the budding golfer, formula one fanatic or it could be the mighty motorbike - Cherry Orchard Jackie’s personal favourite leisure activity!

01684 295500 info@cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk

Kali Stileman Publishing Calling all football fanatics! Kali Stileman Publishing’s fun football range is perfect for all enthusiasts. Find the cool and quirky design in wrapping paper, birthday card and mini card form.

01305 848899 info@kalistileman.co.uk www.kalistileman.co.uk

www.greetingstoday.media 41

Retail

OPINION

Diary of a

greeting card shop Paul and Helen Southgate, owners of Cards n Things in Hellesdon, Norwich, are enjoying the buzz as business is back to normal and trade fairs are in full swing

I

t’s hard to believe it’s now been just over a year since non-essential shops were allowed to fully reopen and, so far, 2022 has been good, enabling us to build back some momentum after the stop-start of 2020 and 2021. Already we have packed so much in this year and here we are halfway through. We’ve enjoyed getting back to trade fairs such as Spring Fair and Top Drawer, ordering new products, meeting suppliers and generally getting back to business. PG Live is just around the corner too as we write, and we are looking forward to another London trip and meeting suppliers and friends from the industry - the buzz is back!

The spring seasons were nice and busy, with Mother’s Day being our busiest in years! Alongside spring we have been adding to our everyday ranges - all of which have proved very successful.

We are so lucky in the card industry to have such talented artists always making fresh designs - like humour from Rosie Made a Thing, plantable cards from Made By Shannon, and beautiful new Grayson designs from Cherry Orchard We’ve now added a new feature wall so that we can showcase new card designs in store. This also helps as you can see the full size of the card - sometimes this can get lost in our traditional card racks; something that we are looking to change.

New gift lines from Widdop, Rachel Ellen and The Puppet Company have all been well received. We’ve found Kikkerland to be a great addition to gifting, especially for men who are sometimes hard to buy for.

The range has everything from 3D build-your-own dinosaurs to desk phone holders to bike-shaped bottle openers; it really is a well thought-out range.

“We are so lucky in the card industry to have such talented artists always making fresh designs’’

Platinum celebrations

As we write we are into the Platinum Jubilee week and

42 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

customers really seem to be embracing it. We’ve had lots of fun decorating the window with a great range from Talking Tables, and we love seeing people’s faces and reactions as they walk past the shop and see the life-size cardboard cutout of the Queen. Kikkerland has produced some solar-powered waving Queens, which are designed to make you smile! The Double Decker bus from Ginger Ray has also been a popular feature. What a fantastic time it is to celebrate the Queen’s seven-year reign.

Seeing people unite to honour her dedication and service is so heart-warming - and she loves a good greeting card! I hope all of us can feed off that and as shopkeepers in our communities we can bring a touch of happiness and kindness to those around us.

Looking forward…

As we now head into the warm sunny days of summer it’s always the quieter time for us in the shop after the run of spring seasons ending with Father’s Day. There is still lots to do though, with many important celebrations such as weddings, anniversaries and exam congratulations. We are always trying to expand our ranges and add to the selection of cards for these events, and we have found some great gift lines from Widdop and Co, and Gainsborough Giftware to sit alongside our card offering.

The biggest honour is that we have been listed as a finalist for The Retas in July and cannot wait to be a part of the day celebrating our industry and all the other stores that have put so much work into their businesses. We are especially grateful for our staff who work so hard to give the best customer service.

Our shop dog Boris was particularly proud (see above), so we all have fingers and paws crossed!

Embrace the positivity in life with

SGI 30

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Room 1018, 10/F., Hope Sea Industrial Centre, 26 Lam Hing Street, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Fax: 852 27960722 Email: card@glorymoon.com.hk URL: http://www.glorymoon.com.hk

8\HSP[` 7YVTW[

www.mint-publishing.co.uk

Tel: 0116 230 4197 Email: sales@mint-publishing.co.uk

www.greetingstoday.co.uk 31

John Ryan

RETAIL ENVIRONMENT

Time

to change is now With the cost of living crisis and dire financial forecast ahead, you may be tempted to keep your business as it is, but John Ryan reckons this is exactly the time to up your game…

“Store design and fit-out sectors are currently very busy as retailers scramble to raise their game and give shoppers reasons to cross their thresholds’’

44 www.greetingstoday.media

T

he rot continues. Walk down any high street in the UK currently and there are numerous empty units. The costof-living crisis, the pandemic or just poor retailing; all are in some measure to blame for this, and it’s not going to stop.

That said, there is an upside.

Alongside all the retail desertification there’s a significant number of oases.

Practically, this means that the big chains are busy closing stores that don’t offer any kind of ROI and this makes sense. After all, why would you open a store or continue trading from a poor site if you didn’t have to? The days of relentless expansion appear to be, for the time being at least, a thing of the past. Today the focus is on retail estates comprising fewer stores, but they are generally better.

The reason for this is straightforward. Using the 80/20 rule, providing the stores that remain really do offer a net contribution to the bottom line, then fewer shops means increased profitability. And if there is any doubt about whether this is happening, it’s worth taking a look at both the store design and fit-out sectors. Both are currently very busy as retailers scramble to raise their game and give shoppers reasons to cross their thresholds.

The other point about what the chains are doing is that by investing in existing stores, they force the smaller operators to do likewise - and this is rather the point. If it’s a while since you’ve done anything to your store, now might be a good moment to take stock and act. There are, of course, any number of reasons why you should do nothing with money - battening down the hatches and being quite happy to continue as you are, being among them.

Well, perhaps. But consider this.

Project yourself a couple of years into the future. The chains have done their thing and their branches are now far more attractive than they were. The indies have followed suit, while maintaining that which sets them apart. And you? Well, things are as they have always been. You will probably have noticed, however, that stores that you once might not have viewed as competition are now being given a second glance.

Reading the runes and working out when is the right time to refurb a store is never easy, but when there are threats all around, it might be the moment to do something, rather than crawling into a commercial cave. This

may go some way towards explaining why even at the more value-led end of the market businesses such as Card Factory are trialling new layouts and equipment, in a bid to maintain or dare I say it, increase their share of what many see as a shrinking high street spend.

Giving a store a makeover is never a cheap or easy thing to do, but letting the grass grow under your feet really isn’t an option. Yet whether it’s a matter of a fresh coat of paint, a change of in-store materials or some kind of in-store installation that will get ‘em walking through the doors, there is much that can be done without the bank sending you a warning email/letter.

The other question is whether it will all be worth it - and here the answer is more obvious. Do nothing and watch your business gradually heading to the point where not only are you an also-ran, but ultimately at a point where throwing down the shutters for a final time may not be that far away.

Christmas and all that it means is still some way off and if by then you’ve done nothing, then dimming the lights could be on the cards (as it were).

John Ryan is Stores Editor of Retail Week, a position he has held for more than two decades, and managing director of Newstores, a daily information service on what’s new in retail across the world. @newstores | www.newstores.co.uk | 07710 429926

Retail Interview Williams of Audlem

‘Never too old to learn!’

Despite celebrating its 160th anniversary this year, Cheshire greeting card shop Williams of Audlem, continues to evolve, says owner Judy Evans Please describe your shop.

We are an independent retailer, based in a strong rural community in the village of Audlem, South Cheshire My family has owned and run the shop since 1862 - this year is our 160th anniversary!

Obviously our shop’s products and ranges have changed significantly over the centuries - from being a drapers and printers in the 19th century, we now primarily sell greetings cards and giftware.

Our shop not only serves local residents, but also a significant proportion of tourists visiting via the Shropshire Union canal, which runs through our village. In addition we get many walkers and cyclists to the area, as well as people driving through, or meeting up, as two main roads meet in the village centre.

How did you get into greeting card retail?

I grew up quite literally above the shop, and always loved retailing from an early age.

However, I wanted to experience a different career first. So it was only after 17 years in the textile printing annd dyeing industry, in Mid Wales (working for Laura Ashley Manufacturing) that I returned home, to take over the shop in 2001. At this point I decided to retro refit the shop to reflect our shop’s extensive heritage and history in the retail trade. Luckily, my parents were War babies, so much of the shop’s original fixtures and fittings were still in the garage, following their own (fashionable at the time) 1970s modernisation. Some fitments were also garnered from the usual internet marketplace channels.

What are the best and worst things about working in retail?

The best things about working in retail are the personal relationships that you build up with customers, suppliers and fellow retailers. Also that ‘buzz’ when customers leave the shop after buying a handful of cards, instead of just one, because they loved our selection of cards so much. I must confess to being something of a card-a-holic - I absolutely love sourcing interesting and appealing card ranges, from both new, and existing, suppliers.

The worse thing about retail is the

paperwork, the accounts and the increasing legislation and responsibilities that come with running your own business!

a call from an elderly customer who was stranded at the local hospital at 2am in the morning, after his wife was suddenly taken in by ambulance.

Unfortunately he had no relatives living nearby, and he couldn’t get hold of a taxi for his 10-mile journey home - I just thought well, if that was my Dad, I’d hope someone would help him - so I went to pick him up. Being a community retailer can take many forms!

What cards are selling well?

We are lucky enough to have an eclectic mix of card ranges that I would consider are all ‘super sellers’. These include ranges from the larger companies such as Tracks, Abacus, Museums & Galleries, The Great British Card Company; mediumsized suppliers such as Paper Salad, Rachel Ellen, Paperlink, and Caroline Gardner - and also some fabulous smaller suppliers, such as Tatty & Co and Sarah Kelleher… as well as a spattering of cards from local, tabletop entrepreneurs. We also stock Glick wrapping paper and gift bags, which are popular all year round.

What card range or category do you always ensure you keep in stock because of its popularity?

It’s difficult to say as we tend to choose ranges that are fulfilling all aspects of the diverse market we serve - however, we love the Harold’s Planet range for humour from Clare Maddicott, while both Rachel Ellen and Paper Salad are bright and fun for a younger market, and Tatty & Co are absolutely gorgeous, unique and always sell through very quickly.

What’s in your window at the moment?

We have three shop windows so it’s a challenge to keep all of them looking fresh and inspiring.

We are currently concentrating on spring and baby themes - but the weather has been so cold lately, that we are only just removing some of our winter items!

What’s by your till at the moment?

It’s usually a cup of tea going cold - on a serious note, we’ve just had a wall mural commissioned to celebrate our shop’s 160th year in trading who says you can’t have a long career in retail ?

What’s the most surprising thing a customer has said or done or asked for!?

Nothing surprises me any more, but I once got

“I once got a call from an elderly customer who was stranded at the local hospital at 2am in the morning, after his wife was suddenly taken in by ambulance’’

What do you think makes your shop stand out?

It’s probably our heritage retro refit and possibly the fact we appeared on the BBC’s The Repair Shop in 2018, with our old cash register, which was purchased by my great grandfather, George Williams.

If you could send anyone a card from the past or present, who would it be and why?

It would have to be my husband, who is so supportive of me, and my business, and is always such a willing unpaid volunteer! And not forgetting my excellent team of shop staff too, who keep the place running.

I would also have to send a thank you card to the tradesmen (and women) who have retro refitted our shop over the past few years. They have found some pretty alarming things (mostly dodgy wiring and plumbing), but have also helped me realise a lifetime ambition of installing an indoor staff toilet what progress, and what a relief!

How do trade magazines like Greetings Today help you?

It’s a great resource for keeping up to date with market trends and the back stories behind artists and ranges. It’s equally fascinating to take a peek into other shops who are also in the same trade, and find out the thoughts and views of their owners/managers. We might be 160 this year, but one thing is certain - you are never too old to learn in this business !

www.greetingstoday.co.uk 45

Shop Talk

Name: Pamela and Graeme Ness Shop: Bearing Gifts Address: Church Street Troon, Scotland Tell us a little about your shop.

I’m Pamela Ness and along with my husband Graeme we run Bearing Gifts, a small independent card and gift shop in the heart of Troon.

Troon is situated on the west coast of Scotland and is a thriving seaside town. It has two primary schools minutes from the shop and we benefit from passing trade to and from the schools .

We have a great customer base as we have been trading for the past 35 years in Troon. We have young mums shopping with us who came into our shop as children, and grandparents who have been loyal customers since the shop opened.

My mum opened the shop in November 1986, as a children’s book shop with cards, and I ran it for her. Over the years we have had to adapt and change - and move with the times. More and more cards appeared and gifts started to replace the books.

Mum retired almost 25 years ago and my husband Graeme, who had been made redundant at the same time, was looking for a new challenge and we bought over the business and have run it together ever since.

What are the best and worst things about working in retail?

The best thing about working in retail and running a small business is without doubt the customers. Over the years we have met the most wonderful people .

46 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

The worst thing …. struggling to think, but probably not having enough time off together as we are open six days and only close for Christmas and New Year public holidays.

What cards sell well for you?

Cards I would hate to do without are ranges from Wendy Jones Blackett and Janie Wilson.

Humorous cards have become so popular over the past year, I think everyone needs a giggle and some light relief . It’s great when you get a group of women in who roar and laugh at your cards and end up leaving the shop with smiles on their faces and the next few months of birthday/occasion cards bought .

Rosie Made a Thing and Dandelion are firm favourites in humour at the moment.

What’s the most unusual thing a customer has asked for?

To be fair we don’t get many odd requests - but one customer was very surprised we didn’t sell any blow-up parrots!

What makes your shop stand out?

I’d like to think our fantastic selection of cards!

How do trade magazines like Greetings Today help you?

Trade magazines like Greetings Today keep me up to date with the latest trends and what’s new.

“We have young mums shopping with us who came into our shop as children, and grandparents who have been loyal customers since the shop opened’’

Shop Talk

Name: Rachael Barnes, Partner Shop: Dragonfly Cards & Gifts Address: Market Place Knaresborough, North Yorkshire Tell us a little about your shop.

It’s a medium-sized shop situated in the historic market square of Knaresborough. The majority of our business comes from locals, a mix of young families and retired couples; plus tourists.

How did you get into the greetings card industry or retail?

My mum (and business partner) Rita, had a shop in nearby Wetherby when I was at school and university. I used to help out in the holidays and fell in love with the industry then. I love how you follow the same families through all the significant milestones in their lives.

I went into marketing after university, but being stuck in an office wasn’t for me. An empty property came up in the perfect spot in my home town and that’s when Dragonfly was born.

What are the best and worst things about working in retail?

The best thing is the interaction with the customers. As we have a loyal local customer base, we have got to know them really well over the years. It’s lovely sharing in their family celebrations.

The worst thing is that our busiest times are the times you’d want to share with your own family. Christmas is a two-day break then back to it, and the only Mother’s Day I’ve ever had off was in lockdown!

What cards are selling well in your store at the moment?

Grace by Cherry Orchard is doing exceptionally well. With the charcoal background they are so distinctive. I’m looking forward to stocking the men’s equivalent, Grayson. Velvet by Jonny Javelin is still our top performer, and has been for the past 15 years. Customers come up with handfuls at a time, as they love the verses. They are based just down the road from us too, so that is an extra selling point.

What card range or category do you always ensure you keep in stock because of its popularity?

Rainbow cards from Ling. I put in an order about every two to three weeks.

These are particularly popular with tourists as they offer good visual humour and cover so many topics.

What’s in your window at the moment?

The new spinner from Ty stops all the children as they walk by. It is filled with beanies, keyrings, bag charms and blind boxes. All pocket money items that the kids adore.

What’s by your till at the moment?

Wishstrings now distributed through Second Nature. We’ve been stocking them since finding Kelly at her very first trade show, so it’s lovely to see her business going from strength to strength. The pocket hugs range is particularly popular at the moment, great when you just want a little something to let someone know you’re thinking about them.

What’s the most surprising thing a customer has done or asked for?

I once asked a customer if she wanted her wrapping paper rolling or folding.

At which point she thrust her dog into my arms - she thought I asked if she wanted him holding! As for being asked for strange things - suitcases and travel kettles are quite high on the list for strange requests in a card shop.

When it comes to card titles, I’ve been asked for a card for 90-year-old twins (what are the chances of them living together to share the card?) and ‘To my Son and Daughter-in-law on your birthdays’, because everyone marries someone with the same birth date as them!

What do you think makes your shop stand out?

Customers return to us time and time again for our customer service and product knowledge.

If you could send anyone a card from the past or present, who would it be and why?

My lovely cousin who we lost last year to breast cancer at just 38 years old. We loved sending cards in the post to each other, and the number of times I see one now and think ooh Laura would have loved that.

How do trade magazines like Greetings Today help you?

Greetings Today is perfect for keeping up with the latest trends and sourcing new product. It was great to get back to Spring Fair this year, but trade magazines help narrow the search.

“I’ve been asked for a card for 90-year-old twins (what are the chances of them living so long together to share the card?)’’

Retail Interview Cards for Good Causes

All in the name of charity Naomi MacKay talks to Jeremy Lune, Chief Executive of Cards for Good Causes, about the organisation and what it does Tell us a little about you.

I have more than 30 years’ retail experience, initially in the commercial sector with Sainsbury’s and House of Fraser, before moving to the charity sector. I have been in my current role for six years.

Tell us a little about the Cards for Good Causes’ history.

Cards For Good Causes is the trading arm of The 1959 Group of Charities, which got together in, you guessed it, 1959, to collaborate and offer customers a choice of Christmas cards to support a variety of causes. The company itself was formed in 1988 and at its peak had nearly 400 pop-up shops. While retail trends and the pandemic have impacted this, we still trade in more than 100 locations, as well as online, with the support of more than 5,000 volunteers, and have passed back more than £35 million in the past 10 years

Can you explain more about your notfor-profit status and how that works?

As a trading company, we want to generate as many sales as possible and pass back every possible penny to the charities that we sell cards on behalf of. Like any retailer, we have costs and we need to cover these, but our shareholders are national charities and we don’t pay dividends or bonus schemes. The past couple of years have often seen us trading at a loss due to external circumstances so when we do have profitable year, we either counter those losses to keep a

48 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

“We trade in more than 100 locations, as well as online, with the support of more than 5,000 volunteers, and have passed back more than £35 million in the past 10 years’’

stable balance sheet, or pass back excess to the charities.

Tell us more about the premise behind how Cards for Good Causes works.

Historically, charities give us their Christmas cards to sell and we take a percentage of the sales to cover our costs (we don’t make a profit) and pass back everything else. For the 2022 season, we are moving towards a royalty model, where we produce the cards on behalf of participating charities and pass back a royalty for each sale.

What about online sales? How are sales split between online and the pop-up shops?

It won’t surprise anyone if I say that the balance is shifting towards online, and this was accelerated by the lockdowns in 2020.

Online sales are becoming increasingly important to Cards For Good Causes, with the targeted split this year being 22% online vs 78% high street. This split isn’t as pronounced as many other retailers, but it is a significant shift from pre-pandemic levels when online sales accounted for just 4% of sales

Tell us more about the pop-up shops.

We run two types of pop-up shop in the Christmas season - Traditional and Host which run from October through to the end of December. The Traditional shops are those where we provide everything (staff, till, display

equipment and volunteers) and rent the space.

These are usually in spaces such as churches and community centres as well as, increasingly, empty shop units. The Host shops are those where we provide just the stock to set-ups such as libraries, Tourist Information Centres and cafes, which then receive commission as a percentage of sales.

Again, the pandemic has changed so much for us and accelerated some changes that were beginning to happen anyway. In 2019, we had more than 300 shops but the impact of Covid meant that last season (2021) we were down to just 65. We are now looking to build upthe chain to a sustainable level - this year we have around 110 sites planned. Our most predominant sites are in the Home Counties, as well as places such as Bath, Stamford, Oxford, York and Edinburgh, where there is a good mix of our core customer base as well as tourists.

How do you source products?

We buy our main card range from a longestablished group of UK-based, charity-friendly publishers. In terms of gifts, we tend to work with a network of established suppliers, although we are always on the lookout for new product ranges. Pre-pandemic, ranges were discussed at trade fairs and followed up with face-to-face meetings, although this obviously changed during the pandemic when these meetings took place remotely and ranges were chosen through online catalogues.

What is your selection criteria?

We have an incredibly loyal customer base with relatively traditional tastes so this is the starting point. We use a third-party merchandising consultancy, Flourish, which provides excellent analysis of sales history by type of design, charitable cause and outlet; this forms the basis of our buying plan for the year ahead. Obviously, sustainability and ethical production plays a huge part in informing what we buy and who we buy it from too.

How do you work with suppliers?

The card publishers that we work with are all incredibly supportive of us and the charity sector as a whole - it isn’t something that they do just to tick a CSR box, and while they undoubtedly offer excellent service to their commercial customers, they are all empathetic to the fact that we work with limited resources and budget in order to pass back as much as possible to our charity partners.

Tell us some of the card publishers/ designers you work with.

Over the years, we have tended to work with Paper Dove, Ling, Elle Media and Museum and Galleries, as well as Art File for everyday cards.

What are your best selling products?

There isn’t one standout - as mentioned, our customers’ tastes are quite traditional; they appreciate a good-quality card supporting a great charity. Our best performing pop-ups are in churches that also have a tourist footfall, so we do sell a lot of cards featuring classic religious imagery such as renaissance paintings of Madonna and Child and so on. Beyond that it’s all about robins, snowmen and Santa!

Have you introduced anything new?

We introduced a personalised card model on our online shop last year. We recognise that many customers are no longer looking for packs of 10 generic cards but would rather spend a little more on a product that is specifically bought with a close friend or family member in mind, as demonstrated by the likes of MoonPig.

Is there anything from suppliers that you are particularly excited about?

I think the shift to sustainability and environmental responsibility is hugely important.

A couple of years ago, we really struggled to source plastic-free packaging and if we did, it came at a significant cost and at times it felt that the industry was some way behind the public demand for this. But now it seems to be integral to most offers, from single naked cards, to plant-based cello packaging.

Have you been affected by price rises and stock shortages?

We are a very seasonal business, so we plan some way in advance and, to date, supply chain issues haven’t affected us particularly.

We are already seeing the economic landscape impacting our buy for this year but our suppliers have been as supportive as possible.

What about diversity?

Again, we have a very traditional customer base and our focus is primarily on Christmas cards but we recognise the need to generate income for charities across the year and to a more inclusive group of supporters. Last year we introduced a small range of products to celebrate Eid, Ramadan and so on. This is something that we need to get much better at in the future.

What challenges have you faced over the past couple of year?

With the seasonal nature of our business and the potential vulnerability of our core customer base, the 2020 lockdowns nearly brought us to our knees, and the recovery from that huge financial blow still continues. Like everyone else, we have had to become much leaner and this year is all about stabilising the balance sheet before moving forward to pass back even more income than ever to charities large and small. I am confident that, having survived the most incredibly challenging two years, we can continue to adapt and thrive. It’s a cliché, but being nimble is the key to working in a world of constant and rapid change.

The immediate challenge for all retailers lies ahead as people’s disposable income reduces. How this will affect the Christmas spending remains to be seen. We are fortunate that our customer base is broadly at the more affluent end of the spectrum so recessions haven’t impacted us to the degree that they might do others.

“The card publishers that we work with are all incredibly supportive of us and the charity sector as a whole - it isn’t something that they do just to tick a CSR box’’

Historically, the biggest economic factor that has impacted our sales has been a rise in Royal Mail costs and there is currently a lot of talk about one or more rises this year. Hopefully people will realise that charity Christmas cards are an affordable way to support a great cause of your choice. I always remind people that the cost of one of our cards from a pack of 10, along with a second-class stamp, is still less than half the price of a cup of coffee.

Anything else you would like to add?

I don’t think you can understate the impact of receiving a card through the post from someone you care about. Three years ago, I had a cancer diagnosis and cards came pouring through my letterbox from friends near and far. While I had the usual emails and lovely Facebook messages, it was the cards that really moved me and felt so very personal. So basically, when you are thinking about someone that you haven’t spoken to for a while or who may be struggling with something in their life, drop a card in the post.

It makes the world of difference.

What cards would you choose to receive for a special occasion?

Something stylish and witty - much like myself!

www.greetingstoday.co.uk 49

Henri Davis RETAIL ADVICE

This postcard of Coverack from ArtEco is my best seller…

Location, location, location

…while Sunburst and bluebells taken by Scott Morrish is a really popular image for the Eco Friendly Card Company

You don’t have to live in a tourist area to benefit from sales of cards that feature local landmarks and areas, as Henri Davis explains “It is tempting to think that you have to be based at or near a visitor attraction to stock these types of cards but that is far from the case’’

Ilona Drew has developed a really eye-catching range of images of locations around the country called Landmarks. They have been very successful for her over the past few years

I

n my last piece I discussed my different customer types and the type of cards they want to buy. Because of our location, many of my customers buy cards that remind them of their time in the area and either keep them as personal reminders or send them to people so they can share in their experiences and see the beautiful places they have visited.

Many card publishers base their whole business on images of locations, often with a regional focus or concentrating on certain subjects so they appeal to specific retailers or outlets. But how they do it varies hugely.

Probably the most obvious route is photography - and there are brilliant photographers who have fabulous collections of images. Some specialise

I first saw Jessica Hogarth’s images probably 10 years ago and this part of her portfolio continues to be incredibly popular

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in specific locations while others work in particular styles but cover a wider area. When I was the card buyer for the National Trust, photographic cards were very popular as were postcards, because they reflect elements of the place that people actually saw.

But there are many very talented illustrators who create images of locations in different interpretational styles. This is really interesting because each focuses on certain elements or uses colour cleverly so they create all sorts of effects that appeal to different types of customers.

It is tempting to think that you have to be based at or near a visitor attraction to stock these types of cards but that is far from the case. If they are blank cards

Perkins and Morley has a really diverse collection including a stunning range called Walk on the Wild Side, and this one of Wembury Point is one of my favourites

they can make great thank you cards to friends or can be used as a notecard as a way of keeping in touch. Stocking a small selection of local images can really enhance your range.

On this page you’ll see a really interesting selection of cards so you can get a sense of what I mean.

What I like about all these images is the strength of shape and colour as well as a certain quirkiness that gives them real character. I would suggest that if you have local illustrators who have images that would appeal to your customers and they are of a suitable quality and price, then it may be worth stocking a small selection as a trial to see if they would be popular with your customers at certain times of the year.

Suzy Furse Illustrations is based in Bristol and many of her images are of iconic features around the city

Henri Davis is an independent retail advisor to businesses in the cards, gifts, stationery and heritage industries with more than 35 years of retail experience. She worked for Habitat, Next, WHSmith and the National Trust and now advises retailers, visitor attractions, manufacturers and suppliers. A past chairman of the Giftware Association, during lockdown she has taken over a village stores and moved to Cornwall. For more information visit www.henridavis.co.uk

GCA News Thinking big for Thinking of You Week 2022 The GCA is going big for this year’s Thinking of You Week (19-25 September). GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson tells us that the organisation is expecting to see huge retailer uptake this year.

Taking part for the first time is Marks & Spencer, and Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, House of Cards and Co-op are just some of the other retailers who have already confirmed their plans for 2022.

The GCA has invested in a consumer PR programme - linking with influencers, TV, national press and magazines - to make a really big splash. And for this they want GCA members to take part. They ask that you send any news and images of your Thinking of You Week plans and activities to adriana@gca.cards.

Gallery images and news items will go up online, and will link back to suppliers’ websites - so it’s a great opportunity to link directly with consumers.

Have your say!

Book your conference ticket now!

The key threads running through this year’s GCA conference will be sustainability, diversity and supply chain challenges - and you can expect speakers to be addressing these issues.

One of the speakers will be the Lord-Lieutenant of Nottingham Sir John Peace - he is Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University and has had a long and distinguished business career at the highest levels in retail. He is a former Chairman of Burberry plc, and is likely to focus on export in his talk.

Ged Mace (pictured above) of The Art File is another speaker, who will be talking about the company’s 25th anniversary, its milestones, and how it has tackled the key issues of sustainability, diversity and supply chain challenges.

(You can read more about the Art File in our Cover Story on page 14.)

Other speakers will include Richard Bacon, of printers Sherwood Press, and John May, one of the founders of retailer Mooch Home & Gift.

Other things to look forward to include a project with Birmingham City University, Manchester School of Art and Nottingham Trent University, which will be encouraging students to join the industry and enabling GCA members to connect with them.

Market research companies will also be talking about what consumers are doing - their thoughts on cards, sharing data on buying patterns, and how purchasing has changed since lockdown.

There’s also a chance to meet council members and ask questions.

The 2022 annual Conference and AGM will be held in Nottingham City centre, on Thursday 29 September at Nottingham Trent University. The event will start with coffee from 10.15am and finish by 4.30pm.

If you are staying overnight, James Mason of The Art File has organised an opportunity to meet for drinks the night before - a great chance to network before the event. Email james@theartfile.com to let him know you will be coming. Paul Taylor of Cardzone has generously sponsored the first drinks of the night.

Tickets are now available to purchase on the GCA website. Places are limited so do book your spot now at www.gca.cards/product/2022-gcaconference-agm.

The application date for this year’s Annual Market Report has been extended to Monday 25 July. This is a chance for GCA members to share their views on a number of issues, including how they are tackling environmental activity, such as recyclable material and cello and plastic packaging.

GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson tells us that they want every member - however small - to complete the survey, so that they can ensure that the organisation is not underrepresenting your industry.

If you need to request a market report questionnaire, or have any queries, contact Regine.Raule@Echoresearch.com

You’ve got to be in

it to win it!

The GCA is encouraging all its members to recognise the value of entering awards. As well as highlighting your work and making you and your team feel valued, awards can raise the profile of your company and brand with both customers and the wider community.

It also offers the opportunity for your product to get in front of key industry influencers and retail buyers who are often involved in the judging - and even if you don’t win, getting into the shortlist or finals offers the perfect opportunity to get some great publicity.

Make sure you shout about it both with your local community and with your customers and press (don’t forget to contact us here at Greetings Today!).

There are plenty of industry awards out there including the RETAS, the Henries, the Louies, Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Awards, Gift of the Year (GOTY) awards and the Greats – Gift Retailer of the year, and Best Small Shops, run by the Indie Retail Confederation. There’s also a number of local awards - do some research to find out what is out there.

Find out more at www.gca.cards/benefits-of-entering-awards.

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