7 minute read
Cover Story
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
“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
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 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 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.
What are your best selling ranges?
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!
