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As I write this, the greeting card industry is busily preparing for another round of shows - from the London Stationery Show, to PG Live and then looking forward to Harrogate Home & Gift in July.

And as I talk to more and more suppliers and retailers during my time on the magazine, it’s clear that this is a true people-focused industry. The retailers just love chatting to their customers, hearing their tales and - as Roy and Julia Beswick at Surrey’s The Card Collection say in the Shop Talk section - they become friends who happen to buy cards from you.

And the publishers and designers are the same - they all say they are looking forward to catching up with people at the upcoming shows, meeting old and new friends and customers, and seeing how their creative work resonates with them.

Because of course, without people who want to connect with others, no one would ever sell any cards! And the past two years have shown us that human connection is so important - and when you can’t be with someone, showing them that you are thinking about them can make a massive difference.

And that’s why we have put together our feature on Thinking of You and Wellbeing cards. Publishers such as Rosanna Rossi, Paperlink and Dyson Design have all noticed that the uptake in cards which simply say ‘thinking of you’, or ‘sending you a hug’, is palpable.

Helping that sentiment along is the Greeting Card Association (GCA)’s Thinking of You Week, which runs from 1925 September. This campaign, which encourages the public to send cards to loved ones, just to let them know they are appreciated, is great to take part in - both for retailers and publishers. And now’s the time to get ordering, so take a moment to look at what’s on offer. By the way, do take the chance to catch up on other GCA news on page 31. It’s also time for another round of awards, and I’m delighted that our Retail Interview in this issue is with Michael Apter of Edinburghbased retailer Paper Tiger, which won the Best Retailer Initiative category of The Greats Awards 2022 for its Chinese Year Of The Tiger fundraising campaign. You can find out more about how the company works with the community on page 52. Outside the industry, there are also major events that will have an impact on card sales. The imminent release of the latest Jurassic World movie is creating excitement among film fans, so we thought it apt to focus

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leader Editor Naomi MacKay

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

on dino cards in our Trends page. But don’t worry, many of them are more cute and cuddly than fierce and ferocious!

Talking of cute and cuddly, with many card shops making an effort to diversify to encourage more footfall and add-on sales, we’ve also focused on plush toys for this issue. You can read how both Sarah Laker at Wilmslow store Stationery Supplies, and Christina Kenchington at Buckinghamshire store MOOCH, have found their foray into the world of soft toys.

I’m always delighted when retailers are keen to take part in a feature within the magazine. You are the people on the ground, as it were, so hearing how you are doing, what initiatives are working for you, and finding out your opinions, is vital to making the magazine useful for our band of readers.

I’m always happy to hear from you, so if you’d like to take part in our Shop Talk feature, have an idea for our ‘Looking for…’ page, or have a news story to share, do please get in touch at naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk, or connect with me on LinkedIn.