Louise Mulgrew bags host of wins at Louie Awards

Congratulations to Louise Mulgrew, who bagged the title of Artist of the Year in the US Louies Awards.

Louise also came out top in the Father’s Day, Valentine’s and Congratulations/Special Occasions categories of the awards, which are held by the US Greeting Card Association.

She told Greetings Today: “I can’t believe it! It was a complete shock to have received all our nominations in the first place but to then win four - truly an honour and an evening I’ll never forget. We’ve been so welcomed by other publishers and cardie people this side of the world already while setting up for our trade show yesterday and at the awards evening and it’s honestly just a very happy moment.’’

You can find out more about Louise in the Artist Focus feature on p19.

“I can’t believe it! It was a complete shock to have received all our nominations in the first place but to then win four - truly an honour and an evening I’ll never forget’’

John Charlton appointed non exec chair of Cardzone Group

John Charlton has joined the Board of Cardzone Group and has been appointed as its non exec chair.

At the end of last year, John stepped down as chair of Festive Productions Ltd and chair of The Vintage Garden Room Ltd. Furthermore, following the sale of South Africa Greetings (SAG) to Card Factory, which had just been announced, John resigned as chairman of SAG, a position that he has held since 1998.

John was previously non exec chair of International Greetings and before that senior VP of American Greetings, together with being CEO of UK Greetings.

Pens prove to be judges’ choice

The Fabulously Flat Paper Pens from IF won the coveted Judges Choice Award as well as the Cards, Wraps & Stationery category at the Gift of the Year Awards held in May.

The Gift of the Year Awards, now in its 43rd year, recognise the gifting industry’s most sensational new products each year. The Award categories encompass all aspects in the world of gifting from beauty, bath and spa to food and drink, ethical and sustainable to novelty, tech and gadgets, and this diverse selection is reflected by the judging panel of passionate industry leaders and experts including retailers, buyers, industry press, bloggers, vloggers and influencers. The competition gives a unique platform to all entrants, elevating businesses through exposure at trade shows, including Spring Fair, which hosted the 2023 judging, website, brochures, and social channels. In addition, being crowned a category winner grants industry-wide recognition and previous entrants have seen a huge boost to their sales and revenue, often going on to become bestsellers, particularly in the lead-up to Christmas.

Pen Pals 4 Pupils to prove #WritingMatters

Maped Helix took National Stationery Week’s #WritingMatters hashtag to heart with its new Pen Pals 4 Pupils initiative, which aimed to get the UK’s children putting pen to paper.

The writing equipment giant set up the free project to link youngsters in Years 3 to 5 with their peers in other parts of the country, offering them a safe way to swap handwritten letters and build lifelong friendships.

“It’s perfect that Pen Pals 4 Pupils is starting off the 2023 National Stationery Week campaign,” said NSW coordinator Sarah Laker, “it will help children’s social, communication and handwriting skills and also let them experience the joy of both sending and receiving letters and cards – the true spirit of National Stationery Week.”

Schools taking part in the Pen Pals 4 Pupils project also had the chance to attend a free virtual creative writing masterclass with bestselling children’s author Chris Smith .

Five of the schools were selected at random to win a fabulous Maped Helix stationery bundle as well as signed copies of former BBC Newsbeat presenter Chris’s new book, Clarity Jones And The Magical Detective Agency.