Gift of the Year Judging Day

A Day Of Reckoning

Following a first round of online judging last December, the Gift of the Year’s live product judging, organised by The Giftware Association, took place at Spring Fair on February 9.

The finalists are revealed on pages 31-33, with the winners announced at the inaugural The Gift Awards which are being held on 12 May at London’s Royal Lancaster hotel.

PG&H asked a selection of judges for their views and criteria.

The Curated Meetings lounge at February’s Spring Fair provided an ideal venue for the great and the good in gift retail, as well as experts in the fields of sustainability, licensing and gift trade media, to come together to assess and judge the shortlisted products submitted for this year’s Gift of the Year competition.

There were 22 categories, to include home fragrancing, jewellery, fashion accessories, greeting cards/giftwrapping, sustainable and ethical gifts, food and drink, kitchen and dining and children’s, with the judges enjoying seeing and holding the shortlisted products as well as discussing their relative merits with fellow judges.

“It was great to be back to live judging again as it was sorely missed last year,” underlined The Giftware Association’s ceo Sarah Ward. “And being able to hold the judging during Spring Fair - the most important exhibition on the gift industry’s calendar - made perfect sense.”

The Products of Change team - founder Helena Mansell-Stopher and Rob Hutchins, editor and community manager respectively, were among the judges delighted to get hands-on with the products and companies that are shaping a new, sustainable future for the gift sector. “It wasn't an easy task in choosing our finalists in the Sustainable and Ethical gift category - a fantastic reflection of the wonderful work of the industry in pushing the boundaries of what a gift, and a gift company, can be both for people and the planet,” said Rob.

“Deliberating over design, materials, packaging, purpose, longevity, circularity and more, we absolutely eked out every last minute to consider all aspects of sustainability and impact across each and every finalist. It was extremely encouraging to see so many advances being made in the industry, and products being delivered with some real purpose and call to consumer action. Both Helena and I look forward immensely to seeing how the industry continues to evolve and push those envelopes when it comes to sustainable design and production.”

Above: A trio of gift retailers are shown at the Gift of the Year judging held on the last day of Spring Fair. They are, from left to right: Katrina Raill, co-owner of Etcetera in Hitchin; Tabi Marsh, owner of Papilio at Heritage, Thornbury, and Jo Williams, owner of Joco in Nuneaton. Left: Gift of the Year judges Helena Mansell-Stopher and Rob Hutchins of Products of Change are shown with Maxine Lister, head of Licensing at Natural History Museum (right).

The Sponsors

The Gift Awards 2022 enjoys a strong roster of sponsors including Spring Fair and Autumn Fair as headline supporter, plus: Abysse Corp; Ankorstore; Brand Licensing Europe; British

Allied Trades Federation (BATF); Candlelight; Cardzone; Carte Blanche Greetings; Gift Republic; Gisela Graham; Home & Gift Harrogate; Joe Davies; Lesser & Pavey; Life

Charms; Progressive Greetings Live; Talking Tables; Top Drawer and Widdop and Co.

Retail judges included Sam Gibbs, owner of three Nest gift shops in Stoneygate, Broughton Astley and the Thurlaston Garden Centre and Tearoom. “Judging Gift of the Year was so inspiring and a real insight into the selection of products that are new to the market,” said Sam. “It was a great opportunity to see extra products from the companies that I was at Spring Fair to see. After the judging, I went away with a new list of stands that I wanted to find, and companies that I wanted to buy from and have done.”

She continued: “I came to the conclusion that values really matter to me - the packaging, the ethos of the company and the product, especially in the eco categories. Additionally, whether the product is right for Nest. The price point also became a point of

consideration - whether the price would be achievable. I also felt that bringing a new direction to a category was important. For example, was the product a new take on something that had already been done or was it genuinely a new and a brilliant idea? And I’m delighted to say that there were plenty of those! All in all, it gave me great hope that British design is alive and bright and has a wonderful year ahead.”

Jo Williams, owner of Joco in Nuneaton, was another retail judge commending the high standard of entries. “Choosing the top three from each category wasn’t easy,” admitted Jo. “I took into account the potential interest in the product, its longevity and interest through its use, as well as the look and feel, the quality and the RRP, because these are all the things my customers look for when deciding on their purchases.” Mother and daughter Anne and Katrina Raill, co-owners of gift and lifestyle store Etcetera in Hitchin, commented that product was varied across the board. “We looked at quality, cost, retail prices and style, with some of the finalists products very exciting. In fact, we have definitely discovered companies that we are going to buy from.”

Summing up the views of the many retailers and industry experts who made up this year’s GOTY judging panel, Ian Downes, director of Start Licensing, added: “I really enjoyed reviewing the shortlisted entries and chatting to my fellow judges. There were a few recurring themes across the entries, most notably a greater awareness of sustainability with regards to product development and packaging.”

As the GA’s Sarah Ward enthused: “We’re delighted that Gift of the Year 2022 has been so well supported by the whole gift community - from Hyve Group’s commitment as headline sponsor to our strong roster of category sponsors. There has also been widespread engagement from the suppliers who entered, and great care and attention to detail from our enthusiastic judges. I can’t wait for everyone to celebrate together at The Gift Awards on 12 May!” (See page 5).

More GOTY Recognition...

All Gift of the Year finalists are also in with a chance of winning the coveted Judges Choice award, presented in previous years to Gingko, Go La La and Talking Tables.

Plus, there is the People’s Choice award which is judged by the general public, enabling people to vote for their favourite product across all Gift of the Year categories.

In more exciting news for finalists, for the first time, The Giftware Association has opened the category up to all shortlisted products, so there is an added opportunity for a shortlisted company to get through to become the second ever People’s Choice winner.

Left: GOTY judge Elaine Hooper, a former John Lewis buyer, who is now working at Retail 100 consultancy. Far left: Gift retailer Heidi Schramli, owner of Detail Retail in Ambleside, and her daughter Wren, were also among the judges. Below: Sarah Ward, ceo of The Giftware Association, (centre), together with PR and marketing manager Chris Workman, are shown with judge Louise Welsby, founder and managing director Buy-From creative agency.

The Gift Awards

The inaugural The Gift Awards event ceremony will bring together The Giftware Association’s Gift of the Year Awards and The Greats gift retailer awards - currently celebrating their 20th milestone year - organised and owned by Max Publishing, publishers of Progressive Gifts & Home/GiftsandHome.net. (For this year’s Greats finalists, turn to pages 24-25). At the lavish awards event, both gift product excellence and retail prowess will be recognised and rewarded.

Tickets and tables for the awards event on 12 May can be booked via the Max Publishing digital box office event at Max-Tickets.net or by contacting event organiser clare@createvents.co.uk or 0118 334 0085.

To find out more about The Gift Awards and to book tickets, visit www.thegiftawards.com