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Wow! Just look at our new humour range ‘Down at the Diner’. What a team we are!
Paperlink Creative Department ...and and there is no ‘I’ in te a m!
Th e r e is one in gin th ough!
Clean, crisp, Pop Art coupled with punchy editorial.‘Down at the Diner’ . Taking retro into a whole new realm!
Come and see us at PG Live - stand 201 T:020 7582 8244 www.paperlink.co.uk Paperlinkcards IFC_Humour Supp_May 2016.indd 1
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HUMOUR OVERVIEW
Tittering Tastes
Below: Comedic duo, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker. Below middle: Private Eye cartoonist Simon Nevin in his studio and one of his illustrations.
While the nation mourns the passing of Ronnie Corbett, the BBC is beefing up the return on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, various permutations of humorous panel shows pepper the channels and airwaves, and the meme fest continues on social media. The serious business of comedy continues to roll and its assortment of different ‘flavoured’ genres are all echoed on card designs to suit all tastes; from life observations to pithy punchline jokes, wildly surreal and bonkers illustrations to the blatantly rude and irreverent. Focus On Humour Cards dips its spoon into the mix of news, views and happenings in the current humorous card pot. Not only a regular cartoonist in Private Eye, Simon Nevin has a wealth of hilarious experiences under his belt, having started with Camden Graphics (one of the pioneers of humorous greeting cards), gone on to become creative director for UK Greetings and now, with his own company, Felt Studios, specialising in copy, humour and product development on cards and gifts. His clients include Paperlink, Widdop & Co, WPL, Mint and MGML, Moonpig (as a humour consultant) and Sainsbury’s. Working in 'The Shed,' “a studio I built myself”, Simon explains how humour writing on cards is a serious business. “I think people imagine that humour writers for cards are probably ‘the funny guy down the pub’, cracking jokes. The truth is often the opposite: a lot of great writers are pretty serious guys and gals. Perhaps that’s what
happens when you look at the world and mostly see the funny side? In the card world, humour is a pretty broad church these days, but back in the day it was mostly cards with a punchline, like UKG’s Giggles range. But
Tottering Onto The BBC Annie Tempest, cartoonist for the well-known Country Life magazine for over 20 years, creator of the Tottering-By-Gently comedic illustrations on rural life, recently appeared on the BBC2 documentary Land Of Hope And Glory about Country Life magazine. “I was filmed in my studio painting the weekly cartoon,” explains Annie, adding, “The BBC’s documentary proved a huge success and gave a muchneeded insight into the real workings of the countryside - topics I cover in my drawings - like how we country folk handle trips to the bottle bank.” Annie first persuaded the editor of Country Life to take on their first cartoonist 23 years ago. Initially nervous, now Annie and the magazine are happy partners, and Tottering By Gently has a place in the hearts of its readers. Peartree Heybridge has recently collaborated with Annie to feature her designs on greeting cards. www.tottering.com Left: The BBC televised Annie Tempest creating her drawings for Country Life magazine. Above: One of Annie’s Tottering By Gently designs on a Peartree Heybridge card.
then came along Purple Ronnie, Paperlink’s Bestie and Eric the Penguin (GBCC). Publishers realised a cartoon or poem could do the same job as a punchline. Humour card writing varies greatly. The writer of card stuff isn’t necessarily working with the same rules as the cartoonist, the advertising copywriter or the sketch writer. A cartoon for Private Eye has to make ‘em laugh or at least smirk. A stand up comedian has to make you laugh. But a humour card has to reinforce your relationship. Primarily, card copy (the words) is a message to a friend or loved one, rather than a ‘laugh out loud’ joke. Crucially, it has to say something about your relationship with the recipient. Occasionally, the card can be both funny and ‘sendable’, or a shared observation between sender and receiver. But if you look at the success of cards like Pigment’s Happy
Contents 3-5 9-10 11-13 15-17 18-19
Overview New Launches Bonkers Humour Cartoon Masters Retailer Feedback
Focus On Humour is published annually by Max Publishing (publishers of Progressive Greetings). It is distributed with the May edition of Progressive Greetings. Max Publishing, United House, North Road, London, N7 9DP Tel: 020 7700 6740 www.progressivegreetings.co.uk Editor in chief: Jacqueline Brown (jw@max-publishing.co.uk) Main contributor and Gale Astley Deputy editor: (galea@max-publishing.co.uk) Advertisement director: Warren Lomax (warren@max-publishing.co.uk)
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HUMOUR OVERVIEW Jackson and Alice Scott ranges or Really Good’s Bright Side, they’re lovely messages to send someone, presented nicely. As a card copywriter, you have to be aware of that. And it’s hard work! You are always looking for clever new angles, often to tried and trusted sending situations, like the card design that says ‘This
card is going to look rubbish next to your other cards’. Which is a just a new way of presenting the old joke that you haven’t made much effort buying the card. It’s all about presentation, or as comedian Frank Carson used to say, “It’s ‘the way you tell ‘em!””
Little World Of Simpsons Animator Liz Climo is a talented young animator who currently works on the The Simpsons, the well-loved American animated sitcom. But when her day job ends, she returns to her nocturnal passion of drawing cute animals engaged in delightful dialogues. ‘The Little World of Liz’ stages the absurdity and humour that Liz meets in everyday interactions find their way into the simple and elegant illustrations she creates. And with a Facebook fan base of over 340,000, and growing daily, she continually adds to her collection. Now her funny observations can be found on Redback Cards’ The Little World of Liz range. Kate Stanley, general manager of Redback Cards, reveals how she stumbled upon Liz’s world late one night: “Like many a good find this one came about quite by chance. Finding myself up once again at 5am with our little ones I turned to Pinterest Above: A The Little World Of Liz for some adult company! I came across some of Liz’s illustrations and design from Redback Cards. immediately they lifted my mood. I knew they would make a great collection of cards and contacted Liz once I got into the office that day… thankfully she agreed to work with us and the rest as they say is history.”
UKG’s Saucy Seaside Antics Along with UK Greetings’ Hanson White collection going big on vintage through the launch of a collection of 54 brand new designs among eight new humour ranges, the humour brand has also signed up the Bamforth licence for cards. Bamforth’s saucy seaside postcard illustrations are an icon of British humour and part of its cultural heritage. The Carry On style humour has a timeless appeal, with cheeky double entendres and saucy suggestiveness that is just as popular with us Brits today as ever. Mark Graham, humour editorial manager for UKG, is delighted about the Bamforth licence Above: Seaside sauciness on designs because he feels it is a timeless classic of British humour: “There is a strong from UKG’s new Bamforth range. nostalgia element for consumers who recall family holidays in decades gone by, but also contemporary relevance to a younger generation for whom a staycation in the UK is becoming an increasingly popular option. Most importantly though, the saucy seaside humour on the cards is extremely funny and many of the original designs still resonate today. In some cases we have updated the editorial to include contemporary references such as Downton Abbey, while we have added eye-catching deckchair-stripe borders to give the range a look that’s as bright and breezy as a summer Saturday in Skegness."
Celebrity Matt Mug Shots Wayne Sleep, Peter Andre, AP McCoy and Ollie Murs, Brainbox Candy’s Facematts have been a big hit, with a number of celebrities sharing their ‘matt mugs’ on social media. The comedic card publisher’s Facematt range, the greeting card you can wear, has really captured the public’s imagination. This hilarious range features a doublesided wearable mat transforming the recipient’s face with a funny facial expression, and becoming a massive social media sensation, with people sharing all over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The range is absolutely storming and is now officially Brainbox Candy’s fastest selling range, based on sales, since launch. Plus it has just released a new Children’s Facematts range… sending and receiving a greeting card has never been so much fun! Above: (Top-bottom): Celebrities have been having fun with Brainbox Candy’s Facematt’s range: pictured are Olly Murs, Peter Andre and Wayne Sleep.
Funny Lines Smiles 365 Days Of The Year Holly's Picture Corner was the result of a moment of madness when singer songwriter Holly Kirby vowed to post a new picture on Facebook every day for a year. What was a good idea became a project, and what was a project became a challenge and what was a challenge became a rich source of fun, vibrant and occasionally bonkers cards as friends, family and wine inspired new ideas to ensure that Holly made it through the year. Newbie card publisher Charlie Foxtrot, that will be exhibiting at PG Live (May 10-11), will be showcasing ten of Holly’s designs on Above: A play on words by cards. Richard Walters, co-owner of the company describes the designs as Holly Kirby on cards by Charlie Foxtrot. “simple, beautifully drawn and make you smile. It is difficult not to like them.” Holly is a creative star who, when not illustrating, is never happier than when creating music. A real talent she has appeared on Junior 'Stars in their Eyes', earned a music degree and recently won a competition to support Joan Armatrading on her UK tour.
Recently collaborating with gift and card publisher Ohh Deer, the talented illustrator and writer Reza Farazmand, the man behind the webcomic series Poorly Drawn Lines, showcases his take on the weirdness of everyday life (and sometimes not-so-everyday life) on a new greeting card range. Based in San Francisco, Reza started by drawing regular comics for his college newspaper but due to demand for his comics, started posting them on his website. His funny observations are played out by a variety of animal characters in absurd yet sometimes relatable scenarios. Above right: Reza Farazmand, the man who created the Poorly Drawn Lines webcomic. Above left: Reza’s weird and wonderful observations are now available from Ohh Deer.
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NEW RANGE
FROM
PG LIVE STAND 307
www.trade.cathtatecards.com E: orders@cathtatecards.com T: 0208 671 2166 See us at PG Live 10th - 11th May, stand 307 08_Humour Supp_May 2016.indd 1
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NEW HUMOROUS RANGE LAUNCHES
Just For Laughs Raising a smile and a giggle, there is a chortling collection of new humour card ranges out there! ● Kissmekwik has just released nine great new humorous cards into its Bluntcard and Kissmekwik ranges, wrapped and with very bright envelopes and on FSC board. Featuring cheese, sanitaryware, fruit, drunks, the surgically enhanced and swearing. Business as usual then…
● K2 Greetings’ Furballs range caters
specifically for the male market with clean humour, bright colours and sparkling finishes. The hilarious cartoon style designs, featuring big friendly loveable animals, cover all male Birthdays but also include male orientated occasions including Get Well and Retirement. ● Cardmix is launching three new humour
ranges in May at PG Live: The Moon of Uranus - a witty take on the resurgence in interest on the stars; Tools of the Trade – storybook imagery with captions by comedian Alex Lowe; and Middle Class Crimes (pictured) - using photographic mug shots with captions that name the cultural crime, it’s the first range developed by Cardmix with successful TV scriptwriter Marc Blakewill. ● Cath Tate Cards has launched a new range of designs from illustrator Veronica Dearly. After spotting some of Veronica’s cards, Cath immediately identified Veronica‘s distinctive sense of humour as aligned with Cath Tate Cards. The new range, Terrific Humans, celebrates the funny side of life, love and living the everyday, with 21 designs in the range. ● Scribbles is the new addition to the fun-
filled collection from The Hallmark Studio, Shoebox. These entertaining, stripped back illustrations keep humour on trend and looking fresh. The blank insides also keep them open for that special share ability.
● Country Cards has launched some new humour cards, including several sporting and country designs. The humour collection encompasses work by a number of different cartoonists giving the range much wider appeal. All designs come blank or with a Happy Birthday message and are aimed at customers of a certain age, selling particularly well in rural independents. ● With the new Ghostbusters film due to be released in the UK on 15 July, Danilo has launched its official Ghostbusters card range using traditional Ghostbusters icons and imagery and including some humorous captions to do with alcoholic spirits! And with the seventh series of Gogglebox underway, its popularity continues, as does Danilo’s Gogglebox humour card range. ● There’s a lot of funny stuff happening at The Great British Card Company, with a number of humorous range releases. If you like pink glittery lady-laughs then the Tres Chic range (pictured) is just the ticket; A bit “oooh”, a bit “I say!”, the Him and Her range is a modern take on the great British farce; and the trendy type and quirky illustrations, with a classy black and pink colour palette, of the Pink Champagne humorous range by Miki Rose, is the perfect female send. ● Hazel Bee’s designs poke fun at the trappings
of today’s consumer society by drawing on everyday scenarios we can all relate to, offering unconventional original ways to say what you want to say. The new range features naked dancing, arguing butterflies, owls, hairs of dogs and birthday fossils. Still 100% recycled, biodegradable, compostable, UK made, Fair Trade and blank inside. ● Modern Toss will be showcasing its new laugh-out-loud 12 designs with new cartoons offering a seriously funny and skewed social commentary on a range of themes, fluency in emoji, pensions, dress code at work and dog couture. FOCUS ON HUMOUR
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NEW HUMOROUS RANGE LAUNCHES ● Hotchpotch’s Banter Pants is a new humour range by illustrator Miss. Pea, which features designs for 'proper lads’. Miss. Pea loves to illustrate naughty characters, cheesy puns and animals enjoying a bit of banter. Oh, and watch out for the occasional naughty word or two! Also, Hotchpotch’s Frank range (pictured) incorporates trendy neon inks and hand drawn typography making these attentiongrabbing cards the perfect cheeky send. ● JellynBean is flying high with its latest new
range Let's Do Lunch. This range of 18 open humour cards delight in the positives and perils of being a modern woman. Creator, James Greenwood said about the range: “It's not always easy as a male to truly get inside the female mind, but I sat around wearing a Laura Ashley dress in the office for a week and I found inspiration came a little easier!” ● Birdiculous is
a new humour range from Lucilla Lavender. Expressive illustrations in contemporary colours show birds getting up to popular human activities such as drinking, dating and dancing. There is a strong look to the range, with hand-written captions, bold line-work and touches of neon to catch the eye. ● Us Brits love a
good joke, and anyone who loves a laugh will enjoy Nigel Quiney Publications’ What a Vintage Picture range of zany retro photographs with a selection of new topical jokes. This range has new designs, including six masculine gags and six feminine jokes. All 12 designs are general birthday, are finished with a thick UV varnish and supplied with bright primary coloured envelopes; great value at a C40. ● Nocturnal Paper is always on trends and
whatever is #trending. Kanye and Kim Kardashian West have always been the ultimate power couple on social media, and now the power couple has been named as one of TIME's most influential people on the internet. Playing on trends and puns, Nocturnal Paper has created a fun scratch card for all Kanye and Kim lovers. Scratch Kanye's gold glasses to reveal who's ‘Yeezy on the eyes’! ● Paper Rose’s new range, Grintastic, is based on gags and puns linked to
music and film. The classic play on words and situations are by artist Richard Barrett, creator of well-known and popular Portabello and Neapolitan ranges. This new line focuses on wordplay, most probably
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inspired from his father Billy Barrett, who was an accomplished poet! There are 12 new designs, code 37GG, RRP £1.65. ● More hip than the hippest of hipster
humans, Toby LittleDude, the 10 year-old Maltese Terrier loves getting his thick-rimmed specs on and showing his 100,000+ Instagram followers his latest threads! Uber cool photos with funny, quirky captions make this a must-have range exclusive to The Art Group. Available in eight open and six captioned 7” x 5” cards (37GG RRP £1.65). Find Toby on Instagram @toby_littldude. ● Roisin Cafferty has recently expanded her
two popular humour ranges. Just Saying, a bold and colourful words range, includes lighthearted banter and age-related mickey-taking, while Funny Bone features comic-like illustrations, some of which poke fun at the strains and crazy expectations of everyday life, while others raise a smile through silly visual puns. ● Let there be colour! Rosie Made A Thing has introduced some colour with her funny and quirky Gin & Frolics range, lovingly printed here in the UK. The range covers a number of occasions, with new ones being added all the time. As you may expect from its name, the overriding theme is that of boozing, but the cards are inspired by everyday things that make us laugh, that, and a couple of glasses of wine! ● Norman and Brenda is a new range of 26
humorous cards from Saffron Cards & Gifts featuring Norman and Brenda Pillock who have been happily married for three years. Unfortunately, they have been unhappily married for 30! These fun characters have been brought to life in cheeky, brightly coloured cartoons, full of clever word play, cheeky double entendres and often downright bizarre and surreal scenarios. ● Sure to serve up plenty of smiles, Mauro Gatti’s bold and colourful work focuses on the light, bright and humorous. His simple and memorable designs are inspired by the almighty internet, italo disco music and every funny thing he comes across. U Studio has pawed over his designs and selected some of its favourites.
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COMEDY CAPERS
Utterly
Bonkers
“Bonkers and surreal humour has most definitely found its way into the hearts and belly laughs of mainstream culture. With comedians like James Acaster, Sean Walsh, Ross Noble, the much-loved Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and the king of surreal himself, Noel Fielding, featuring regularly on primetime TV, it appears that surreal humour is here to stay”, believes Capella Andrean, designer of Redback Cards, listing classic comedic shows like The Mighty Boosh, The League of Gentlemen, Monty Python and The Young Ones as just a few of those who have reached cult status in the UK. “It’s no surprise that us Brits buy into that particular brand of funny”, she adds. “Films like The Grand Budapest Hotel have won massive acclaim for Wes Anderson’s surrealist vision, and popular fashion photographer David LaChappelle’s mad bonkers celebrity imagery prove that surrealism re-ally filters into many media streams. There’s just no logic to it... but maybe that’s the point!” From Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to Danny Boyle’s Olympic Opening Ceremony in 2012, bonkers humour is so utterly British. It’s eccentric, it’s nonsensical, it’s brilliant, and it’s perfect for sharing with friends and family. And it’s this mad unpredictable silliness that is swamping -
One of the most well-known British children’s classics, Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, is utterly bonkers! With its peculiar flamingoes as croquet mallets, advice from a smoking caterpillar and grinning disappearing cat, it doesn't get much more surreal! Over the years this silly nonsensical genre of humour has become a wonderful part on the British comedic psyche, but now its ridiculous reach is making comedy gold on humour cards. Focus On Humour Cards takes a look at this bonkers bonanza.
accompanied by a pogoing unicorn and a dancing muffin humour cards. “There has always been strong British tradition of surreal and bonkers humour, and a shared sense of silliness and absurdity can a make strong personal connection between people. Many of us will recall having bonded with friends in our school or student days over finding things hilarious that no-one else does, or making up our own phrases and expressions,” deems Mark Graham, humour editorial manager for UKG. And, quite rightly, he feels there's definitely an element of rebellion against the established order about surrealism and bonkers humour, hence its popularity with students. “And from a greeting card point of view, surreal and bonkers humour also tends to be at the cutting-edge, so it appeals to card consumers looking for something fresh and different which can be found throughout UKG's offering,” says Mark. Well-known for amusingly bizarre juxtapositions, absurd
Above and left: Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass are completely bonkers British classic novels illustrated here by John Tenniel. Below left: Redback Cards’ Good Things range: Mad. Bonkers. Surreal. Yep, that’s pretty much the inside of Will Vincent’s creative brain. Bottom left: Cats wearing jumpers, what’s not to like? – This Just Wink design is perhaps the epitome of the tone of random surreal humour from UKG. Below: Brainbox Candy is infamous for its random and bonkers expressions.
situations and expressions of the surreal on its humour cards are Brainbox Candy, who confess to specialise in the completely bonkers. “At Brainbox Candy HQ, ‘Bonkers and Surreal’ are our middle names, actually that's not true, my middle name is Trumpton and Ben’s is NumChuck,” jokes Brainbox’s Mark Williams. “When we’re not writing silly captions, we can be found wearing cheese hats, driving jam sandwich cars, hi-fiving hot dogs and teaching cats to Wip and Nay Nay. “We think surreal humour appeals because the great British public have a fantastic and inquisitive sense of humour. Bananas. For years the UK has pioneered modern comedy, bending and twisting humour from The Goon Show, Monty Python to a whole new arena of contemporary comedians. The public loves this style of humour because it challenges the norm, takes them unawares and has a fun, irreverent element of shock. DING DONG, come in Mrs Braithewaite. We have always strived to write original, modern captions that resonate and tickle Blighty’s funnybones. Miaow-flowerpot. Our ranges have grown considerably and they all have their own unique style, whether it’s irreverent, silly, quirky or just plain nonsense. We wouldn’t do it any other way.” FOCUS ON HUMOUR
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New For 2016 A super cute collection of cards by Simpsons animator Liz Climo. This adorable range features animals in conversation about their awkward everyday lives and is sure to make you smile. See all of Liz’s designs at:
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COMEDY CAPERS Rather than just the surreal, Pigment's take on the new bonkers wave is mixing the preposterous with the hyper corny and the downright silly. Recent top selling newbie card designs include a bit barmy captions such as 'You're Awesome, my pussy told me' from its Boomshakalaka range and the outrageous 'Indulge on your Birthday. Remember fatties are harder to kidnap' from its Emporium collection. “Possibly our most compositionally unusual range is the 'Let them eat Cake' range featuring high camp montages and some social media inspired sloganeering: 'The Birthday Fairy just called and she's bringing Prosecco' sits alongside 'Beautiful Cupcake in a world of Muffins', and cranking up the corniness to a new level is our Etched designs stating 'No cause for a Llama!' and 'What the Cluck?', explains Ruth Smedley, Pigment’s key accounts administrator.
The greeting card industry is all about new and original ideas, so inevitably there’s a lot of slightly bonkers stuff out there, such as Tillovision’s new range ‘Shut Your Cake Hole!’ featuring talking cakes and biscuits, which would be quite strange in any other industry, but in the world of cards actually seems fairly normal. Tillovision’s founder and designer, Richard Tillotson, explains: “The hard part is to create something new and a bit weird on cards that people still connect with and want to send, but I think the way I work adds slightly to the oddness. I create all the cakes out of Plasticine and try to make them look as real as possible, then add the Far right: Will Ainsley’s surreal illustration features on a card from Ohh Deer Right: Micheal Leunig’s whimsical bonkers humour feature in Cath Tate’s Winding Path range.
Left: Pigment’s Let them eat Cake range features some social media slogans. Below far left: Completely made from Plasticine, the cake and biscuit characters on Tillovision’s Shut Your Cake Hole have an Alice In Wonderland feel. Below left: Bonkers? Tick. A design from Paper Rose’s Merriment and Mockery range. Below right: Lady Dalek’s discuss the difficulty in buying cards for their male partners on a Paperlink Bottom Line design.
surreal element of putting faces on them. Even the tea in the mugs is made out of Plasticine. People ask why I don’t just use actual cakes and biscuits, so maybe the process is more bonkers than the actual cards!" Cath Tate Cards has published a number of ranges over the years that could be called surreal or slightly off the wall bonkers humour. The most recent of Cath Tate’s quirkier offering is the work of Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig in the Winding Path range. Michael describes his approach as humorous, messy and mystical and when you look at his cartoons you can see why! “The appeal of the Winding Path cards is their whimsical silliness. It’s a sense of humour that isn’t crass but is funny because it looks at the world in an upside down and human way. As Michael puts it in one of his cards: ‘What’s the point of life? It’s not pointed it’s rounded and soft….’”, says Rosie Tate, director for Cath Tate Cards. So what has caused this eruption of bonkersness on humour cards? Reggie Pugh, creative director for Paper Rose believes finding new angles on humour, stretching into the more surreal, is really important at the moment: “As card retailers dedicate more and more space to humour designs, responding to customer trends, it puts pressure on the need to expand beyond beer and sex related gags on cards!”, she highlights, adding, “We launched our Merriment and Mockery humour range late last year. It’s created by Kate Abey who has such a great quirky sense
of humour - we just love her angle on all things everyday with a twist! Who would conjure up the idea of a cat in a supermarket bagging area?!” Emma Young, product development manager for Paperlink credits the multifarious ways we can now access humorous content, particularly through the internet, social media and the boom in television channels. Not only do we now have access to hundreds more TV channels featuring a myriad of humour styles, but we also have social networking to instantly share jokes and memes. This all sharpens our funny bone, broadens and changes our use of language and prepares us to expect the unexpected. “Surreal and bonkers have always been out there, but never have they been so mainstream. There has been a surge in popularity of talking food. In Paperlink’s Kook range we have a talking cupcake… a cupcake `who is your friend` (aren’t they all?) and in our Colourful Mind collection we have an arguing avocado couple. The bloke avocado assures the lady avocado she is the right kind of fat. Colourful Mind also features pigs out on the pull! And Bottom Line taps into the dilemmas of being a Dalek, while our Just Saying range features a ramble, written from the card buyers point of view, about the issues of buying cards for men”, says Emma. Mark Graham, humour editorial manager for UKG agrees that the internet has been a big influence on the bonkers humorous genre,“ as it offers a complete uncensored free-for-all for anyone to share random jokes, experimental language and flights of fancy with the rest of the world, often with a daft visual that adds to the humour because of its very amateurishness. Thus bits of silliness that would previously only have been shared between a small group of friends can now reach a worldwide audience”, he expounds. Maybe, this ridiculous bonkers humour isn’t so silly after all! FOCUS ON HUMOUR
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SPOTLIGHT ON CARTOON ARTISTS
Masters Of The (Funny) Universe With some world-class cartoon artists’ work featured on a plethora of humour cards, PG goes behind the scenes to ask some life observationalists with the comedic touch how they first ventured into cartoon illustration and how do they ‘draw’ amusing ideas from our universe to characterise on paper. Chris Masters, artist of Eric The Penguin, Gnomies and Birdwit ranges from The Great British Card Company: “From an early age Ronald Searle books and Giles annuals inspired me to try my hand at being a cartoonist. It was much later, when I was made redundant, that I took my opportunity to try humorous illustration as a career. After many years producing children's books I branched into greeting cards. Eric the Penguin almost didn't happen as the first penguin rough I drew I threw in the waste bin, but after reflection I decided to send it to the publisher anyway. The best decision I ever made.” Eureka moments: “I get my humour ideas from everyday life, especially from anything current and topical. The fun comes from transposing it into the world of Eric, Birdwit and The Gnomies. Ideas for cards can occur at any time and it is essential to write something down immediately. Ideas just before sleep are frustratingly forgotten in the morning. The next task is to produce a pencil rough and then a more complete inked rough to send to GBCC. If approved I then take it on to full colour artwork for publication. I think there is a lot of me in Eric, and as I get older I fear I might even be developing his waddle.” Top: Chris at his desk in his studio. Above and below: Two of the latest designs from GBCC’s Eric the Penguin and Gnomies ranges.
Sarah Brody, illustrator of the Camilla & Rose range from Peartree Heybridge: “I fell into illustration by accident really. I had been trained as a knitwear designer, but once I had my first child I took the decision to become a full-time mum. Whenever it was a friend’s birthday I used to make cards for them based on shared experiences and made references to funny foibles etc. It was after I had created a few of these that I decided to put a mini range together called Camilla & Rose based on two friends, taking inspiration from my own friendships to cover a multitude of topics close to a woman’s heart, ie chocolate, shoes, handbags, diets, wine and men! I think most people can identify with the humour on my cards because many can see themselves or their friends in a similar situation… let’s face it we are all human and nothing works better than laughter to make you feel good. I took the range to the NEC Spring Fair where I met Peartree Heybridge who now licences the range and been brilliant in getting ‘the girls’ out there to so many different shops.” Eureka moments: “Ideas for the cards can strike at any time and so I try to get them down on anything that comes to hand at the time… Above: Sarah surrounded by her Camilla & Rose illustrations for Peartree Heybridge.
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SPOTLIGHT ON CARTOON ARTISTS my desk often has scrappy bits of paper with scribbled hard to decipher ideas scrolled on them. I also keep a little notebook next to my bed and every now and then when I’m in that half dozing state I will think of things that could be used. I then love nothing more than sitting in my studio making those ideas come alive when I start painting the girls.” Right: Camilla & Rose is based on two friends and the funny things in life they share.
Tim Whyatt, illustrator of the Traces of Nuts range from UKG: “About 20 years ago I saw an ad for a short night school course entitled ‘Cartooning for Beginners’ and I decided to give it a shot. To my surprise, the teacher immediately saw some potential in me. He kind of gave me the impression that I might have what it takes to do this for a living. A year later I decided to quit my office job to see if he was right. It turns out he was! What tickles me? Cats, dogs, John Cleese, my grandparents, marriage, religion, sex, Charles Addams, pop culture, science, Gavin & Stacey, Marion & Geoff, my two children, parenthood, relationships, language, Billy Connolly, doctors, The Peep Show, human psychology, underpants, senior citizens, Ricky Gervais, my wife, Gary Larson, the human body and the bloke who does the voice over on Come Dine With Me... not necessarily in that order.” Eureka moments: “I’m not exactly the fastest cartoonist around. I prefer a very neat artistic style, so once I’m happy with a joke, I’ll take my time to draw everything quite precisely. I then ink the outline, scan it in to my computer and colour it in Photoshop.” Top: Tim relaxes after illustrating. Above The ‘Traces of Nuts’ range has won The Henries Award for Best Humour Range twice, and is published on cards by UKG. It now has a brand new look with dangerously amusing new designs.
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Will McPhail, illustrator of A Colourful Mind range from Paperlink: “I’ve drawn cartoons as long as I can remember, which I guess isn’t saying much as I can’t remember what underwear I put on this morning. Ah, the tartan thong! Excellent choice Will. The suspenders, in hindsight, were perhaps a bad idea. I first started getting work published while I was in university, where instead of taking notes and learning stuff, I would spend all my time drawing the lecturers and not having sex. Paperlink and I found each other soon after that, and although they couldn’t help on the sex front, they were incredibly encouraging about my cartoons. Since then they have taken my cartoons to places that I couldn’t ever imagine going. Like Tesco. I really love bringing inanimate objects to life and anthropomorphising animals (see? I went to university) so I think inspiration can be found all over the place. Everyday life can be hilarious if you let your imagination take the wheel. That was a metaphor; I always maintain complete control of the wheel and am a very responsible driver.” Eureka moments: “I think I’m pretty old school as far as the artistic process goes. I like pencils and paper and watching watercolours spread across the page. I have a Pocahontas-like fear of modern man and his drawing tablets. I’d like to get better at it one day but until a Wacom can paint with all the colours of the wind…” Top: Will McPhail, illustrator of Paperlink’s A Colourful Mind range. Above and above right: Two of Will’s A Colourful Mind designs.
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SPOTLIGHT ON CARTOON ARTISTS Oliver Preston, founder and illustrator for Beverston Press: "As a budding artist, aged 10, I was offered the opportunity to buy a set of oils and brushes from an art shop. Unfortunately my budget did not stretch to the deluxe wooden cased box set that I had set my heart on. Instead I purchased the complete run of Winsor and Newton coloured inks, permanent black indian ink, and brushes and Gillotte nib pens to match. I have been using them ever since. There is no training to becoming a cartoonist, but an obsession with the greats of cartooning - H M Bateman, Herge, Charles Addams, Thelwell, Searle and others - led to me developing a style of my own, and an understanding of how to draw, and give a good joke. Much of it is social observation. Many people have said to me that they love my cartoons. They go on to say, "You obviously know all my friends, and the
Above: Oliver surrounded by his inks and brushes. Left and right: People can relate to Oliver’s cartoon observations - on cards through his company Beverston Press.
same people we know." I clock everything that goes on around me; what people say; what people wear; what themes occupy people's thoughts. I then twist it, and give it back to them. I always carry a small notebook. I write things down. Overheard comments or ideas come at
the most unlikely of times - on a motorway, on a train. Often my wife suffers me scrabbling around on my bedside table for the notebook in the dark at 4 o'clock in the morning.” Eureka moments: “I believe that a good cartoon is 50% drawing and 50% joke. It is a very British genre, something we are very good at, and we have a long heritage going back 300 years. The caption is such an integral part of the picture. It is like delivering a good punchline when telling a joke. The cartoon should be a great picture with a succinct caption, thus allowing the reader to get the joke within a few seconds. We have a huge range of cards, and people always seem able to find something that relates to the person they wish to give it to, and it is very flattering for me that people want to buy them!"
Annie Tempest, Country Life cartoonist and creator of Tottering-By-Gently on cards from Peartree Heybridge: “I started drawing when I was in my sixth year of working as a medical secretary after leaving school. During clinics I began doodling the patients waiting for their appointments. My scribbles proved popular and I began being asked to make birthday cards for colleagues and adding little captions to make them funnier. I found lots of 'how to draw' books in my local library and, on returning from the hospital in the evenings, I would study drawing at the kitchen table. Eventually I plucked up the courage to show my first cartoons to a publisher, thinking I might get a little job as an illustrator and, to my astonishment, I was commissioned a whole book and given two months to produce 96 cartoons. How Green Are Your Wellies? came out in the Christmas of 1985 and went to three editions in three months. It seemed to resonate with the Sloane Ranger thing at that time. Above: Annie is Country Life magazine’s first cartoon The Daily Mail took me on shortly after and I did a strip cartoon on the next social phenomenon artist, observing rural living. Below: Peartree Heybridge recently signed a licensing the Yuppies. This ran for over seven years until the Yuppie thing was over too.” agreement to publish Tottering-By-Gently on cards. Eureka moments: “I needed to find a larger canvas that would not go out of fashion like Sloanes and Yuppies, so I invented a family called The Totterings with three generations and dogs. This gave me the broad canvas I needed to establish enough voices for me to comment across the generations on all subjects. I had now moved to the country and had dogs and children of my own so plenty of inspiration. I also wanted to move from black and white to color and from simple to a wealth of detail. This meant cutting down from six cartoons a week to a weekly one so I could do greeting cards, mugs, gift books and associated branded product. I persuaded the editor of Country Life magazine to take on its first cartoonist! They were nervous, but 23 years later we are happy partners and Tottering by Gently has a place in the hearts of its readers. Peartree Heybridge has just taken on the licence to exploit the enormous archive of my work for Country Life on greeting cards and we are excited to have the opportunity of reaching its large humorous greeting card audience.” FOCUS ON HUMOUR
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RETAILER FEEDBACK
Comedy Store We all love a good giggle, and with the resurgence of humour with the wave of stand-up comics, TV series, youTube, memes and social media jokes and funnies, Focus On Humour Cards asked some comedic card retailers what publishers’ humour ranges are currently tickling the funny bone with their customers, young and older.
Paul Jarman, owner of Creased Cards, Brighton: Top Titters: “Here at Creased we try to stay ahead of the crowd and so often have newer publishers and ranges in the store. We are constantly trying new stuff and evolving what we have available for our customers. That said, there some mainstays which always sell well… such as Redback’s Wulffmorgenthaler and Good Things ranges, as well as some of Kiss Me Kwik’s classic designs. On the newer front, we still continue to work closely with Buddy Fernandez to ensure we have not only its best-sellers in store but that we take the newer designs and try them as early on as we can. We’ve also just started stocking cards from The Naughty Little Card Shop - and some of its designs are doing really well.” Senior Moments: “Our older clientele still love a lot of Paperlink’s cards, but in particular the Colourful Mind range goes down very well. Splimple continues to perform well - particularly the Wordies range for milestone ages. I would say though that more and more I have noticed that humour ranges are starting to transcend the age ranges - both in our Brighton store and on our e-comm website. We get more and more of the ‘older crowd’ heading down the back end of the store to see our much more risky and edgy stuff from publishers such as Modern Toss and Ohh Deer. And let’s not forget Corrina Rothwell’s newest design ‘Coarse Fishing’, which is flying out the door!” Young Ones: “The aforementioned Ohh Deer still remains popular with the youngsters - particularly the Gemma Correll designs, which still appeals to teens and those older. Quite Good Cards also sells well in the sub-35 age range, alongside some of the cuter, clever humour cards from Whale & Bird.” Comedy Gold: “I definitely think that the continued growth in comedy across all mediums has had a part to play, however I also think that the type of humour you choose on a greeting card - and how well you pick it to match the recipient - can differentiate you from the other, dare I say it, more bland cards someone might receive from their other friends and family. I regularly have people in store tell me that they are in a ‘battle’ with a friend or family member to buy ruder, darker or just downright funnier cards for each other year-on-year, so I think humour is starting to become a habit for many. What an enjoyable habit!” Above left: Wise advice from The Naughty Little Card Shop. Top right: Avanti cards (from GBCC) causes giggles with the younger crowd. Above right: Dry wit from Buddy Fernandez. Left: Corrina Rothwell’s ‘Coarse Fishing’ design is a hot humour ‘line’. Right: A card from Twizler’s Canine range.
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Chris Maskell, owner of Saltash Cards, Saltash, Cornwall: Top Titters: “One main favourite is Eric the Penguin from The Great British Card Company. These cards are timeless classics that never date. They are simple humour that both adults and children can find funny and have a great animated picture.” Senior Moments: “Our more mature customers enjoy the Frank by Name range from Abacus. They are continually updating the range, which helps the range not become stale. They like the snappy, blunt captions that fit the picture and they normally can relate to it.”
Tom and Maureen O’Connell, owners of Just Cards, St Ives, Cambs: Top Titters: “Woodmansterne, Brainbox Candy, Pigment Productions and Paperlink are currently our chosen main suppliers of humour. Riff Raff and Animal Antics are Pigment's best-selling ranges, and Brainbox Candy’s designs are very good but some of it is quite rude and definitely for over 18s only, but we're surprised that some customers of a certain age (and some quite elderly) buy the naughty ones quite regularly! We have some humour cards from Twizler, which are popular, as well as Spring Chicken and Camilla & Rose from Peartree Heybridge. Woodmansterne has a broad range of humour ranges and its Spike Milligan, Punch and Genius ranges do very well for us.”
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RETAILER FEEDBACK Young Ones: “Our younger customers love looking at the Avanti cards (now from GBCC). The amusing animal picture need no words and normally brings a laugh from our younger customers.” Comedy Gold: “I do think there has been a resurgence in humour designs, with a lot of inspiration coming from social media. The Facebook or Twitter card designs have been popular as so many people can relate to them. My all time favourite comedy moment still has to be Del Boy falling through the bar, which is a timeless classic!”
Owen Thomas, owner of Castle Card Gallery, Chepstow, Wales:
Top Titters: “Redback Cards does a number of distinctly different looking graphic style ranges, all with great quality edgy humour, which together look visually impactful on the shelves and seem like the ranges are from different publishers. I honestly didn't believe Redback’s Good Things range, with its scribbly drawings and words artwork, would work for us, but our customers love them! It's a good ‘go to’ range. At the other end of the demographic, Dandelion Stationery creates subtle humour cards that appeal to women. With a hand-finished look and on quality board, they attract yummy mummies.” Senior Moments: “Pigment’s Fleet Street and Pinot Grigio ranges are favourites with the older crowd because the first impression of the cards is of the old-fashioned vintage images but then the eye is drawn to the contemporary punchline.” Young Ones: “U Studio’s Lettered range shows just lovely typefaces and words; there’s no picture at all. The impact is on the front of the cards and this style appeals to men.” Comedy Gold: “We have a naughty box in the shop, with Right: Senior moments a skull and crossbones on, for the humour cards with swear on a Frank By Name words. It's a very popular box! Half of Icon’s Blush design from Abacus. range must be in the naughty box. The cards feature wonderful 1970s photos, that look innocent and oldBen Potter, owner of Doodlebug, fashioned, but then you read the words!” Cwmbran, Wales: Above: Shark wit on a card from Redback’s Wulffmorgenthaler range. Top Titters: “Hands-down the two humour card publishing Right: A subtle humour on a card from Dandelion Stationery. favourites with our customers are from Brainbox Candy and Dean Morris. Twizler’s Canine range also has some great Pauline Murray, owner of Tippecanoe, Portree, Sky: funny designs too that Top titters: “Pigment’s ranges have been our are really strong, and customers' favourites for many years now. They Ohh Deer’s cards are keep refreshing the collections and tweaking just brilliant. They are the humour to maintain its contemporary all ranges that are quite appeal. The publisher’s cards always manage to unique - and quite raise a chuckle and quite often fits of laughter rude. And most of from the tourists who haven't seen them them you wont find in before. Sometimes they buy a pile of them to John Lewis. These give to friends and relatives back home. They designs allow us to are funny without being blatantly rude and offer something appeal to all ages from 20-90.” different from other card retailers.” Young Ones: “U Studio (formerly Urban Graphic) supplies us with more Senior Moments: “Our older customers love the rude 'designer' looking humorous card. They are clever with the captions and graphic cards, the ruder the better! We’ve never had any complaints imagery - eg 'Cigarette Butt' - and probably appeals more to the 20-40 age group.” from them about the words.” Comedy Gold: “Cath Tate's humour cards are brilliant too but with a more Young Ones: “Gemma Correll’s clever puns are a favourite, female humour slant - eg, the card, 'Gardening, yoga, bubble baths, medication...and I now on cards by Ohh Deer, and U Studio (previously Urban still want to smack somebody' - has been a Tippecanoe favourite for years.” Graphic) designs, such as the card that simply says ‘Buy me Gin’ Above right: U Studio has youth appeal. or the squirrel with a lightsaber card, are constantly brought to the till.” Neil Allum, partner of Something Comedy Gold: “The Special, Prestatyn and Mold, Wales: Larry Sanders Show is our Top Titters: “Our best performing humour target audience for cards, cards at the moment are from Country Cards. but one of my personal They have a gentle humour poking fun at life, favourites, because he is a but are not overly rude so suit our more great TV character with offmature customers. You can hear gentle laughter the-wall comedy, is Alan coming from the customers as they read Partridge. Ahaa.” through them on the card stand; of course Above: U Studio’s lightsaber holding once you read one you have to read another!” squirrel design is a Doodle favourite. Left: Rude humour cards are hot sellers in Doodlebug, such as this Dean Morris ‘Fabulous’ design.
Left: Country Cards’ humour offers is a favourite at Something Special.
FOCUS ON HUMOUR
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