PG Focus on Kids Cards Supplement December 2019

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tel: 01992 702900 sales@danilo.com www.danilo.com 20/11/2019 15:51 22/11/2019 12:15

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Focus On Kids’ Cards - News

GAMING ON Most of us grown-ups would think that BTS means ‘back to school’, but to today’s kids it's the name of a Korean pop teen sensation that are part of the K-pop phenomenon (a new breed of bands from South Korea) who have over 15 million online followers. In the past TikTok was the sound of a clock, but, popular with tweens and teens, it’s the newest online social media platform for mobile short videos. And, remember when ‘a game after school’ would be a football kick-around the park with your mates? Now it’s online group gaming with friends you may never meet.

With YouTube the key channel for children to delve into for entertainment, it’s good to know that a dose of cinematic enjoyment in the ‘real world’ is booming, with The Lion King CGI remake, Shaun the Sheep’s Farmageddon and Disney’s Frozen II hitting high box office figures, and Trolls World Tour (next March) predicted to do the same.

For greeting card publishers all this is creative fodder, not just for licensed designs but for the design trends that they spark.

Focus On Kids Cards ‘eye-spies’ the news, views and fresh launches in the children’s cards play zone.

Left: Poppy and Branch are back in Trolls World Tour in March 2020.

Cool beans Magic beans do exist! Well they do on Lucy and Lolly cards.

On each design is a bean that has been laser-etched with a message so that when the plant begins to sprout, the words will appear on the leaves. Eco-minded and easy to grow, once the plant becomes too big for indoors it can go in the garden and flower. Children simply won’t BEANlieve their eyes!

Along with grown-up designs, Lucy and Lolly has its Kidney Bean range, a super cute, happy, bright, fun and energetic children’s unisex range, with a magic bean to grow, covering ages 4-10, and newly launched Tooth Fairy letters.

“People of all ages enjoy gardening, but children in particular will relish digging in the soil, getting dirty, creating things and watching plants grow, they also have so many benefits... not only are our beans fun, educational and easy to grow, they also teach responsibility, patience and highlight the importance of taking care of our planet and creating a healthier environment to live in too,” says company founder, Lucy Mulhall.

Above and left: Lucy and Lolly Tooth Fairy cards with plantable bean that sprouts into a plant with a message, or, in this case, a tooth icon.

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FOCUS ON KIDS CARDS

Back to school It was back to school recently for Stripey Cats’ card designer and Henries winner, Jonathan Crosby, when he took his success story to his old classroom.

Jonathan was one of several alumni of St James C of E Junior School in his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria, asked to take part in an Aspiration/Inspiration day and speak to the pupils about his own career path.

Jonathan, 41, who now lives in Manchester, and started Stripey Cats 10 years ago, said: “It was weird going back into your old school as a grown up after 30 years! But it was great to work with the pupils; it awoke good memories of my own schooldays there.”

So armed with some blank cards and plenty of googly eyes (and his Henries trophies), Jonathan let the kids create their own interpretation of a Stripey Cats card, “which as you can see came out brilliantly! Future card publishers in the making!” he states. “The children were very creative and fun to be with - a really nice experience for me… and hopefully for them too.”

Jonathan was surprised at first to see so many of the young children wearing red lipstick and bright eye shadow, till he realised that the previous ‘inspirational speaker’ was a beautician and make-up artist!

Above: Stripey Cats’ Jonathan Crosby with some of the pupils at St James C of E Junior School in Whitehaven, who made their own cards as part of the school’s Aspiration/Inspiration day.

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Focus On Kids’ Cards - News

An appetising accolade Sai Pathmanathan, founder of The Taste Buds, a card publisher illustrating comical happenings between food and their friends that are aimed at children, has received a Special Commendation for her The Poetic Wisdom Of The Taste Buds book after entering into the Faber Andlyn BAME (FAB) Prize for undiscovered writers and illustrators.

“The Poetic Wisdom of The Taste Buds is a blend of poetry, comical imagery, witticisms, puns, jokes, poignant messaging and total nonsense, as well as depicting foods from far and wide (purposely concentrating on vegetables and fruits with some bread and cheese mixed in for good measure!),” says Sai. All commended and highly commended awardees are guaranteed a place at a BookTrust Represents training workshop of their choosing.

Above: Sai Pathmanathan, founder of The Taste Buds, has received a Special Commendation for her The Poetic Wisdom Of The Taste Buds book illustrating her foody poetry ideas.

Get into character Claire Bates, marketing manager for Danilo, shares some of the publisher’s hot licensing properties: l Ryan Toys Review - is a children’s YouTube channel, which features seven-yearold Ryan Kaji, along with his mother, father and twin sisters, providing daily videos which combine a personal vlog with an unboxing style. With more than 20 million subscribers and 30 billion video views, Ryan became the eighth highest paid YouTube entrepreneur last year, making a cool £18 million. l PJ Masks - Since first premiered in the US in 2015, PJ Masks is now broadcast in more than 150 territories and has become a firm favourite with families all around the world, ensuring it is a top five pre-school property. l Thomas & Friends - The collection of children’s books called The Railway Series made its first appearance on British High Streets before becoming a hit TV series in 1979, and next year sees the brand’s 75th anniversary. A top three preschool property, a Thomas-related toy engine is sold every two seconds around the world and the television series broadcasts to more than a billion households in 300 territories each week. l POKÉMON - began in 1996 and is the world’s top-selling toy brand and trading card game. Additionally, the Pokémon game is the Above left: Ryan’s World’s audience is second biggest selling game franchise of all primary comprised of three to six year olds so Danilo’s new card and time, having sold more than 240 billion wrap range appeals to that copies. The new movie Detective Pikachu demographic (this card is was released earlier this year, grossing over subject to approval).

Above: Fans will be able to £116 million in the year to date. spend their birthdays with their favourite POKEMON l Peppa Pig - First airing in 2004, there characters with Danilo’s have been six series of Peppa Pig shown to official Pokémon greeting date in 180 territories, including the US and card range.

NIBS

l Following Clintons’ national ‘Design a Christmas Card’ competition with children’s charity, Rays of Sunshine, giving young children the opportunity to have their ideas brought to life, Clintons in Chatham, Kent, welcomed a local young designer to the store.

One of two winners in the competition, 16-year-old Paris Harvey from Gillingham, Kent, was presented last month with a golden ticket worth £50 and saw her winning Christmas design in the flesh. Her reindeer inspired design is on sale in Clintons stores nationwide with 15% of the money raised going to the charity. l Dandelion Stationery ran a ‘Design a Christmas card’ competition throughout November, promoted to local schools and on social media, encouraging young people in the community to get creative. The winners (announced on 29 November) will see their design professionally produced into 24 Christmas cards supplied with envelopes, perfect for sending to friends and family over the festive season. l Colourful prints to brighten up any child’s bedroom, Raspberry Blossom has recently launched children’s prints - featuring lots of animals from its ‘Best Buddies’ card collection, and other colourful creatures from the zoo or deep oceans - on both its trade and consumer website.

It’s also expanding its ’Best Buddies’ card collection into other products in 2020 so watch this space! l Make Believe Ideas, has just published a new Big Mouth book with card publisher Kali Stileman’s illustrations (pictured).

It joins the two books Kali has illustrated over the last six months, Never Feed a Yeti and Never Feed a Queen.

Top right: Paris Harvey with her Christmas card design in Clintons, Chatham.

Above: Raspberry Blossom’s Best Buddies children’s range is now available as prints.

Right: The Big Mouth book with Kali Stileman’s illustrations.

the UK - and Peppa now even has her own theme park! Following the fun adventures of Peppa with her friends and family, Peppa Pig is the UK’s No2 pre-school property. l Danilo has offered some prominent mummy bloggers a giveaway prize (pictured) for one of their lucky readers an LOL Surprise and PAW Patrol ‘Year Ahead’ bundle. These include a 2020 calendar, diary, greeting cards, giftwrap and bags, so that the winners are prepared for special occasions throughout the year.

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Trends Spotlight

PAW-TY POPPERS If you go down to the woods today, and then visit your local card shop, you will spy not just teddy bears having a picnic but a whole herd of giraffes, elephants, lions and leopards partying with cats, dogs, mice and rabbits celebrating with paper hats, balloons and birthday cake on children’s card designs.

Focus On Kids’ Cards joins this social shindig.

“Do children like birthdays and birthday parties? Yes! Do they also like fluffy, cute kittens and/or ferocious (but still kind of cute) dinosaurs? Absolutely!

Would they like those animals to participate in their birthday celebrations? Well if my parents had found a way to invite a diplodocus to one of my birthday parties I would have been overjoyed, especially if he came wearing a birthday hat and brought a nice present!” jokes Dan Kane, co-founder of Think Of Me Designs, who believes that animals that like to party are an obvious choice when talking about imagery for a good children’s birthday card as it combines two of a child’s favourite interests.

And Leanne Smith, designer for Paper Salad agrees that animal friends at your birthday is de rigueur. “We think party animals are popular on children’s cards as they simply love animals!

Everyone has their own favourite animal, so a party including everyone’s is a must!”

Therefore happy wagging tails with a balloon attached, a celebratory bunch of dancing safari wildlife or party hat wearing fauna, are roaming (and revelling) in large packs across the savannah of children’s card designs.

Scampering within Hotchpotch’s Lemonade collection is a neon pink leopard and rainbow llama design that are the life and soul of any party. Anna Price, senior designer for Hotchpotch, feels animals Above: A fiesta loving rainbow llama on a Lemonade card from Hotchpotch.

Right: Hotchpotch’s Anna Price’s nephew Daniel, aged nearly 3, clutching his favourite and well-loved ‘Baa’.

Below left: Fe-line like a party, Think of Me’s tiger design.

Right: Redback’s charming penguin pin card from its Pinata is great for kids that like to unleash their inner

are an obvious choice for kids’ designs as they are just so fascinated by them: “My nephew Daniel is 3 next week and he’s very excited about it! He talks about animals (bunnies, dogs, dinosaurs and crocodiles are all favourites!) all the time and points them out whenever he sees any, so it’s no wonder why kids love party animals so much - its a combination of their favourite things!”

The animal kingdom enthrals children and as their sense of curiosity develops this becomes an instinctive world for them to explore believes Luka Thorp, designer for Redback Cards: “It’s therefore no wonder that our furry friends are found so frequently on cards for kids. Inspiring children’s creativity and strengthening their imagination further, animals are now getting in on the party spirit! Whether they are donning some cool shades or wearing a fun hat, emphasis is being made on the animals celebrating alongside the children.”

Think Of Me’s Dan Kane notes animals play a huge part in our childhood. “They are full of an innocence and wonder that mirrors our own. We want to be a part of their world and want them to be a part of ours. I’m surely not the only one who spent weeks trying to communicate with their dog and cat after watching Rex Harrison in Dr Dolittle.

What a magical thing that would be! Now throw in a party hat and some cake and we’ve got the best birthday ever!”

For children (and many grown-ups) it doesn't matter if our friends have four legs and a tail, claws and will eat practically anything, what’s important is that they are awesome, in looks, nature and silliness.

“Animals are children’s friends, and friends wear party hats, blow streamers, pop balloons and are silly,” says Janna Cossettini, director of Deckled Edge.

Dominic Early, co-founder of Earlybird, believes the appeal of party animals on kids’ cards is mainly to do with making animals more human-like, but he feels the animal has to be funny as well. “People love cats and dogs, and if the animal is a bit quirky, like giraffes with extra long necks and or a kitsch llama, it increases the nonsense!” he says, adding, “Dressing them up in hats, glasses, putting them on bikes Above: A party hatted pooch from or skateboards, kids find those kinds Deckled Edge.

Above: Deckled Edge’s Janna of things funny.”

Cossettini’s daughter, Arianna’s favourite animal is a wolf: Filled with a whole menagerie of current "I’ve always loved wolves, to me they’re a dog that also has some party animals, Roger la Borde’s qualities of a cat. They’ve just Whoopsy Daisy card range, illustrated always been appealing to me; fluffy, cute and mystic," says

by Marc Martin, includes a playful Arianna (age 13).

FOCUS ON KIDS CARDS

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Trends Spotlight

Left: Inspired by BBC Planet Earth, Dominic Early’s daughter Amelia (who is 10) explains why her favourite party animal is a monkey: "I love monkeys because they are very cheeky and do funny things. They make me laugh. They're also a bit like us."

She holds an Earlybird birthday card from its Bex Parkin range.

balloon-clutching giraffe. Helena Maratheftis, marketing manger for Roger la Borde highlights that’s it's the anthropomorphising of animals, something we’re all guilty of, that appeals to children.

“Animals can seem so very expressive, and it can be easy to imagine them having similar emotions to us - anyone with a pet is surely convinced that their dog or cat can show guilt, or affection, or joy. Taking it a step further, with a pinch of childhood imagination, and what could be more fun than an animal who loves a birthday party?! What better playmate could a child possibly dream up than a cheeky, wild animal who knows how to play and celebrate?”

Dogs wearing party hats with birthday cakes and cats with birthday presents and balloons feature on cards from James Ellis’ children’s birthday range, and are pawing hi-fives in popularity stakes.

“Most kids find animals cute, cuddly and fun, so an animal in a party hat or undertaking a party activity is even more appealing! It's similar to a teddy bears’ picnic - kids have always enjoyed dressing up animals and pretending to engage them in human activities, so involving animals in a birthday party just seems like an extension to that,” says Louise Amesbury, assistant publisher for James Ellis.

“My two boys still have the cuddly toys they had when they were babies and continue to have a strong connection with them. One a giraffe, the other a puppy (and imaginatively named as such), it would cause devastation if they were lost (although they are a bit too old to admit it!). These animal toys have been involved in many role play activities over the years and have even had their own birthday parties!”

Featuring safari animals having a disco to playing musical instruments and singing birthday songs along with a ghetto blaster, Raspberry Blossom’s aptly named Party Animals range was based on creative director, Rebecca Green’s honeymoon in South Africa, where she enjoyed a safari trip with her husband Mark.

“The appeal of animals partying is that children love to see their favourite animals come to life. From a teddy bears’ picnic to imagining their cuddly toys on an adventure with them, making animals more human-like can really feed their imagination,” says Rebecca, adding, “We have a little girl Above right: Illustrated by Marc Martin, Roger la Borde’s Whoopsy Daisy range includes this mischievous giraffe.

Above left: Designed by artist Klara Hawkins, a partying pooches design from James Ellis.

Right: Safari animals having a ball on a Raspberry Blossom design.

now called Ophelia, she is only 4 months so hasn’t yet told us her favourite animal! But when she was born we received a lot of cuddly toys and so many rabbits!”

Judith Kerr’s classic children’s story The Tiger Who Came To Tea is a perfect example of this fun fantasy of animal friends joining in believes Mark Graham, editorial manager for UK Greetings: “There is something very immediate about happy and funny animals that appeals directly to children, especially if it feels like they are coming to your party!”

Animals are perfect personalities for inspiring children’s card designs as they come in all shapes, sizes and colours so have great market appeal at all ages. “They are so adaptable and relatable, making for great Above left: UKG’s illustrations,” says Jess Greaves, sales and Juvenile Brights animal admin coordinator for Dandelion Stationery, characters are full of fun and ready to party! adding, “What could be more fun than a roaring Above: Ready for a sparkling party in her lion in a party hat or a onesie, Mark’s daughter Graham (age 3) fancy flamingo holding Selina reveals, “I like unicorns because they a balloon?!” are pink and magic!”

But what if we never really grow out of sharing our party with animals? Dan Kane from Think Of Me says, “A cat café has recently opened close to us. You get to go and have coffee and cake with your friends in a coffee shop environment while hanging out with a bunch of cats and kittens that are looking for adoption and are free to wander amongst the patrons. That doesn’t sound too far from grown up version of a birthday party with added animal guests to me!”

Above: A magical design from Dandelion Stationery’s Words of Wisdom collection.

Right: Bob the beluga whale is Jess’ daughter, Isla Greaves-Huckerby’s (age 9) current favourite animal because: “He is so smooth and soft, he has nice eyes and is always happy.”

Above: Kali Stileman’s Party Animals square cards feature classic favourites.

Above right: Kali Stileman’s social media queen, Alice Bell’s baby girl Orlaith with her monkey toy.

Right: Pippi & Me have a plenty of partying animals in its ranges.

FOCUS ON KIDS CARDS

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Retailer Feedback

PLAYGROUND POSSE Emma Cole, branch manager for Postmark, Balham, London:

Which children’s cards are swinging high for retailers’ customers, what themes are climbing in popularity with the kids and what is the one plea to card publishers to add or change current kids’ cards? A posse of card retailers share their thoughts on the kids’ cards playground.

Top picks: “The most popular kids’ cards brands for us are: Paper Salad’s Jamboree Kids range which are bright, fun and reasonably priced; Earlybird’s Minis which are a really good cost per unit (great for the children’s classmates- ie children that you don't know so well); and Redback’s Shine and Pinata ranges which have strong, simple designs with the added bonus of a reusable Above: U Studios’ Words element (such as a sequin patch or pin/brooch). The 1,000 range has some latter are also great for older kids and grown-ups.” great designs to suit teens.

Trends: “For us the recurring themes are still unicorns, rainbows, superheroes and dinosaurs. I think the appeal is that they're generally good visually and it’s hard for the person buying the card to get it wrong. Llamas and sloths are also very popular.”

More please publishers: “More jokes please! Kids love a joke but these are typically aimed at adults. Those currently bridging the gap are U Studio’s 1000 Words range and Redback’s Liz Climo range. Unfortunately, the downside is that they're not specifically birthday related which can put people off.”

Georgina Black, owner of Pretty Shiny Shop, Stroud Green, London: Top picks: “Louise Mulgrew is one of my favourites to carry as her quirky and colourful characters can be adapted to multiple age groups. Her cards are not just for kids - they are just as popular for adults too! Rocket68 would be my other top pick - big, bold, fun and bright. I also used to carry Alljoy’s bobble head cards, and they did well for me too.”

Trends: “We definitely see that unicorns are still very popular, as are dinosaurs. A bright and fun, smiling animal will always do well.”

More please publishers: “I would like to see more kids illustrations with different skin tones seen on cards - or as mixed groups.

And the tween/teen group is a difficult find - especially for boys. I wish I had the answer!”

Above: A Sea Buddies design from Rocket68.

Right: Adorable animal designs from Louise Mulgrew.

Anne Barber, owner of In Heaven At Home, Market Harborough: Top picks: “Objectables’ ‘Poo’ cards children think anything to do with poo is very funny so to have that on a card is hilarious!

Spineless Classics’ Beatrix Potter range, featuring a whole story on the card, are nice to read together and keep forever. Katy Dynes’ hand-drawn Sports cards are a miniature piece of artwork and feature characters in local and popular football strips. Sooshichacha’s Tom and Lolo age cards are super cute. Woodmansterne’s Aardvark to Zebra cards feature assorted animals being sweet. The Proper Mail Company’s Notelets range, which has animals and is decorated with gold and crystals, is great for teenage girls.”

Trends: “For boys - dinosaurs and monsters, football, cars and trucks. For girls - it’s still unicorns and mermaids and cute animals. And it’s Disney for all.”

More please publishers: “Make the cards appeal to teenagers (more than their parents and relatives!) by making the designs current, such as featuring teen and tween idols, heroes, sport and dance for male and female, party themes, school proms, cards that can be scanned by a mobile phone to reveal a message, or links with phone technology and apps.”

Above right: Objectables' Poo cards are loved by kids.

Above: Sweet animals feature in Woodmansterne’s Aardvark to Zebra range.

Carl Dunne and Oliver Guise-Smith, partners of Cards & Gifts, Sheffield: Top picks: “We stock Cherry Orchard’s Razzle Dazzle range, which is great as it covers all the young ages and are stunning, vibrant and middle of the road, so good for any one. Also IC&G’s Barley Bear range is great as it covers both sexes, ages 1-10 years. Also, right now, it’s the open Frozen 2 designs from UKG.” Trends: “Influenced by films, Frozen 2 for sure just now, and on the back of the recent Toy Story 4 movie (cards from UKG)” More please publishers: “It’s so hard to find the right image for teens so I think a natural (not comic) looking design of whats on trend with them is needed - in a code 50, normal size card which could entice more sales for us all.”

Above: Bold and bright, Cherry Orchard's Razzle Dazzle range.

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Kids’ Cards New Launches

SCAMPS CAMP With a number of new ranges in the children’s cards camp, Focus On Kids’ Cards spotlights some of these latest scamps making mischief in the market.

l Launching in January 2020, Dandelion Stationery has a new children’s collection in its The Art of Brilliance range. This will include designs for both boys and girls aged 1-13, plus a few general birthday designs.

Each card in this collection will feature quirky illustrations by Amy Bradley and have a gold foil finish. The publisher will also be adding a few designs to the children’s section of its Words Of Wisdom collection. l The Kids Neo Ages collection from Caroline Gardner launched in October and has quickly risen to become its bestselling kids’ range. The cards are adorned with cute creatures with neon litho-print features. They cover the key ages of 1 - 4 with an option for girls and boys. The sweet animals are celebrating with balloons, birthday candles, party hats and even dressing up as super heroes. They’re fun, jolly and bright and come teamed with a craft envelope. l Cardigan Cards’ Wee Nippers range is bright, colourful, dramatic and current. Consisting of many juvenile age relations with words Granddaughter and Grandson ages 1-6, Great Granddaughter and Great-Grandson ages 1-6, Son and Daughter ages 1-6 and Granddaughter and Grandson ages 7-10 - the designs are embellished on the front with encapsulated glitter to give that extra sparkle, and of course contain just the right amount of sentiment within. They are above average size for the genre with a RRP of £2.49. l Earlybird's new range, Fab, covers all kids’ ages - from one through the teenage years and upwards. Designer Dominic Early 12

FOCUS ON KIDS CARDS

worked with neon inks to give the cards a screen-printed feel. Those inks, combined with his hand-drawn, simple typography, have created a very modern range. The cards are printed on FSC board, with a recycled envelope and compostable sleeve. Supplied naked on request. l Hotchpotch’s Popcorn collection includes lots of party animal designs, such as a bear wearing a bowtie and holding a balloon or a sausage dog carrying presents on her back!

The full collection will be launched officially at Top Drawer January. Unfold and the die-cut cards pop-up to bring them to life, but will stand proud on any shelf or mantlepiece.

l There’s a whole playground of children’s designs in James Ellis’ brand new range of 100% recyclable hand-finished Paper Shakies that are made with no plastic or glitter. The image is printed using specialist inks on translucent paper with coloured paper confetti behind.They come packed in 6s, held together with a clasp label, although they can be individually wrapped if requested. The pack bags even come in recyclable translucent waxed paper. l After the re-launch of Jonny Javelin’s Twingles range earlier this year, customers asked for even more titles in this popular range so another 12 titles were added to include the early ages of 1 to 3 in open boy and girl cards, as well Grandson and Granddaughter. Designer Lindsay Wells has created these super-cute images featuring multi-coloured flitter, foiling and embossing with really bright, eye-catching colours. l Kali Stileman has just had two new sets of designs back from the printers, all glittery and lovely! Some designs come in Kali’s classic square shape, and some in her ever-popular Tiddly Widdly range size (95mm x 125mm).

There are lots of designs for both boys and girls, including baking, dancing (what autumnal evening is not complete without the likes of GBBO or Strictly Come Dancing!?), unicorns and mermaids.

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Kids’ Cards New Launches

l Kingfisher Cards’ decision to use a new high quality board with a unique 'soft-touch' finish has received rave reviews from customers, and is seen to great effect in the publisher’s new Funfair range. With fluted foil finish and full colour inserts these superfun kids’ cards cover age relations from 16 years. With a great £1.99 retail price. l Laura Darrington Design is happy to announce the arrival of its newest children’s range, The Artbox Collection.

Featuring 24 epic designs perfect for your little people, this collection comes with a die-cut top edge, vibrant primary colours and a coloured envelope as standard. From sharks to cars, flamingos to roller boots - these cards have got all the bases covered. l Meow! There’s the oncoming launch of some purr-etty little new friends soon at Marina B Designs.

These fun loving felines, full of vibrant colours, a sense of mischief and cosy cuddles, will be finished in Marina B’s signature rainbow foil. l Paper Rose has recently launched its new Marzipan Zigzags.

Created in reaction to the publisher’s historically successful Mega Cards, the Zigzags designs have been reformatted in birthday banners and have done so well that the ages 1-6 have been relaunched (with more to follow). The cards also incorporate a great colouring-in element on the back of the whole pull-out Zigzag cards. l Hoopla is Paper Salad’s brand new super bright children’s range launching very soon! The range is full of party animals, the brightest rainbows and flying shiny rockets! They feature bright neon colours, gorgeous foil and lots of deep emboss.

Each card is paired with a beautiful new rainbow envelope too! l Rachel Ellen’s new range, Take A Walk On The Wild Side, is a striking range of children’s cards. The vibrant illustrations are enhanced with googly eyes, bringing the jungle characters to life, and the rich colour palette, bright foils and heavy emboss are the perfect finishing touches! The mostly generic range includes open birthdays and ages 1-5.

l Raspberry Blossom has a new collection launching at Top Drawer in January called Zoo Life, based on its popular print. There will be six cards, all featuring the favourite zoo animals, from monkeys and lions to elephants squirting out rainbow water! l Redback couldn’t resist the chance to expand its Shine reversible sequin keepsake collection with some awesome new additions. Joining the line-up are a host of cool characters and funky animals in a range of eyecatching colourways. Redback has also decided to introduce some new Shine milestone ages. So keep your eyes peeled as these will be launching very soon! l Roger la Borde has collaborated with New Zealand-based illustrator, Katherine Quinn, on a range of new greeting cards for children. The cards feature Katherine’s dreamy and nostalgic artwork, filled with muted jewel tones and characterful critters, from dancing woodland creatures to sweetly drawn dinosaurs. The range includes cards in a variety of special finishes, including laser-cut designs and Quintet Concertina Cards with gold-foiled touches. l Stripey Cats Cards’ Birthday Buddies is the publisher’s latest wobblyeyed age range collection. Polka-dots and stripes are the order of the day, with ages from 1-8, printed as always on a matt quality board at size 11cm square, and featuring some of Stripey Cats’ favourite characters. l Think Of Me Designs’ Hiccup collection is its super-cute bright and colourful new children’s range. Featuring an adorable collection of children’s favourites, including cats in party hats, dinosaurs bearing gifts, smiling sharks and hapbee bees, Hiccup is a joyful celebration of everything it means to be a child. Delicate coldfoiling and strong embossed detailing complement the all-round good vibes. l UK Greetings is delighted to be adding 36 fantastic new designs to its Juvenile offering, with a focus on Disney. The new designs capitalise on fan favourite franchises, support film releases, offer contemporary new looks and include innovation in the form of paper engineering and lenticular formats. Including Star Wars, Disney Marie, Disney Princess, Disney Classics, Marvel and Minnie Mouse, the designs are sure to surprise and delight.

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The Henries’ Best Children’s Range 2019

CHILD’S PLAY Winner: Jamboree from Paper Salad Leanne Smith, designer for Paper Salad: Motivational spark: “This range was inspired by children’s excitement for birthday parties and their favourite animals, so crocodiles in party hats and a big red party bus were a must! Our painterly style really works for children's cards because we like to keep our brush strokes in the illustrations and create fun scenes in the designs, just like children would!”

Kids’ cards X factor: “Our gorgeous children’s Jamboree range is full of party animals and fun birthday icons featuring bright neon colours, lovely foiling and lots of deep emboss. Having fun and colourful designs for children’s cards is so important and we definitely made this range full of that - even our rainbow envelopes are fun and bright!”

Above: Winner of this year’s Henries award’s Best Children’s Range, Paper Salad’s Jamboree collection for kids.

Below: Claire Williams (left) and Karen Wilson, receiving their Henries trophy for Best Children’s Range from Tony Lorriman (right), md of Loxleys, category sponsor.

Rainbows and starships, pompoms, diecut and stand-up designs and of course the evergreen (and pink) glitzy unicorn, cute animal and dinosaur characters, these are just some of the creations and elements of this year’s finalists (and winner) in The Henries’ Best Children’s Range category.

The creative minds behind some of these kids’ ranges reveal their inspiration, and their thoughts on what are the essential components to include when designing children's cards.

Cherry On Top from Rachel Ellen Designs Rachel Church, director of Rachel Ellen Designs: Motivational spark: “I wanted to design a range of cards with die-cut tops, the idea being that the character, caption or age is very prominent, poking up above the straight edge of the card, hence the name of the range - Cherry on Top. The range is full of classic Rachel Ellen characters with the addition of some new ones, including kissing hedgehogs, a skateboarding sloth and a ballerina bunny. The skateboarding sloth is featured on a children’s ‘Speedy Recovery’ card, along with a tortoise and snail, so it’s funny and will hopefully bring a smile to a poorly child.

Rainbows have always featured in my designs, not just because of the current trend. I love seeing a rainbow, they are so magical and you have to be quick to catch them! They really lend themselves to kids’ cards because they are so bright and colourful. In addition, my paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Rainbow (Ellen Rainbow who I was named after) so I have always felt an affinity!”

Kids’ cards X factor: “If it’s an age card, it’s important to match the age to the image. The design needs to be happy, fun and appealing with maybe a hint of humour.”

Above and right: Rachel Ellen’s Cherry On Top range has die-cut tops and buckets of bright, fun imagery.

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The Henries’ Best Children’s Range 2019

Hopscotch from Meraki (Paperlink) Emma Young, operations manager for Paperlink: Motivational spark: “Children love an interactive story. We wanted the characters to leap out and come alive. We tried to create cards that resemble a traditional picture book, to get our young ones back to enjoying something you can hold and interact with for storytelling, thus moving away from all the current more digital genres.

Each Hopscotch card gradually opens out to reveal imagination boosting scenarios that not only tell their own tale but leave a little bit of room for your own make believe.

A triple fold die-cut style adds to the whole bookish feel.”

Kids’ cards X factor: “In order to compete with popular licensed brands, we aimed to create something special and beautiful that could be kept and perhaps even collected alongside other cards within the range.

Friendly-faced animals feature strongly. To give the animals heart and soul, designer Natalie stuck to her own natural style rather than trying to emulate trends. We hope this makes them feel more real and more lovable.”

Above: Each of Meraki’s Hopscotch designs is triple fold die-cut, pulling out to reveal the celebratory scenario.

Left: Friendly faced animals feature in Meraki’s Hopscotch range.

Number Ones No1-9 from Hello Geronimo

Savannah Parade from Sirocco Design

Vicky Kieldsen, founder of Hello Geronimo:

Karen Katon-Oprey, designer for Sirocco Design:

Motivational spark: “My inspiration for this range of cards came while reading my children their bedtime stories.

I noticed that a lot of books had different animals masquerading as other things, and then I thought a collection of number cards would work well with my signature style of an added embellishment. I try to make the most colourful thing on the card my embellishment, in this case the glitter, so the design is intentionally quite monochrome, with other colours popping through.”

Kids’ cards X factor: “I think when designing children’s cards, they really need to be age appropriate.

It’s very easy to design something that we think is childlike but actually a child might not get it. I run my designs past my 4 year-old for approval!”

Above and left: Hello Geronimo’s Number Ones No1-9 ranges were ran past founder Vicky Kieldsen’s 4 year-old’s keen eye.

Motivational spark: “The initial inspiration for our Savannah Parade range came from a lovely trip to our local wildlife park, Marwell, with my little toddler Harry. He was completely enthralled by the majestic giraffes we saw, and said they were his favourite on the car journey home.

When I got back into the studio with some time to create new illustrations a giraffe was the first thing that came into my mind, so the collection started with this. I wanted the range to be celebratory, fun and quirky, but also look quite realistic so I got to work illustrating some other animal friends to join the giraffe and added some pops of colour in the balloon, instruments, hats and oversized numbers!”

Kids’ cards X factor: “I feel it’s important not to over simplify illustrations for children. I believe they should be interesting, colourful and bursting with personality and life - but not too basic in their overall style and presentation.

Children’s little imaginations are capable of so much!”

Above and above right: Sirocco Design’s Savannah Parade range was inspired by designer, Karen Katon-Oprey’s trip to a wildlife park.

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