Progressive Greetings April 2024

40 years of excellence: BGC’s milestone in wholesale greetings, gifts and partyware.

Welcoming the Paul White Wholesale acquisition for an even brighter future ahead! April 2024

ON THE CARDS

“Fight the good fight with all thy might,” is a rousing hymn written by John Samuel Bewley Monsell back in 1863. This sums up the greeting card community’s tenacious efforts in reaction to Ofcom’s Review for The Future of the Postal Service and also Royal Mail’s proposal to cut Second Class mail deliveries to every other day in the name of cutting costs.

I find it astonishing that 42% of the UK population say the only reason they use Royal Mail is to send greeting cards, so as David Faulkner, director of Cardology who has headed up the GCA Royal Mail sub-committee states we as a sector have a lot of “skin in the game.”

the last few weeks (my 60th birthday), my appreciation and love of greeting cards has reached new heights. Apologies for a dose of selfindulgence, but I was overwhelmed by a feeling of sheer joy as I opened 66 wonderful cards, including many from my friends in the industry. What also amazed me was that I had no duplicates, showing just what a wealth of creative talent there is in our community.

Never before has the greeting card industry had such an important card to play and the GCA, with the support of PR maestros at Arena PR, could not have done any more –the greeting card message was blitzed right across the media – TV, newspapers, online news sites and radio stations galore. It is now in the hands of Ofcom to muse over its recommendations… and that’s when ‘round two’ of the good fight will no doubt begin. Having reached a personal milestone in

We are full steam ahead on preparations for Progressive Greetings Live (June 4-5) and from the sneak peek of new launches I have had while putting the Preview together, goodness me, visitors are in for a treat!

However, before PG Live, we have our new ‘baby’, London Stationery Show, which takes place 14-15 May, again at London’s Business Design Centre. And falling in the middle of National Stationery Week (13-19 May), it will be a veritable stationery fest in all its glory.

I started this piece with an ancient song, but will end with something a bit more modern with the immortal lyrics from Beautiful South’s Paul Heaton and David Rotheray: “I love you from the bottom of my pencil case.” Grab a highlighter and put it in your diary!

Above: Cardies at the Ofcom London meeting (left-right) Seth Woodmansterne (Woodmansterne), Pip Heywood (Thortful), Jakki Brown (PG), Heidi Early (Earlybird), Miles Robinson (House of Cards) and Fiona Pitt (Hallmark). David Faulkner of Cardology was on stage as part of a panel.

Right: Jakki Brown with her array of 60th birthday cards.

Below: Stationery stalwart, Malcolm Adams owner of the trio of Stationery House shops with PG’s Jakki Brown in his Somerton store. (See pages 34-35)

9-21 News

All the latest happenings and developments in the trade.

22-23 Cardsharp

Clintons Is Visible at Last

PG’s columnist considers the integration process ahead for this leading specialist multiple.

25-27 Viewpoints

Dragon Slaying

PG caught up with some of the buyers from GCA Dragons Speed-dating event to discover what publishers had slayed them.

28-29 Stationery Movements

Writing All Wrongs

In the run up to London Stationery Show (May 14-15), PG considers the modern stationery movement.

31-33 London Stationery Show Preview

A taster of products that will be exhibited at the London Stationery Show.

34-35 Indie Insights

The Adams Family

Stationery retailer Malcolm Adams shares his journey to and current views since owning a trio of Stationery House stores.

37-39 Innovations

Publishers’ and companies’ new ranges and designs.

42-45 Focus on…Male Cards

The Daily Male PG’s annual delve into the non-humorous enclave of the male greeting card sector.

49 Art Source

The A-Z(emanek) Route

Artist Jenny Zemanek shares her story and her creative inspirations.

48-49 What’s Hot?

A trio of retailers reveal their best selling ranges.

50-59 Sources of Supply

Brand new Greetings Cards and Gift Wrap now available to order. Please visit our website or contact your agent for more info.

Mary Katrantzou is a Greek fashion designer living and working in London. Dubbed “The Queen of Print” by press, Katrantzou’s work has changed the face of 21st Century fashion, inspiring high fashion and high street designers alike.

Royal Mail Proposes Halving 2nd Class Delivery

Greeting card industry voice is loud and clear

The greeting card industry, largely through the GCA, has been a prominent voice in the media over the last few weeks, doing its utmost, and being very effective, pushing for a reliable and affordable postal service in light of watchdog Ofcom’s review for The Future Of The Postal Service.

The GCA’s sustained and tenacious campaigning came good with coverage in newspapers, online news sites and radio stations sharing the association’s valid arguments. Coverage reached a crescendo following the unveiling of Royal Mail’s proposal to cut second class delivery to every other day in a bid to cut costs. However, Royal Mail’s submission to Ofcom also included that it will maintain the current six-day-a-week service for first class letters, which is an improvement on previously mooted plans to have Saturday deliveries scrapped.

The plan was revealed after the GCA submitted an 25 page industry response to Ofcom’s review on 2 April, the same day stamp prices rose for the fourth time in two years, to £1.35 for first class, and the jump to 85p for second class, meaning that it now

delivering an estimated £100m increase in income for Royal Mail.

Online greeting card marketplace Thortful also responded to the Ofcom consultation and, following Royal Mail’s updated proposals, ceo Pip Heywood commented: “We were pleased to hear that first class days and speed would be protected under the RM proposal, but remain concerned about the lack of certainty of next-day prices long term.

We have heard and seen worrying price brackets for next-day letters delivery in the Ofcom modelling and in discussion with the Royal Mail –

Thortful words from Pip Heywood

we have to be realistic about what customers are prepared to pay for delivery of a lowcost, high emotional-value item.

We worry there is a false or outdated sense of price elasticity between the Royal Mail and Ofcom and contradictory research findings aren't helping clarify the issue.

I'm sure many GCA members are very concerned with the second class proposal – we know a key need for card sending is surety on when it will arrive. If Ofcom does accept Royal Mail's proposal here, we will need an acute customer education programme and even more scrutiny on RM’s reliability and quality of service to ensure consumer confidence isn't further eroded.”

The association expressed the view that “the proposal of simultaneous significant price rises and service reductions will just unnecessarily accelerate British postal decline, trapping the country in a doom-spiral of increasinglyfrequent requests for further bailouts or reviews.”

Sterling work by GCA PR agency Arena PR ensured the story was plastered across the media, including The Guardian, The Sun, The Independent, ITV, The Times, BBC, Sky News, Daily

On your Byk

Mail, Daily Express, and regional newspapers, while association ceo Amanda Fergusson has been interviewed on a number of radio stations, such as LBC, BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC Radio Leicester Amanda commented: “This issue has brought our industry together; it’s been great to have so much input and support from members as we raise our concerns to Royal Mail, Ofcom and the government.

“It’s an important time for our voice to be heard – our industry needs an affordable, reliable and regular postal service. The GCA’s response to Ofcom is clear, we are concerned that more price rises and service reductions will accelerate a decline in the British postal service. Also, there are no underpinned service recovery plans or evidence of meaningful progress to restore the Royal Mail service to legallyrequired levels.”

Royal Mail claims its latest plans would save it up to £300million each year, and admits there would be job losses but predicts “fewer than 1,000” voluntary redundancies.

David Byk, ceo at Ling Design and GBCC and one of the GCA council members heavily involved in the submission to Ofcom, is among those who have not been backward in coming forward with his views of Royal Mail’s latest proposals: “It shows how inefficient and unbelievable they are if they say these reforms are only going to take out 1,000 workers. The Communication Workers’ Union can’t believe this, nor can the share price.

Stopping second class deliveries on a Saturday, reducing second class to only two times per week, not disclosing the cost of first class so possibly putting it beyond everyone’s means so reducing demand for letters and effectively considering them as parcels, only having letters delivered when there’s more than one to go to each house so urgent post may never arrive – is so wrong. And they’re showing they don’t care about mothers by killing Mother’s Day and the greeting card industry!”

Public speaking

Members of the public, as well as those in the greeting card community have been vociferous in sharing their outrage at Royal Mail and the need to improve its delivery service, not cut it.

One Facebook post summed it up: “It has taken Royal Mail nine days to deliver a birthday card – with a first class stamp – from our son and grandson in Essex to my husband in Bedfordshire. It was correctly and clearly addressed with postcode, bearing the right postage, so I am stumped as to why it has taken so long. What on earth is the point of us splashing out on greeting cards and very expensive firstclass stamps if they can't deliver them in anything like the time they advertise?”

Left: Pip Heywood, md of Thortful at the Ofcom London presentation.

Left: Every other day second-class delivery is among Royal Mail proposals. Below right: GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson has featured prominently in the media over Royal Mail.

Below left: One of the graphics the GCA included in its submission to Ofcom.

Above: Ling/GBCC’s David Byk on BBC Breakfast last October talking about Royal Mail.

Spring-loaded Sales

First three Spring Seasons perform well

On the back of a decent Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter seem to have performed well for the bulk of greeting card retailers this year.

With Mother’s Day being the most lucrative of the Spring events, there was a lot riding on it, especially with its early dateline this year, but it was a good horse to back, as ‘mum’ was the word for many cardie retailers.

There was a massive 43% increase in sales from last year at &Quirky in Berkhamsted, with Ohh Deer, Raspberry Blossom, and Studio Boketto cards the most popular while Buddy Fernandez and Dean Morris Cards cornered the cheeky end of the market.

Partner Paul Cheshire said: “For the final week we moved the Mother’s Day cards closer to the till area and so an easy impulse buy for customers –which worked.”

The Saturday before Mother's Day “was absolute bedlam (in a good way!) for us,” said Rob Sampson, co-owner of A Stone’s Throw, in Sherwood, who reported a 20% increase in Mother’s Day cards. “We came very close to selling out of cards completely,”

“I think the early date caught people out so

they came out in droves that last day to make sure they had a lovely card and gift to give.” Market Harborough’s In Heaven At Home card and gift store, owner Anne Barber agreed that many customers were caught out by the early date.

“They didn’t realise until the few days before. Social media played a big part in raising awareness of the date and the Saturday before was like a Christmas Saturday –we were really busy with dads and children buying cards and gifts which was so lovely to see,” said Anne. “We pretty much sold out of cards this year although I had bought about 10% more, so it was a great season,” she added.

Mother’s Day card sales rose by a magnificent 25% at Milford Cards & Gifts this year, meaning co-owners Kayleigh and Sinan Hisim will be expanding their selection next year after realising they had no designs to satisfy the demand for cards from the dog. “We did really well this Mother’s Day especially in the last few days. On Saturday we were super busy with last-minute purchases – people were buying up to four cards. We did well with the traditional captions with Mothering Sunday cards being a big hit,” said Kayleigh.

Left: Anne Barber outside her shop with Henry.

Eggs-cellent Easter

Greeting card retailers have declared they had a cracking time over the Easter sales period, with neither the early date nor the rainy weather getting in the way of egg-citing sales.

At John Lewis, card buyer Jason Billings-Cray shared: “We had a cracking result on Easter cards!

It was bolstered by a really strong week before Easter which was up 36% versus the like-for-like week last year, and follows on from a great start to 2024 across our occasions and everyday cards.”

Motherly love

Helping others was a major focus at Presentation, with owner Andrea Pinder instigating two Mother’s Day initiatives aimed at helping others.

One was an expansion of its free giftwrapping service with donations going to the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, the other was supplying local charity Colne Open Door with a greeting card display unit full of several different Mother’s Day cards, for the less fortunate to send or give free. The charity helps families and homeless people by providing a safe haven, support and advice.

As well as Presentation’s generosity, Andrea explains it was only possible thanks to the support from “publishers.

Second Nature, Paperlink and Pigment all helped towards making this event special.” She repeated the initiative for Easter cards.

In addition to its altruistic activities, Presentation also saw a 13% increase in the shop’s sales of Mother’s Day cards.

Run rabbit run

Medici Gallery in London’s Kensington is well known for creating stunning window displays, but in the run up to Easter, passers-by could not stop rabbiting on about its delights as live bunnies were hopping about among the greeting card selection.

Luna and Milo loved all the attention and fresh spinach according to retail manager Tim Reynolds, as the pair ladled on the cuteness overload among the massive range of traditional, religious and contemporary Easter cards and packs in store.

Above: Luna and Milo in Medici Gallery’s Easter window display.

Meanwhile, ‘crackers’ was the operative word at Mantons Cards in Port Erin, Isle of Man, where card sales were up on last year, along with a run on Easter crackers!

Owner Chris Beards explained:

“The last couple of years we’ve sold Easter crackers as crackers seem to be getting more and more popular outside of Christmas.

“Our sales were a mix of packs and singles and also a mix of captions with very few returns.”

Caroline Ranwell at Hugs & Kisses in Tettenhall was feeling eggstatic: “Wow! we had a really busy one this year. We were just over 15% up on last year. We did really well with both singles and packs but we also sold a lot of relation cards too.”

Left: &Quirky’s Mother’s Day selection saw a 43% sales rise.

Above: Andrea Pinder with the Mother’s Day cards display unit for Colne Open Door.

Above: Wishes Of Cockermouth co-owners Victoria and Fiona Robinson really got into the Easter spirit.

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Succession at Deva Design

Jenny Williams follows in mum’s footsteps

Deva Design has put a succession plan in place and is keeping it within the family.

Andrew Maddock and Ann Rogers acquired the giftwrapping and gift business together eight years ago, but with Ann all set to retire this month, Andrew was keen to find another perfect business partner.

Though she might have only just taken over as sales director at Chester-based Deva Designs a few weeks ago, the company is in Jenny Williams’ blood as she’s grown up with mum Ann working at the gift wrap business and she herself helped out in the warehouse as a teenager.

Andrew was managing director back in 2015 when Deva’s then-owner and founder Derek BellJones wanted to retire himself so was looking to sell the business, but none of the interested parties felt quite right.

As Andrew explained “in the end Derek came to me and said: “come on, aren’t you interested, can I not support you to do it?”. I responded saying there was only one person I would run it with, and that was Ann. And we’ve done it very successfully for eight years, as joint partners, 50/50, straight down the line.”

Andrew was keen to find someone who could take over running the business with him following Ann’s retirement. “I think it’s very important to have someone to talk things over with and make decisions together,” he said. Having seen the business through her mum’s eyes, Jenny was persuaded away from her sales role at housewares company Addis where she’s been for 12 years, following marketing roles and as a designer making hats with milliner to the stars, Philip Treacy.

When Ann first mentioned to her daughter about taking over, Jenny admitted: “I said I’ve got a good job already, thank you very much! I absolutely loved working for Addis, but once I sat down and thought about it, I realised that this is a great opportunity.”

Angela Chick closes its trade arm

One of the biggest advocates for indie greeting card artists’ rights has announced a change of direction, as Angela Chick Illustration closes down her trade arm.

Having run the business for 12 years Angela, who has long been heavily involved with the grassroots Just A Card campaign supporting indie artists and retailers, has decided on a change of direction.

“Life has been a bit of a rollercoaster over the last few years,” Angela explained. “I’ve decided it’s time for me to shut up shop. It wasn’t an easy choice to make. It’s down to a lot of things but, to view it in a positive light, it will give me more time to focus on commissions, teaching, licensing and creating for the joy of it.”

Only last month Angela was interviewed on the BBC with Ayesha Corcoran, of Studio Yaya, and Blackbox Nailcraft’s Tiffiny Tremain talking about her designs being copied by online retail giant Shein

“We’ve all had designs stolen,” she said, “and it’s not the first time or the last. although I really wish it could be! The irony is, I didn’t have the pin in stock that was shown because, after costs went up, I couldn’t afford to keep them in stock. And yet Shein was selling the knockoffs for even cheaper than I could get them from my supplier!”

At Christmas 2022, Angela helped comedian and TV presenter Joe Lycett take Paperchase to task over its pre-pack administration deal that left greeting card publishers thousands of £pounds out of pocket, featuring in his Channel 4 TV programme.

Ann, who initially joined Deva only to cover a maternity leave back in 2005, said: “I’ll always love Deva, but I’m 67 this month so that’s when I want to retire.”

Moonpig’s seasonal growth

Andrew is looking forward to Jenny making her mark at Deva. “I know that Jenny will grow the business but, more than that, we’re a team and we own it. It’s very rare for a business to run for 30 years successfully, and stay independent. It’s great that we have this succession plan!”

A “strong” performance at Moonpig is underpinning the group’s results as the financial year draws to a close at the UK and Netherlands online greeting card and gifting platform.

The recent announcement saw the group – comprising Moonpig, Red Letter Days and Buyagift in the UK and Dutch brand Greetz – state its trading performance has remained in line with expectations across all brands.

“Growth has been underpinned by strong performance at Moonpig, which saw volume growth across the Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day peak trading seasons,” said ceo Nickyl Raithatha. "We are delighted revenue remains in consistent growth at the Moonpig brand. Our continued focus on technology investment means Moonpig Group is now consistently delivering year-on-year growth in revenue and profit.

It was revealed that the group has repaid its £175million loan and £80m revolving credit facilities (rcf), and a new £180m four-year, committed, multi-currency rcf agreed with a syndicate of banks.

Nine months following its launch, the Moonpig Plus subscription membership service has over 250,000 subscribers and Greetz Plus has been well received by Dutch customers since it was introduced in January 2024.

Below: Moonpig Plus and AI message inspirations have helped a strong performance.

Above: Angela on BBC Breakfast in February fighting against copycats. Below: The pin at the centre of Angela’s latest copycat row.

Above: Ann, Andrew and Jenny on the Deva stand at Spring Fair.

Below: Ann and Andrew collecting petals for Deva’s biodegradable confetti on one of the company’s trips.

Pen Poised Countdown to Stationery Show and NSW

The mega stationery countdown is well underway with plans ramping up for London Stationery Show, which takes place May 14-15 at London’s Business Design Centre as well as for National Stationery Week 2024, which wraps around the show, running Monday 13 to Saturday 19 May.

The two day trade show, now owned by PG’s Max Publishing, will champion the stationery, arts and crafting sector, with exhibitors showcasing hundreds of leading brands, including Crayola, Caran D’Ache, Kaweco, Leuchtturm1917, Pentel, Portico Designs, Blueprint

Collections, Exaclair, Daler-Rowney and Zebra Pen, as well as new emerging companies.

“We’re really excited about bringing the London Stationery Show 2024 to life. With the wealth of new product launches, the programme of workshops and talks and the Stationery Awards event at the end of the first day of the show, the activity will be full on stationery, and certainly not be stationary!” said Chantelle White, event manager of London Stationery Show.

National Stationery Week frenzy

The seven week countdown to National Stationery Week has got off to a cracking start.

Kicking things off, the #Shelfie Facebook competition, sponsored by Silvine, saw Creative Cove in Lampeter win a host of goodies.

Supported by a strong roster of sponsors, including The Art File, Exaclair, Ohh Deer, Pentel, Pilot Pen, Lamy, Manuscript, MapedHelix, Silvine UK, Staedtler and Zebra Pen, NSW co-ordinator Sarah Laker, owner of Stationery Supplies in Marple and Wilmslow has really gone to town with the plans for the big week-long event, which runs 13-19 May.

Featured on social media with entries via the NSW Instagram page, a launch competition celebrated 20 years of Lamy Safari Special Editions and all everybody had to do was comment on the post with the name of the pen company’s first special edition colour back in 2004.

This is being followed by a series of competitions and social media activities leading up to and during National Stationery Week. (See pages 28-29)

Windles ‘Wonka’ printing day

The latest link up between the Thame-based greeting card printer Windles and the GCA saw a group of publisher members go behind the scenes to find out all about the litho printing process.

“We had a brilliant group of guests,” said Ian Kear-Bertie, who handles the design and creative direction at Windles, “and they had equally brilliant questions for us to work through and answer –technical, artwork, design, production, papers/boards, inks. All were covered in the day. It was a real in-depth look at how this process works.”

“It was the real Willy Wonka factory,” laughed Bianca, of Bianca Moore Studio, among the publishers to have enjoyed finding out all about Windles history and how founder Bruce Podmore’s drive has pushed the business to its carbon-neutral status while coming up with various inventive solutions to improve the quality and finish for greeting card design.

She added: ““I was blown away by the staff professionalism, generosity – the food, free cards and also tips and tricks – the quality of machines and their dedication to recycling and the environment.”

John Lewis returns to profit

John Lewis’ return to profits has coincided with its good news on the greeting card front as the department store group’s replan is going well.

The recent announcement revealed a £42million pre-tax profit for the group as a whole in the 52 weeks to 27 January – up from a £78m loss the year before – at the John Lewis Partnership, home to Waitrose and John Lewis.

And greeting card buyer Jason Billings-Cray is over the moon by the reception to his first card selections, having only joined the greetings department in June 2023.

“We've seen a really strong start to the year,” Jason told PG. “I'm really pleased with the reaction to Valentine’s and Mother's Day – they’re my first selections for cards.”

The department store group saw “strong growth in Valentine’s card sales,” according to Jason, with sales up 5%. Mother’s Day too fared well on the cards front for JL. “The last week was really strong for us with Mother’s Day sales 16% up versus the like-for-like week last year,” said Jason. Its Easter card sales were very positive, reporting a 36% increase in the week leading up to the event.

Jason added that the “Replan too has started really well and we’re struggling to keep up with demand!

I’m really pleased that the refreshed ranges are going down well, and John Lewis remains a key destination for gifting and seasonal moments.”

Below: A John Lewis Easter card display.

The Henries open for entries

The Henries 2024 – the ultimate accolades in greeting card publishing – are now open for entries and, as ever, entry is free of charge with no limit to the number of designs a publisher can submit.

The deadline for entering ranges is 14 June 2024 and, there will again be a two-stage judging process for the main product categories.

The initial judging stage will take place entirely online through The Henries website, thanks to an extensive panel of retail buyers who will be invited to judge at least six categories each. This will see a shortlist being arrived at with the second round of judging taking place physically.

The Henries 2024 awards event, on a fun Ancient Rome theme, will take place at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on Thursday 3 October www.thehenriesawards.co.uk

Left: London Stationery Show will feature leading brands as well as new start-ups. Below: The Stationery Awards 2024 finalists will be on display at the show with the winners announced at the end of the first day.

Top: Sarah Laker with Lamy’s NSW countdown competition. Above: Sandra Jervis, owner of Creative Cove, winner of the #shelfie competition with her prize from Silvine UK.

Above: The visiting publishers inside Windles’ factory.

PG Live has lots of great retailer fans…

“PG Live was SO very good and we came away completely inspired. Everyone we saw brought their A game to the show. There was lots of inspiration, newness and clear points of difference between the stands. We came en masse as it’s such a great show and we see it as important for everyone to come along to see the publishers and all the new product they have been developing and are on working on.”

absolutely the heart of our industry. It’s our absolute favourite show from both a publisher and retailer perspective. There’s everyone there who I love and want to talk to. We really feel looked after - the free tea and coffee, the free lunch, the drinks in the evening - all of these really make it stand out as a show. This kind of connection and community is absolutely priceless.”

PG Live, as it always has such a great atmosphere – and this year’s event felt particularly inspiring and there really seemed to be excitement in the air! It was lovely to see so many card publishers under one roof, existing suppliers, as well as discovering some new ones. We came away excited and inspired, with a very long list of highlights – the product standard was so high!”

Sam Ody, lead buying manager of everyday cards  for Tesco

SAVE THE DATE

Don’t miss PG Live 2024

Tuesday 4 June – Wednesday 5 June Business Design Centre, London

+44 (0) 7734 111633

www.progressivegreetingslive.com

@PGLiveLondon

#pglive2024

A fabulous exhibitor line-up, from brand new start-ups to well-loved brands

An upbeat vibe, newness galore - and free refreshments, lunch and opening night party

CELEBRATING THE BEST IN OUR INDUSTRY –THE PRODUCTS AND THE PEOPLE

Registration is now live at: www.progressivegreetingslive.com

Hazel Walker, senior buyer of Waterstones

Heidi Early, co-owner of Earlybird Designs in Stoke Newington

TOP STORY

Retail Revival

New bricks-and-mortar openings show industry is bucking UK trend

Greeting card retailers are bucking the UK trend with ever more bricks-andmortar shop openings across all strata of the industry.

The latest information from the Local Data Company and professional services and accounting firm PwC revealed “unprecedented challenges” facing the High Street and a net decrease of 5,000 stores across Britain over the past year.

But on the greeting card sector front, the past month has seen large retail group Cards Direct, medium indie chain Scribbler, and a completely new shopcum-studio from publisher Oh Squirrel. Edging ever closer to its 70th store, Cards Direct has opened its latest store in Coventry, just weeks after opening in Sheffield’s Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre and one in Maidenhead.

And Scribbler buying manager Tori Heath-Smith told PG: “It’s been busy here as we opened our new York store – in typical bright, in your face, Scribbler style of course!”

The move takes the business co-founded by John and Jennie Procter and known for

Far left: Cards Direct has said hello in Coventry.

Left: Scribbler green now shines in York.

Below left: The new Oh Squirrel shop.

Below right: Katie’s original scribble of how she wanted her store to look.

its edgy humour to 34 standalone stores with 28 of the print-on-demand kiosks developed with Fujifilm, in stores, hospitals and university campuses in Britain and Northern Ireland.

Oh Squirrel publisher and calligrapher Katie Wagstaff’s latest move is into premises in Walthamstow that she’s kitted out as part shop part showroom in her first foray into the retail world.

“The space is 100% an immersion into the Oh Squirrel world. It’s been lovingly designed to feel like walking into a mood board, an inspiring home away from home,” Katie explained. “I adore retail and independent shops. Shopping in real life, whether on the High Street, an antique market or boot sale is my favourite hobby, so I decided this is the year I create a bricks and mortar Oh Squirrel shop and enter my shopkeeper era.”

Theo’s plea over tax loopholes

IC&G collabs with Sabina

Taking her art in a different direction has led Sabivo Designs’ Sabina Kovacheva to collaborate with International Cards & Gifts, and it all started from a chance conversation at PG Live last June! The first two ranges have just been released under the Sabina brand at IC&G with a foiled and embossed finish alongside sentiments inside the cards giving a similar luxury feel that’s completely different to the designer’s own hand-finished ranges.

Having already created designs for the new Christmas 24 collection, male range Mancave is the just-launched IC&G range from Sabina, giving her interpretation of birthday icons with classic men’s pastimes such as fishing and biking, plus the more contemporary camping and surfing, and she’s working on Christmas 25 as well as other offerings for occasions.

“Our business strategy is always to support our customers and listen to feedback, and one way we can do that is to diversify slightly and add newness to our portfolio,” said Amanda Miles, IC&G’s head of design. Having met at PG Live, Amanda added: “Sabina’s talents as an artist and businesswoman were perfectly aligned to ours.”

With several licensing collaborations already under her belt, Sabina is very happy with the IC&G relationship. “What I like about working with IC&G is that we have a dialogue and common goal, serving the customer the best we can. In my case it’s providing fresh commercial artwork. The core of the designs is my artwork, then it is re-interpreted with the IC&G customer in mind,” Sabina summed up.

Ryman owner Theo Paphitis is taking his intention to disrupt the status quo by urging the government to plug tax loopholes which allow importers to avoid customs bills.

Theo, who recently set up an app-based print-on-demand greeting card service across his UK-wide chain of stationery shops, is calling for a clampdown on the loophole used by fast fashion giants such as Temu and Shein to ship orders individually from China rather than in bulk.

The system means they don’t pay tax on parcels valued at less than £135 under Britain’s de minimis rule, whereas they would have to on bulk shipments to fulfilment centres in the UK then distributing the orders from there.

Theo, who also owns hardware chain Robert Dyas and lingerie retailer Boux Avenue, told The Times, there is a “big slug” of companies exploiting the loophole, and added: “Worse than that, the companies benefiting from it are not British companies. The government is not plugging loopholes. It’s becoming absolutely clear that the emperor has no clothes on.”

While companies like Temu and Shein defend their practices by citing supply chain efficiencies and operational proficiencies, Theo argues the UK retail sector requires more support from the government, particularly reforms to the business rates system, which many view as unfair and outdated.

He said the UK retail industry is being “taken for granted” and needs more support, and a review of the business rates system is long overdue.

Above: Theo Paphitis is pushing for retail support from Govt.

Above: Just some of the Sabina designs for IC&G.

Below: Sabina on Sabivo Designs’ stand at PG Live.

Belly Button Designs has been creating fabulous greeting cards and giftware for 30 years.

As part of our plans we are looking for a Sales Executive to join our team.

Reporting to the Head of Sales, the perfect candidate would be highly motivated with a hunger to achieve targets.

As part of this journey you would be expected to

Manage and develop established business and new customer growth

Have input into ensuring that the best product is presented to the prime retailers

Have great communication skills

Negotiate terms and prices with focus on margin

Essential to the role, you will require

Attend and present at customer meetings and Trade shows Ambition A Full Clean Driving License A firm grasp of numbers Word & Excel skills

You will be working in a vibrant, creative environment and team with a salary and benefits commensurate with the position

Please send your CV with the email title ‘Sales Exective’ to Michelle Hindle michelle@bellybuttondesigns.com

TOP STORY

BGC Has Acquired Paul White Acquisition joins greetings, balloon, party and stationery wholesalers

BGC has acquired long standing fellow greeting card and stationery wholesaler Paul White, and its sister business Tiger Feet Party as well as the depots in Leeds, Nottingham and Gateshead.

“Paul White and Tiger Feet are both established businesses operating across a similar customer base

to those of BGC, and in similar locations, so the joining of the two businesses makes it an exciting opportunity to better serve the independent sector,” said Akhtar Zahid, ceo of Budget, “Our aim is to ensure the wholesale market remains competitive and delivers value to our customers as they compete with major high street retailers. BGC is proud to be making this investment to support both sets of customers,” he added.

All existing staff in both the Paul White branches and head office are to remain, so that customers will be dealing with people they recognise while work will be going on behind the

Widdop opens office in China

Gift supplier to many in the greetings sector, Widdop and Co has opened a brand-new office in China to expand the family-run company’s products to new markets.

Known for its licensing deals with publishers including Raspberry Blossom, Say It With Songs, Pigment, Meg Hawkins, and Hotchpotch as part of its huge product portfolio, the Oldhambased company has now officially launched WCO International (HK) and opened its brand-new Shenzhen office for business.

“I remember being taught in business studies about multinational companies and dreaming that some day maybe I would get the chance to lead one!” commented Stephen Illingworth, co-owner and ceo.

“Now working with 350 factories in 12 countries, 94% audited to the world’s highest standards, 35 brands, six global licences with The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Hasbro and Mattel Inc, 10 product developers and designers, a stunning new showroom and meeting facility in the Paradise Building, two amazing managers with 30 years’ experience, we are now ready to serve a whole new group of customers here shipping fob to anywhere in the world!” he added.

The move comes just seven months after Stephen and his brother Dan completed a management buy-out to acquire their family’s wholesale gift and home décor company outright, securing the future of Widdop And Co for a fifth generation and had also just launched its own manufacturing studio at its base for short-run gift items.

scenes to combine key practices and procedures across the businesses.

The Nottingham branches are to be merged into one with a re-opening scheduled for May as the BGC operation in the city is moved to the Paul White site.

First established in Leeds in 1979, Paul White Wholesale has steadily grown to include depots in both Nottingham and Gateshead, and Tiger Feet Party, trading as Tiger Feet Direct, is based in the Leeds branch having been established as an online balloon and party wholesale company in 2013.

The acquisition will further strengthen BGC, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary and operates a network of branches in Gateshead, Bradford, Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Dunstable, Nottingham and Dublin.

Hannah Marchant plants herself at Chelsea

Seeded paper greeting card publisher Hannah Marchant has made it into the finals of the RHS Chelsea Sustainable Product Of The Year award.

The judges at the annual Chelsea Flower Show were impressed by her seeded handmade-paper cards, calendars and stationery which she prints herself and are all plantable, to produce wildflowers, veggies and herbs. And it’s all down to three years of hard work getting her sustainable brand known by running a stall at the world-famous event held in the Royal Hospital Grounds in London – with the Princess of Wales being a very happy recipient of one of the cards at last year’s show.

“I’m up against four other fabulous sustainable businesses,” Hannah told PG of the competition. “I’ll have to present in front of a panel of judges and talk about my seeded paper goods on the Sunday before Chelsea opens for press day.”

This will be Hannah’s fourth appearance at the show, which runs from Tuesday to Saturday, 21-25 May, plus the press day on the Monday, but she’s already been working on it for months, getting her cards, stationery sets and note packs ready, along with special Chelsea cards and she’s expanded this year with her plantable calendars, that are up for the award, along with Chelsea colouring-in books.

Top: Hannah’s

chum Aimee Facey (left) handed Kate, Princess Of Wales, a special London card at last year’s show.

Above: Hannah at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show.

Left: BGC’s Akhtar Zahid (right) and Paul White shake on the deal.

Below: A key dates graphic has been released for customers as the two Nottingham sites are to be amalgamated.

Below: Stephen (left) and Dan (centre) with board chairman Adam Attwood.

Bottom: Say It With Songs’ Ellie Fitzgerald christening the Widdop licensed range at Spring Fair.

Clintons Is Visible at Last

Cardsharp joined many in the greeting card community to breathe a huge sense of relief when the news hit that Paul and James Taylor of Cardzone had finally clinched a deal to acquire the rump of Clintons’ stores last month.

PG’s columnist ponders on the integration process ahead for this leading specialist multiple and looks back at Clintons’ past glories.

At the time of writing Cardsharp had scant details of what was involved financially, but it would appear all 163 Clintons’ stores were acquired as a going concern. That a deal that has been in gestation for years was one of the worst kept secrets in the greeting card trade, but its culmination came as a welcome relief, and there were no adverse views, in fact quite the opposite, especially given what might have been the scenario.

Some in the trade had worried that Clintons might go into administration again, leaving a trail of debt behind, although having said that, right up until the sale deal was finalised Clintons had been more than prompt in paying its suppliers.

Cardsharp wonders why the deal took so long to be completed. The Weiss family, Clintons’ former owners, on the surface seem to have had little interest in the business and under its management of the last ten years, Clintons seemed to operate under a degree of opaqueness that made MI5 headquarters look like a school fete!

The story of Clintons’ rise and its long slow demise has been documented on many occasions by Cardsharp. There were of course the glory

days when the PLC was headed up by founder Don Lewin, when its 1,000+ stores bestrode the greeting card industry like a colossus, and Clintons was effectively a generic term for a card shop. However conversely it has undergone various business failures and rationalisations to arrive at the 163 store rump that PIllarbox Designs, the parent company of Cardzone, has now acquired.

The acquisition makes Cardzone a real force to be reckoned with as “the only quality chain of major greeting card shops in the UK,” a phrase coined by Paul T.

With the Clintons addition, its own storesplus its Mooch gift shops and its joint venture with Mark and Leona Janson-Smith on the Postmark brand - Paul and James are heading up a huge force in UK greeting card retailing, with the acquisition taking the store portfolio to around 360 stores. This is all highly impressive, especially as it doesn’t seem that long ago that Paul had just one store. It has been some journey and one he has travelled unfaultingly displaying a huge amount of integrity and humanity, not to mention a highly apparent love of the greeting card industry and many of the characters within it.

How Clintons will be integrated into this

Above: There was a general sense of relief when Clintons passed into the ownership of the Taylors.

Below left: Cardzone directors, father and son duo Paul and James Taylor.

Below right: Cardzone’s acquisition of the Northampton-based Mooch gift group adds to its retail options for Clintons’ stores.

burgeoning empire will be fascinating to see. Cardsharp wonders if Paul’s ownership of own label/value publishers, Polytint and Simon Elvin will come into play more? Ditto its ownership of premier gift packaging specialist Glick. And will the company stick with the UKG/Watermark dominated type model that Clintons has operated for the last decade or change to a more flexible Cardzone model which involves considerable ‘wild’ buying, thereby benefitting more publishers.

postal robbery

The continued shenanigans regarding Royal Mail have been extensively covered in PG and on PG Buzz in the last few months. Suffice for Cardsharp to say what an amazing job of presenting our industry has been carried out by the UK Greeting Card Association and notably David Falkner, director of Cardology. We all know the importance of ensuring we have a reliable, efficient and affordable postal service. We have a world leading industry

Time will obviously tell, but Cardsharp is just relieved that the Clintons chain did not end up at the mercy of some rapacious private equity company or some bottom feeding ‘retail restructuring experts’.

What is left of Clintons has surely gone to a good home,

which is a relief for many in the trade and probably also to the Weiss family who sold it.

Glad tidings all round!

and one that brings joy and comfort to millions, and a decent postal service is key to this continuing.

There has been one big thing that has been preying on Cardsharp’s mind all through the multifarious ongoing Royal Mail discussions and the Ofcom review. Why does it feel like Ofcom is the enemy of our industry/the public and not an ally. Ofcom seems to almost be behaving as an apologist for Royal Mail, presenting the company’s case rather than the public’s which Cardsharp, naively perhaps, thought was its principal role.

Cardsharp recalls it was not always thus. Over a decade ago, when there were discussions about size-based pricing, the impression was that Ofcom was highly critical of Royal Mail, constantly questioning the logic behind actions it wanted to take and firmly on the greeting card industry’s and the public’s side. Not so now it would seem to Cardsharp.

Cardsharp is more a believer of ‘cock-up’

Daylight robbery

We all know that there is an epidemic of retail theft at the moment. Cardsharp recently read that incidents of shoplifting doubled from eight million to 16 million in the last year. British retailers suffer 600 thefts every hour now. The annual cost of this rose to £1.8 billion and amazingly this is the first time the figure of £1 billion had been surpassed.

Different retailers are attempting to tackle this problem in different ways. Boots, which has been hit exponentially badly by gangs and drug addicts, has set up a central Command CCTV hi-tech nerve centre. Staff monitor 1,150 Boots stores and take over the stores’ loudspeakers to warn potential shoplifters they are being recorded. With police being overburdened or simply ignoring

shoplifting crimes, this seems to be proving a positive initiative.

Less so one other major mixed multiple retailer of greeting cards. Cardsharp thought he had heard it all when it comes to the demands and stipulations put on publishers by multiples, but this particular one’s approach is unbelievable.

It is demanding a ‘mandatory’ 2% additional ‘pilferage’ charge to suppliers. Surely this really ‘steals’ the biscuit.

The irony is that this particular retailer seems to operate with minimum staffing levels in many of its smaller stores. In Cardsharp’s local branch, there is on many occasions literally no one on the till, with what

theories rather than ‘conspiracy’ theories, but is there a suspicion that some members of Ofcom have gone ‘native’ so to speak. Paranoia from him perhaps, but then again just because you are paranoid it doesn’t mean they are not out to get you!

IDS, the public limited company which owns Royal Mail, has as its largest individual shareholder Daniel Křetínský, the so-called ’Czech Sphinx’ and who is one of the richest men in Europe with accumulated wealth estimated to be £4.3 billion. His interest, you would surmise, is for the profit potential in the parcel delivery side of the business, not the letter delivery operation, and certainly not the continuation of six day universal service obligation for postal delivery. He certainly does not need any help from Ofcom.

So, Cardsharp calls to Ofcom, come off the fence and start defending the interest of the British public and our world leading greeting card industry.

staff there are either invisible or merchandising a quieter area of the store. No wonder shoplifting is rife, although Cardsharp suspects that it is higher priced items with a resale value, rather than greeting cards that are the objects of most desire.

If you think about it, reflected Cardsharp, suppliers are literally being asked to pay the price for the said retailer’s reluctance to pay for employees. It is a mad, mad world!

Below left: All the greeting card industry wants and needs is a reliable and affordable postal service from Royal Mail.

Right: What is the elephant in room in the Royal Mail/Ofcom scenario?

Right: While pilferage is an issue for retailers, greeting cards are not the most stolen items.

Tori HeathSmith, buying manager of Scribbler:

Dragon flying: “It was a pleasure to attend the Dragons event and be reminded just how much talent there is in the industry. The event is so valuable for a retailer to be able to meet so many new publishers in one place.

It’s also a chance to catch up with some of the fantastic designers we already work with, including Lil Wabbit (who we met at last year’s event and now stock!), Stormy Knight, Ricicle Cards, Raspberry Blossom and Oh Squirrel.”

Den delights: “There was so much talent this year, but a few who stood out to us include Feel Good Supplies, Stoats and Weasels and Lucky Ink

We will most definitely be placing orders as a result of the event and are already in conversation with a few and excited to get their new designs online and in store.”

Andrea Pinder, owner of Presentation, Barrowford:

Dragon flying: “The event was full of excitement and enthusiasm from all who participated. Being a Dragon is such an honour as it’s the best feeling ever is when you know you’ve made a difference on advice given to a publisher.”

Den delights: “The greeting card industry is blessed with so many talented publishers that it’s very difficult to say who stood out from this event, but among the publisher highlights from the Dragons event and me were Cheeky Legends by Arrthi, which got the ‘bottoms up’ from me!; KDee Designs for its beautiful wooden icons; Ink & Ivy’s Wallypops pop-up animal stickable, frameable cards; Quirk’s Treating Cards with sweet treats; Paper Mirchi’s fabulous cotton paper luxury cards and tree-free gift packaging, and this is just a smidgen of delights I saw on the day and were in my goody bag.

I have already made contact with some of the aforementioned and will certainly be placing orders.”

Above: (left-right) Ricicle Cards’ David RiceNicholls catching up with Scribbler’s Tori HeathSmith and Laura Clarke and Stormy Knight’s Sarah Jackson. Below: Some cards from Feel Good Supplies.

Above: The Dragons of 2024. (Back row left-right): Liz Killick (Calladoodles), Miles Robinson (House of Cards), David Colman (Only Place for Pictures), Kaye Thurgood (Sincerely Yours), Andrea Pinder (Presentation), Shannon Fisher (Postmark),Kerry Nicholls (John Lewis), Jason Billings-Cray (John Lewis), Charlotte Green (Cardfactory), Laura Clarke (Scribbler), Vicky Joshi (Cardfactory), Tim Reynolds (Medici Gallery), Anita Thorpe (Diverse) and Sean Austin (Austin & Co. (Front row left-right) Priya Aurora-Crowe (Lark), Sarah Laker (Stationery Supplies), Sally Matson (Red Card), Shar Gothier (Sainsbury’s) and Nilou Noorbaksh (Jumping Bean).

Top: Andrea Pinder (left) with Ink & Ivy’s Mike Read and Kate Lawley.

Above: A KDee Designs card with a wooden element.

VIEWPOINTS

Shar Grothier, buyer of cards and wrap for Sainsbury’s:

Dragon flying: “Being a Dragon for the day was a great opportunity to meet a broad range of new publishers and see an amazing variety of card designs. The event also allowed me to offer advice to new publishers while also learning about the amazing businesses that have been set up by the publishers. On top of that, it was such a fun day!”

Den delights: “They were all great publishers, however I loved talking to Bird & Co Studio, Mifkins and Feel Good Supplies as they all had such a lovely mix of designs. I will be reviewing all the samples submitted by publishers and exploring if there are any opportunities to range any within Sainsbury’s.”

Priya Aurora-Crowe, co-owner of Lark, 19 stores in London and the south of England:

Dragon flying: “It felt amazing having face to face meetings with the designers of the cards and hearing their respective stories of why they decided to start their business, feeling their passion for what they are doing. It was so very inspiring.”

Den delights: “I especially liked Mifkins’ lovely die cut designs and Sharon King-Chai unique designs which showcased an amazing foiling techniques. I wasted no time and have placed plenty of orders already and will continue to do so!”

Tim Reynolds, manager of Medici Gallery, Kensington:

Dragon flying: “I saw it as a great honour to be asked to be a Dragon, as it gave me a great opportunity to meet up with some lovely fellow retailers as well as some wonderful publishers.”

Den delights: “Of the many publishers who caught my eye, both on the day and from the card samples in my goody bag, I was so impressed by Paper Mirchi, the handprinted cards and wrap are stunning. I spotted the wrap in The Henries finals last year, so it was lovely to meet Rani, the company’s founder face to face. Sarah-Jane Edwards of SJE London is also clearly very talented; Oh Squirrel’s cards were very impressive; I really liked the incredible detail on Libra Fine Arts’ cards, as well as the colourful approach from Lil Wabbit. I will definitely be placing orders with several of these.”

Anita Thorpe, owner of Diverse, Brixton:

Dragon flying: “I really enjoyed seeing new designs that I hadn't seen at the trade shows. Being asked to be a Dragon is quite flattering as it means your opinion is valued, but it can also be a bit daunting.”

Den delights: “I don't want to name specific brands, but I was very pleased with the number of micro brands and inclusive designs represented. I would stock all the brands I picked and usually, that's not the case. I will definitely be placing orders as a result of the event and in fact, I've already made contact with some of the brands I met.”

Jason Billings-Cray, buyer of John Lewis & Partners:

Dragon flying: “There was a real buzz to the event and I really enjoyed the opportunity to sit down and chat with all the different publishers, taking great enjoyment in hearing their journeys, what they are working on, and what they thought would suit the John Lewis customer. In our conversations I also shared my opinions and advice with them that I hope was helpful in their developments.

Den delights: “I was really impressed by the variety of publishers, the different styles, handwriting, and points of view; all building differentiation and uniqueness to the publishers. This made for an exciting day, as no two publishers were the same, and every conversation was unique.

As for placing any orders as a result of the event, I won't be making my next round of selections until September. However, there is plenty of food-forthought, and I'm excited to review the samples.”

Below: Priya Aurora-Crowe (left) with Mifkins’ Natalie Alexander.

Below right: Revered in the book world, Sharon King-Chai is also turning her talents to greeting cards.

Above: Shar Grothier (right) enjoyed the whole experience of meeting a broad range of publishers. Right: One of the designs from Bird & Co Studio.

Top: Pitching in full flow. Above: An enthusiastic response from John Lewis’ Jason Billings-Cray.

Top: Tim Reynolds felt honoured to be a Dragon. Above: The detailing from Libra Fine Arts impressed Tim.

Above: Anita Thorpe (left) with On A Level’s Nadia and Rae Williams.

Sarah Laker, owner of Stationery Supplies, Wilmslow and Marple:

Dragon flying: “This was my third time being a Dragon, and it was so rewarding to be greeted within a few minutes of arriving by Nikki Brown from The Silver Hen who was bursting to show me how she’d taken on board my comments from last year’s event.

It was also great to see Arrthi again as I've been following her journey. I love her quirky, funny and unique designs.” Den delights: “I was really impressed with the breadth of creativity and design from the 12 publishers I saw, three of whom I will definitely be looking at in more detail with a view to ordering as I loved their cards. These were Grace Jackson Design, Laura Darrington Design and Libra Fine Arts. Of the latter, Katherine and Skip Khangurra’s pitch was so passionate and honest, I loved it.

Two days after the event my two daughters stuck into the 72 packs of sample cards I’d brought home. Between us we made a shortlist of 22 publishers, not including the six from which we already buy. These include Lil Wabbit, Molly Mae, Paperlink, Penguin Ink, Ricicle Cards and Stormy Knight - I think I need bigger shops!”

Sean Austin, owner of Austin & Co, Malvern:

Dragon flying: “It's always a pleasure and a privilege to be invited by the GCA to be a Dragon. I really appreciate the recognition that my buying prowess of 13 years is up there with the likes of Postmark, John Lewis, and Sainsbury’s.

The sheer quality and depth demonstrated by the 72 greeting card publishers who participated was so impressive, and gives me assurance that the future of greeting card publishing is in very safe hands.”

Den delights: “Out of the 72 publishers who participated, 12 are already supplying Austin & Co. And of the remaining 60, there are 25 that caught my eye. So who I think would be an ideal fit for Austin & Co? The following is by no means an exhaustive list, nor does it guarantee that an order in the next few weeks; but very much in my eyeline and thoughts are The Design Dealership, Feel Good Supplies, Little Roglets, Lucky Ink, Sharon King-Chai, The Visual Narrator.”

VIEWPOINTS

Nilou Noorbaksh, co-owner of Jumping Bean, Honor Oak, Beckenham, East Dulwich:

Dragon flying: “The event was fun and vibrant, and it was exciting being a dragon. I loved the contemporary feel. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to meet new publishers and see their incredible products, and also understand how they work. The effort and love and attention they expended into presenting their products was excellent.”

Den delights: “The striking black and white illustrations and warm messages from Lauren Marina caught my eye as did Bird & Co Studio for its beautiful flowers/birth month cards. I also loved the colourful and fun cards from On A Level We have already placed some orders and there will be more to come.”

Miles Robinson, co-owner of House of Cards, seven shops in the Home Counties:

Dragon flying: “It was a lot of fun, quite exhausting, but the best one yet that I’ve participated in. The overall quality of publishers pitching has definitely improved. The event is such a great way to network and get a focused insight into new and emerging publishers as well as some established players.”

Den delights: “I really liked Arrthi, Crumble & Core, Emily Nash Illustration, Lil Wabbit, Little Roglets, Molly Mae, Paper Mirchi, SJE London and Wild Earth Art. I’m pretty sure something will come from the event order wise.”

Charlotte Green, buyer of Cardfactory, 1,000+ stores:

Dragon flying: “It was a great event, so lovely to meet new publishers and get time to talk about their products face to face.”

Den delights: “There were so many amazing and talented publishers who participated, but the stand outs for were Lil Wabbit as Georgi [Doig] made such an amazing pitch selling her products; The Queer Store for its diverse cards and Lucky Ink for its contemporary style. We will definitely be placing some orders as a result of the event…I can’t wait to get some of these designs into our stores!”

Above: Sarah Laker (left) with Laura Darrington’s Ross and Laura Harrison.

Top: Lauren Marina with some of her cards at the event. Above: Nilou enjoying the pitch from Jessie Wood of Jessiemaeve Studio.

Top: A Cheeky Legends design from Arrthi.Above: Miles Robinson with Jo Hawkins from Apple and Clover

Top: Sean Austin with fellow Dragon Sally Matson of Red Card, Petworth. Above: A trio of Lucky Ink designs.

Above: Cardfactory’s Charlotte Green (right) and Vicky Joshi (centre) with Lex Rogy of Little Roglets.

Writing All Wrongs

“The allure of stationery has never gone away, I feel it’s just that we are now seeing it being dressed up in a new suit of clothes,” believes Chris Leonard-Morgan, the founder of the London Stationery Show, National Stationery Week and a Liveryman of The Stationers’ Company.

With the stationery fest of London Stationery Show (May 14-15) and National Stationery Week (May 13-19) now on the horizon, PG caught up with ‘Mr Stationery’.

Appositely there is a lot being written about the power and importance of stationery right now to all generations.

The day PG went to press, The Times gave prominence to the Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society’s (HLAS) view that Royal Mail’s six day a week delivery service for second class needs to be retained in order to safeguard the habit of sending personally written communications, being it letters or cards. “Handwriting is so personal … I always wonder when someone dies whether there are any examples of their handwriting left behind, because they are the

literal mark we leave behind and end up being so precious. They are a form of communication that should be cherished and promoted,” Dinah Johnson, founder of the HLAS told the newspaper.

This comes hot on the heels of a scientific research project undertaken by neuropsychologists confirming that handwriting is better for the brain than typing while revered columnists and authors Harry Wallop, India Knight, Milly Johnson and Bel Mooney are among those to have recently

extolled the virtues of all things stationery. So, are we experiencing a stationery resurgence or renaissance? “Both and neither! I remember seeing an article in the V&A magazine with the headline ‘Never underestimate the power of great stationery’. To me having lovely stationery is the equivalent of wearing red socks, it makes you feel better!” said the self-

Personal Revelations

PG asked Chris Leonard-Morgan about his personal favourite stationery products:

“ I couldn’t survive without highlighters and Post-it notes, and wouldn’t be without my Parker 51, Kaweco pens and Smythson notebook. ”

London Stationery Show – The Essentials

Aimed as the ultimate destination for buyers of stationery and arts/crafts products, The London Stationery Show, now owned by Max Publishing (owner of PG and PG Live) will see a roster of 100+ leading and entrepreneurial companies and designers showcasing over 300 brands and their

confessed stationery passionista who founded the London Stationery Show back in 2010, sold it to Ocean Media six years later and is now back on board as an advisor under the show’s Max Publishing ownership.

Demonstrating his effervescent enthusiasm for the sector, Chris added: “They talked about the paperless office,

what happened to that?; the working from home trend has sparked all manner of fashion meets functional stationery products, while the consumer’s love of journals, planners, organisers, pens and highlighters knows no bounds. It is a vibrant, dynamic and increasingly youthdriven market which is redefining itself and appealing to millennials and Gen Z, attracted by fabulous looking tactile lifestyle products - have been over seven billion views for stationery on TikTok.

Stationery isn’t only the older person’s happy place, not by any means and what is so exciting is all this and more will be celebrated at London Stationery Show, be it

Hit the #hashtags for NSW!

With the inextricable link between stationery and greeting cards, cardies are being encouraged to get on board with National Stationery Week, which this year runs Monday to Sunday, 13-19 May, either side of London Stationery Show.

For the second year running Sarah Laker, owner of Stationery Supplies shops in Marple and Wilmslow is heading up the marketing and sponsorship programme for the Week, which involves competitions and daily hashtags to encourage customer participation. “There are plenty of ways for greeting card retailers and publishers to get involved,” says Sarah. “Talk about NSW on social media, why writing and the sending of cards is important. If you are a retailer, why not ask your most fervent card-sending customers to tell you what they love about cards, maybe get a photo of them with their latest card purchases, or video them choosing cards and talking about why they send cards.”

Sarah’s other suggestions for retailers include:

• Consider a NSW window display to advertise what you’re doing during the week.

• Share your favourite publishers, talk about where they are based, who they are, that their cards are designed and printed in the UK etc

• Talk about what stationery you sell, what its uses are. Don’t forget coasters! Everyone has one on their desk. Ask followers what’s their favourite stationery item. Do they have to buy their favourite pen in all the ink colours?

newest launches at the Business Design Centre in London’s Islington, from 14-15 May. The event will also be fanfaring the finalists and winners of the 2024 Stationery Awards as well as a series of workshops, demos and talks.

www.stationeryshowlondon.co.uk

from long established brands with hundreds of years of heritage through to the newbies in the ‘pencil case’. I am just so glad I am involved with it again rather than watching from the side lines.”

• Use the ‘seven days of stationery’ hashtags as prompts each day to share something about your shop, your stationery or card selections, or run a different special offer or giveaways each day of the week.

• Plan an activity to run during NSW – maybe a calligraphy event, present wrapping, design a card/letter writing/short story/poetry/handwriting/colouring competition. Ask one of the publishers you stock to support this with a prize.

• Tag NSW in any initiatives or posts that you do and use the hashtags

#NatStatWeek #WritingMatters #LoveStationery

• Use old stock to make up mystery bags – either sell them for charity or leave around your town as random acts of kindness. Be sure to include a money off voucher for your shop plus all your social media handles and the NSW logo and hashtags.

As for the hashtags for the actual Week Maped Helix kicks off the week with #MindfulMonday, Pentel has #PassionForPens on Tuesday, it’s #MultiCreative for Staedtler on Wednesday, #ItFeelsGood with Zebra on Friday and #StationeryTakeaway as Ohh Deer’s tag for its event on the Saturday.

Left: Michael Gutberlet, ceo of Kaweco, distributed by Studio Pen in the UK, is excited to launch the new piston-filled Kaweco Sport at London Stationery show. Below right: Among the newness at LSS will be products from Rebel Stationery.

Above: There is a whole suite of hashtags for NSW.

Left: Sarah Laker with some Lamy branding for NSW.

New Products

Just feast your eyes on some of the product delights that will be served up at the imminent London Stationery Show, 14-15 May, Business Design Centre, London.

The Miller’s Tale

Exhibiting at London Stationery Show for the first time in five years, Portico Designs is back with a bang! Among the delights on show will be the latest stationery additions to its extensive Sara Miller London collection which exudes a vivid colour palette and gold accents across all manner of products. In addition, the revered luxury boxed notecard collection has welcomed some new designs. Each box contains 10 delicately hand-drawn notecards, enhanced by foiling, embossing or glitter detailing.

Portico Designs

01225 329494

www.porticodesigns.com

London Stationery Show Stand M226

Sign Of The Times

Coffee Time

Stone Marketing will be sharing new launches from well-loved brands such as Faber-Castell, Caran d'Ache, Tombow, Legami, Schneider, Midori, Md Paper Products, Traveller’s Company and mt Masking Tape. Among these will be new Legami innovative erasable pens, including Bee, Hippo, and Panda. Also on show will be Caran d'Ache's iconic 849 pens which are crafted from recycled Nespresso capsules. Stone Marketing 01732 771 771

www.stonemarketing.com

London Stationery Show Stand M512

Pentel will be giving visitors the chance to try the six new exceptionally vivid fluorescent shades which have joined its Brush Sign Pen family. Each Brush Sign Pen has a slightly flexible brush tip that enables users to create thick or thin strokes, depending on the angle at which the pen is held.  Also on show will be the Mattehop gel pen range, which now spans 14 colours, and was recently feted in the Japanese Bunbouguya Taishou (Stationery Store Grand Prix).

Pentel 01793 823333

www.pentel.co.uk

London Stationery Show Stand M300

Case In Point

All Pistons Firing

Studio Pens’ stand will be showcasing significant new additions to the Kaweco portfolio. Making their UK trade show debut will be the Kaweco Piston Sport AL Fountain Pen in Black/Gold, the brand’s first pen with a piston mechanism since 1937. Also new is the Kaweco Collection Apricot Pearl fountain pen, featuring a lustrous barrel in a captivating apricot hue with a pearlescent finish which embodies the vibrant spirit of spring.

Studio Pens

01423 815700

www.studiopens.com

London Stationery Show Stand M510

Crafty Moves

Crafting and creativity collide at Devon-based Hawthorn Handmade. Its craft kits are filled with unique, modern designs that are designed to keep hands busy and minds at ease. Each kit is made in the UK and comes complete with all the materials and instructions to create something beautiful.

There are 15 brand new kits, including a range of felt craft pennants, an adorable felted lion, breath-taking landscape embroideries and retro-inspired cross stitch kits.

Hawthorn Handmade

01258 863873

www.hawthornhandmade.com

London Stationery Show Stand G306

The foundations of Elena O’Neill’s stationery business are pencil cases that she first made on an old sewing machine in her grandmother’s living room. This self-taught watercolour artist is now making her LSS debut with her signature pencil cases as well as notebooks, list pads, gift wrap, bookmarks, postcards, greeting cards, reusable wipes and fabric giftwrap.

Elena O’Neill

www.elenaillustration.co.uk

London Stationery Show Stand G216

New Products

Just feast your eyes on some of the product delights that will be served up at the imminent London Stationery Show, 14-15 May, Business Design Centre, London.

Into Focus

Strength Of Character

Puckator will be showing a diverse range of stationery, including some of its licensed collections, which include Original Stormtrooper, Minecraft, Moomin, Pusheen, The Beatles and Volkswagen. One of Puckator's standout offerings is its range of Everlasting pencils, crafted from isostatic pressure graphite which means they last a lifetime without needing sharpening. Additionally, the company's Inkredible erasable pens provide the flexibility of erasable ink.

Puckator

01579321550

www.puckator.co.uk

London Stationery Show Stand M318

ExaClair is gearing up to showcase an exciting range of innovative, sustainable products. Its most recent Clairefontaine stationery collections include some innovative Tulip patterns that feature notebooks with fragments of tulip bulbs within the cover, as well as the Invincible Étė (Invincible Summer) collection of premium stationery products, which feature patterns based on the popular cyanotype photographic printing.

ExaClair

www.exaclairlimited.com

01553 696600

London Stationery Show Stand M400

Mindfulness Matters

Taking Note

Patrika is a thoughtful stationery and gifting brand that endorses slow living, with an old-world charm. All of its products are crafted with detailed and deliberate intention, to raise awareness of, and support, well-being and wildlife. Among the newness is a collection of wellness workbooks while it will also be showing a variety of A5 journals, notebooks, planners as well as gifting/playful products, such as cards, sticker sheets, notecard sets, bookmarks and tote bags.

Patrika

www.patrikaindia.in

London Stationery Show Stand G112

Outdoor Living

All items in Once Upon a Tuesday's new Notebook & Journals Collection are made from 100% recycled and recyclable paper, which makes them a great sustainable option. Each cover is inspired by upcoming trends and colours within interior design and fashion catwalks, making them a great addition to a stylish desk, or for on the go. Once upon a Tuesday E: studio@onceuponatuesday.co.uk  www.onceuponatuesday.co.uk

London Stationery Show Stand G210

Hooli Mooli Trading Co has just launched a new licensed range of UKmade stationery by Emma Lawrence Designs. From the popular 4x4 vehicles and country farm-inspired illustrations, there is a weekly planner, to do list pad or notebook to suit everyone. Other popular themes include dogs, cats, baking, gardening, camper vans, donkeys, horses and outdoor adventures. In addition, and as part of the Keepsake Collection there are stationery ranges for London, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Seaside and Camping, including notelet sets.

Hooli Mooli Trad Co

01202 622403

www.hoolimooli.co.uk

London Stationery Show Stand M508

Natural Highlights

As a continuation of its Highlight What Matters Campaign, Stabilo has extended its Boss Original highlighter range to include NatureColours, offering pens in six more natural shades. The chisel tip of each highlighter offers two-line widths, 2mm and 5mm. In addition, Stabilo’s Creative Tips sets will be demonstrated in the workshop area of the show on May 14.

Stabilo www.stabilo.com

London Stationery Show Stands M206 and M302

THE ADAMS FAMILY

How do you tell that a shop is at the centre of its community? One sure sign is that a customer cheerily brings in a can of WD40 to solve a squeaky door issue, proffering it as a birthday gift for the owner.

This is exactly what happened on the day of PG’s visit to Stationery House, which happened to coincide with Malcolm Adams’ 62nd birthday, who wasted no time in putting his unusual gift to good use.

“We are so lucky so have so many loyal customers who come from far and wide. They might come in for one thing, but invariably leave with a handful,” says Malcolm.

As the saying goes, you make your own luck, which is something which rings true for Malcolm and his ‘family’ team.

“I always had a hankering to run my own business, but it just took me a little while!” he says with a gentle avuncular smile. By ‘little while’, he means 40 years.

“I joined WHSmith as a trainee straight from school in 1978 and remained with them for four decades in store management throughout the south west,” revealed Malcolm. “I loved the customer interaction and the products we stocked, especially in the early days when we were able to do localised branch buying. Looking back I was always a bit of a maverick, but my time at WHS gave me a commercial awareness as well as recognising the importance of having a good team,” he added.

The Stationery Shop of Tehran is a novel written by Marjan Kamali, set in the most populated city in Iran about a young woman’s fascination with a stationery emporium run by a committed independent retailer.

What seems like a million miles away in the sleepy idyllic Somerset village of Somerton is Stationery House, one of a trio of greeting card, stationery and book shops owned by Malcolm Adams, whose eyes twinkle as he reveals: “We have sold almost 40 copies of that book, there’s just something special about stationery shops!”

PG was pen poised to hear his story from WHSmith stalwart to indie champion.

Instead of cruising into retirement, in 2018 Malcolm “removed the shackles of the corporate world” with his attention drawn to the opportunity of acquiring The Stationery House, an anchor retailer in the village’s market square.

While Covid played havoc with many retailing businesses, in fact it brought some benefits to Stationery House with the pandemic prompting many people to move out of London or other major conurbations and down to this tranquil area of Somerset.

“This may be a largely agricultural area, but the shop has always attracted customers from a wide radius. That, added to its good links to London, means that our customer base has continued to grow, which is something we are very happy about,” says Malcolm.

Something else he is very happy about is his team, the majority of whom have been working at Stationery House for many years.

“I was very fortunate to inherit a wonderful team, in fact the best in my 45 years of retailing,” said Malcolm, showing genuine

affection for his closeknit work family.

“I always wanted to retain the essence of The Stationery House, being somewhere that people could just pop in for a pack of envelopes, to collect some bookbinding pick up a card, pen refill or notebook while they were there. It still reminds me very much of a

Left: Somerset-based Stationery House has sold almost 40 copies of this novel.

Right: Malcolm administering WD40 to the shop’s squeaky door.

Below: Stationery House was opened in 1990, but Malcolm bought it in 2018.

Below right: Part of the greeting card area in the Somerton shop.

WHSmith store back in the 80s, when we were able to really cater for our local customer. I am proud to say, it is a proper shop,” says Malcolm.

Having paid off the loan for the Somerton shop within three years and greatly enjoying being an independent retailer, expansion was on the cards, with the opening of a second branch in nearby Clevedon, that is managed by Malcolm’s son Daniel, who was also previously a store manager for WHSmith. Then, making it a hat trick last July, a smaller store was opened in Wrington, which is managed by a former WHSmith colleague, Sarah Bennett.

“We wanted to test whether our approach would work in a smaller footprint. I had a hunch it might do quite well, and it’s looking pretty positive so far,” admitted Malcolm. “It is a beautiful little shop and word of mouth is growing.”

And on top of this is a well-honed online offer, with a much used click and collect option for the first two stores.

While Daniel and Sarah run the Clevedon and Wrington stores, the Somerton store is where Malcolm spends his time, either on the shopfloor or upstairs in his office.

“While my wife Michelle keeps track of the accounts on the computer using Sage, I am still old school and keep a tally of invoices in my trusty notebook and tick them off - I am a stationery retailer after all!” says Malcolm.

Being a member of Cardgains, something Malcolm instigated in 2020 has also been beneficial. “It is not just the discount from suppliers, but also the fact that it is just one bill to pay each month, which saves time,” says Malcolm.

On the buying front, Malcolm modestly says that he relies on the expertise of his team with Angela Billing and Stephanie Matthews the stationery gurus, Lynne Bown the lead on the greeting card front and Sarah

Musk as an allrounder. “My role is to pay the bills!” he quips, but clearly he knows what’s what, highlighting the delightful boxes of notecards from Peter Pauper Press, knowing all about the new Adam James Severn greeting cards from The Eco-friendly Card Company and the various merits of artist sketch pads.

While the front of the Somerton store caters for all manner of stationery and storage needs, this leads into the art supplies and book area, the latter’s strength on children’s publishing the fruits of Michelle Adams’ experience as a teacher.

The big draw to the rear half of the shop is an impressive greeting card selection, in the middle of which is a services area, which caters for all manner of printing needs and document binding.

“Of all the areas we have expanded since taking over it is our greeting card selection

Left:

Below:

which is the most improved, which is reflected in their 20%+ increase in sales year on year,” says Malcolm.

This is very much Lynne’s domain, with some input from Malcolm, though he accepts that his soft spots for designs of “seascapes and animals” need to be reined in at times.

“We buy from so many different publishers, with Tracks, Lucilla Lavender and an extended Paperlink offer being part of our most recent refresh,” says Lynne. “We put a lot of effort into having lots of choice in our relations and occasions which you need to do if you have lots of loyal customers as we do. Humorous cards are really big business for us while art cards also do well, with those from Whistlefish among our best sellers,” she adds.

Designs with a local flavour score highly too, with one of the best selling designs from Ailsa Rose, based on original watercolours by Emily Jameson, being of Somerton Market Place and actually features the shop.

“You can’t get much more localised than that, can you?” says Malcolm.

So, now with a trio of shops, are there any more on the horizon? “You never know,” he says…though opening a store in Tehran is likely to be a stretch too far, but it would be a great story if he did!

Below:

Bottom:

Far left: An Ailsa Rose card that features Stationery House.

Malcolm with Angela Billing and some of the packs of coloured paper the shop sells.

Malcolm with Angela Billing and some of the packs of coloured paper the shop sells.

Below left: Stationery House sells a vast array of stationery from functional to the fashionable.

The pretty little Wrington store.

The Clevedon store is run by Daniel Adams, Malcolm’s son.

A selection of wonderful new ranges and designs from a host of different publishers.

Bright and Dangly

Stormy Knight’s Christmas Bauble collection has a new look. Joining its classic pop-out bauble cards is Merry + Bright’ a sister range that features super-shiny designs that are all die-cut in different shapes. All come with a satin ribbon so the bauble can be hung on the tree and treasured for years to come!

Stormy Knight 0117 9098684

www.stormyknight.co.uk

Colour Spectrum

Floral Delights

Fiona Wilson Prints has a blooming great new Spring Peeps Collection. The 16 designs all feature Fiona’s distinctive bold style covering abstract depictions of some delightful floral species. All are printed on GF Smith textured 350gsm board.

Fiona Wilson Prints 07811211907

www.fionawilsonprints.co.uk

Stephanie Davies‘ new Iconic range is as sweet as it is charming. The fun, brightly coloured designs take inspiration from running themes in some of its best sellers, with all cards finished with its signature glitter effect and eco-friendly foil for an added bit of sparkly detail.

Stephanie Davies 07982 182703

www.stephaniedavies.co.uk

Brush Strokes

Bloom is Lottie Murphy's new collection comprising 12 designs, each featuring hand-drawn illustrations of beautiful Spring/Summer flowers, enhanced by some gold foil lettering. Each 127x177mm card is printed on luxury FSC-certified board and is accompanied by a recycled kraft envelope and wrapped in a compostable bag.

Lottie Murphy 07716 304741

www.lottie-murphy.com

Gallery is Lucilla Lavender’s first art range. The collection of 12 designs is based on watercolours by artist Emma Chambers, who exhibited at the Royal Academy’s 2022 Summer Exhibition. The cards cover seascapes, landscapes and botanicals, all ‘framed’ within a debossed panel, also featuring inspirational quotes.

Lucilla Lavender 0203 405 1410

www.lucillalavender.com

Wall Art

Brainbox Candy’s new Heritage range comprises fun designs to commemorate those notable figures in anyone’s life with a plaque worthy of any wall. The 34 designs, including specific ages, all feature an embossed varnished finish. The 150mm square cards are accompanied by a recycled Kraft envelope.

Brainbox Candy 01702 716643

www.brainboxcandytrade.com

A selection of wonderful new ranges and designs from a host of different publishers.

Country Living

Inspired by the hedgerows and fields that surround her rural cottage, Danielle from Popsy & Plum has created a beautiful collection of 24 floral designs entitled The Wildflower Meadow.  Aimed at those with a love of the British countryside, the collection includes birthday, new home, sympathy, thinking of you as well as female relations designs.  All cards are blank inside and come with a kraft envelope.

Popsy & Plum 07769 212269

www.popsyandplum.com

World About Us

Woof Woof

All Dogs, Great & Small is Lil Wabbit’s latest collection, featuring 20 of the UK’s most popular dog breeds, from German Shepherds to Cockapoos, Staffies to Labradors. All designs have been hand-painted using watercolours with the colour scheme inspiration coming from the buildings in a village in South Greenland! A tabletop spinner is also available.

Lil Wabbit 07825127775

www.lilwabbit.co.uk

Rising To The Occasion

Bright colours and bold shapes feature in the new Bloom Collection from Laura Darrington Design. The 16 birthday and occasion designs are all print finished with a deep emboss, and they come with an earthy brown kraft envelope to complement the designs.

Laura Darrington Design

0116 2849660

www.lauradarrington.com

Did you know that Peach-Faced Lovebirds in Arizona make their homes in cacti? They make nests in cavities in the cacti to keep cool and drink water from the beautiful cacti flowers. This is just one of nature’s wonders that features in a clutch of new designs from Paperwhale that take inspiration from plants, jungles and wildlife. The 155mm square cards, also available with Welsh text, come with a recycled kraft envelope.

Paperwhale Cards & Paper Goods 07960812279

www.paperwhale.co.uk

Heavy Metal

Oblique Observations

Bewilderbeest has launched 18 additional absurd designs to amuse and confuse you across various ranges. Fur, feathers, and fins have been flying at Bewilderbeest HQ (honestly, the hoovering has been a nightmare to keep on top of). This card cornucopia for a selection of celebrations is as daft as ever.

Bewilderbeest 07742895283

www.bewilderbeest.co.uk

Scraps is a new range from Bug Art, based on cute and rusty critters crafted from recycled scraps of metal. Each of the 118mm x 167mm cards are embossed with a satin silver foil. They are blank inside, come with a white textured envelope and are supplied naked or wrapped in a biodegradable bag. Bug Art 0115 929 4776

www.bugart.co.uk

A selection of wonderful new ranges and designs from a host of different publishers.

Standing Tall

Yoojoo’s Tall Tales range provides a greeting card and a gift in one for book lovers. This capsule range focused on eight long-necked, long-legged creatures and the signature Yoojoo ‘fold & tear’ design. The recipient simply tears along the perforations to transform the card into a bookmark. The cards are designed and printed in the UK on high quality 350gsm paper. They are blank inside, either cello or glassine wrapped and accompanied by a white envelope.

Yoojoo 01274 621419 www.yoojoo.co.uk

Nature Nurture

Purposeful Plush

R'PET Pals is a plush range from Lesser and Pavey with a sustainable purpose.  What makes these cutie animals – including a giraffe, elephant, highland cow and bunny –eco-warriors is that they’re crafted from 100% recycled plastic waste – yes, those plastic bottles we throw away!

Lesser and Pavey 01322 279225

www.leonardo.co.uk

Botanical greeting card brand Umbellifers, new Glorious Gardens range celebrates great British flower gardens - from the humble cottage garden to the long borders of great estates - and inspire all gardeners to add strong design elements to their own outdoor space. All the designs are colourful and modern but with a dreamy, idyllic vibe.

Umbellifer 07510 874363

www.umbellifer.co.uk

Retro Vibes

Feast For The Eyes

Following the hype over Colin the Caterpillar, Lucy Maggie Designs has released a collection of pastel cards inspired by popular party foods. Colin of course makes an appearance, alongside jelly, ice cream topped with sprinkles and cheese and pineapple sticks. The cards are A6 in size and are printed on textured board, available either naked or cellowrapped.

Lucy Maggie Designs

07763239731

www.lucymaggiedesigns.co.uk

Wordly Wise

Known for its warm, traditional verses IC&G has created a range with a bit more of a modern feel. Hot off the press is Most Especially For You, a collection of modern traditional heartfelt sentiments greeting cards. The range encapsulates a series of captions, covering an array of sentiment needs.

IC&G 01202 897494

www.icgcards.com

Hotchpotch is overflowing with new ranges and innovations. Among these is Kaleidoscope, an eye-popping greeting card collection that is printed inside and out with neon ink and finished with a holographic foil for a full kaleidoscope effect. Exuding 80s and 90s vibes, the die cut shapes reveal the designs continued inside.

Hotchpotch London 01243 792600

www.hotchpotchlondon.com

THE ESSENTIALS

When: Tuesday 4 – Wednesday 5 June

Where: Business Design Centre, Islington, London N1 0QH

Times: 9.30am-6pm on 4 June (1st night party ‘til 8pm) 9.30am-4.30pm on 5 June

Tel: +44 (0)7734 111633

www.progressivegreetingslive.com

A fabulous celebration of publishers, retailers, overseas distributors and suppliers, where business meets pleasure

Don’t Miss PG Live 2024…

Here Are Five Fabulous Reasons why…

1. The Incredible Exhibitors

Known the world over as having the greatest selection of greeting cards, the exhibitor line-up for PG Live 2024 is incredible. From leading established brands through to fresh and amazing start-ups, what an amazing opportunity to meet the people behind the brands and see their stunning new products.

2. Newness Galore and Show Only Offers

Thousands and thousands of brand new designs will be making their debut, with a host of ‘show only’ incentives and promotions to boot.

3. The Upbeat Vibe

PG Live brings everyone together – with retailers large and small, overseas distributors from all corners of the world, sales agents, leading trade suppliers, and over 200 publishers and other exhibitors will all be under one roof.

4. Loads of Treats

Free tea and coffee for all, a delicious free lunch, opening night drinks party for everyone and a keepsake goody bag.

5. The Wonderful Venue

With its high curved ceiling letting in loads of natural light, the Business Design Centre just doesn’t feel like an exhibition venue.

Nestled in vibrant Islington, the BDC is not only easy to get to, but is surrounded by lovely shops, restaurants and bars!

An upbeat vibe, newness galore – and free refreshments, lunch and opening night party, PG Live 2024 is not to be missed!

There are over 200 exhibitors at PG Live 2024...

A GIFT FROM THE GODS

ABACUS CARDS

ABBOT PRINT

ADD SQUIRREL

AFRO TOUCH DESIGNS

ALFF A BET DESIGN

ALL SHADES CARDS

ALLJOY DESIGN

ALPHA COLOUR PRINTERS

ANGEL FINE ART

ANTHOLOGY CARDS

APPLE & CLOVER

APRICOT CARDS

ARCHIVIST

ARGUS ARRTHI

ART PRESS

AVANTI PRESS

BARE CARDS

BELLY BUTTON DESIGNS

BETTIE CONFETTI

BEWILDERBEEST

BEXY BOO

BIRD & CO STUDIO

BOLD & BRIGHT

BRAINBOX CANDY

BRIGHT AGENCY

BRILLIANTLY BRAVE

CAMBRIDGE CONFECTIONERY

CARDGAINS

CARDOLOGY

CAROLINE GARDNER

CAROUSEL CALENDARS

CARTE BLANCHE GREETINGS

CATH TATE CARDS

CHARLOTTE FARR ILLUSTRATION

CINNAMON AITCH

CITRUS BUNN

CLAIRE MADDICOTT

CLEAR CREATIONS

COACH HOUSE PARTNERS

COMEDY CARD COMPANY

CREATIVE SPARROW

CURIOUS PANCAKE

DANDELION STATIONERY

DANILO

DEAN MORRIS

DESIGNER GREETINGS

DEVA DESIGNS

DICKY BIRD

DINOSAURS DOING STUFF

DOTS ALLOWED

DYSON DESIGNS

EARLYBIRD

EAST END PRINTS

ECOSSE ENCAUSTICS

ELEANOR BOWMER

EMILY NASH ILLUSTRATION

EMOTIONAL RESCUE

ENVECO

FAIRE

FEATHER & HARE

FEATHER INK

FEDRIGONI

FIONA WILSON PRINTS

FIVE DOLLAR SHAKE

FLUFF MALLOW

FUNKY ADI

GBCC GCA

GENIALITY ART

GERRY MURRAY

GINGER BETTY

GLOBE ENTERPRISE

GRACE JACKSON DESIGN

GRAPHITE CREATIVE

HALLMARK CARDS

HANDS AND HEARTS

HAPPY STREET CARDS

HEATHER TREFUSIS ART

HEYYY CARDS

HOLY MACKEREL

HOMELESS MADE

HYPE

HYVE IFFY GREETINGS

IG DESIGN GROUP

INFORMA

INK & IVY

JAMES ELLIS STEVENS

JANE BUURMAN HANDMADE

JEHANE

JELLY ARMCHAIR

JESS HOGARTH

JOLLY AWESOME

KALI STILEMAN

KATE DOWNEY ART

KATIE TINKLER

KDEE DESIGNS

KIRIORI

KIRSTY TODD ILLUSTRATIONS

KLARA HAWKINS

LAURA DARRINGTON

LAURA LONSDALE

LETTERBOX LANE

LIBRA FINE ARTS

LIL WABBIT

LING DESIGN

LION CAT PAPER CO

LITTLE BIG PIE

LITTLE ROGLETS

LORENZO

LOUISE MULGREW

LOUISE TILER

LOVELY PAPER STUFF

LOWLAND STUDIOS

LUCILLA LAVENDER

LUCKY INK

LUCY DRIVER

LUCY MAGGIE

LYDIA.LONDON

MARINA B

MAX MADE ME

MEG HAWKINS

MEGAN CLAIRE

MERAKI

MICHELLE FIEDLER

MIFKINS

MIND OVER LETTER

N.SMITH

NICOLE ELDERS

NIGEL QUINEY

NOT AT ALL

JACK

NOW THEN SUNSHINE

OBJECTABLES

OH SQUIRREL

OHH DEER

OLIVER STOCKLEY

ORIGAMO

PANGO PRODUCTIONS

PAPER BIRD

PAPER MIRCHI

PAPER ROSE

PAPER SALAD

PAPER SPECTRUM

PAPERLINK

PAPERSHEEP

PASELL PUBLISHING

PBS WAREHOUSING

PEAR TREE PRESS

PENGUIN INK

PENNY KENNEDY

PICKLED PRINTS

PIGMENT

PINK AND MINT

POET & PAINTER

PORTFOLIO

POSH PAWS INTERNATIONAL

PRETTY LITTLE SCRIBBLES

RAINBOW DESIGNS

RASPBERRY BLOSSOM

REAL TALK CARDS

REDBACK

RICICLE CARDS

ROBERT JAMES HULL ART

ROSANNA ROSSI

ROSIE MADE A THING

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS

RUSH DESIGN

SABIVO DESIGNS

SARAH KELLEHER

SAY IT WITH SONGS

SHERWOOD PRESS

SIGMUND LINDNER

SOOSHICHACHA

SOPHIE BRABBINS

STEPHANIE DAVIES

STOATS AND WEASELS

STORMY KNIGHT

STRIPEY CAT

STUDIO FREWB

SUSAN O’HANLON

TACHE

TEEPEE CREATIONS

THE ART FILE

THE CHARMING PRESS

THE CRIMSON FINCH

THE IMAGING CENTRE

THE KINDNESS COMPANY

THE LAURA WALLACE COLLECTION

THE PORCH FAIRIES

THE SUNSHINE BINDERY

THE UNIQUE PAPER COMPANY

THE VISUAL NARRATOR

TRACKS

TWO FOR JOY ILLUSTRATION

UK GREETINGS

VEB COMPANY

VERONIKA POCK ARTIST

VERSED AID

WASHED UP CARDS

WENDY JONES-BLACKETT

WHITE COTTON CARDS

WIDDOP & CO

WILD LINES

WILDFLOWER CARDS

WOODMANSTERNE

ZOE SPRY

…and this is just the line-up of exhibitors as we went to press!

The more things change, the more they stay the same as the saying goes, and it’s particularly true with non-humorous greeting cards for the male recipient. The search for new designs to captivate and reflect the male audience casts a wide net to update and modernise interests and themes, as PG discovers in this annual delve into the genre.

The Daily Male

“Producing a successful male collection is one of the greeting card industry’s toughest tasks,” states Laura Darrington, founder of Laura Darrington Design, echoing the views of many fellow publishers. “While the usual themes of alcohol, sport and gardening are the staple designs to guarantee sales, it's clear there has been a definite lean towards a more sympathetic offering,” Laura added.

for more fashion-led lifestyle cards for men with a growing generation of boys and young men who are more influenced by fashion, style, health and fitness than stereotypical traditional sports, such as golf and cricket.”

Its Honcho collection has a distinct palette with geometric surface pattern, retro spacemen and leisure themes all featured as well as popular sports imagery, while its Spectrum Father’s Day range goes for more whimsical topics, centring around long walks in the wood, cycling and aeroplanes “far removed from the usual beer and football designs of many Father’s Day cards”.

At Megan Claire, owner Megan Purdie believes: “While there is a place for sports-themed cards, we are seeing a big gap in the market

Megan explains that rather than taking a literal design approach to reflect this, she tends “to take inspiration from the colours, textures and simplicity seen in fashion brands, such as Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.”

She has also noticed there’s a luxurious element going on with male cards, such as foil finishes, with metallic golds, coppers and bronzes coming through in contemporary ranges, with embossing and textured card stock further elevating designs to the next level.

The metallics luxe approach is also

Alfresco lifestyle

A new collaboration with Bristol-based illustrator

Lucy Davey has led to her first foray into greeting cards with Stormy Knight’s latest eight-design The Great Outdoors range, with the colours and scenes designed to appeal to those with an active lifestyle.

Lucy got in touch with Stormy Knight director Sarah Jackson who commented: “I came up with the concept of a men’s range that featured the breathtaking scenery that often features in her work, and avoided some of the usual cliches that can sometimes be associated with men’s cards.”

Above: A Honcho design from Laura Darrington.

Above right: Megan Claire’s designs are fashion-led.

Right: Modern life from Jonny Javelin.

Left: Stormy Knight’s The Great Outdoors.

Taking aim

It is a truth universally acknowledged that most cards are bought by women – so who is a male design aimed at? “This will always be a tricky balance, whatever the send,” IC&G design director Amanda Miles said. “My answer would be, it needs to speak to both!”

For Words ’N’ Wishes md Rod Brown it’s generally that the designers aim first at the buyer, then the recipient, but he added: “If you’re designing a caption, for say a close relative, then you consider the buyer first, whereas if it’s just a general open card, then it’s all about the association with the recipient.”

Research by Abacus Cards and Clare Maddicott confirms that the majority of card buyers are female but studio manager Liz Ellis said the designer is ultimately considering the male recipient although they always keep in mind what appeals to the person purchasing the product.

She explained: “Our design team is all female, therefore we make a conscious effort to ask our colleagues both male and female, male relatives and friends as to what interests and appeals to them from a purchasing and receiving aspect.”

At Paper Rose studio manager Sarah Tanser has a different take: “We’re finding there are more men buying cards, especially with stylised designs that are showcasing a pinnacle moment in a man’s life.”

For the Jonny Javelin design team there are three individuals to consider, as coowner Jonny Spears highlighted: “Firstly the recipient for style of card and age, gender, caption, etc; then the sender, with style of card, age, etc’ and the buyer preferences with feedback from the shops via our sales team and, often, direct to the office.”

proving popular for Hotchpotch which has made it a major part of its latest Pocket Square collection, bridging the divide between contemporary and traditional, inspired by London’s tailors’ shops.

“Wandering along Savile Row and the streets around Mayfair we just loved all the gold and copper lettering styles seen in tailors’ windows,” said head of design Anna Price, “and the patterned fabrics used on waistcoats, shirts and pocket squares – this was the starting point for our ideas.”

The sleek lines and vibrant energy of the 1920s art deco movement inspired Paper Rose’s Metropolis range, which feature a fiery burst of copper foil to inject a modern lift.

Known for her pretty female cards and fun kids’ designs, Louise Tiler does a nifty line for males too, which feature gold foil finishes and hand-painted illustrations and “there’s not a bat or ball in sight.”

There’s a dream-like quality to the Sunbeams range from James Ellis, inspired by the great outdoors and nature. As key

While men like simple strong imagery, large text and bold colours, Ling Design ceo David Byk admitted: “We look to appeal to the female who mainly does buy the card but doesn’t want to be told that the recipient’s main interest is drinking!”

It's pretty simple, but complex as Wendy Jones-Blackett sums up: “Most cards are sent by women so you do have to aim the card at what she thinks he would like – it’s very complicated!”

account manager Louise Amesbury explained: “Teal green gardens, parks and countryside, inky blue skies, colourful flowers and graceful birds are the main themes of the range with details picked out in gold foil.

“There are several cards that are geared predominantly towards a male audience, featuring camper vans, cycling and hiking with nature as the backdrop.”

A mix of modern and tradition is key at Ling Design, as ceo David Byk explained: “Men’s tastes evolve and

Above: A male take from Louise Tiler Design. Left: Pocket Square’s luxe foil from Hotchpotch.

Below left: Take a journey with Paper Rose’s Metropolis.

Below: A modern take from Words ’N’ Wishes.

Below right: Contemporary cards from AfroTouch Design.

Far left: Captions mean the buyer for Words ’N’ Wishes. Middle left: Clare Maddicott spins the discs. Left: Jonny Javelin considers three individuals.

we like to blend nostalgic themes with a modern look and we challenge ourselves to be always moving on images which do feature traditional icons while appealing to multi-generational consumers.”

Ling finds racing cars, planes and boats still work well with a notable growth in cycling designs. As David quipped: “We’re yet to see an upsurge in demand for darts-based cards despite the recent interest in the sport!

“We like to offer cards that align with the constantly changing habits and pastimes of the recipient but, at the same time, the old themes stay at the top of the charts but with an evolving modern approach.”

Blue is still the staple colour for men at Wendy JonesBlackett although the designs enhance the shades with touches of brights.

While Wendy, founder of the eponymous publisher, believes traditional imagery and themes will always outsell certain trends, she stresses how it is important to offer something different. “This year we’ve covered chef, DIY and gardening as well as the usual sports and beer, so we are rather hedging our bets!”

At Words ’N’ Wishes md Rod Brown too is conscious of the need to cover both the traditional icons of a red car, bottles of beer, wine or whisky glass, and sports, along with the modern take of adding contemporary colour looks of dark blues, greens and purples with fashionable graphic and typography trends.

He added: “The current trend within masculine designs is dark backgrounds as opposed to the white backgrounds of past years. Fashion colours within textiles and home furnishings are currently dictating the dark backgrounds and modern abstract-attimes imagery. In the current market standard icons are used, but given a modern twist, expected looks and subject matter morphing with modern colours and themes to become more relevant.”

At UK Greetings too its Nirvana range pairs familiar masculine pastimes from beers to football with a contemporary aesthetic, while Party Poppers’ fun messages are bold, colourful and celebratory.

Men-tal health

The focus on mental health and wellbeing is having a welcome impact and the changes are finding their way into greeting card design.

Newbie publisher Queenie Moorhouse, founder of QuMoo Design expanded her fine art travel business to include greeting cards after being unable to find designs for her sons aged 17 and 14, coming up with a teenager texting which they “take to send to their friends – it’s acceptable in boy land”, she laughed, as well as being bought by parents for their sons.

The constant challenge to diversify with male cards is something GBCC’s head of creative Lucy Ledger tries to keep ahead of despite the bestselling themes generally remaining constant.

She said: “Through research and evolving trends we have seen a shift to wider themes in recent years – the biggest recent trends seem to be a focus on

“The male teenagers coming through now are very different to my day,” Queenie explained, “they’ve been impacted by Covid and have strong views on mental health, wellbeing, etc – they’re not big drinkers, believe in a healthy body and mind and I see, with my lads at least, that they’re not so quick to be unkindthey’d never pick up a card that would be mean to someone. I’m sure this will have an impact on trends in the teasing side of cards.”

getting outdoors and outdoor activities, also, as technology develops at a rapid pace, we’re finding a yearning for nostalgia.”

At IC&G, design director Amanda Miles believes “breadth and depth are key to engaging with the customer, and the

all the bases.

Above: QuMoo’s designs reflect a teenager’s look on life.

Above and right: Ling offers traditional and modern.

Below right: James Ellis’ dream-like Sunbeams.

Below: Modern entertaining from Nigel Quiney.

traditional subjects are still very strong commercial options for inclusion in a collection” but updating visuals and formats is popular, as the new male birthday range in collaboration with Sabina Kovacheva [of Sabivo Designs] shows with camping and surfing among the subjects.

the appropriate green and blues of land and sky to add interest and colour to retailer’s displays,” says co-owner Jonny Spears.

Its traditional sport, beer and alcohol designs are still popular male images though it has new designs coming through for walking, cycling, cricket, as well as gaming, fast food, trainers, sports boots, tools, and pets as well as football designs for young relatives.

In Wendy Jones-Blackett’s view, when it comes to nonhumorous cards it’s best to stick to themes that men are

Feeling a bit bewildered?

Sister publishers

Abacus Cards and Clare Maddicott have also expanded on the popular male themes with paddle and body boarding, and off-roading among the sports added to its Graphite photographic range, and Venture’s expressive illustrations reflecting the passion for being outdoors while Chromatic brings foil into the sporting mix with plenty of nostalgia from its Airfix and Hornby licensed collections.

For Nigel Quiney it’s all about the classic male themes brought up to date within the Pizazz Bleu latest launch, featuring entertaining, sports, and skills such as gardening, all with accompanying blue envelopes.

It’s the same at Jonny Javelin. “You cannot ignore there is still a big demand for traditional male cards featuring hobbies, interests and comforting and nostalgic scenes, though with designs set outside, bright and exciting colours are intermingled with

While often getting comments that Bewilderbeest’s gentle humour designs are a little more male oriented chief nitwit Iain Hamilton said: “I do wonder if some of these blokey tropes are a little outdated now – or perhaps I just don’t fit the average male target market because I like milkshakes, am too tall for golf clubs, and need stabilisers to ride my bike!

“I’m sure the common themes still sell well for those that design them, but I’d love to see a broader range of hobbies and topics on male cards. It’s either that or I have to take up golf.”

passionate about. “Food, beer, sport, DIY and gardening may seem like cliches, but they do cover a huge portion of the male population! When you’re committing to a large print run, as we have to do with foiled and embossed ranges, you’re going to stick to popular themes. Digitally-printed ranges though can be more experimental with themes – I have male friends whose passions are opera, horse racing and bird watching, but they’re probably too niche for a big print run.”

Just as it takes all sorts to make a world, it will continue to take all sorts to make up the male greeting card sector!

Below: GBCC’s nostalgic Poster Print.

Below right: Updated visuals at IC&G.

Above left and right: UKG aims to have a design for every taste.

Below: Chef is a new Wendy Jones-Blackett design.

Above: Bewilderbeest’s gentle humour.

Left: An Abacus new take on sport. Above: Marina B’s current top seller.

Art Source

The A-Z(emanek) Route

When Jenny Zemanek was little and people asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, there were three occupations she always listed: A professional equestrian rider, a vet and an artist. While Jenny did compete on the equestrian hunter/jumper circuit, it was her love of illustration, pattern, and design that rocketed the artist to the top of her career-goal list. PG shares the creative journey, life and loves of this Ohio-based artist.

“I am a lifelong lover of all things creative. What started with happy scribbles at a young age grew into a pursuit of photography and graphic design before I eventually found my home with illustration and hand-lettering.

Stints at a large publishing company and an independent ad agency gave me the practical and technical know-how as well as the confidence to open my own studio, and I’ve been freelancing out of Columbus, Ohio for the past 16 years.

I work digitally, and my first love will always be Photoshop. Working on the computer or iPad allows me to really explore and revise without feeling self-conscious or too precious about my work and helps to keep my perfectionism from hindering the flow of ideas. I love to get my initial thoughts down on paper in the form of wonky lines that only I can decipher, but my artistic happy place will always be the computer.

I tend to favour clearly defined shapes and lines, and revel in the joy of adding small decorative details to my work. There’s something soothing for me in zooming right in on a piece and getting lost in small dots, lines and flourishes before zooming back out and seeing how the piece has come to life.

I’ve also fallen madly in love with lettering over the years and can’t get enough of exploring the storytelling capability of various styles, as well as the shapes and details of individual letters. This passion serves me well not just in book work, but with greeting cards as well, allowing me to creatively explore various occasions by accenting my lettering with jaunty swirls or elegant flourishes to add movement, create interest, and further reinforce the feelings behind the greeting itself.

While I love working on all types of projects, my

Above left: Jenny Zemanek has been represented by Jehane for licensing for the last three years.

Above: A prowess of defined shapes and detailing feature in this design.

Left: Lettering, patterning and subject matter feature in this design.

Far left: Jenny’s love of publishing features in this Christmas design.

Below left: Just one of the many book covers Jenny has designed.

Below: A rich colour palette lends itself to this flowing design.

freelance career has been largely dominated by book covers, something that still feels completely surreal and never fails to bring a smile to my face. I’m so honoured to be able to work in a wide variety of genres, and with hugely creative and collaborative authors and publishers. Over the past few years I‘ve had the immense pleasure of illustrating over 50 covers, including an ongoing series of classics for Union Square Publishing.

My work has also been published by Templar Publishing, Macmillan, Flame Tree Publishing, American Greetings, Trader Joes, Sellers Publishing, Galison, Rakuten Kobo, Out of Print, Chicken House Books, Amber Lotus Publishing, Sleeping Bear Press, Wentworth Puzzles, Fifth Avenue Press, Design Design, and Tendances Editions.

I have recently completed my first illustrated picture book, a complete dream come true and I am currently working on my next book which is a non-fiction title inspired by the origins of language.

One of my primary goals with illustration has always been to work in a variety of markets, something that has come to pass in spectacular fashion in the last three years since I’ve been represented by Jehane. It’s been incredibly exciting to see all the ways in which my artwork can be used, and I’ve loved rising to the challenge of figuring out how to bring my style and brand of creativity to not just books, but also puzzles, notebooks, gift wrap, and of course greeting cards!

Working as a freelance artist means there’s always a new surprise waiting just around the corner, and I can’t wait to find out what’s in store for me next.”

l Jenny Zemanek is represented for licensing by Jehane.

WANT TO BE FEATURED?

If you are an artist, photographer or verse writer and would like to be considered to appear in Art Source, please contact PG’s Jakki Brown on jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk. This is an editorial feature and as such is free of charge.

Giftwrappings Gifts

PG ASKED A SELECTION OF RETAILERS FOR THEIR BEST SELLERS

Dicky Bird Graphic Factory

Earlybird Designs

Pavilion

Rosie Made a Thing

Hutch Cassidy Mifkins

Joy Jen Studio

Sarah Thornton

Diedododa Graphic Factory

Pavilion

1973 Pencil Me In Goodeehoo

Ohh Deer Studio Wald

Generally Alphabet Range

Ink Sandwich

Generally

Female birthday

Animal-themed

The Woodland Collection; Tiny & Terrific

Numbers & Letters Discoball Botanical Alphabet Generally Lifestyle

Anthony Burrill Notebooks

Pencils Vegan Leather Collection Planners

Flower presses, plant shelves, pinboard calendars and tea towels

“We love the bold and bright designs.”

“This is a great new range.”

“Popular as gifts, especially as they come from a local familyrun Yorkshire business.” Category

“Especially good wedding, anniversary and engagement cards.”

“The thank you, new adventures and thinking of you designs are popular.”

“Those referring to hot flushes, washing machines and gin score highly.”

“Customers love these quirky, funny cards.”

“Beautiful designs of flora, fauna and mushrooms!”

“Good for teens.”

“New in - customers love the simplistic artistic designs.”

“The cards are a way of owning a bit of this local artist’s iconic artwork.”

“One of our best sellers, that are suitable for all occasions. They look beautiful framed - we sell a lot as new baby cards.”

“We especially love the squiggle design.”

“This is also bought by customers to frame.”

“Really popular.”

“New for us!”

“We do well with the notebooks, totes and purses.”

“Great designs.”

Above right: Some stationery lovers pencils from Pencil Me In.

Right: Pharoah Phone Pouches from Goodeehoo.

Left: One of the Anthony Burrill notebooks from 1973. Right: A design from Dicky Bird. Right: Bold numbers against a painterly background on Joy Jen Studios’ cards.

Right: A Botanical Alphabet card from Diedododa. Below: Some of the seaweed design range from Studio Wald.

Roger la Borde

Caroline Gardner Rifle Paper

ArtPress

Canns Down Art Angels

Madame Treacle

Folio Lagom

Sally Scaffardi Design

Redback Brainbox Candy

Two to Tango Ohh Deer

Cambridge Imprints

Estella Bartlett

Lisa Angel Attic Creations

Roka

Serge Sumerling, owner of Nor, West Norwood and Beckenham Place Park. A duo of card and gift shops in south London, one in a high street, the other in a park. Category Name of Publisher Product/Name Range

Lasercut

Generally Generally

Generally Generally Generally Vintage Whimsical

Generally Generally Only Bloking; Urban Wild

Cloud Nine David Shrigley

Generally Up With Paper

Notebooks

Generally Generally

“The dogs and cats sell especially well.”

“Continually refreshing the ranges.”

“Great designs and top quality production.”

“The designs on art cards that reflect the seasons do well.”

“Beautifully crafted designs, many with a whimsical quality.”

“Masters of stylish designs and great quality.”

“Great illustrations and funny captions.”

“Continues to sell.”

“I love his style.”

“We now have them properly displayed on a wall fixture.”

“Customers buy them for their own use.”

“We display them in vintage display cabinets which adds to the appeal.”

“The selection continues to grow, and sell!”

Lisa Berry, director of The Wishing Well,

Cherry Orchard

Nigel Quiney

Paperlink

Noel Tatt IC&G

Words N Wishes

Carte Blanche IC&G

Simon Elvin Tracks Ling

Joe Davies

“Good quality cards.”

“Real stand out on the racks and have wide appeal.”

“They are great for female and male sends.”

“It just sells and sells.”

“Constantly refreshing designs.”

“Consistently strong.”

“The age relations cards are spot on.”

“Great designs.”

“Still has a strong following.”

“Customers like the new look.”

“A master of cute.”

“Good eye for a design.”

“Always classy.”

“Crowd pleasing designs.”

“Strong sellers.”

“Continually investing in innovation.”

“Great value for money.”

“The selection is vast, and the prices are great.”

Top: Bug Art’s foiled Jewels designs stand out on the racks. Above: One of the many art designs from Tracks.

Right: Some vintage whimsical art from Madame Treacle. Right: A Sally Scaffardi Design classic!

Right: A Two to Tango 3D card.