Progressive Greetings August 2021

August

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From The Editor

ON THE CARDS “It felt like we were all in a ‘wedding bubble’ of loveliness together that we knew at the time was very special and just didn’t want it to end,” was how Wendy JonesBlackett summed up how she felt being at PG Live…and I totally get what she meant.

We have all been deprived of so much over the last year and a half - weddings and birthday gatherings that didn’t happen; office banter was largely silenced; shared holiday silliness was off the agenda and no awards events or trade shows took place - so when we had an opportunity to engage, as happened at PG Live and indeed at Harrogate Home & Gift a week previous, it certainly ignited the emotions.

Having made 22 ‘moves’ (of our various events, including The Retas and The Henries awards) since last April, it was soooo good that PG Live 2021 came to fruition for real - and it was wonderful. Yes, it was smaller than usual, travel restrictions meant it did not have its usual international flavour and some multiple retailers were precluded from attending due to stringent Covid policies, but goodness me, it was fabulous to see the greeting card community out in force again.

Hats off to every one of our PG Live exhibitors, from the largest of publishers to the teeny tiny ones who made their debut and everything in between. The collective creativity was absolutely astonishing.

And as for all you retailers who visited…it was such a tonic to not only witness you lapping up the newness with glee, but placing orders galore and clearly just loving the chance to catch up with your industry chums, be it fellow retailers, agents or publishers.

A huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who believed in PG Live and took the risk to be a part of it.

Above: Over 50 retailers, publishers and trade suppliers joined the PG Live team to officially pronounce the 2021 show open!

Above right: Happiness at PG Live!

(Right) Sarah Laker of Stationery Supplies in Marple and Wilmslow and Kristyna O’Brien of The Bookshop, East Grinstead at The Retas’/The Greats’ Champagne Reception at the show.

Left: Celia Leeson-Cox of Yarnton Home & Gift (left) with PG’s Jakki Brown in the recently revamped garden centre. (See pages 42-43)

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Hopefully there will never be another time like 2020/2021, but one positive is that we will all have a greater appreciation of the good things in life and not take people, events, our business or personal lives for granted in the future.

Like all good weddings we still have some more ‘hokey cokey’ dancing to do, but at least we are getting a chance to put our ‘left foot in’ with others…’knees bend, arms stretch, ra ra ra’!

Here’s to Autumn Fair, Top Drawer, The Henries, the GCA AGM and Conference and The Retas over the coming few months taking place for real. It feels so good to write things in the diary that will not be scrubbed out!

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What’s Inside?

CONTENTS 31

39

42

7-17 News

38-39

All the latest happenings and developments in the trade.

Fine And Dandy

18-19

PG meets Kendria Dandy, the influential artist behind UKG’s latest Kindred range.

Up close with…Kendra Dandy

Over The Counter

Rollercoaster Retailing

40-41

David Robertson, co-owner of JP Pozzi in Scotland likens life at the moment to a rollercoaster ride.

In Conversation With…The Imaging Centre

Simple Shopping How the Kent-based business is now extending its Simplicity concept to retailers.

20-21 Cardsharp

Walk Like An Egyptian?

42-43

PG columnist wonders whether we are all in ‘De-Nile’!

Retailer Focus

Spinning A Yarn(ton) A great story of how a long-established garden centre is reinventing itself.

23-27 Viewpoints

They Came, They Saw, They Bought Retailers share their views of PG Live as well as some of their top product picks.

45 Art Source

Knowing Maja, Knowing You A day in the life of Swedish artist Maja Lindberg.

29-31 PG Live In Pics

46-47 What’s Hot?

Lights, Camera, Action!

A flavour of the joyous reunion in photos.

A quad of Retas finalists retailers share their best selling ranges.

32-37 Innovations Publishers’ new ranges and designs, including Autumn Fair and Top Drawer launches.

48-59 Sources of Supply Subscribe to Progressive Greetings from £60 (UK) to £90 (International).

You can organise this quickly and easily online at our secure site: www.max-subscriptions.net For assistance, please email subscriptions@max-publishing.co.uk

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Copyright© 2021. While every effort has been made to ensure the information in this magazine was correct at the time of publication, the publishers cannot accept legal liability for any errors or omissions, nor can they accept responsibility for the standing of advertisers nor any organisation mentioned in the text. Views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.

PG is the official magazine for the Greeting Card Association GCA: Amanda Fergusson 020 7619 9266 Email: hello@gca.cards www.greetingcardassociation.org.uk

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NEWS TOP STORY

Bringing The Industry Alive Again Surge of camaraderie at PG Live 2021 “I love a trade fair, but this one was different,” stated Sarah Kelleher, owner of the eponymous card publishing business about PG Live 2021, which took place at the end of last month. “So much love for all of my wonderful customers, fellow publishers and the amazing zest and enthusiasm of the PG Live team, absolutely brilliant. We all held together, took a risk and it was amazing!!” Sarah posted on her Instagram page.

After such a long period of being apart, Progressive Greetings Live 2021 was an emotionally uplifting bringing together of the UK greeting card community at the two day show, which took place at London’s Business Design Centre.

“It was so wonderful to see real smiles on the faces of retailers, publishers and suppliers, enjoying the shared kickstart back to normality,” said Warren Lomax, co-owner of PG Live. “Publishers really had pulled out the stops with their new products and retailers large and small were there, delighted by all the newness. We cannot thank everyone enough for the huge support and belief in PG Live 2021,” added Warren.

Buyers from the many leading retailers, including John Lewis & Partners, Tesco, Cardzone, House of Cards, Scribbler, Postmark, Clintons, Oliver Bonas, Fenwick, Blue Diamond, Card Factory, TK Maxx, Morleys, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason joined a vast array of independent retailers, who came the length and breadth of the UK to appreciate the thousands and thousands of new designs that were launched at the show.

Penny Bailey, co-owner of Baileys in Ainsdale, Crosby and Maghull admitted

Bold and Bright x Brainbox Candy collaboration

Above: The Business Design Centre welcomed the greeting card community last month.

Below middle: Sarah Kelleher on her stand at PG Live with Phil Hammill, manager of the Jessica Hogarth shop in Robin Hood’s Bay. Below: Alison Howe (right) of The Falkland Islands Gift Shop.

that any doubts she had about being at the show were quickly replaced with joy. “I wasn't sure how I'd feel being in a busy place again, but seeing friendly faces, meeting new people and seeing fabulous new product all made for a great day. I am always in awe of the talent in our industry and how designers keep coming up with new and exciting product.”

One indie who went the extra mile to be at the show well 8,000 extra miles - was Alison Howe, co-owner of The Falkland Islands Gift Shop who made the journey from the South Atlantic for a very good reason: “I’m here because this is where the best cards are. It was well worth the journey!” she exclaimed.

(Retailers share their ‘top picks’ from the show on pages 23-25 and enjoy a photo fest on pages 29-31) PG Live 2022 will take place June 7-8 2022 at the Business Design Centre, London.

One of the significant product launches at PG Live was the collaboration between Bold & Bright and Brainbox Candy.

The brand new collection, which debuted on Brainbox Candy’s stand, is based on exclusive designs from Bold & Bright’s Jeffrey & Janice brand which feature across everyday and occasions greeting cards, mugs, coasters, notebooks, bookmarks and a calendar for 2022.

The products, which are being produced under a licensing agreement with Thea Musselwhite, founder of Bold & Bright have a slightly different look to the publisher’s own greeting card collection, which will continue under its own steam.

Sharing her delight in the new licensed range, Thea told PG: “This is a wonderful opportunity for me to expand my brand with a company I respect, without the stress of having to produce the range.”

Commenting from the Brainbox perspective, Mark Williams, co-owner of the company quipped: “We just love stress and didn’t have enough of it in our lives, so the tieup with Bold & Bright is just perfect! Seriously though, we have always loved the range and felt it would fit in perfectly into our portfolio.”

Top: Brainbox’s Mark Williams (left) and Ben Hickman with Bold & Bright’s Thea Musselwhite at PG Live.

Above: A display of the new range on Brainbox’s stand at PG Live.

Below: The new range is being produced under licence by Brainbox Candy with Bold & Bright.

Stormy Knight’s ‘Bloom’-ing great window promo

Above: A mock up of what the shop vinyl could look like.

Right: One of the Bloom designs.

Stormy Knight’s major launch of its Bloom seed card collection at PG Live was topped with an innovative incentive for retailers to order.

Featuring beautiful floral images from popular illustrator Clare Owen, the Bloom seed card collection comes with UK-made, biodegradable seed sticks inside that the recipient can plant in pots or their garden and enjoy for months.

“In order to give Bloom a really cool launch I wanted to do something a bit different,” said Sarah Knight, owner of Stormy Knight, who came up with the idea that every retailer who ordered the range going into a draw for the chance to win bespoke ‘bloom’ window vinyls for their shop using the floral artwork from the cards.

Love One in Ipswich, owned by Cathy Frost was the lucky winner.

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NEWS TOP STORY

The Public’s Lockdown Greetings Fedrigoni, Hallmark, Cardzone and GCA mark the ending of lockdown Paper company Fedrigoni joined forces with Cardzone, Hallmark and the GCA to mark the lifting of lockdown restrictions through a series of giant greeting card installations that congratulated the nation for working in unity throughout the pandemic.

The large-scale cards, printed on recycled Fedrigoni paper and featuring designs by the Hallmark Creative Studio went on display in four Cardzone stores (in Greenwich, Cardiff, Glasgow and Ellesmere Port) on Monday July 19, the day that lockdown restrictions were eased in England with members of the public writing messages inside the giant cards, addressed to a missed loved one, a lost relative, or the nation itself.

Explaining more about the project, Simon Pilkington, managing director of Fedrigoni UK, said: “As the easing of Covid restrictions lay on the horizon, we anticipated it would provoke a broad range of emotions - from excitement and relief, to anxiety and reflection. Sending greeting cards is a distinctly British act, so with the support of the GCA we saw an opportunity to create a historic record of the nation’s diversity of feelings at this momentous time.”

Above: The Hugs card, by Emma Burton, on display in Cardzone’s Cardiff city centre store. Each card is printed on Fedrigoni Stucco Old Mill 100% Recycled paper with the supportive plinth manufactured by marketing services group Linney.

Below left: Positive vibes on the Emma Long designed card on display in Cardzone’s Cheshire Oaks store.

Bringing the concept to life, Fedrigoni UK collaborated with Hallmark to create the four different designs with Cardzone happy to come on board to host the installations in its shops.

As James Taylor, trading director of Cardzone told PG: “We are delighted to be involved in this wonderful project which goes right to the essence of what our industry is about…showing we care and bringing people together.”

Rachel Goodman, creative director at Hallmark UK/ROI, added: “We believe that when you care enough, you can change the world, and during the past 18 months it’s been clear the emotional significance of the written word has been pivotal in helping people to connect, reach out and show someone that they care”.

Having been on display in Cardzone for several weeks, the cards have now been donated to the Postal Museum in London as part of the COVID-19 and The Post collecting project which aims to document and reflect the important role the post has played, and continues to play, in keeping people connected through extraordinary times.

A £1,000 staycation holiday from CBG

Be United in Manchester at the GCA AGM and Conference With Harrogate Home & Gift and PG Live having been so positive, diaries are being filled with real events - with the booking line having now gone live for the GCA AGM and Conference, which is all set to take place in Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on Thursday 14 October.

The full day conference and AGM will bring together the association’s publisher, retailer and trade supplier members, who will be treated to a great line-up of speakers (David Greaves of Emotional Rescue, Jo Bennett of Card Factory and David Robertson of JP Pozzi among others) on top of the enjoyable networking opportunities.

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“The agenda will also cover key issues affecting our industry, the latest greeting card facts and figures from the GCA Annual Market Report, and we’ll also be releasing the results of consumer research exploring the changes we are seeing in greeting card buying behaviour,” confirmed Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA. “The afternoon session will include a panel discussion. We’d love to hear what topics you’d like our panel to cover, and the questions you’d like answered,” she added.

The event will start at 10.30am and end about 4pm (with lunch included).

Tickets cost £75 (+VAT) and can be booked online via the GCA website (www.gca.cards) Top: Belly Button Designs has come up with some lovely branding to promote the event.

Above: David Greaves, joint md of Emotional Rescue.

Below left: A £1,000 staycation would be welcomed by most!

Over 130 of Carte Blanche’s independent retailer stockists are hoping to secure a £1,000 staycation holiday for one of their customers.

As part of its ongoing support for bricks and mortar retailers, Carte Blanche Greetings instigated the competition, which will run until the end of August, which offers consumers the chance to win a wonderful holiday. To be in with a chance, members of the public just need to spend £10 or more on any Me to You products in any of the participating retailers (which include a whole host of indies as well as Clintons’ branches), with the competition details fanfared on window POS. Postcards, including an exclusive competition entry QR code, are being given to eligible customers.

“We wanted to give our fantastic Independent retailers an added excuse to welcome customers into their stores and shop for all their favourite Me to You products,” explained Grace Elphinstone, marketing manager of Carte Blanche Greetings. The initiative has been confined to CBG’s customers with bricks and mortar stores on the High Street and participation was completely free of charge.

As Suzanne Heasman, co-owner of Gemini Greetings in Heathfield, commented: “It’s so great that Carte Blanche is helping all of us independents by offering a competition with such a fantastic prize to get people back into our shops during such strange times. I wish more companies saw merit in supporting us with initiatives like this. It makes us all the more appreciative of those companies who are backing us.”

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NEWS TOP STORY

Henries’ Product Judging Is Underway Retailer nominations pour in for the Best Service award Buyers from Cardzone, John Lewis & Partners, Waterstones, Fenwick, Paperchase, Sainsbury’s, Oliver Bonas, Fortnum & Mason, Scribbler and Longacres, together with mini groups and leading indies are currently making some very important decisions, voting which UK card and wrappings ranges they feel are the best!

Yes, the judging for The Henries 2021awards is well underway with almost 100 retailers - as well as select overseas distributors and some specialist wholesale distributors - having been given a few weeks to carefully consider the thousands of entries from a multitude of greeting card publishers and pick their top six in each category, with their collective votes deciding the finalists and ultimate winners in the greeting card ‘Oscars’.

Meanwhile, nominations are pouring in from independent card retailers for The Henries 2021 Best Service to the Independent Retailer award category, these collective votes will provide a true picture of which publishers have really risen to the challenges of delivering a great service to indies over the last testing year.

Indies have until 5pm on August 20 to cast their votes for which three of their greeting card suppliers they feel have provided them with the best service over the last year.

As ever, there will be a trio of awards in the Best Service category

of The Henries - a Bronze, Silver and the ultimate Gold.

As Warren Lomax, joint managing director of Max Publishing (which owns and organises The Henries) commented: “It is great to see such a strong early torrent of votes from indies, from all over the UK. The last year and a bit has presented many challenges to all, while some publishers’ service levels have slipped, others have striven to find a way through, ensuring they still deliver for their retail customers.”

The finalists of all The Henries 2021 product categories as well as the contenders in the Best Service to the Independent Retailer category will be announced in late August while the winners will be unveiled (along with all the product categories) at a Boogie Wonderland-themed awards extravaganza on Thursday 7 October, which will take place at The Royal Lancaster Hotel, London.

Tickets and tables for The Henries 2021 can be reserved by visiting MaxTickets.net or by contacting Clare Hollick of Createvents via email: clare@createvents.co.uk or phone: +44 (0)1183 340085.

Top: This year’s Henries awards event will take on a Boogie Wonderland theme.

Above: Tom Allen announced the winners at The Henries 2019 (the last real event). Just who will pick up the trophies this year?!

Pigment Editions climbs the wall

Penmark’s transformation Penmark, the Midlands-based greeting card and gift retail group has branched out into becoming a supplier to other retailers, with the launch of two home fragranced brands at the Harrogate Home & Gift show.

Bob Harper, the well-known and highly respected industry executive (who for many years headed up the Hallmark Gold Crown programme) has come on board as commercial director to run the new Henry & Co fragranced business.

“This is just part of a major transformation across the whole business, including the plans and ambitions for our retail side, the company structure, appointment of key personnel, investment in the infrastructure and installation of an EPOS system,” Mark Rees, managing director of Penmark revealed to PG. The company has appointed Sharon Green (below) as retail director. Sharon joins following 27 years with Thorntons where she was involved in their retail operations. In this new role, Sharon will oversee the day to day running of the retail estate, which currently includes seven Penmark stores, three Henry & Co shops, four Love Aroma branches and a We Are Cards outlet store.

Sarah Clowes has come on board as retail marketing manager while experienced buyer Michael Laybourn, who joined the Penmark team last year on a project basis, has expanded his remit by taking on the buying for greeting cards, gifts and fragranced products for the retail group.

“Retail most definitely has a positive future,” says Mark. Plans include some refurbishment as well as acquisitions.

Top: (left-right) Henry & Co’s Bob Harper, Kat Kaminski, Mark Rees, Jo Stubbs and agent Steve Powell.

Left: Martin Powderly, Pigment’s creative director

Pigment Productions officially launched its brand new wall art division, Pigment Editions at with some of the new prints.

Progressive Greetings Live last month, with indies very much in mind.

The publisher made the debut with a collection of 18 designs, all of which very much echo many of Pigment’s successful greeting card ranges, including Love Unlimited, Etched, Happy Jackson, 20th Century Icons, Edward Monkton, Pinot Grigio and Cuckoo.

Explaining the rationale behind the launch, Martin Powderly, creative director of Pigment said: “We’ve noticed the resurgence in the relevance and popularity of wall decor, particularly online. We felt a synergy with modern card trends and wanted to create an easy-to-purchase item for the home, the workspace or as a gift that would appeal to independent retailers.”

For Martin, working on the project has been a trip down memory lane as he worked on many poster ranges back in the 80s. “It has brought back so many happy memories of where I, and many others in the greeting card industry, started out in the 80’s at fantastic publishers such as Athena, producing posters.”

The prints are A3 in size, printed on 350gsm heavy art board and are retailed flat with a strong backing board for protection at an RRP of £12.00.

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NEWS TOP STORY

Spring Fair 2022 Moves To A 4-Day Show Two late nights on the Sunday and Monday The decision to reduce next February’s Spring Fair by a day, condensing it into four days (one day shorter than usual) with the introduction of two late night openings, has been well received.

The new 2022 Spring Fair show dates are Sunday 6 February until Wednesday 9 February with late-night openings until 7.30pm on the Sunday and Monday.

The changes, which have been well received by those in the greeting card sector, were as a result of canvassing extensive opinion from exhibitors and visitors alike as well as analysis of buying patterns and attendance at previous shows.

Above: The Spring Fair at the NEC will run for four days next February.

“We have listened to our customers who had overwhelming feedback that the show was a day too long,” said Simon Lau, event director, Spring Fair, which is owned and organised by Hyve. “Buying behaviours have changed in recent years and visitors have communicated that they welcome a 4-day show and that a more condensed few days with the same number of talks, demonstrations, and meetings would make it a more dynamic and action-packed event.”

Simon added that the introduction of two late night openings, follows “a trend common in retail already” with “the additional opportunities to trade greatly benefitting visitors attending for one day only.”

Sharing her support, Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA said: “This news could not be better timed as publishers and retailers are showing how much they love and need real trade shows. Making Spring Fair a four-day show will provide a better return on investment for those exhibiting while the longer days will make it more flexible for retailers to visit.”

As one of the largest greeting card exhibitors at Spring Fair, Ged Mace, managing director The Art File has also given the changes his endorsement. “It is long overdue, but so glad the Spring Fair organisers have listened to what exhibitors and retailers have been saying and acted on it.

Condensing the show into four days will bring more focus and make it fighting fit for the future.”

The new timings have also been welcomed by retailers. Sarah Laker, owner, Stationery Supplies in Marple and Wilmslow says; “I think it’s a great idea, one less day being away from the shop. The late-night shopping will be perfect for those of us who have a lot of buying to do but are limited on days - a win-win for me.”

Publishers in The Licensing Awards finals UKG, Danilo, Emotional Rescue, Hallmark, Hype Associates, Moonpig and Pyramid all have ranges which have reached the finals of The Licensing Awards 2021 - the ultimate accolades for the licensing industry - in the Best Licensed Paper Products or Stationery category.

The finalists are: Animal Crossing Villager Squares stationery collection from Pyramid International; The Beatles Song Titles card range from Hype Associates; Boofle Stay at Home card range from Moonpig; The Gruffalo stationery from Robert Frederick; The Mandalorian - The Child card range from UK Greetings; Minnie Mouse Positivity Collection from Hallmark Cards; Only Fools and Horses 40th anniversary stamp collection from Royal Mail; Peaky Blinders collection from Danilo Promotions and Spitting Image card range from Emotional Rescue.

Above: Hype’s Beatles Song Titles range is in the finals of The Licensing Awards.

Card Factory and Amscan team up on balloon recycling Card Factory and partyware company Amscan have launched a significant sustainability programme with leading recycling solutions company TerraCycle, making it easy for members of the public to recycle their foil balloons and banners.

This month Card Factory is introducing an in-store facility into 500 of its stores nationwide, encouraging the public to drop off their foil partyware items, irrespective of whether they were bought from the retailer in the first place.

“As both a brand and retailer, we are looking into what we can do to improve recyclability and sustainability, with this being one step in the right direction. It’s important that customers are free to recycle any foil balloon, not just a Card Factory balloon. We know there is a need to make recycling easier and as an industry, we should be working together to minimise our overall impact on the planet.” commented Disa Keeling, head of buying at Card Factory.

TerraCycle is a leading recycling company that specialises in recycling typically hard-to-recycle waste which is not processed by local councils.

In this case, once collected from the Card Factory stores, the foil balloons and banners will be shredded and melted into plastic pellets that can then be remoulded into new products Reinforcing the company’s holistic approach to sustainability, Lisa Norris, Amscan commercial director said: “Amscan International is dedicated to leading the sustainability initiative in the party industry, making products that spread joy, but are also mindful of the environment.”

Lisa sees this as an industrywide responsibility. “While Amscan is the partner for this activity, we welcome all brands of foil balloons to be added to the recycling cartons, really driving the way for our industry to think about sustainability as a whole, rather than individual entity.”

Top: The Card Factory, Amscan and TerraCycle initiative provides a solution to difficult recycle foil balloons and banners.

Above: Card Factory has the recycling boxes in 500 of its stores.

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www.joedavies.co.uk 05/08/2021 14:00:00 06/08/2021 13:16

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NEWS TOP STORY

GreetCodes, a world first

Sainsbury’s x GCA Design A Card For Black History Month Almost 1,000 entries were submitted for the competition Nearly 1,000 designs were entered into a Design A Card For Black History Month competition, instigated by the GCA in conjunction with Sainsbury’s, which will see 26 of the selected designs being printed onto cards and going on sale in 107 Sainsbury’s stores to mark Black History Month in October this year.

“This initiative is very much part of the GCA’s on-going commitment to drive diversity and inclusion within the industry,” commented Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA. “We are absolutely delighted with the enthusiasm for this project, highlighting the importance of building connections through greeting cards, and also engaging the next generation of artists and card senders” Mark Callaby, managing director of Ohh Deer and head of the GCA Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee has been instrumental in developing this progressive project with the Sainsbury’s team.

All designers and publishers (irrespective of whether they were a GCA member or not) were invited to submit designs via Instagram.

The Sainsbury’s buying team of Abi Wilson, Kate Goss and Emma Tanner are now ratifying their final selection of the 26 winning designs, following a meeting at Ohh Deer’s Loughborough offices (and via Zoom) with GCA Council members’ Adriana Lovesy from Mrs Lovesy and

Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby and association ceo Amanda Fergusson.

As Adriana Lovesy commented: “There are so many talented black publishers based in the UK and this initiative has really highlighted that.

I love the fact that the competition was run on Instagram and entry is therefore easily accessible to all. In doing this, Sainsbury's and the GCA have ensured that the competition is truly inclusive while also providing these talented designers with a platform on which the public can see and show support for their work.”

The 26 selected designs will be printed onto greeting cards, with the designers/publishers receiving a royalty of 15p for every card sold, with any additional profits made going to kickstart a new GCA Diversity and Inclusion Fund that will be used to drive future initiatives within the industry. Greeting card printer Windles is subsidising the printing costs of the cards in order to maximise the profits for the initiative.

Above: Sainsbury’s buyer Emma Tanner (second right) met with the GCA’s Amanda Fergusson (far right) and Ohh Deer’s md Mark Callaby and Adriana Lovesy (owner of Mrs Lovesy), the latter two being GCA Council members and also on the GCA Diversity and Inclusion sub-committee.

Above left: As part of its support for Black History Month this October, Sainsbury’s is committing to a dedicated shipper of 26 greeting cards in 107 stores which celebrate inclusion.

Thinking of You Week gathers support Asda, Clintons, Sainsbury’s and Cardzone are among the multiple retailers who are underway with their plans to support Thinking of You Week this year, which runs September 20-26.

Leading publishers UK Greetings, Paper Salad, The Art File, Belly Button Designs and Dandelion Stationery as well as paper company GF Smith are also putting the final touches to their plans for the Week, the GCA initiative to encourage card sending just to show you care.

The GCA website (www.gca.cards) features a dedicated blog with inspiring ideas of how you can get involved as well as hosting a downloadable toolkit with the joyful branding.

Above: Dandelion Stationery has produced some special Thinking of You Week stickers to promote the event.

A trailblazing new concept that brings greeting cards to life was unveiled by Greetanica at Progressive Greetings Live last month.

The brainchild of Tel Aviv-based tech entrepreneurs, Greetanica cofounders Yair Hazan and Noam Levkovitz, GreetCodes takes cards and gifts to a new level of personalisation and excitement, by enabling people to easily attach a digital video song, video message, or any other link through using QR codes. The easyto-use technology enables consumers to scan the QR code with their smartphone camera and upload or record their video.

Then, the recipient of the card or gift scans the affixed GreetCode, and the video plays on their phone.

Above: The GreetCode stickers attracted much attention at PG Live.

Trade shows are back!

All set to continue the positive vibe of Harrogate Home & Gift and PG Live, September sees the return of two other physical trade shows - Autumn Fair (5-8 September) at the NEC followed

by Top Drawer at London’s Olympia (1214 September).

Among the features of Autumn Fair this year is The Sustainability Library, which enables buyers to connect with sustainable brands. The Seed Card Company, Penguin Ink and The Art File are among the exhibiting card companies who were quick off the mark to highlight their environmental credentials.

Pre-show, visitors can connect with sustainable brands at Autumn Fair 2021 via the show’s website.

As Jessica Dawnay, Spring & Autumn Fair event director says: “We know it is important to both retailers and suppliers to place sustainability at the forefront of how we do business. We are striving to bring on board exciting and innovative sustainable businesses to the Spring and Autumn Fair line-ups and connect them with interested retailers in an easy-to-use format. The Sustainability Library is a fantastic research tool for buyers targeting sustainable brands.”

Top: These icons will be mirrored onsite at Autumn Fair with The Sustainability Trail and within the Show Guide.

Above: Top Drawer will bring together lots of design-led gifts and homewares.

FOR THE LATEST NEWS VISIT PGBUZZ.net PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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OVER THE

COUNTER

BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.

Every summer, thrill seekers head to amusement parks for a chance to ride the fastest, tallest and scariest rollercoasters.

The wind racing, the tracks rumbling, the inverted loops and stomach-churning drops; all of it gets our blood pumping and adrenaline flowing.

Actually, the aforementioned sounds a bit like life of an indie retailer these last few months, with PG Live 2021 and Harrogate Home & Gift having gone ahead as real trade shows having added to the exhilarating ride back to normality!

Rollercoaster Retailing While maybe not making my heart race to quite the same level as a day trip to Disneyland or Alton Towers the prospect of returning to trade shows certainly got my pulse racing and my temperature raised.

Part of the fun of rollercoasters or theme parks is the anticipation of what is to come. The not knowing how the ride will make you feel. Where the speed or drop will throw your senses and similarly after 17 months away from shows I can say we were ready and eager to return.

Against a backdrop of changing Covid restrictions, Brexit, supply issues and rising costs due to massive shipping increases, what would the shows actually be like? Would they return triumphant or was it still a bit too soon? Would they be worth the effort and return on investment? Who would have launched the latest ‘must have’ range?

In truth I didn’t have the answers and neither did the organisers of PG Live or Harrogate Home & Gift, but what I did know is that there was an appetite for actually seeing product and interacting face to face.

For us in the North East of Scotland going to shows is a big commitment, both in terms of cost and time and they are not holidays (despite what staff often think!).

They are essential fact-finding missions that need to sustain the business for the weeks and months to come.

Harrogate Home & Gift and then PG Live effectively ran back to back this year with lots of excitement and buzz around 18

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

them both. Pre-Covid we have never missed a Harrogate show - it is my favourite gift show - as this is where I usually find something a little different on the gift front. It has always been a show that has a kind of summer festival vibe, where everyone is more relaxed and somehow doing business felt more enjoyable with the annual visits to Brio and other great restaurants in the town making it an all the more fun annual pilgrimage.

We had booked our hotel last year in anticipation that this pandemic would surely have been past, but a week before the show we decided to pull out, partly as some of our notable gift suppliers had decided not to exhibit in the end.

For us it is a four-day commitment with travel and with the companies that didn’t show we decided it would not be worth it.

We also had to consider the timing with it being right on Freedom Day! I emailed the organisers directly a few times without a response but then received a call back from Russell Rule, show director for which I respect him, at what must have been a busy and nervous time for him and his team. I fully appreciate how difficult it

Above: Retailing is somewhat akin to being on a rollercoaster right now.

Left: The very thought of the return to trade shows raised David Robertson’s temperature in excitement!

Below: A sunny scene from Harrogate Home & Gift show this year.

was for them to be first out of the gate. To get there was in itself an achievement. And we will be back next year!

My mum and I spent that weekend wondering if we were missing out. It felt a bit like when you turned down a night out for a reason that you were not entirely convinced about and then spent the next few hours suffering from FOMO (as the kids say). That fear of missing out, that fear of maybe not seeing or discovering the next big thing is real and interestingly enough when stock arrived this week from companies we would normally order from at the show there were disappointments in terms of the size and quality of finish.

Nothing beats a hands-on experience, you just can’t replace actually seeing what you are buying. Zoom, Teams or brochures will never really do a product justice.

Similarly, the human element of a good salesperson or owner cannot be beaten when they tell you about product.

The role of salespeople and agents has been questioned often in the last few years, but I do really believe that Covid has highlighted the need for the right people to be in place to sell and keep you up to date.

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OVER THE COUNTER

Indeed, we have benefitted greatly from knowledge shared by certain agents in the past few months. It is also an important gauge of what is happening as they are touring around the country and hear how retailers are really doing.

My understanding of Harrogate was that it ended up pretty good, even if it was a smaller show. An agent pal of mine described it as there being “no tyre kickers” there, in other words those that attended were serious buyers., PG Live was similar in many ways. Very few card companies exhibited at Harrogate so the need for PG Live was defo there and we, the nation’s card buyers needed to find our industry under one roof.

Spread over just two days, one of the key attractions of the show for me are the new companies and those who were showing in their infancy as a business. PG Live highlights how welcoming and open we are as card people and the atmosphere is always a supportive and encouraging one. This year it was most definitely upbeat as everyone clearly enjoyed being together again.

Pretty much all the leading players were there exhibiting from UKG to Hallmark, Woodmansterne to Words ‘n’ Wishes, Danilo to Emotional Rescue, Ling to Paperlink (and those who weren’t there, should have been!). Added to this were the strong alumni of The Ladder Club, with Megan Claire, Paper Salad, Jessica Hogarth and so many others exhibiting - and I know that everyone was valued and included.

Like Harrogate Home & Gift, PG Live was a smaller show than in previous years (and the travel restrictions precluded its usual strong posse of international attendees) but it certainly had a very positive vibe and I know that many of the companies showing were buoyed by the upbeat atmosphere, and more importantly the positive sales.

Above: The sheer joy is evident despite the masks!

Sarah Lewis (right) of Alphablots was delighted that Annie Gould of retailer/publisher Objectables spent her Sunshine Ticket with the newbie.

Below left: David Robertson with Megan Purdie of Megan Claire at PG Live.

Below right: David spent his Sunshine Ticket with newbie publisher, Popsy & Plum.

Card companies have had a very mixed bag over the Covid time. Many who supplied convenience, supermarkets and post offices have been exceptionally busy. Those that were more indie-based suppliers had to pivot and many sold direct to the consumer online to keep the lights on and survive.

Some of the ‘larger small’ companies, if that makes sense, decided against this and rode the things out as they did not want to be a competitor with the retailers that had supported them for years buying their product. The bottom line is, there was no right or wrong here.

Normally at this point you may expect me to have a little rant about them selling direct, but I have taken the attitude that simply you had to do what you had to do to survive these past months.

Moving forward we will all have to make decisions that are different than we would have made pre-Covid. There is no right or wrong here it is what you need to do and what you feel happy with. What you have to do though, whether a publisher or retailer is make a plan, make the decision and see it through. As my PE teacher said when going in for a tackle in the football, you must be committed. If you go in halfhearted that’s when you get hurt.

The same definitely applies in business, indecision kills.

I enjoyed PG Live a great deal as I got to see lots of friends that I had not been with in the flesh for some time. I also got my hands on lots of great new products the combination of the two made it an extremely pleasant couple of days.

Stand wise it was great to see my friends at Emotional Rescue launch a huge

range of product on what was a very impressive stand. I was also delighted to support newbie companies such as Popsy & Plum, Paper Shed and Ginger Betty with what will hopefully be the first of many orders. Each had a different feel and all were lovely to speak to and passionate about their respective ranges. They are without doubt niche, but they will fit well into our mix.

I also really enjoyed looking at product from Gruffpawtraits, Max Rocks and Eleanor Bowmer among many others.

What always strikes me at PG Live is the diversity of product and that there is so much out there that I love.

In this rollercoaster life we are leading as retailers, a good day may be followed by a poor one. But it is good to know we are on the journey with friends in the trade who also experience the twists and the turns. An influx of customers can be followed by a day in which you could fire a gun in the shop and not hit anyone. You can have a feeling of your head being upside down and not knowing if you are coming or going.

These sensations seem to be a similar story across the country and attending PG Live and speaking to others in our retailer What’s App groups allow you that shared bond.

It doesn’t make it any better. It doesn’t put money in the till, but the reality is I have never been prouder of our stores in terms of the way they look, the stock that is in them or the way our team has worked and adapted to keep things going.

There have been lots of false dawns, but let’s hope that PG Live and Harrogate Home & Gift are the start of a true return to normal. Let’s hope that feeling of elation at being back to what we know and love sustains…

To contact David email: jppozzi@btconnect.com PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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cardsharp

Walk Like An

Egyptian?

Whisper it slowly and ever so gently…Cardsharp believes most of us in the greeting card industry are in a state of ‘De Nile’. He thinks we are all like ancient Egyptians, trying to hold back against the power of the mighty African river. Whether publisher, manufacturer, designer, wholesaler, international distributor or retailer we all think that we are still the young disrupters we were 10, 20 or 30 years ago! When, in actual fact, in most cases, we are the opposite.

The crisis of the last 18 months has put a lot into perspective. Although last month’s PG Live was a joyous celebration of our great world leading British industry, and while not wanting to take away from the inspiring publishers and products that gave the show so much sparkle, there was a bit less young creative talent there than in previous years. Part of this was no doubt due to the lack of publishing opportunities in the last year and a bit with retail being restricted for such a long period.

The ‘Class of 2021’ of greeting card entrepreneurs were more likely to be mature students, than newbie graduates.

Looking back at some of his previous rantings over the last 30 years, Cardsharp is somewhat embarrassed by some of his old articles, but accepts that any columnist writing in any media is always overtaken by events.

Hindsight is everything. If nothing else Cardsharp reflects, all you are doing is giving (depending on your view), an ill-informed or hopefully illuminating perspective commentary on current events and ‘meme’.

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Above: Those ancient Egyptians certainly knew how to make an impact!

Left: Earworm time…The Bangles’ catchy ‘Walk like an Egyptian’ will live on…

Below: PG Live saw the greeting card community enjoying getting back together.

Cardsharp has to accept that we are in fact, like many others, an ageing industry.

Cardsharp thinks sometimes we have sought solace from that fact. In many ways it serves us well. There is nothing wrong with a bit of ‘De-Nile’.

Look at PG Live last month, what an incredible showcase for our industry.

Despite the pandemic, ‘pingdemic’, international travel restrictions, summer holidays, some multiple retailers’ ban on allowing buyers to attend, so many of our cardie ‘Egyptians’ turned out in force to support the industry and get things going, placing orders and getting things moving back to normality again.

But then, Cardsharp reflected that the overwhelming majority of those visiting or exhibiting at PG Live were in fact at a certain age where they have already had both had their vaccinations. That wasn’t a cause for complacency by the organisers, but just a statement of fact.

The last 20 years have dished up a series of challenges for ‘cardies.’ We have had to compete with (and at many times have seen off) the threat of text messaging, ecards, a massive recession from 20082011 and a stagnation in disposable income. Moreover, we have since then experienced the online retail revolution and

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subsequent collateral damage to bricks and mortar retailing.

Now after the weirdness of the last 18 months, we all face ‘a new normal’, whatever that means. And Cardsharp muses, that things will have moved on.

We cannot assume that the industry has remained in aspic in the last two years.

One thing that concerns Cardsharp even more than declining high street footfall, is that the ties that bind us as human beings and ultimately encourage card sending are showing signs of breaking down.

Cardsharp was fascinated to read an article in The Times newspaper recently by a brilliant young columnist called James Marriot, which was both insightful and illuminating. He speaks with an inside knowledge that most of us are too old to

relate to: ‘Western societies are plagued not only by widespread loneliness but a fundamental disconnect.’

James quoted a recent survey which highlights that 21% of people aged 18-34 say they only have one close friend or none at all, a statistic that has tripled in a decade.

The report references an epidemic of loneliness and a deep social disconnection that is present in modern western society.

This is really dispiriting on a humanitarian front as well as for those of us whose whole business lives have been based on social interactions and relationships.

Without going into the gory details these trends are having a real effect on society. The isolation is having a real effect not only on mental health, but our population, with our birth rate declining at an alarming rate. There is now a real fertility gap! This is also reflected in so-called weaker family and community ties. The trend is also of the UK society becoming more individualistic and disconnected.

These days we have much higher mobility,

with many university educated young people leaving families and communities to move to friendless cities. This in turn leads to greater social disconnection and a further loosening of family ties. The ‘rent generation’ and rising house prices, mean that couples are less likely to procreate, or decide to have smaller families later in life.

Working from home has in effect accentuated the problem of social isolation.

The younger working population has not had the benefit of creating their own social network in the workplace while too many have sought solace in solitary activities like gaming or an excessive indulgence in social media.

This means modern families are scattered and shrinking. We will have smaller networks of brothers, sisters, cousins and uncles and aunts to connect to than previous generations and when we are older, we will have fewer children to care for us.

It also means there will be fewer opportunities for traditional greeting card sending opportunities. We in the industry have always assumed, that although children love greeting cards, this enthusiasm dips in the teenage, student and young adult years, only to revive when delayed maturity kicks in and people settle down.

Top: Friendship circles are apparently dwindling.

Above left: Drops in high street footfall continue to pose a challenge for city centre bricks and mortar retailers.

Above right: Pyramid selling?!

Below: Cardsharp admits he may be in ‘De-Nile’.

If this ‘settling down’ does not happen or happens later, will this mean fewer wedding cards, big birthday cards, friendship cards, christening cards? Will there be less reasons all round to demonstrate our appreciation of those we care for?

To Cardsharp’s mind, it all means we will have to work harder and harder to keep the greeting card offering to the consumer relevant and exciting to a changing demographic. Social isolation, disconnected lonely individuals and smaller family units will all have an impact on the greeting cards we hope to design and sell.

But it is not all doom and gloom for the long-term future of the greeting card industry. We are all living so much longer. If ‘being 60’ years is the new 40, then ‘being 80’ is the new 60? If the younger generation does not embrace greeting card sending now due to a lack of social integration, there will be plenty of time later in life! And if in later life the next generation does start to connect with a wider world, then bonanza.

Perhaps Cardsharp is overly dramatising? The industry has seen off so many challenges over the years, the working from home trend, falling retail footfall, rising inflation and pandemics are just a new set.

The GCA’s Thinking of You Week initiative (which this year falls 20-26 September) is incredibly well timed, with retailers and publishers getting behind it, with consumer engagement it could help stave off loneliness and reinforce those much-needed connections.

But as Cardsharp concludes, we all could do with a little more appreciation, and learn to ‘love our Mummies!’ a bit more or perhaps we should think a bit more about ‘Pyramid selling’. We may have a ‘Pharoah’ challenge ahead, but at least corny puns will see us through!

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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VIEWPOINTS

Inset: PG Live 2021 brought the greeting card community together

They Came, They Saw,

They Bought Paraphrasing from the film Field of Dreams, ‘If you build it, they will come’, PG Live 2021 brought the UK greeting card community back together, with exhibiting publishers having pulled out the stops and retailers, having been starved of seeing newness in the flesh, lapped it all up.

Retailers were only too happy to share their views of the show as well as some of their top picks.

Miles Robinson co-owner of House of cards, seven shops in the Home Counties “Well, that has to be the best come back show of all time! We have definitely missed the excitement of PG Live and it seems ages since the last one.

Certainly, many publishers have been busy creating new collections/designs and nice to see some new faces too.

Lunch was brilliantly done, drinks reception felt perfectly safe and the whole event was managed really well. We are thrilled to have been part of it! Onwards and upwards to the next one.”

Top picks: “We took on a couple of new suppliers, The Illustrated Saying and Paper Shed Design. Emotional Rescue, Paper Salad, Five Dollar Shake and Wendy Jones-Blackett all stood out with some fabulous new product.”

Left: Miles Robinson with Paper Shed’s Jo O’Brien, who used to work for House of Cards before setting up her card company.

Sean Austin owner of Austin & Co, Malvern “Well, just wow! To be back at a show with all the buzz, excitement and anticipation that matched the first show I ever attended some 10 years ago. I know virtual wholesale marketplaces have popped up over the past year, but they can't really compare. What made it? People. And seeing their passion. When you sell a card, you need to have the evidence to tell your customers why it's more than just a card.”

Top picks: “I loved the new ranges from current suppliers such as Snowtap (from The Art File), Sarah Kelleher, Ricicle Cards and Megan Claire.

A number of new companies also stood out for me, including Max Rocks and East End Prints.”

Above: Sean Austin spent his Sunshine Ticket with East End Prints.

Left: Part of the Max Rocks stand at the show.

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VIEWPOINTS Kate Salmon head of home and gift buying and Jennifer Hutchinson, senior buyer’s admin assistant of Oliver Bonas “We had a great time. It was really inspiring to be somewhere buzzing again! It was lovely to catch up with suppliers and also to see lots of newness. Now the stores are open and coming back to life we came away excited and energised to refresh the ranges, so it was perfect timing.

We have made lots of sample and catalogue requests which we are now collating to do a big range review next month.”

Top picks: “We thought Ohh Deer’s range was great while Stormy Knight, Raspberry Blossom, Noi (what great diversity) and Redback Cards were particularly strong too.

We also spoke with Alphablots who we hadn’t seen before but thought its range was really colourful and eye-catching.”

Above: Noi’s ranges stood out for the Oliver Bonas buying team.

Sally Matson co-owner of Red Card, Petworth “It was a great day and so lovely to be back at a trade show - especially one where all the exhibitors had made such a huge effort with their stands.

It was also lovely to catch up with friends who run shops as well as exhibitors, reps and agents.

I placed 15 orders at the show with more to follow, so a very busy and successful shopping trip that was worth me breaking off my family holiday for a couple of days!”

Top picks: “I placed orders with Belly Button Designs, Clanna Cards (Sunshine Ticket), Counting Stars, Ginger Betty, Kali Stileman (Sunshine Ticket), Laura Stoddart (Golden Ticket), Meraki, The Pattern Book, Poet & Painter, Sooshichacha, Woodmansterne and Wendy Jones-Blackett.

I also loved Mister Peebles’ fine art animal cards, the bird/wildlife designs from Lizzie Perkins of Art Matter and the amazing square photographic cards from Carpe Lumen.

I really liked the boxes of birthday cards from Belly Button Designs, great value with ten mixed cards with an RRP of £10ish; the beautiful bookmark cards from Poet & Painter; the fab new colourful wordy range from Counting Stars and the beautiful new botanical range from Kali Stileman on gorgeous linen board as well as her amazing gold foiled age cards.

I will also be placing post show orders with Hype, I Drew This, Objectables and Pigment.”

Above: Sally Matson (left) with Laura Stoddart.

Left: The Carpe Lumen portfolio covers many themes of photographic cards.

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Mark Janson-Smith managing director of Postmark, a group of five shops in London “What a warm and welcoming show. PG Live was the perfect kickstart to trade shows for us. It was so great to be back in a room with so many friendly faces after being apart for so long.

Seeing the new product close-up again was also wonderful - PDFs just don't quite do it for us!”

Top Picks: “Our old favourites continue to innovate and move forward. The Art File, Pigment, Paper Salad all caught our eye as well as many new lines from people we haven't dealt with in a while. We are taking a closer look at Meraki, Stripey Cats, Globe Enterprise and Wendy Jones-Blackett and hope to add them to our offering very soon.

We also plan to have a chat with Say it with Songs which we missed at the show, but was recommended by a friend and looks very interesting.”

Above: Mark Janson-Smith taking a close look at some of Roger la Borde’s lovely products.

Left: New Hunky Dory designs from Paper Salad.

Caroline Ranwell Hugs and Kisses, Tettenhall

Below: Caroline Ranwell (right) with Rush’s Lorraine Bradley.

Bottom: Ginger Betty’s designs hit the spot for Caroline.

“We had a wonderful time at PG Live, it has to the best one ever! It’s great to have so many fabulous card companies under one roof, it makes buying so much easier.

We had lots of fun but also worked hard too, I placed quite a few orders, some with my existing suppliers (Wendy Jones-Blackett, Rush Design, Paper Salad, Hearts Designs, Abacus) and also some new. (Ginger Betty, Dean Morris, Brainbox Candy) so eight in total.

I also found the show great for networking. It was so helpful to catch up, swap ideas and discuss any problems.

We had a lovely lunch both days and we had great fun at the opening night party too. After lockdown and all the problems that go with it, PG Live was just what we all needed!”

Top picks: “I absolutely loved Wendy Jones-Blackett’s new Cloud Nine designs and Rush Design’s new large adult age cards.

I loved Ginger Betty’s range of cards, it’s so nice to see something that’s a bit different, I loved its little credit cards too, so pretty.”

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VIEWPOINTS Rachel and Paul Roberts owners of Mooch, Northampton, Towcester and Olney “What a treat to be back meeting people face to face! We love PG Live - it’s such a gorgeous, friendly and relaxed show - and although it was a little smaller this year, it was as charming as ever.

It was lovely to see and chat to some of our favourite publishers, and it was great to see what they’d been working on during lockdown - as a result we have lots of lush new cards winging their way to us! It was also a real treat to meet some exciting new publishers and we managed to pick up a few fresh new ranges.

It was wonderful to be able to meet up with lots of our fellow gift and card shop owners and compare notes on how things are going. And it was extra special to meet up with some of our Retail Buddies (the WhatsApp group that we started following the PG&H Retail Round Table at Harrogate two years ago) to thank each other for the amazing support over the last 18months - and enjoy a few glasses of fizz at The Retas/The Greats reception together.”

Top picks: “Existing card suppliers with great new stuff included Five Dollar Shake, Dandelion, Wendy JonesBlackett, Hearts Designs and Megan Claire.

Other companies that caught our eye at PG Live 2021 included Shmuncki, Paper Salad and Ling Design, while The Seed Card Company is on our radar.

It was also good to see the non-card ranges from Scentiments and WPL Gifts.”

Above: Rachel (left) and Paul Roberts with Dandelion’s Jo Wilson.

Left: Contemporary design and verse combine in Shmuncki’s collection.

Stephen McHale co-owner of Bentleys and Maddison in Solihull, Stourport and Harborne “With all the uncertainty surrounding shows and travel etc, we really wanted to come to PG Live to show our support to our industry. We so enjoyed seeing most of the usual smiling faces and meeting some new ones.

I enjoyed all the rock star comments and being serenaded by Ben from Brainbox Candy singing Bee Gees songs. It’s amazing what a bit of lockdown hair can do!

We placed a few orders before we even made it up the stairs to the main mezzanine!

It was very apparent how much people had missed the interaction with other people on a face to face rather than on Zoom. So, although there was a bit less hugging and kissing there were plenty of smiles and a warm welcome to all.

We are all a little unsure of exactly what lies ahead but will face it prepared and with a smile.”

Top picks: “We were pleased to be able to spend our Silver and Gold Tickets with Lorraine and Ian Bradley of Rush Design and with Thea Musselwhite of Bold & Bright. From Rush we liked a lot of the new larger square ages and relations cards as well as its beautiful wedding cards. The entire Bold & Bright stand featured new designs which is always a good sign. We were also happy to find Stripey Cats, a new company for us, and ordered from them. The Halloween designs initially attracted us, but then we also bought some of the googly eye animal designs.”

Above: Stephen and Julie McHale (second right) with colleague Beverley Yates (left) and PG&H’s editor Sue Marks at the champagne reception at the show.

Right: One of the new wedding designs from Rush Design.

Andrea Pinder owner of Presentation, Barrowford: “I’m just coming down from being on cloud nine. PG Live is so much more than a card buying show, it’s the therapy we all need.

What a show…much better than I had ever expected.

PG Live brought me so much pleasure and helped immensely to build up my buying confidence, especially after last year’s lockdown closures - it has given me the gumption to forward order.

Everyone made such an effort being upbeat, friendly and Covid-safe - the laughter and banter was brilliant. I’m so glad I saved my buying for PG Live and I had placed my first order within 10 minutes of entering the show.

On my way home my thoughts were of years gone by and how I’ve not missed one PG Live show and I certainly won’t be missing any in the future.

My finishing words for those that couldn’t visit or have never visited, don’t miss it in 2022, when it’s going to be the biggest card show ever.

Items to bring in no particular order… l Budget (not a budgie!) l One person more than yourself (if only for taking down notes while you talk) l A sense of humour to match the Brainbox Candy boys and Dean Morris. l And a thirst for the Opening Night Party.

I’m wishing I was back at PG Live, but I am already booked in for the 2022 show.”

Top picks: “I placed card orders with Rush Design, Wendy Jones-Blackett, Five Dollar Shake, Paper Salad and Hearts Designs.

I really liked Abacus’ Countryfile cards and Blue Mountain Arts’ Pix and Pages; the ages glassware range and candles from Scentiments, jewellery and stationery from Hearts Designs as well as the coaster and mug range from Belly Button Designs. I also plan to order from I Drew This for a bespoke products, and there were lots of newcomers that I will definitely look at for the future.”

Above: Andrea Pinder (left) with Wendy Jones-Blackett in a thumbs-up moment.

Above right: Liberty fabric adds to the appeal of Five Dollar’s latest collection.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

25

N PUB EW LISH ER

BLANK ART CARDS FOR ANY OCCASION

Email to request a trade catalogue: hello@chadbrookcards.com Or register for a trade account and order online at:

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VIEWPOINTS Anita Thorpe

Nigel Hamilton-Evans

owner of Diverse Gifts, Brixton “I had an amazing day at PG Live. As my first trade show in almost two years, it was great to be back meeting suppliers and doing business in the real again.

It was also good to see that several major card brands have heeded the diversity message and are offering more inclusive card collections, including UKG with its Kendra Dandy range, Noi and Poet & Painter.”

Top picks: “I was really pleased to spend my Silver Ticket with Njeri Illustrated whose landmark-based cards are very popular with our customers.

I also discovered some amazing new brands that we'll be stocking along with our old favourites.”

Above: Anita Thorpe (centre) with Njeri Illustrated’s Michelle Njeri Small and her husband Pephas.

Left: A design from Poet & Painter that Anita has ordered for her shop.

Sarah Laker owner of Stationery Supplies, Marple and Wilmslow “Oh, the sheer pleasure of being back at a trade fair and buying! I had a blast.

There was such an excited buzz in the air. It was both familiar and strange as I tried to remember what questions I needed to ask and the publishers tried to remember their prices and sales patter. Everywhere you looked there were people smiling, chatting and laughing, how 'normal' it felt after such a torrid 16 months. And great to meet up with industry friends. It's been far too long.

All the stands looked fabulous, everyone had made such an effort. And there so many beautiful cards, funny cards, rude cards...it was hard to decide what to buy! I went with just the 10 orders...oops!

It was my first visit to PG Live, and I'd highly recommend it. It was so well organised, and with a free lunch and opening party too! If you sell cards, then it's definitely not to be missed.

Back in the shop customers have been coming in saying how much they enjoyed that I shared my trip with them over social media and that they were looking forward to seeing the new cards and stationery. Now I'm looking forward to receiving all the orders. The hotel is booked for next year’s show!”

Top picks: “The Art File: Parade - This beautiful range caught my eye on the first morning of the show, it really has the 'wow' factor…I've ordered it for both shops along with some roll wrap.

Brainbox Candy: I've had a couple of complaints about ‘sweary cards’ in my Marple shop, but wanted to keep selling them

co-owner of The Well Good Card Shop/Boroughbridge Post Office, Boroughbridge: “To sum it up simply, PG Live is a pleasure not a bore and I'm sure everyone attending felt the same way. What a shot in the arm for us all with the feelgood factor in abundance. PG Live had the theatre, the entertainment, as well as loads of enthusiasm and passion.

It must have been a great confidence builder for many suppliers too.

Are we back to normal?

No not yet, but we are getting there…”

Top picks: “Wendy Bell Designs, The Little Dog Laughed and Deva, placing orders with. A special mention for Andrew from Deva whose enthusiasm and product knowledge was outstanding.

He made us feel special and valued. We will also be buying from Emotional Rescue when its new range is printed.”

Above: Karen and (right) Nigel Hamilton-Evans with Nathan Smith from The Little Dog Laughed.

as demand is growing! So, Brainbox’s Cheeky Box for over 18s is a great idea and I think it will solve the problem. I've also ordered some Jeffrey and Janice notebooks, bookmarks and calendars for both shops (part of the licensing collaboration between Bold & Bright and Brainbox Candy). My customers love the hilarious cards so I know these will go down a storm.

Dean Morris: Who would have thought I'd be having a discussion about the scale of swearing acceptable in my shops at 9.30 in the morning with the legend that is Dean Morris? Dean's cards were so funny I couldn't choose so I've left it to him to send me a selection of best sellers for each shop along with some of his witty pens. I even helped him out with my nerdy stationery knowledge as he didn't know his pens were refillable until I'd taken one apart. We were both delighted that I spent my Sunshine Ticket with him.

Hype: Being a child of the 70s my eye was attracted to the Peanuts cards on Hype’s colourful stand. I was carefully guided through my ordering and have gone with a great selection of cards, including Peanuts and Moomin and a box or two of badges.

Everyone likes a badge don't they?!

Stormy Knight: I was first attracted to the stand for its Bloom seed stick card range as it ticks all my boxes - eco, good design, unique. I then started looking at the other cards whose beautiful illustrations simply made me smile and decided I'd split a small order between the shops to test the water, but then got carried away and ended up with a carriage paid order for both shops.

Other publishers that I'm going to follow up with in a few weeks include Paper Salad, Alphablots and Stripey Cats.”

Above: Happy days! Sarah Laker with Dean Morris.

Left: There was some Snoopy philosophy to be hand on the Hype stand.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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SR Half Page PG Aug 2021.pdf

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10:53

24 New Signature slim ages for release in August.

Eye-catching and punchy with all the glorious JJ colourful finishes.

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In Pictures

Lights, Camera,

Action!

It was written all over the smiling faces that filled London’s Business Design Centre at the end of last month…it just felt so good for the greeting card community to be back for real at PG Live 2021.

PG shares a flavour of the joyous reunion…

Above: Retailers were at the BDC bright and early to join publishers and the Max Exhibitions’ team at the official ribbon cutting ceremony to open the show.

Below: PG Live was the first proper trade show to take place at the BDC for well over a year.

Left: Visitors received a warm welcome from suitably attired ‘meeters and greeters’, dressed in exhibitors’ greeting cards who handed out the Kate Smith x Hallmark keepsake tote bags.

Below: Fenwick’s Abigail Ball (right) and Clare Banks caught the 6am train from Newcastle to get to the show.

Below: First time exhibitor Lottie Simpson was delighted to be presented with a pimped up Golden Ticket from Medici Gallery’s Tim Reynolds.

Right: Celebrated jazz saxophonist Roger Humbles brought music to the ears, playing in the foyer, lunchroom and at the Opening Night party. Seen here with Simon Pryce, director of ecommerce superstars Skylight Media, who sponsored the cool vibes from Roger.

Right: Retailers lapping up the newness on the Ling Design/GBCC/ Penny Kennedy stand.

Far right: The airy venue was abuzz with banter.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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In Pictures

Above: Tesco’s lead buying manager Samantha Ody (left) with Angela Anderson, sales director of Danilo.

Above: Retailers (right-left) Georgia Burness, Libby Holden (both Lovely Libby’s), Penny Bailey (Baileys), Tracey Holden (Olive Branch), Emma and Faye Thurgood (Sincerely Yours) enjoyed catching up with each other at The Retas/The Greats champagne drinks reception which also housed the GCA 100th Anniversary exhibition.

Left and below: High flying paper company Fedrigoni team did itself proud in its dressing of the lunchroom, which was adorned by 400 paper aeroplanes and even the menus could be folded into paper aeroplanes!

Right: With all the talking that went on, the tea trollies (which served free tea and coffee throughout the show) were even more welcome than usual! Sponsored by Windles, the company’s Michelle Mills (centre) and Nicky Harrison enjoyed a cuppa too.

Below: The Opening Night Party was a cheers to the first day! (Leftright) Pephas Small (Njeri Illustrated), Peter and Tracey Colliston (Ginger Betty), Anna Danielle (The Little Dog Laughed) and Michelle Njeri Small (Njeri Illustrated).

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Right: Having formed the Retail Buddies’ WhatsApp group two years ago, a lot of the members loved the chance to meet up in person at PG Live. (Front left to right) Jo Webber (Jo Armor), Richard and Aga Marsden (Highworth Emporium), Paul and Rachel Roberts (Mooch), Mike Webber (Jo Armor), Tabi Marsh (Papilio at Heritage) and Libby Holden (Lovely Libby’s).

Below: Smiles all round! (Left-right) Brent Milburn (New Frames), James and daughter Polly Stevens (James Ellis), Michael Finkler (Fiona Lynchehan) and Rachael Adegbemisoye (Art for Art’s Sake).

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In Pictures

Left: Exhibiting ‘neighbours’ and first time PG Live exhibitors (left-right) Kim Garrity (Kim Garrity Design), Danielle Rogers (Popsy & Plum), Becky Hart (Bexi Cards Stationery) and Clara Guy (Studio Nila) were each delighted that retailers spent their Sunshine or Silver Ticket with them.

Below: Adding to the fizz of the show, Paper Salad’s ‘bar’ served up mini bottles of pink prosecco that was enjoyed by (right-left) David and Theresa Colman (Only Place for Pictures), agent Rosie Trow, PG’s Jakki Brown, Paper Salad’s Karen Wilson and agent Nigel Spensely (it made up for the football debt!)

Above: Two football bets were settled at the show! PG’s (right) Warren Lomax (a West Ham fan) took great delight in for the first time in nine years taking £20 from Danilo’s md Daniel Prince (a Spurs fan) for faring better in this year’s Premier League. Meanwhile (below) Leeds United fan (left) Steve Jones-Blackett (co-owner of Wendy Jones-Blackett) was happy to take £20 from Nigel Spensley who was representing fellow agent (and Charlton Athletic fan) Alan Potter for their longstanding annual football wager.

Right: The PG Live team thanking everyone for being a part of the great comeback!

(Top right to bottom) Jakki Brown, Warren Lomax, Simon Boyd, Jim Bullough and Tracey Arnaud.

Below: Dzodzo’s Pete and Jelena Whiteman gave the thumbs up to PG Live 2021.

Right: Happy times as Brainbox Candy’s Ben Hickman shared the joy with Poet & Painter’s (left) Bryn Dineen and Ness Williams.

Right: A call of ‘Mine’s a Pint’, a new range from Emotional Rescue’s resulted in beer being served to the thirsty! (Right-left) Laurence Prince (Danilo), Toni Cresswell (Emotional Rescue) and Warren Lomax (PG).

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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PG showcases a selection of new product launches

Best of British New England is Rush Design’s brand-new collection of large cards (measuring 210mm square). Including 48 male and female agerelation captions, 22 open ages and six wedding and anniversary designs, all the cards are printed on high quality textured board and hand-finished with glitter and diamantes. They come matched with a gunpowder grey envelope and cellowrapped.

Rush Design 01788 521745 www.rushdesign.co.uk Autumn Fair Stand 6A20

Festive Giving

Cheers to Christmas Lesser and Pavey is expanding its highly successful Lynsey Johnstone range of stylish hand-painted glassware with some delightful Christmas designs. The latest festive designs, which feature on stemware as well as stemless glasses come beautifully gift packaged.

Lesser and Pavey 01322 279225 www.leonardo.co.uk Autumn Fair Stand 7E30-6A31

Paper Salad is introducing a collection of Charity Christmas packs the sales of which will benefit the publisher’s local hospice, St Ann’s. There are 10 designs to choose from with five cards and envelopes per pack – all with plasticfree packaging. Paper Salad is donating 10% of the sales to the hospice.

Paper Salad 0161 427 0001 www.papersalad.co.uk Autumn Fair Stand 6B20

Powerful Prints Honey is a new range of 16 art designs that Earlybird Designs will debut at Autumn Fair. Created in collaboration with talented artist Linsey Kelly, this botanical card range features rich imagery and lush, deep colours.

Printed on 100% recycled board with an embossed finish, the cards are supplied with recycled craft fleck envelope, eco banded or in compostable cello.

Earlybird Designs 01227 765372 Autumn Fair stand 6A14

Life In The Wild The Eco-friendly Card Co has just launched its latest collection of charity Christmas cards in support of The Wildlife Trusts.

Celebrating the very best of British wildlife, the back of each card features interesting information about the species depicted.

The packs (each containing eight cards) are available in two sizes (125mm square and 153mm square) with either a 40p or 50p charity donation. The cards are printed on 100% recycled board packed and come with 100% recycled envelopes in a compostable bag.

The Eco-friendly Card Co 01626 369269 www.ecofriendly.cards Autumn Fair Stand C610

Outside The Box The Art File is causing quite a stir with its Parade collection. This new range of birthday and occasion cards, created by The Art File’s inhouse designer Claire Mayes comprises a trio of different constructions Zig Zag cards, 3D box cards and 3D foldout cards - all of which are packed with additional finishes including hot foils and die cuts. All made in the UK, the packaging is made from 120gsm paper, so the cards are completely recyclable.

The Art File 0115 8507490 www.theartfile.com Autumn Fair Stand 6B30-C31

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PG showcases a selection of new product launches

Of Fine Pedigree Cardology is barking up the right tree with its latest purrfect licensing partnership, with Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. The collection is kicking off with some individually packaged Christmas cards, with an everyday range to follow in the new year. The cat and dog featured designs will not only hit home with pet lovers, but with a donation being made to the charity from the sale of each card, it will appeal to the altruistic too!

Cardology 07710499970 Autumn Fair Stand 6B30 Top Drawer stand U20

Furry Friends An Extra Dimension As ever, 2 To Tango has taken its greeting card collection to another dimension. Among the latest raft of new 3D pop-up additions is a collection of garden-related designs based on illustrations by Tracey English. With designs based on large gardens planted to attract bees and butterflies down to those based on a window box, the range will appeal to gardeners of all sorts.

2 to Tango 020 8996 9972 2-to-tango.com Top Drawer Stand R26

Birthday Buddies is Stripey Cat’s latest children’s birthdays range. All sized 11cm x14cm, the dozen new additions feature some of the Stripeys’ favourite animals to wish a ‘roarsome’, ‘clawsome’ and ‘purrfect’ birthday, all with wobbly eyes! Also new are some mini occasions cards (size 9cm x15cm) including Thank you Teacher, New Pad and Graduation.

Stripey Cats 07866 713 826 www.stripeycats.co.uk

Say It With Style The Rosanna Rossi studio has been bustling with activity creating sparkling new additions to best-selling ranges. Alongside launching a new children's milestone age range, Rosanna Rossi has also introduced beautiful additions to its Kirra collection with new titles including anniversary, sympathy and thank you. Each card is finished with stunning embossing and satin gold foil detail.

Rosanna Rossi 07900 698522 www.rosanna-rossi.co.uk

To The Letter

Feline Good!

Lucilla Lavender has launched Topsy Turvy, a fun mix of joyful illustration and hand-lettering covering everyday and some key occasions. The patterns are finished in coloured foil, enhanced with embossing to create beautiful cards that are extremely tactile. The colour palette is bright yet sophisticated. The designs include popular motifs such as balloons, stars, candles and flowers. All are accompanied by a white envelope.

Lucilla Lavender 0203 405 1410 www.lucillalavender.com

Cath Tate Cards’ new Nine Lives range is a collaboration with cat loving artist Adrian Keefe. The designs are all feline focused, witty, dry and off the wall humour, which appealed to Cath Tate’s sensibilities and presented itself as a perfect collaboration. There are nine designs in the collection, all 12cm by 17cm, printed on 100% recycled paper and supplied with a kraft envelope.

Cath Tate Cards 0208 671 2166 cathtatecards.com Top Drawer Stand U33 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 33

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PG showcases a selection of new product launches

At One With Nature

The Finishing Touches

Doodlelicious’ new Woodland collection was inspired by woodland walks around Bickerton Hill, near to the publisher/artist Sarah Capper’s home. All hand-drawn with beautiful detail, the designs of beautiful ferns, dazzling toadstools and stunning wildlife are all depicted in exquisite detail. All 150mm square cards are printed on 320gsm textured, uncoated board, accompanied by a fern green envelope and packed in a compostable cellobag.

Doodleicious 07734034039 www.doodleicious.co.uk

The Perfect Ages

Apricot Ages is a new luxury, unisex age range from Louise Tiler Designs. This new collection, covers ages 18 to 90, with designs that incorporate beautiful silver and engraved foil patterns, along with gold foiled finishes.The cards can be supplied naked with an elegant white and gold, easy-to-peel label that holds the card and envelope in place.

Louise Tiler Designs 01535 957878 www.louisetiler.com

Pets At Home Paper Bird’s newest collection comprises 24 designs by artist Vanessa Cooper featuring endearing paintings of cats and dogs enjoying the good things in life - cake, chocolates, bath time, sleep – as well as joyful, richly coloured paintings of plants and flowers. The cards are printed on 350gsm textured board and supplied with a robust kraft envelope. The publisher uses EcoBands instead of film bags where possible.

Paper Bird Publishing 0208 613 8085 www.paperbirdpublishing.co.uk

New from Jessica Hogarth is Cobalt Confetti, which features designs for male and female ages 18-90 as well as nine open birthday designs which are blank inside. The cards measure 120mm x 170mm, include a gold foiled finish and come with a gold envelope.

Jessica Hogarth 07786906648 www.jessicahogarth.com

Coasting Along Lanternfish Publishing Coastline range features 31 designs based on paintings

by Michael Sanders, which depict atmospheric seascapes featuring family days out, dog walkers, fishermen and surfers, all against a backdrop of glistening seashores, vast skies and stunning headlands. The cards (which are blank inside) are 15cm square, come individually wrapped in cellophane with a high-quality white envelope.

Lanternfish Publishing 01263 825280 www.lanternfishpublishing.co.uk

Words of Wisdom Carte Blanche Greetings has recently launched Pix and Pagels, a new range of Blue Mountain Arts sentiment greeting cards, books and wallet cards featuring heartfelt poetry targeting life’s most important people and events. With words from best-selling author Douglas Pagels, this beautiful photographic range features colourful photographs both inside and out.

Carte Blanche Greetings 01243 792600 www.cbg.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 35

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PG showcases a selection of new product launches

So Sentimental Botanink is a stylish new range from Pink Pig. It really pops with beautiful bold blooms contrasting with hand-lettered calligraphic script, in a bold colour palette of deep corals, inky blues, and woodland greens. There are 40 cards in the range, which include designs with the sentiments ‘Sending Hugs’, ‘I’m Here For You’ and also birthdays and occasions.

The cards are150mm square, printed on beautiful FSC board, blank inside,supplied either cellowrapped or naked.

Pink Pig Cards 07583 088596 www.pinkpigcards.co.uk

A Cute Move Stick Your Neck Out While not exactly a greeting card, Boxstar Creative has come up with an alternative was of sending good wishes, albeit rather reliant on a bottle of some kind. Each Bottle Neck Gift Tag comes with a ‘Bedazzled shimmer sachet’ for 8-10 servings to add to the fun. The spans 36 designs covering birthdays, Christmas and other occasions, even including Galentines.

Boxstar Creative 07827 968106

Kittens, puppies, rabbits, koalas all manner of cuties feature in the new Some Ink Colourful from from Some Ink Nice. The 22 designs feature chunky gold foil on rich, heritage-coloured backgrounds.

Each card is A6 and comes with an eco-kraft envelope, available either naked, nested, kard-klasped or with cello-bagged.

Some Ink Nice 07912 105025 www.someinknice.com

A Type Of Bear I Am Roxanne has recently launched two new collections Bear and Type. These are a playful mix of typography and illustrated bears with the artwork often following onto the back of the card as well as almost interacting with other designs The are printed on A6 400gsm off white card and come with kraft ribbed envelopes.

I Am Roxanne 07872 568371 www.iamroxanne.co.uk

Rosy Posy Bearing Up Hallmark has just launched a special collection of Winnie the Pooh cards to mark the 95th anniversary of our fave bear. It was back on Christmas Eve in 1925 when Winnie-the-Pooh’s first story ‘Bear of Very Little Brain’ appeared in print starting a 95-year quest for honey.

Hallmark is marking the milestone with a stunning collection of cards and wrap.

Hallmark 0800 9020900 www.hallmark.co.uk

Posy is a delightful new floral range from Louise Mulgrew Designs. In a blooming diversification from her animal art, Louise turned her painterly talents to the botanical world. The artwork in the resultant range of 18 greeting cards (as well as eight prints and complementary stationery collection), features lots of visible brushstrokes and gouache washes for backgrounds. As well as birthday designs there are some occasions and relations captions included.

Louise Mulgrew 01273 783833 louisemulgrew.com PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 37

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Up close with... Kendra Dandy

Fi ne And

Dandy

Something of a decorative beacon, UK Greetings’ stand at the recent PG Live beckoned retailers up to its ‘front row’ position on the mezzanine with some striking contemporary patterning - a fanfare to its new collaboration with international renowned artist Kendra Dandy.

PG relished the bold exuberance of this Philadelphiaborn creative influencer and found out more about what her own brand of sassiness brings to the UKG portfolio.

UK Greetings’ stand at PG Live was distinctively different from previous years, the ‘open arms’ welcome that exuded was anchored by the confident lifestyle approach taken to debut its new Bouffants & Broken Hearts collection into its Kindred brand, based on the inimitable art of Kendra Dandy.

Joining the long list of high-profile collaborations with leading brands, including Anthropologie, Bobbi Brown, VANS, Kate Spade, Coach, Estee Lauder and Sephora, last month saw Kendra’s sassy, spirited art

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

springboard onto greeting cards with UKG. The new collection adds appropriate pep to the publisher’s Kindred portfolio, set to especially resonate with millennials and GenZ-ers through Kendra’s distinct style of individuality and self-expression shown in her carefree patterns, clashing colours, carefree patterns and eclectic subject matters.

Above: As well being an illustrator, artist and designer, Kendra Dandy has also done much to champion recognition for all artists.

Below: Kendra Dandy’s striking work has earned her a strong following.

Bottom: UKG’s Bouffants & Broken Hearts collection debuted at PG Live at the end of July.

Explaining more about this significant launch for UKG, Sandi Parisi, product director - creative said: “We love Kendra’s bold colours, humour, edge as well as glamour. We are massive fans of her work and love her collaborations with Anthropologie and Kate Spade. So, it was a natural match and a perfect fit for Kindred that believes in strong and distinct artist voices.”

Over the last few years especially, Philadelphia-born Kendra has built up quite a following for her incredibly fashionable portraits, tropical surface patterns and fierce cheetah art prints. Whether created through pen and paper or stylus and iPad, Kendra’s work reflects her many inspirations which include “a lot of modern art, and art from the Impressionist era and things like nature, beauty and fashion” with current events also playing a role in her creations.

Having worked with American Greetings in the States on a range of

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Up close with... Kendra Dandy

The bigger picture The UK Greetings’ greeting card collection joins a host of licensing activity for the Bouffants & Broken Hearts brand, which is managed in the UK by Start Licensing, headed up by Ian Downes.

“We have worked with Kendra for a while now and find it very rewarding. She has such a unique style, uses colour in a bold way and is very contemporary in her style which lends itself to all manner of products,” commented Ian. Recent licensing deals include an apparel range with Cooneen as well a signing with Blueprint Collections for stationery while Surface View has renewed its licence for print on demand home decor and wall art and expanded the selection of designs it offers.

Ian also teases that there is a big gifting deal in the pipeline, which is likely to cause “a big splash” too!

While her licensing programme gives Kendra protection and assurance that her artwork remains true to its essence as well as promoting the brand, having been victim of her artwork being used without being credited to her, she has made it her mission to help other artists who are less established, passionate that they should receive the recognition they deserve. In pursuit of this she set up the American Influencer Council. Explaining more on a blog on the Surface View website, Kendra said: “I am here to advocate for creatives in the digital space and push for more education on creator copyrights.”

Discussing the issue in Create magazine recently, Kendra acknowledged how the internet and social media make it easy for artwork to be lifted without an artist’s agreement (something which Megan Purdie of Megan Claire highlighted at the end of last year in PG in connection with Above: An item from an Anthropologie’s Kendra her ‘alternative 12 days of Christmas’ card design). licensed collection.

“Unfortunately, it is a common and unavoidable issue artists and creatives face when posting their Dandy Left: The Palm Trees and Lips design from the work online. The internet is a double-edged Bouffants & Broken Hearts collection from Surface View. sword, we need it to showcase/sell our work and get potential paying gigs, but it also becomes easy for people to steal/copy/share without credit,” Kendra stated.

She urges everyone to properly credit someone’s work on social media by mentioning their handle early in the caption (not under a lot of hashtags/dots/text), plus the tag. “The tag makes it so it shows up on your profile in case you get a lot of notifications and you miss the mention, but it alone is not sufficient as credit. This is important because the person who created the work should have their name highly visible in the post in order to give your audience a clear notice of who created it.

This, of course, is in addition to the simple fact that whoever is reposting the art does not own it and has no rights to the image whatsoever.”

greeting cards, Kendra told PG how pleased she was that a licensing partnership has now extended to the UK with UK Greetings.

“I know from my experience in the US market that my designs work well on greeting cards, and it is very satisfying to see my art being used in this category,” said Kendra. “I love to think people are sending their friends and family members cards with my designs on," she added.

Kendra was always destined to take a creative path right from when she was a tiny tot. “I was the kid with the giant tub of markers and crayons, I was the one doodling in class with gel pens, in my notebooks and on my arms. It’s been a lifelong addiction!” Kendra freely admits.

Always fiercely independent, she was never ever going to fit into ‘normal’ job, as

an unfulfilling few years working in retail testified.

After graduating with a degree in Media Arts and Design, she discovered that surface pattern was the perfect avenue for her, combining two of her loves - fashion and illustration. In 2012 she brought it all together under the now much adored Bouffants and Broken Hearts brand and hasn’t looked back since.

While few artists will ever see their art on a range of clothing in Anthropologie or gracing the walls in homes (through Surface View), let alone a key launch at a greeting card trade show!, Kendra shows it is possible.

“You don’t have to have a huge, grand studio in order to make nice artwork.

Persistence is very important

if you are going to be an independent creative,” she said on a mini Instagram film for Anthropologie “Put yourself out there and if you want this to be a long term career, you have to have a certain sense of self-motivation.” Clearly something she has in bucket loads, that and an ability to make you want to be a spectacle-wearing leopard.

Right: Kendra’s designs have graced all manner of products, from footwear and accessories with VANs to homeware and apparel with Anthropologie.

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In Conversation With... The Imaging Centre

Sometimes in life and business, a fresh new sheet of paper is called for, which means a new alternative can challenge historic practice. At last month’s PG Live, The Imaging Centre sent publishers’ and retailers’ brainwaves into oscillation with its innovative approach of getting greeting cards into shops.

“IC Simplicity Retail allows retailers to buy and access more designs from more new publishers than ever before,” believes Adam Short, managing director of The Imaging Centre encapsulating his ‘elevator pitch’

of the latest industry solution for publisher/retailer logistics.

As Adam explained, it has always been part of The Imaging Centre’s strategy to expand its Simplicity concept to retailers, hence the reason for the company’s significant investment in the technology, printing capacity, personnel as well as the physical space in its new sparkling premises, as part of delivering this mission.

As well as being able to draw on the last five years’ experience of its Simplicity service (which has now been embraced by almost

The Imaging Centre broke new ground five years ago when it launched its IC Simplicity service, enabling card publishers to print and despatch to order, straight to a retailer customer’s door. Adding another string to its bow, last month’s PG Live saw the Kent-based company debut IC Simplicity Retail, a new service that allows individual retailers to order greeting cards direct (via a central portal) from any number of participating publishers, with the cards (from those publishers) delivered to their store(s), direct from The Imaging Centre.

PG logged on to find out about this progressive retailer/publisher solution.

Above: Simplicity Retail sees The Imaging Centre extend its solutions into the hands of retailers.

Left: On The Imaging Centre’s stand at PG Live. Adam Short (far left) and Simon Davis (far right) with publishers (second left-right) Jane Buurman of Jane Buurman Handmade, Papagrazi’s Rosy James and Shmuncki’s Helen Walters, who are all on board with Simplicity Retail.

Below: Adam Short, md of The Imaging Centre outside its new eco premises.

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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In Conversation With... The Imaging Centre

A people business Sarah Short (Adam’s wife) has joined the team recently as head of business development from online retail giant The Childrensalon where she was headed up the Ecommerce team and hopes to use that experience to make the retail experience with Simplicity Retail as positive as possible.

Additionally, Simon Davis has also just joined The Imaging Centre as new business development manager to lead on this project.

Right: (left-right) The Imaging Centre’s Bob Short (chairman), Adam Short (md), Jessica Penfold (ops director), Ed Starling (production manager) and Sarah Short (head of business development) next to one of the new presses.

600 greeting card publishers who relish being able to press the ‘print on demand’ button to fulfil retailers’ orders), The Imaging Centre has also tested its acumen by working with Scribbler to print many of the retailer’s cards to order and deliver them into its stores, as well as into the Sainsbury’s branches where Scribbler has a presence.

While Simplicity Retail is clearly a significant step forward for The Imaging Centre as well as the industry at large, it is not one that has been taken lightly by all parties.

“Nothing stays the same forever, and publishers as well as retailers are looking for new solutions to the changing times Simplicity Retail is very much part of this,” reinforced Adam.

Having invested in the technology and infrastructure, getting greeting card publishers on board was clearly instrumental for Simplicity Retail, as without these, it would not make for an arresting opportunity for retailers.

From a standing start, within a couple of weeks of having contacted participating publishers who currently use The Imaging Centre’s Simplicity facility, over 90 had signed up to the new retail service, meaning that more than 2,000 designs are now live on the site and available for order.

These include Angela Chick, Deadpan Cards, East End Prints, Ekarta, Jo Scott, Lucy Maggie Designs, Lyndsey Smith, Rumble Cards, Type & Story and Wendy Bell Designs.

Having launched officially at PG Live at the end of last month, Adam’s emotions have been on an upward trajectory. Commenting

on the reaction to the company’s official launch at PG Live and the response to Simplicity Retail concept, Adam said: “It was such an amazing feeling and achievement to just be at a trade show, but even more satisfying to get such a positive reaction on this new and exciting project from those that we hope will benefit from it the most. The retailers that we spoke with at PG Live were incredibly excited about the concept, so we are confident that orders will now start to flow!”

Above: The new Simplicity Retail portal has now launched.

As part of The Imaging Centre’s wholehearted commitment to sustainability (underlined by its new state-of the-art eco premises in Tonbridge), one of the drivers behind the IC Simplicity Retail project is to reduce the sector’s impact on the environment.

In line with this, all cards sold through IC Simplicity Retail will be plastic-free. All will be printed on the same board (IC Simply Eco, 300gsm smooth uncoated FSC recycled

Pick up a penguin As Simplicity Retail testifies, The Imaging Centre knows no bounds! Company founders Bob and Jan Short were delighted to discover that some of the cards the company had printed were om sale in The Falkland Islands’ Port Stanley!

“So glad to see that Alison Howe, co-owner of The Falkland Islands Gift Shop came to PG Live as we had already paid it forward, having visited the shop on our cruise around South America just pre-Covid,” revealed Bob Short, chairman of The Imaging Centre.”

Left: Jan Short in The Falklands Islands Gift Shop next to some cards The Imaging Centre printed for Leigh Anne Wolfaardt.

grade, made exclusively by GF Smith) and supplied with a recycled kraft envelope. The cards will be supplied naked and paperbanded into sixes to separate designs and add protection during transit.

All cards will be produced on The Imaging Centre’s top of the range HP Indigo presses, which are C02 neutral and carbon offset and use vegan-friendly inks.

“We can significantly reduce our carbon footprint by reducing deliveries, as retailers can order completely on demand from multiple publishers in one consignment, thereby massively reducing multiple orders going to single locations, particularly during high season,” points out Adam.

While there will be a small subscription fee to be on IC Simplicity Retail site, any publisher who signs up will not pay any fee until January 2022. The cards will carry a trade price of £1 to the retailer with publishers receiving 20% of the amount for every design ordered.

“We really do see IC Simplicity Retail as an opportunity to extend the reach of greeting cards, to help both publishers and retailers, while minimising wastage,” enthused Adam.

“The task now is to continue to get more publishers on board while getting the word out to retailers to start using the platform.

Our aim is to be completely up and running with over 7,000 designs and getting regular orders direct to retail by January 2022. After what has been such a fearful time for all, it feels so good to be proposing something positive for the entire industry!” Adam added.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Retailer Focus

Spinning A

Yarn(ton) Back in 2006, Celia Leeson-Cox proudly held her Retas trophy aloft, awarded for the fresh approach she took to Lollipop, her greeting card shop in Bourton-on-the-Water. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, but what has not changed is Celia’s passion for greeting cards, as evidenced by a brand new contemporary card shop in Yarnton Home & Garden, which forms part of an impressive transformation of a long-established business.

PG travelled to Oxfordshire to see what Celia, now visual merchandising manager of Yarnton, has been up to.

While you would be hard pressed to find a garden centre which did not stock at least a small display of greeting cards, you would struggle to find one which included two distinct greeting card ‘shops’ within its confines, unless of course you had been to Yarnton Home and Gift recently.

Forming part of the totally revamped home and lifestyle part of the centre, ideally positioned close to the trendy café, is a brand new design-led card and stationery ‘shop’, selling a very different selection of publishers to those offered in the existing, more traditional greeting card shop which is located in the horticultural part of the centre.

The opening of the new card shop is a dream come true for Celia, who joined Yarnton as visual merchandising manager almost three years ago to help drive the store

42

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Above: The last few years has seen Yarnton undergo a transformation, turning it into an inclusive home, lifestyle and garden destination, attracting a younger demographic, fronted by the new Twiggy branding.

Left: As well as being the centre’s visual merchandising manager Celia Leeson-Cox is also its greeting card supremo, and she is delighted by customer reactions to the new contemporary ‘card shop’.

Below left: Located in the ‘home and lifestyle’ area of the centre, the new contemporary card shop includes cards on three main themes – botanical, edible and comical.

Below: A more traditional greeting card department is located in the plants area of the centre.

transformation from a tired garden centre to a fun and hip home and garden store.

“I couldn’t be happier or more proud of our team. Everyone has worked so hard to achieve so much in such a small space of time. It was a daunting task to reinvent the whole shop floor, undertake a major refit of the 250+ cover café and restaurant, refurbish a busy plants area, build a new ‘garden room’ for outdoor living as well as the brand new 5,000 sq

ft home and lifestyle section, which includes our new contemporary greeting card and gift shop…at last!”

The huge step change for the business, which was founded some 50 years ago, was kickstarted when a new management team came in around four years ago with a mission to future proof it by really shaking things up.

After 10 “very happy years” working for Burford Garden Centre on the visual merchandising side (a role she took on after she had sold her own retail business) Celia

42-43_GF.qxp_Grid 08/08/2021 14:05 Page 3

Retailer Focus

was looking for a new challenge, and the Yarnton whirlwind exactly fitted the bill.

“With a huge Blue Diamond store up the road in Bicester, and several high end centres in the Cotswolds, which all do what they do very successfully, the new owners knew Yarnton needed to find its USP,” explained Celia.

Celia joined the Yarnton team around the same time as marketing expert Bryony Fletcher, who had already set to with the new branding, anchored by Twiggy, the company’s blackbird logo.

The inspiration for the 'look and feel' for the store refurbishment was taken from Yarnton’s new award-winning children’s Magic Garden play barn, an investment which has not only resulted in increased revenue but is also boosting footfall of a much younger family demographic to the centre.

Taking the essence of the Magic Garden through to the home and lifestyle retailing area, “rather than the more usual rural rustic look” many garden centres opt for, a lighter

contemporary look and feel was embraced.

“We felt this would be better suited to our rather more urban location, being so close to Oxford, than the open farmland of the Cotswolds. We believed this contemporary progressive feel would give us our point of difference,” Celia explained.

Being a small team, Celia and her colleagues have taken on several extra roles to bring the new Yarnton to life. “Bryony is also the buyer for 'Yarnton Home', our head of retail colleague Kevin Beckett looks after the garden shop side of things, garden furniture and Christmas lighting while I buy everything else 'Christmas' among other things, such as of course my favourite category, greeting cards!” says Celia.

The demise of the concession-based businesses, including Peacocks and Edinburgh Woollen Mill in Yarnton freed up a

large retailing space, enabling Celia and the team to really work their magic on the new Home & Lifestyle section.

As well as an arresting food hall area which is adjacent to the café and restaurant (which brings to life a whole array of products that are on sale in Yarnton, including the Duraocean chairs which are made from recycled plastic), inspirational homewares feature in the Present Time and Bloomingville ‘storewithin-a-store’ sections, UK firsts for both brands, as well as a cute children’s products area.

However, the personal ‘icing on the cake’ for Celia is without doubt the new card department.

“Greeting cards are a big growth area for us, one that I spotted when I first joined the company. With inclusivity not exclusivity at our core, this means we can now happily serve our customers with two card areas.”

Now buying from over 50 card companies, while the existing card area is dominated by the likes of Otter House, Noel Tatt and Paperlink, the new shop has enabled many more smaller publishers into

Above: Yarnton was the first to introduce both Present Time and Bloomingville ‘stores within a store’ in the UK. Left: Plants are still core to Yarnton, but it now caters for the millions of young new gardeners as well as the older demographics.

Below: The Magic Garden soft play area at Yarnton has been a huge success and has earned plaudits galore.

the mix, such as Petra Boase and Laura Truby, as well as leading design-led brands such as Lagom, Rifle Paper Company, 1973 and Meraki.

“I have been ably assisted by two wonderful agents, Andy Fletcher and Chris Andrews,” says Celia.

“Incidentally, Andy was my very first card agent way back in 1998 when I opened my very first shop, and his support over the years has been invaluable and very much appreciated,” she adds.

Celia says the card designs stocked in the new ‘shop’ fall into three main themes botanical, edible and comical.

“While Caroline Gardner and The Art File, Two Bad Mice, Museums & Galleries and Lagom Design are core to the selection there are lots of ‘sprinkles’ from irrestible publishers. I have never had a card shop without Petra Boase for example!” says Celia. “We still have a lot to build on, so it is very much work in progress, but so far, so good!”

As Celia sums up, what has been happening in Yarnton over the last few years has been a microcosm of what has been going on in the wider retail world. “The opportunities and yet the devastation were there for all to see. It really has been a time for bravery, quick thinking and a shift in focus.

I am so pleased how it has all come together!”

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

43

on to Su lin the bs c e at new rib PG s e Bu flas zz h .n et

ART SOURCE

From the team behind Progressive Greetings Worldwide, PG Live, The Retas and The Henries, PGBuzz.net has launched as the new online central resource for the greeting card sector online...

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ARTSOURCE SECTION OF PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS CONTACT TRACEY ARNAUD ON 01234 740 051

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Art Source

Knowing Maja Knowing You While her dreamlike artwork transcends geographical boundaries, Swedish illustrator Maja Lindberg can also lay claim to working with another of her birth nation’s ‘crown jewels’ - ABBA! PG invited Maja’s to share her journey as well as her inspirations.

“I live and work as an illustrator in the seaside village of Lomma, in southern Sweden together with my husband and teen daughter (while my son lives and works in Helsinki, Finland).

Ever since I was small I’ve been obsessed by craft. My mum was a preschool teacher and she used to try out different craft materials with me and my friends. I think that’s where my need for being creative started.

I’ve been working as an illustrator for about ten years. Earlier in my life I was a ceramic artist and a web assistant, but returning to Sweden after spending three years in China with my family, I found myself unemployed and I so started to draw. I bought a printer and set up a store on Etsy.com. After a few months I was sending my art prints all over the world, and from then on I was hooked for a life as an illustrator.

I am inspired by fairy tales, dreams and childhood memories. My work is colourful, but with a hint of dark in it, often a little melancholic, with a dreamy touch.

Above: Maja’s talents straddles the figurative and the architectural.

Right: Magical imagery spans all manner of situations and subject matters.

WANT TO BE FEATURED?

Right: Maja’s social observations have wit.

Far left: Swedish illustrator Maja Lindhorn.

Below right: Great movement from Maja.

Below middle: A relaxing tone from Maja.

Bottom right: A red cardinal by Maja.

I’m often asked where from I get the ideas for my illustrations.

And the answer is, everywhere. I can watch a movie, think about a childhood memory, go to a museum, read a book etc. Mostly I start drawing one idea and in the end it turns out to be something completely different to what I was planning. Most of my work is digital illustration, created using Procreate.

My published work now includes eight children’s books as well as seeing my art on a myriad of other products, including greeting cards.

The first book that I ever illustrated, was ‘The little white Piano’ a children’s book by Bjorn Ulvaeus. It was such a big honour just being asked and it gave me a taste for more books!

I have had the good fortune to have a vast array of clients over the years, including Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus and The Abba Museum, Fri Tanke, Svensk Bokhandel and Santoro London, and now being represented

by Jehane, I am looking to many more!”

Q&A l If you were an animal, what would you be?

“A cat - free, independent and a little bit spoiled.” l Who would be your dream dinner date guest?

“Hans Christian Andersen.”

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.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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WHAT’S HOT? PG ASKED A SELECTION OF RETAS 2021 FINALISTS FOR THEIR BEST SELLERS. Julie West, co-owner of The Gift Boutique, Fraserburgh.

A long established card and gift shop in a coastal Aberdeenshire town.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Everyday

Nigel Quiney Noel Tatt

Pizazz Blush

“These two ranges do well. Our customers like a bit of sparkle.”

Relations and Occasions

Hallmark

Razzle Dazzle and others

“These do very well for us across the board.”

Adult ages

Second Nature

Champagne

“Great for those milestone ages.”

Humour

Hallmark

Mad As Cheese

“We hear customers giggling to themselves as they read the punchlines.”

Giftwrappings

Belly Button Designs

Across the board

“Beautiful quality. A firm favourite is the fizz bottle bag.”

Gifts

Hearts Designs

Mad Dots stationery and jewellery

“Beautiful gifts or selfpurchases, the bracelets are excellently gift boxed.”

Self purchase

Frenchic Paint

Al Fresco

“Ever increasing sales due to home improvements and upcycling projects.”

Above: One of the many Mad as Cheese designs from Hallmark.

Right: Some Mad Dots bracelets from Hearts Designs.

Davina Parkhouse, co-owner of The Bean Hive in Kettering and Falmouth.

Two quirky card and gifts shops run by a mother and daughter duo.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Everyday

Rifle Paper (1973)

Nicola Rowlands

“Stunning designs and colours; amazing quality.”

Humour

Quite Good Cards Bold & Bright

Across the board Jeffrey & Janice

“Our the best selling ‘clean’ funny cards.

“Best sellers in our Sweary Mary rude shop within the shop.”

East End Prints

Cards and prints

Paper Deep Design Moley and the Tigers

In-house designs

“We particularly love the music inspired designs, such as This Charming Man.” “We sell a lot of small local cards, especially in our Falmouth shop.”

Children’s

Eleanor Bowmer

Across the board

“The cards are amazing quality, and the designs are quirky.”

Giftwrappings

Hype

Miffy, Peanuts and Moomin Neon leopard prints

“We love them!”

Right: The Oldermort design from Quite Good Cards is the quickest selling card in The Bean Hive.

Art

Petra Boase

Gifts/Self-purchase

Eleanor Bowmer

Right: Striking graphics from Eleanor Bowmer.

Hype Rifle Paper (1973)

46

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Pink leopard print homewares Badges Stationery and partyware

“Basically our shop in a wrapping paper form.”

“We love it so much we have it in our kitchen.”

“A great new addition.”

“Goes well with the cards.”

46-47_GF.qxp_Grid 06/08/2021 12:58 Page 3

Jane, Rawson, owner of Love & Best Wishes in Bradway, Sheffield.

A popular medium sized card and gift shop in a suburb, south of the city.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Everyday

Woodmansterne

Across the board

Janie Wilson; Five Dollar Shake; Wendy Jones-Blackett; Belly Button Designs

Generally

“Always popular. Simple, classy designs.”

“All sell tremendously well, at a different price point.”

Relations and Occasions

UK Greetings IC&G

Across the board Across the board

“The cards sell so well.”

“Popular with customers who love a verse

Humour

Rosie Made a Thing

Gin & Frolics

Bold & Bright

Jeffrey & Janice

“Funny without being rude.

Never fail to amuse.”

“Relatable humour.”

Children’s

Rachel Ellen Designs

Across the board

“Customers love these bright beautiful designs.”

Adult ages

Wendy Jones-Blackett

Cloud Nine

Five Dollar Shake

Secret Garden

“A customer favourite for as long as I can remember.”

“Perfect for a special birthday.”

Giftwrappings

Glick

Wrap, bags, tissue and boxes.

“Excellent quality with fabulous designs.”

Gifts

Joma Jewellery

’A Little…

East of India

Coasters, plaques and candles

“Beautiful bracelets for every occasion.”

“Lovely sentiments.”

Top: Woodmansterne a keeper for Jane on everyday.

Above: A new Cloud Nine design from Wendy Jones-Blackett.

Hayley Bastable, owner of HBB Cards in Newport Pagnell.

A newish card and gift shop in a Buckinghamshire town.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Everyday

Sarah Kelleher

Botanical Gold; Fab Foils

Paper Salad

Across the board

“They catch the eye of my customers with their striking colours and designs.”

“I am very excited by all the new designs.”

Alex Clark Art

Across the board

English Graphics

Across the board

Humour

Rosie Made a Thing

Across the board

“These have always sold well.

We stock all the products.”

Children’s

White Cotton Cards

Rainbow Helium balloons

“Best selling - simple but so effective.”

Giftwrappings

Dandelion Stationery

Across the board

“Lovely quality paper.”

Art

“Extremely popular. Who can resist the lovely artwork?!”

“Stunning beautiful designs, featuring eco-friendly glitter.”

Above: The beautifully bold work from Sarah Kelleher.

Right: A design from White Cotton Cards’ Rainbow Helium Balloons range.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

47

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Publishers of quality blank greeting cards Tel: 0115 929 4776 enquiries@bugart.co.uk Order Online

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PRETTY ELEGANT DESIGNS | LONDON

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Method of Sale: Direct to Retail

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*GCF 1HƂEG +353 (0)404 20528 Email info@garlanna.com www.garlanna.com

Ch C hin nese ese HE IS

Impress Publishing Appledown House Barton Business Park New Dover Road Canterbury, Kent CT1 3TE Tel: 01227 811 611 Fax: 01227 811 618 email: info@impresspublishing.co.uk

THE

WAY

THE AND TRUTH THE

LIFE

frrom the

Including firm favourites and brand new designs

Polissh Po h

Te T el: 0161 1 64 641 0 06 655 Email: m sales@daav sales@d avora.co.uk

Brands include: Keepsakes, Words of Love, Jelly Beans, Bella Rose, Champagne and many more

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact Warren Lomax

135 Hea 13 135 eaton Moorr Rd | Stockp ock kpo port ort SK4 4HY 4 4H HY

Hallmark Cards PLC

• UK Market leaders with humour, art, photographic, contemporary and traditional occasions & relations cards, plus seasonal.

• 2΍HULQJ D IXOO SODQQLQJ VHUYLFH with merchandising and retail development opportunities.

• Specialists in garden centres and the independent trade.

Dawson Lane, Bradford, BD4 6HN UK&NI: 0800 90 20 900 ROI: 012 480 104 customerqueriesUK@hallmark.com

Teel:: +44 (0)115 986 0115 T customer t ser vices@paper i @ rose .co.ukk www.writefromthehear t.co.uk

SUPPLIER

www.greatbritishcards.co.uk Waterwells Drive, Gloucester GL2 2PH Tel: 01452 888970

50

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

020 7700 6740 or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud on:

07957 212 062 or email on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

Innovative high quality gift wrap, gift bags, tissue paper and accesssories galore for all seasons and occasions.

Find The Great British Card Company on:

on:

01274 655980 sales@glick.co.uk glick.co.uk trade.glick.co.uk Glick Gift Packaging Ltd Unit 1 Allenby House European Ind. Park, Knowles Lane Bradford BD4 9AB

@glickgiftwrap

Classified Complete 2021.qxp 09/08/2021 18:38 Page 51

CATHERINE KL C LEELI CARDS

PRODUCT DIRECTORY

l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

cards..... worth keeping

l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact Warren Lomax on:

LING DESIGN

020 7700 6740 or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk

Are you DOTTY about blank art cards?

CONT TA ACT

ck@catherinekleeli.co.uk www.catherinekleeli.co.uk

60 years

Your Number One Supplier of Numerals, Name, Relation & Age Labels for Greetings Cards.

or contact

Tracey Arnaud www.lingdesign.co.uk

on:

01892 838 574

07957 212 062

information@lingdesign.co.uk

or email on

+

An exciting and innovative range of quality Birthday, Relations, Special Occasions, Handmade, Art and Humorous greeting cards. Full range of Christmas and Spring Seasons merchandise.

B rand N ames a

Huge selection with immediate delivery y.. Buy direct or from your wholesalerr..

Pizazz, Pizazz Gallery, G Pizazz Limited Edition, E Pizazz for Men, Doodle, D A of Nature, Whatt a Picture, Art Designers Corner

Listan Labels 3 Isis Court, Wyndyke Furlong, Abingdon Business Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX1 5JN Te T el 01235 465489 Fax 01235 532118 www.listanpublications.co.uk sales@listanpublications.co.uk

traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

Cloudesley House, Shire Hill, Saffron Walden,, CB11 3FB

T: 01799 520200 F: F: 01799 520100 www.nigelquiney.c w ww.nigelquiney.com ww om

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740 or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud on: Great brands, Great service Bespoke planning

07957 212 062

We can help with all your planning l i requir i ements. t From smaller displays to redeveloping complete card departments

or email on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

p p paperlink... the home of fabulous cards!

originalposter.com

All our cards are supplied on consignment, so you only pay for what you sell. @NoelT Ta attGroup 01227 811 600 sales@noeltatt.co.uk www.noeltatt.co.uk

We also supply card fixtures and spinners free-on-loan.

We replace slow sellers and damaged stock free of charge.

To appear in the Product Directories email Warren Lomax warren@max-publishing.co.uk or Tracey Arnaud traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

We merchandise regularly, so you don’t have to.

THAT’S WHY WE’RE ORIGINAL!

356 Kennington Rd London SE11 4LD T 020 7582 8244 info@paperlink.co.uk k www.paperlink.co.uk Paperlinkcards

@ @paperlinkcards

01932 267 300 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

51

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PRODUCT DIRECTORY

l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

Send Love e ( all year round )

To appear in the Product Directories email Warren Lomax warren@max-publishing.co.uk or Tracey Arnaud traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

6 Heron Trading Estate Alliance Road, Park Royal, London W3 0RA T: 0208 385 4474 F: 0208 385 4471 E: info@Xpressyourselfcards.co.uk WWW.XXPRESSYOURSELFCARDS.CO.UK

PRODUCTS: World’s leading publisher of high quality plastic greeting cards. Also an extensive range of quality greeting cards covering Everyday, Occasions, Christmas and Spring seasons.

BRANDS: Cherished Thoughts, Sweet Sentiments, Buddies Always, Symphony, Thinking of You, Style, Special Wishes, Special Times, Young Editions, Groove Sensations, Forever Blessed, Grey Skies, Classics.

LUXURY GIFT PACKAGING

t: 0208 6138 085

Uk publisher of Greetings Cards with an extensive range of quality Birthday, Relations, Occasions and Seasonal product... available from

METHOD OF SALE: SENSATIONS – Direct to retail XPRESS YOURSELF – Now one of the leading wholesale publisher suppliers in the UK

LING DESIGN

paperbirdpublishing.co.uk u

ICONIC LICENCED BRANDS Exquisite Designs Beautiful Cards Key br ands include: Wr ite from the Hear t Ar tisan, Marzipan, Capisco Designer s Guild, Clare Tupperr Lucy Ledger plus man y more

01892 838 574 www.pennykennedy.co.uk

Our Brands: Laughter with Animals, Sporting Fun The Funny Side of Life.

Method of sale: Direct to Retail 14-20 Eldon Way, Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6BE Tel: 01892 838574 enquiries@lingdesign.co.uk www.lingdesign.co.uk

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740 or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud on:

07957 212 062 or email on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

Tel:: +44 (0)115 986 0115 Te customer ser vices@paperrose .co.uk www.paperrose .co.uk www.ar tgroupcards.co.uk

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact

Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740

or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud on:

07957 212 062

or email on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

52

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

To appear in the Product Directories email Warren Lomax warren@max-publishing.co.uk or Tracey Arnaud traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

Classified Complete 2021.qxp 08/08/2021 15:09 Page 53

PRODUCT DIRECTORY

l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

To appear in the Product Directories email Warren Lomax warren@max-publishing.co.uk or Tracey Arnaud traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact

Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740

or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

The UK’s leading publisher of highest quality handmade Greetings Cards.

Products: Greetings cards for all occasions, Christmas and Spring Seasons. Spinners and other retail displays available.

Talking Pictures Cards Ltd 14-20 Eldon Way, Paddock Wood, Kent, TN12 6BE

Tracey Arnaud

Tel: 01892 838574 enquiries@talkingpics.co.uk www.talking-pictures.co.uk

on:

07957 212 062

or email on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

7RPFDW &DUGV

Products: Greetings Cards, Gift Wrap, Gift Bags, Social Stationery, Partyware

www.tomcat.cards info@tomcat.cards

DIRECT TO RETAIL & EXPORT

Brands: Blossom & Bows Card Essentials Greetings Impressions In Touch Isabel·s Garden Planet Happy Sentiments With You In Mind Word Play

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact Warren Lomax on:

Method of sale:

020 7700 6740

Wholesale Distributors

or email on

Simon Elvin Limited Wooburn Industrial Park, Wooburn Green, Bucks HP10 0PE Tel: 01628 526711 Fax: 01628 531483 www.simonelvin.com mail@simonelvin.com

warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact on:

TEL: 01480 435562 FAX: 01480 450599

07957 212 062

www.tracksltd.com

Tracey Arnaud

or email on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

UNIT 2, 12 BLACKSTONE RD, STUKELEY MEADOWS IND EST, HUNTINGDON, CAMBS, PE29 6EF

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

53

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PRODUCT DIRECTORY

l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

WHOLESALE

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740 or email on

We offffer a We COMPREHEN

warren@max-publishing.co.uk

range of high

or contact

Greeting Cards f ALL Occasions,

Tracey Arnaud

CHRISTMAS an

on:

Season

07957 212 062

f Sale:

or email on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk mail: inffo o@words-nWeb: www We w..words-n-wishes.co.uk

Tel: 01942 233201

Market Leaders in

Verse

& entimen

an extensive range of superior quality,

design-led Greeting Cards for all occasions, Spring Seasons & Christmas.

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact Warren Lomax

EUROPE’S LEADING GREETINGS CARDS, PARTY PRODUCTS, GIFTS, CANDLES, TOYS, STATIONERY AND FLORIST SUNDRIES DISTRIBUTION CENTRE 75000 SQ FT

on:

BESCOT CRESCENT, WALSALL, WEST MIDLANDS. WS1 4NG 01922-646666

020 7700 6740

www.greetingshouse.co.uk info@greetingshouse.co.uk

or email on

MON,WED,FRI 8.00am-4.45pm TUES,THURS 8.00am-7.45pm SAT,SUN 8.00am-1.45pm

warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud on:

07957 212 062 Method of Sale: Direct to Retail Orders can be placed on our trader site

www.cbgtrader.co.uk or call our customer services team on

+44(0)1243 792600

54

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

or email on traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

To appear in the Product Directories email Warren Lomax warren@max-publishing.co.uk or Tracey Arnaud traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

Classified Complete 2021.qxp 08/08/2021 15:09 Page 55

DIRECTORY OF WHOLESALE

CLASSIFIED

l CLASSIFIED BAGS

Polypropylene & biodegradable bag specialists

GREETING CARD

Over 40 years quality service to the trade Hotfoiling also available

T 01206 396209 E sales@badgerconverters.co.uk www.badgerconverters.co.uk

BAGS We’ve been producing p bags of high clarity and high quality q for over 30 years.

01274 220 220 www w.wrapid.co.uk sales@wrapid.co.uk

BAGS

GIVE E YOUR

Manuffacturers of high quality fllexible packaging 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE - QUA UALITTY Y SERVICE EXTENSIVE STOCK RANGE - QUICK DE ELIVERY ASSURED

- HEADER BAGS - WA WALLET BAGS - ZIPPER BAGS - FLEXOGRAPHIC, HOTFOIL & THEERMAL PRINTING www.transrappackagin ng.co.uk sales@transrap.co o.uk

CALL US TODA AY

01773 5378 810

V VIP

TREA AT A TMENT HIGH CLARITY L TY Y BA AGS FOR R GREETING G ET T NG CARD DS, CALEND EN N ARS ARS AND AND D ARTW TWORK WORK ŏ ŏđŏ

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FOIL LB BLOCKING NG G EXTE XTENSIVE NSIV VE RANG V R RA ANGE OF S ST TOCK SIZES SIZ ZES AND BES AND BE ESPO OKE KE MANUF KE MANU UF FACTU TUR TURE T U E AT TED D WRAPPING SERVICE NEW AUTOMA

CALL CA CAL C LL US ST TO ODAY OD

0122 1228 228 2 28 8 5605 56 60 052 26 6 www.fful ulcrumfilms. ulcrrum mfillm ms s co.uk uk

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

55

Classified Complete 2021.qxp 08/08/2021 15:09 Page 56

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PRINTERS

ENVELOPES

FOR ALL YOUR ENVELOPE NEEDS! Largest range of in-stock colours Over 400 Bespoke Envelope Sizes 8 Sizes Permanently in Stock RECYCLED

PAPER

100% Recycled Paper Available Stock & Bespoke Cello Bags Peel & Stick Envelopes Bespoke Service on Request

ORDER ON LINE AT:

W W W. EN VE CO .CO .U K

01 90 83 78 86 6

www.regentenvelopes.com 01274 583000 sales@regentenvelopes.com

IN FO @E NV EC O. CO .U K

‘we we make Envelopes and Stationery’

MOREE THAN 50 COLOURS 6 POPULAR GREEETINGS CARD SIZES 50+ WH HITE SIZES IN STOCK BESPOKE ENV VELOPES AV AVAILABLE PEEL A AND SEAL CLOSURE RECYCLED / KRAFTT / 140GSM / 120GSM 11 SUPER BRIG GHT NEON COLOURS BESPOKE NOTEBO OOKS & STATIONERY

PLEASE GET IN TOUCH FOR TARY RY YOUR COMPLIMENTA ENVELOPE OR NOTEBOOK WATCH PA PACK SWA

SPECIALISTS IN SHORT RUN MULTI IMAGE PRINT s Foiling Services without the need for dies s Wiro bound notebooks, no minimum quantity s In House Fulfilmment Services

T 01274 305832 E info@hellocards.co.uk www.hellocards.co.uk

The simplest way to order your greetings cards

FLITTERING FOR ALL YOUR FLITTER REQUIREMENTS

ABL Foil Ltd Unit 1, Industrial Estate East Hanningfield Chelmsford Essex, CM3 8AB 56

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Contact DAVID JIGGINS Tel: 01245 400104 Email: david@abl-ltd.co.uk

Powered by

Unit 8, Archers Park, Branbridges Road, East Peckham, Kent TN12 5HP www.theimagingcentre.co.uk Email: info@theimagingcentre.co.uk Tel: 01622 871449

we print

we finish

we pack

we deliver

Classified Complete 2021.qxp 08/08/2021 15:09 Page 57

CLASSIFIED

l CLASSIFIED PRINTERS

l CLASSIFIED

l PRINTERS

l CLASSIFIED

l PRINTERS

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l PRINTERS

PJ PRINT Celebrating 166 years of service to the printing industry...

LONDON The Capitals Only Specialist Greeting Card Printer All Industry Finishes Available In-House Including Laser Cutting

Over a century and a half of expert printing knowledge, Loxleys are the home of specialist lithographic and digital greeting card production

The Print Works Colville Road, Acton, London, W3 8BL E-mail: sales@pj-print.co.uk Tel: 020 8993 5160 www.pj-print.co.uk

Your saf ep ai

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ds for Far E as han f t ro

Outstanding, cost effective and efficient production of Greeting cards, Packaging and Social stationery, ideal for intricate and hand finished products.

• Over 15 years experience providing high-quality printed products direct from the Far East • Trusted and financially stable, UK owned by The Sherwood Group • Socially responsible manufacturing: SMETA, ISO9001, ISO14001, FSC certification • Full product prototyping in the UK for competitive speed to market requirements

ORYH GLJ LWDO ORYH OLW KR ORYH FDU GV

To find out how we can benefit your business, contact Derek Lam +00 (852) 3527 3471 / derek@sherwood-press.com or The Sherwood Group Head Office Hong Kong Office: 13/F, Kam Chung Commercial Building, 19-21 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

www w..sherwoodgroupuk.com

000510

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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CLASSIFIED

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l CLASSIFIED

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Social Sta tationerry Printer of the Year

Award winning U UK & Global specialist manufacturer ffor the greeting card industry fo or over 40 years To discuss how we can worrk together, contact Richard Bacon: Tel 0115 928 7766 Email ric chard.bacon@sherwoodgroupuk.com

www.sherrwoodgroupuk.com Hadden Court, Glaisdale e Parkway, Glaisdale Drive West, Nottin ngham NG8 4GP

WAREHOUSING & DISTRIBUTION

Same day order turna around Accurate fulfilment Value added only as you sell the product

THE SPECIALIST GREE ETINGS CARD PRINTE ER

Exclusively Greeting Cards Dedicated Account Managers

Litho Print

Die-cutting

Digital Print

Flittering

Foiling

Packing

Embossing

Distribution

With an excellent reputation we work as an integral part of yourr team bringing QYGL QSVI XLER JYPǻPQIRX 4YV GSWXMRK WXVYGXYVI MW WMQTPI ERH XVERWTEVIRX ;I ; I GEVV] SYX EPP EWTIGXW SJ LERH ǻRMWLMRK ERH EWWIQFP] ERH TVSZMHI [LEXIZIV EHHMXMSREP WIVZMGIW ]SY RIIH 4YV WIPIGX XIEQ SJ SYX[SVOIVW GEVIJYPP] LERH [VET ER] WM^I SV JSVQEX SJ GEVHW YVKIRXP] 4ZIVRMKLX ;I GEVI EFSYX ]SYV TVSHYGX EW QYGL EW ]SY HS &XXIRXMSR XS HIXEMP 6( .WWYIW ;I

Tel:0127 e 4 4531828 Email: info@herbertw o alkers.co.uk

www.herbertwalkers.co.u uk

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