Progressive Greetings February 2021

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From The Editor

ON THE CARDS No prizes for guessing what independent greeting card retailers cited as having been the biggest bane to their business over the last year. However, while Covid-19 was the major reason that 65% of indies reported a drop in revenues, the effects of the pandemic paradoxically also contributed to what was the biggest boost to their business - the shop local trend. These are just two of the ‘highlights’ of the findings of this year’s PG Retail Barometer, the only annual survey into the health and wealth of the independent greeting card retailer. Without glossing over the business and psychological hardships that the pandemic has caused in our sector as well as the world at large, the responses also serve up some uplifting morsels, not least that over three quarters of indies believe that the consumer’s appreciation of greeting cards has shifted upwards over the last year. Plus, in a year which has played havoc with greeting card retailers’ business plans, that indies ended 2020 feeling more positive about their long-time role than they did the year previous. Take a look at some of the findings of this significant survey on pages 35-41.

And talking of ‘significant’, this edition of Progressive Greetings is a rather special one (for Warren and I especially) as it marks the 30th anniversary since we joined many publishers and retailers in the entrepreneurial world, acquiring our ‘baby’ from our inspirational former employer (Malcolm Pearce of Johnsons Publishing), following his advice to “not be afraid to do it your way” and setting up Max Publishing. I vividly remembering Warren and I making our final decision to buy the magazine in a car park, but not just any old car park. We had just been to see someone, who even now after over 50 years in this business remains incredibly driven to improve the greeting cards published under his name, the one and only Simon Elvin. (Simon marked his recent 80th birthday by going to the office! To be fair, his

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Above: PG’s Spring Fair last night ‘dinner’ was somewhat different this year! However, it still saw (top left-right) Warren Lomax (PG), Jakki Brown (PG), David Hicks (formerly Really Good/Soul), Karen Wilson and Claire Williams (Paper Salad), Rosie Trow (agent), Nigel Williamson (House of Cards), Ian Hyder (PG) and Miles Robinson (House of Cards) get together. Zoom is not the same though!

Left: It’s all full steam ahead for this year’s PG Live 27-28 July. PG’s Warren Lomax with (right-left) Glick’s Becky Dobson, Wendy JonesBlackett and Macmillan’s Jennie Cummins at the entrance to the dining room at the 2019 show.

Below: PG’s Jakki Brown with Simon Elvin at The Henries 2019 at which he received the GCA Outstanding Contribution award. The Henries this year will take place on Thursday 7 October, a real event!

original plans to be in the Caribbean were rather overtaken by Covid restrictions, but Wooburn Green is akin to St Lucia-on-Thames if you ignore the weather and paucity of cocktails).

Simon’s advice to us in 1991 was “to do all the little things… you won’t know why you’re doing them individually, but somehow they all add up to a lot.”

I apologise if this comes over as an indulgent nostalgia trip (I will just squeeze in a kiss and hug for Russell Sutton who has been designing PG since we started, who also let us use a portion of his ‘darkroom’ office when we started, as our base), as I fully appreciate we all need to be focused on the future.

Thanks to the news in the recent Budget (especially the extension of the furlough scheme and continuation of the business rates holiday) we can be. Sure, we (individually and collectively) will still face challenges… ‘twas ever thus. I feel so glad that the GCA has a direct route into Government with its regular meetings with Paul Scully. In the meantime, Warren and I will continue on those ‘little things’ with PG.

THE HOME OF MARKET LEADING TRADE AWARDS

Max Publishing Ltd, United House, North Road, London N7 9DP Tel: 020 7700 6740 Fax: 020 7607 6411 www.progressivegreetings.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Who knew Support Bubbles would be as important as Champagne Bubbles!

Thank you all at PG for the huge support bubble you have created for all of us and CONGRATULATIONS on your 30th Anniversary!!! from ‘Camilla & Rose’ and all at Peartree Heybridge www.peartreeheybridge.co.uk 04_PG_February 2021.indd 1

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What’s Inside?

CONTENTS 49

56

8-21 News

59

53-55 Retailer Focus

The Grand Re-Opening

22-23

Retailers share their feelings as they hurtle towards the April 12 (fingers crossed!) re-opening date.

Over The Counter

Ears, Eyes And Words 56-57

The importance of communication, on every level.

Behind the Scenes

24-25

Home Improvements

Cardsharp

Sanderson x Woodmansterne Publications.

Putting The Boot In 59-69 Innovations

Differences between Paperchase and Dr Martens.

27-33

Publishers’ new ranges and designs.

Viewpoints

Back Pages & Crystal Balls

71-73

Industry leaders share their views on changes of the last three decades as well as their predictions.

Reigning Cats & Dogs

Pet Parade Woofs and purrs from greeting card publishers.

35-41 PG Retail Barometer

75-81

Retail Peaks And Troughs

Agents

The research findings from the latest PG Retail Barometer of indie card retailers.

Digging Deep

43-47 30 Years of PG

83-85 Art Source

Where did three decades go? Industry reflections since 1991.

Design trend predictions.

49-51 Growing Gains

86-87 What’s Hot?

Agents share their ‘gardening’ tips.

With this is PROG sue: R CALE ESSIVE NDAR S

Retailers share their best selling ranges.

Face to Face Louise Mulgrew, founder of Louise Mulgrew Designs.

88-98 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

Jakki Brown

Warren Lomax

Ian Hyder

Tracey Arnaud

Editor/Joint Owner

Joint Owner

Joint Owner

Sales Manager

jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk

warren@max-publishing.co.uk

ianh@max-publishing.co.uk

traceya@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

“One Way Road To Freedom” England’s card retailers prepare to open up “Relieved, to say the least…at least we now finally have a date to work to!” exclaimed James Taylor, director of Cardzone, summing up the sentiment felt by most greeting card retailers at the ‘roadmap’ announced

by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on February 22 which detailed April 12 as being the reopening date (given that all goes to plan) for non-essential retailers. “It still feels a long time away but at least we can finally plan new product launches with actual solid delivery dates. Hopefully this time around, the streets will be busier with customers who didn’t feel comfortable and safe shopping before, being able to shop with confidence now they’ve been vaccinated! We are under no illusions though that the high street trade we all remember will not return for good any time soon,” believes James.

While card retailers in England are frustrated that Boris’ “one way road to freedom” sees them missing out on instore sales for Mother’s Day and Easter, at least the likely reopening date is two weeks earlier than Scottish card retailers have had to accept as a result of Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement, which means they have to wait until April 26 at the earliest to reopen.

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

appeared on BBC News sharing her perspective as an independent card retailer.

“As I said on TV I couldn’t quite believe we put away our Easter stock last year and still can’t get it back on our shelves this year!

But I said that I am happy with the roadmap and can’t wait for the 12th!” said Heidi.

“At least it’s a start!” accepts John Procter, md and co-founder of Scribbler.

“We are feeling relatively confident that, as a result of the vaccination rollout, pent up demand and simply the ability to leave your house, business could well be brisk certainly better than the last time we came out of lockdown. Staycations will also help boost sales hugely. Central London though will remain a challenge as, in my opinion, it will take some considerable time for office workers to return in significant numbers.”

“Yay! Finally a date (with the caveat that it could change!). Although seven weeks away with Mother’s Day and Easter in between and so therefore not the Spring Season I would have hoped, the fact that there is a date and that the news of a summer with no restrictions will make it worth it,” says Tabi Marsh of Papilio at Heritage in Thornbury.

“And now with furlough and the businesses rate relief extended for a bit longer, I might actually be able to breathe and sleep properly again!!”

Above: Prime Minister Boris Johnson talking at the Press Briefing.

Above left: Heidi Early of Earlybird Designs speaking out on BBC News.

“I Really Am Retiring,” announces Tony Roberts The ever-ebullient Tony Roberts, latterly sales director of IC&G, would never be described as ‘shy and retiring’, but the popular industry stalwart has always had a plan to retire while he and his lovely wife Jane are still full of vigour to explore the world. Tony is to officially retire at the end of March - and has drawn up a very long wishlist of places they will visit, once lockdown eases.

Tony’s greeting card industry career spans some 37 years, over half of which was spent with UK Greetings companies, but also included roles with Valentine’s of Dundee, Ling Design, Mind’s Eye, Gibson Greetings, ending on a high with IC&G. “I have had so many fun times in this industry - the camaraderie with customers, colleagues and peers is second to none,

evident at the many sales conferences, The Retas awards events, PG Live trade shows and The Henries nights, which I have been privileged to be part of,” Tony recalls. “I would like to think I have contributed in the progression of all the companies of which I have been a part as well as our respective customers’ journeys over the years and so leave our wonderful industry with lots of good friends and very many fond memories.”

Paying tribute to Tony’s contribution to IC&G, Simon Wagstaff, managing director of the company told PG: “We have loved having Tony as part of our team and wish him happiness for his retirement. He has been fantastic for IC&G and has helped us grow the business over the past three and a half years.”

As an interim measure Simon will caretake the role.

Above: While he has loved his time in the trade, Tony Roberts is looking forward to his retirement.

Scotland’s waiting game frustrates card retailers Spirits were dashed for greeting card retailers in Scotland somewhat with Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that the retail lockdown in that country is extended until towards the end of April, two weeks after their counterparts in England.

David Robertson, md of JP Pozzi (with shops in Buckie and Elgin) vented his feelings on the day of the announcement… “All of Scottish business has been gasping for air since we were plunged into lockdown on Boxing Day. No trade, no Click & Collect and little hope resulted in us gulping for some fresh air today to fill our lungs for the last lap of this. Everyone I know needed that. What we got was further delays, negativity and not even a clear message – 5th April a slight loosening of essential shops, 26th April for non-essential if we are lucky.

We will now have been locked down for 17 weeks (longer than the first time) with a fraction of the support while we watch supermarkets vastly expand their gift and card offering. By the time we can open what will be left for us?”

Right: Scotland’s First Minister’ Nicola Sturgeon’s decision did not go down well with card retailers in Scotland.

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NEWS TOP STORY

PG Live 2021 To Take Place 27-28 July This Year Exhibitors and retailers look forward to a real exhibition It’s all systems go as the Progressive Greetings Live 2021 exhibition is all set to go ahead physically, on new dates of Tuesday 27 July and Wednesday 28 July.

As announced a couple of weeks ago, the dates for PG Live 2021 were shifted from the original early June timing to the end of July, well after the date (June 21) that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cited as when social distancing measures are expected to no longer be in place.

“Thankfully the Covid situation is improving by the day in the UK, with the vaccine rollout ahead of schedule.

Moving PG Live from early June to late July allows for an extra seven weeks of people’s confidence to build as we all embrace the new dawn,” explained Warren Lomax, joint show director of PG Live. Having spoken to so many of the exhibitors over the last few months, Warren added that “it has come across loud and clear that the greeting card community really wants PG Live to go ahead, so that retailers can see in the flesh all the inspiring new ranges and designs that publishers have been creating.”

Sharing her joy at the very thought of PG Live, Sarah Moughtin, card buyer for John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose exclaimed: “It’s in the diary! I am really looking forward to PG Live - it feels long overdue to see and speak to all our publishers old and new! It will be a key moment for us to start thinking about

planning for 2022. I just can't wait to see all the new designs.”

Sean Austin, owner of Austin & Co in Malvern has already booked his hotel accommodation for the show. “It is great we now have a date to look forward to when we can in some way meet up with old friends, forge new relationships and feel human once more.”

Mark Janson-Smith, managing director of Postmark said: “I can’t think of a better show to kick off the return to normality than PG Live. I’ve missed everyone from the industry a lot this past year and this will be a show like no other.

Roll on July!”

Matching Mark’s enthusiasm, Wendy Jones-Blackett, co-owner of Wendy Jones-Blackett, among the many leading brands who have already committed to the show said: “We’re so very happy with the news that PG Live is moving to late July. You just can’t replace the face-to-face! We will be there - with bells on!”

Karen Wilson and Claire Williams, coowners of Paper Salad, another delighted publisher: “PG Live is our favourite trade show - so we are absolutely delighted that moving to the end of July this year gives it a real chance that it can go ahead - and we all so want that.”

Buyers can register via www.progressivegreetingslive.com Above: Postmark’s Mark and Leona Janson-Smith (left) spending their Silver Ticket with Hello Geronimo’s Vicky Kieldsen at the last PG Live show.

Simon Elvin’s office-ial 80th birthday All things being equal, Simon Elvin would have been in St Lucia about now with his family, celebrating his 80th birthday. But with that not an option, he knew where he wanted to be to mark his major milestone - in his office in Wooburn Green in Buckinghamshire, progressing on the wholesale publisher’s upcoming ranges.

Arriving there on his special birthday (February 19), accompanied by his wife Janet (his ‘right hand woman’ in business and in life) Simon walked into to see his desk fittingly festooned with cards, gifts and balloons from his work colleagues and many friends from the industry.

After spending well over 50 years working in the greeting card trade, PG asked the industry superhero what keeps him motivated?

“In part my wife and in part the challenge of designing a card that somebody is going to pick up and send, giving the recipient a lot of pleasure. It is all about putting the right design with the right words and making sure it is superbly produced. The problem is that what is ‘right’ keeps evolving and that’s what keeps me interested” Simon has continuously brushed off any suggestion that he might consider retiring, saying that he has no intention of taking up golf and that greeting cards are his only hobby!

Above: Simon at his desk on his 80th birthday ready for a day in the office!

Cardzone launches its first e-commerce website Having hitherto totally focused on expanding its chain of 150+ specialist card shops, Cardzone has now also entered the online space with its first ever e-commerce site.

“The desire to launch a website was massively amplified while we were closed through the first lockdown, as you can imagine!” James Taylor, trading director of Cardzone explained. “It’s always been a market which has fascinated us, but with it being so different to bricks and mortar retail and not understanding how it works, we have always hesitated to go for it,” James admitted.

The fresh-looking site (www.cardzoneltd.com), which also gives a shout out to the group’s bricks and mortar heritage, launched with around 1,000 skus, but the selection has increased considerably since then.

Above: The homepage of the new Cardzone website.

“Having a large range and great choice is really important, especially as a traditional card and gift business as there are so many different titles we need to include,” says James. “Cards are really important as that is the bones of what we are all about at Cardzone.”

In addition to greeting cards and giftwrap, the site prominently features some key gift brands and licensed properties. Among the promoted features of the site is that everything will be shipped in 100% recycled packaging, with free shipping for orders over £30. (See Viewpoints pages 27-33).

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NEWS TOP STORY

Flying Start To Moonpig Flotation Soaring share price saw company valued at £1.4 billion In what could be seen as a show of faith for greeting cards, Moonpig got off to a flying start with its stock market flotation.

Moonpig, the market leader in online print on demand greeting cards, experienced an astonishingly positive reaction to its recent flotation. The shares

were placed at £3.50, but by the end of the first day trading the share price had soared by 17%, valuing the group at £1.4billion - even exceeding the £1.2billion that many thought was overly ambitious.

Moonpig was the first major technology company to float this year, and

the Financial Times pointed to investor enthusiasm for so-called ‘Covid winners’.

The flotation raised some £20m to fund expansion while existing shareholders, including private equity firm Exponent, cashed in some shares netting more than £400m.

Company executives, including chief executive Nicky Raithatha, chairman Kate Swann, (a big greeting card fan who was formerly chief executive of WHSmith) and finance director Andy MacKinnon all sold shares worth more than £10 million.

With investors celebrating the spectacular stock market debut, AJ Bells’ investment director Russell Mould quipped to Daily Mail journalist Matt Oliver: “Apparently pigs do fly, well Moonpig did at least.” (See Cardsharp pages 24-25) Above: Moonpig chairman Kate Swann in a positive piece in the Daily Mail.

Jeffrey & Janice x Eamonn And Ruth Finding the appropriate Valentine’s Day card which perfectly sums up the relationship you have with your loved one can be tricky, but Eamonn Holmes’ wife Ruth Langsford got it so spot on with the Jeffrey & Janice design from Bold & Bright she gave her hubby, that they not only were proud to share it with their extensive fanbase on Instagram, but the celebrity couple also featured it on ITV’s This Morning programme recently.

The design in question features the ‘romantic’ words: ‘She loved him, but when she heard him chew, she fantasised about his death’ making reference to Ruth’s sensitivity to the noises her Above: The Bold & Bright Valentine’s card that beloved husband makes while eating.

Ruth sent to her husband Eamonn Holmes.

IGDG revenue up 35% IG Design Group’s latest trading statement shows a 35% surge in turnover (taking it to $737 million), an increase in pre-tax profit as well as dramatic reduction in its borrowings.

The Group creates and supplies bespoke collections of greeting cards into Aldi, B&M, Wilko and Poundland as well as other leading grocers.

“Our greeting card business globally is in rude health. It has been one of the most resilient areas for us and we are particularly pleased with the performance in the UK,” said Paul Fineman, ceo of IGDG, who highlighted a very strong sell through, not just at Christmas, but in Spring Seasons too.

“Sales were up double digit,” he quantified, predicting that the group will end the year having produced close to 300 million greeting cards.

Tailormade Design acquired by Sandbox Group The Hong Kong-based Sandbox Group has acquired Yorkshire-based Tailormade Design, further bolstering its position in the own brand greeting card sector.

Under the recent acquisition, Tailormade Design joins the Sandbox group, founded by Cris and Greg Holmes in 2004.

The group also includes Pinecone Design, which supplies US retailers as well as Sandbox Industries which has provided manufacturing services to several UK publishers. The group already produces over 200 million cards a year.

The existing Tailormade team, based in Bradford is to remain with the new company.

Above: Some of the Christmas cards designed and produced

by Tailormade Design.

Not a pretty ‘paint by numbers’ picture Richard Macneil’s art has graced many hundreds of greeting card designs over the last three decades and since the formation of the The Macneil Studio in 2009 (which is owned and run by Richard, his wife Judi, their two sons Daniel and Kyle and Kyle's wife Melissa) that creativity has spawned licensing collaborations way beyond greeting cards.

However, this success story has recently been marred by the discovery of considerable IP theft in the ‘paint by numbers’ sector (as well as on other products) on the major marketplaces, such as Amazon and Ebay as well as on all the major drop shipping platforms, such as Alibaba.

Having sought advice from Briffa, the London-based law firm, Judi has sent cease and desist letters to 50 independent online operators who were selling products featuring unlicensed Macneil Studio images.

“We owe it to ourselves, our licensees and their customers to ensure that such theft is stamped out,” says Judi. “I urge fellow artists and publishers alike to check sites regularly as many feature several artists’ work, without the correct licensing agreements in place.”

Above: Paris flower shop is The Macneil Studio’s most infringed design. Such as this example.

Card Factory App bolsters its digital presence Card Factory has launched a mobile app as part of its mission to further grow its market share. In the 11 months to the end of 2020, Card Factory’s online sales increased 137% while store revenue dipped 38%. Card Factory’s new mobile app, which is free to download for Apple and Android users, allows consumers to easily access the retailer’s online product portfolio which now includes thousands of cards, gifts, wrapping paper and balloons.

Among its features, the new app offers a ‘verse finder’ for customers who want help finding the right words, a product wish list facility as well as a reminder system, so special events and birthdays will not be missed while also including a store finder function to link back to the physical stores.

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NEWS TOP STORY

29 Paperchase Stores Will Not Reopen Frances Burkle has left the retailer after 20 years Paperchase’s greeting card suppliers are weighing up the pros and cons of whether to continue supply the retail multiple under its new ownership, following the pre-pack administration, with many feeling aggrieved by the paltry percentage of pay back being offered by administrators PwC on outstanding debts of only a few pence in the £pound. Debts to unsecured creditors (which include greeting card suppliers as well as landlords) are understood to be around £15 million.

While 96 of Paperchase shops are to continue to trade now under the ownership of Aspen Phoenix NewCo (saving some 983 jobs), once lockdown of non-essential retail eases, some 29 branches will remain permanently closed. More than half of these are in London, including Paperchase’s Tottenham Court Road flagship.

The Paperchase branches not destined to reopen include: Bradford; Brighton; Canary Wharf TFL, London; Cannon Street, London; Carlisle; Clapham Junction, London; Covent Garden, London; Crawley; Eastbourne; Edinburgh Waverley; Embankment TFL, London; Exeter, Fenchurch Street, London; Gateshead Metrocentre; Glasgow Fort; Hammersmith, London; Leeds Station; Maidenhead; Manchester; Milton Keynes; Morpeth;

New Street Square, London; O2, London; Paddington Station, London; Piccadilly, London; Plymouth; St James’s, London; Tottenham Court Road, London and White City, London.

Coming as disappointing news to everyone who has dealt with her over the last two decades, Frances Burkle, latterly Paperchase’s product director, has taken the decision to leave the business.

The very popular Frances joined Paperchase as card buyer back at the start of 2001, moving from Harrods where she had been assistant buyer for cards and stationery. During her time with Paperchase Frances has not only been a leading light on the buying side, both directly as well as managerially, she has also been involved in the product development.

Describing her time with Paperchase as “20 years of much joy” Frances decided “this is the right time to move on to new opportunities,” but said it had “been a pleasure to be part of this wonderful greeting card industry.”

Top: Paperchase’s huge flagship store in Tottenham Court Road will not be reopening.

Above: Frances Burkle left Paperchase after 20 years with the business.

Piers Morgan Sounds Off Positively For the second time in two months, Piers Morgan, the opinionated co-presenter of ITV’s Good Morning Britain has ‘sounded off’ in a positive way about the Politically Incorrect card collection, which is published by Really Wild Cards and distributed by Second Nature.

Giving the sound card range a huge PR boost recently on the TV breakfast programme Piers launched in by demonstrating the Boris Johnson ‘Congratulations you’ve had the jab’ design before using it as an excuse to show the card design based on himself, telling his co-presenter Susanna Reid to be quiet while he played the sound clip.

Having given the thumbs up to the accuracy of his voice as well as that of Boris, Susanna gave a name check to Darren Altman, who does all the voices in the range.

As a result of the broadcast, John Wignall, founder of Really Wild Cards was inundated with enquiries, further fuelled by the coverage trending as the main news story on MSN. “It went manic, certainly a pretty exciting day,” John summed up.

Above: Piers Morgan demonstrated three Politically Incorrect cards on the ITV breakfast programme recently.

Left: The Boris sound card being featured on Good Morning Britain.

Were hearts broken on Valentine’s Day? ‘All is fair in love and war’ or so the proverb goes, but the lockdown restrictions rather put paid to independent, specialist card shops and department store retailers being able to secure their usual Valentine’s Day trade, with card sales being funnelled largely through ‘essential’ retailers as well as those with online platforms.

That said, all manner of independent and specialist card retailers showed plenty of passion for the first spring seasons event of the year, finding ways of winning the hearts, minds and pennies of their customers through various initiatives and incredibly attentive service.

The Valentine’s Day window of Swagger, an independent card and gift shop in Chipping Sodbury was full of photos and messages sent by customers wanting to demonstrate their love and compassion for others during this time of separation.

Alice Crowley, owner of Swagger told PG that despite the fact the shop is not able to open, she wanted to spread the love and cheer people up as they walked past the shop.

“People stopped for ages to read all the messages and look at the photos. I have had lots of thank yous for making people smile on miserable days with lots of friends tagging friends on Facebook when they have spotted themselves,” says Alice. As well as raising the spirits, Alice explained that as the messages and photos were surrounded by the shop’s wares, it has also prompted people to order from the website. “It’s a continuous fight to get people to realise we are still trading online and the supermarket isn’t the only option!” said Alice.

Meanwhile up in Garstang, Marion and Mark Flaherty, owners of Best Wishes made its Valentine’s window work, having devised an inventive way of selling the cards while remaining within Covid guidelines.

“We had our cards displayed showing the front and also the inside verse with a ‘raffle ticket’ and price attached. Customers simply let us know which number they would like to order, via our contact-free ordering method using our newly installed intercom system. They paid contactless through the window and collected their purchase from the table outside the door,” Marion explained.

Above: The Swagger Valentine’s window included lots of photos and messages from customers.

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NEWS TOP STORY

Join The Band, Urges Windles Greeting card printer confronts ‘in transit’ plastic use Further underlining its commitment to improve the industry’s environmental footprint, specialist greeting card printer Windles, has invested in automated paper banding machinery with the aim of eliminating plastic secondary packaging that has historically been used for cards in transit to retailers.

The Windles Group has a target to remove another five million pieces of plastic, further reducing the environmental impact of the greeting card industry.

The adoption of its new automated Paper Band process will take it closer to achieving this goal.

“We must all in the greeting card industry, congratulate ourselves on the incredible switch to alternative methods of primary packaging during the past two years,” highlights Bruce Podmore, managing director of Windles. “Some 85% of product previously packed in plastic cellobags have now been replaced by a ‘naked’ solution,” he added.

While accepting that not all retailers or publishers, largely for protective reasons, wish to go ‘naked’ with all their cards,

Windles feels that there is environmental ground to be gained on the secondary packaging front.

“This is the hidden plastic the end customer doesn’t see,” Michelle Mills, business development and marketing manager of Windles told PG. Windles has invested in multiple paperbanding machines which means it can now offer a fully automated process to wrap a paper band around publishers’ greeting cards to unitise them ready for distribution to retailers.

“It’s long been our mission to provide our customers with the most innovative techniques to enable them to bring their creative ideas to life while also ensuring their products are produced in the most environmentally sustainable way,” stressed Michelle.

Several publishers have already taken the decision to move to using Windles’ Paper Bands, with many more on the verge of making the shift. (See Viewpoints pages 27-33) Top: The logo for Windles’ new Paper Band process.

Above: Ohh Deer is one of the first publishers to have adopted the Paper Band option with Windles.

A hot tub date with Tatty Teddy Carte Blanche hotted up Me to You’s consumer marketing in the run up to Valentine’s Day. The company provided extra support for indies keen to feature Me to You products on their websites, collaborated in a major consumer competition and high store profile with Tesco; while Tatty also featured in a dedicated Valentine’s Day animation for consumer fans as well as in Moonpig’s TV adverts.

For the eighth consecutive year, Me to You collaborated with Tesco on a Valentine’s Day promotion involving cards, gifts and licensed merchandise. This included a competition which offered the public the chance to win a voucher worth £1,000 to spend on a romantic hot tub break by just going to the Me to the You website and submitting their details.

Right: Eighth year running for a Tatty and Tesco promo.

Earlybird’s window of hope Greeting card retailer and publisher, Earlybird Designs has come up with a great way of lifting the spirits of those in the Stoke Newington community where its shop is based in the London borough of Hackney, with its #signsofhopeinhackney campaign.

Heidi Early, who co-owns the business with her husband Dominic, explained that despite the fact that the shop is closed, “we wanted to show the community we're still here for them and give them a bit of cheer on their daily walks.”

While Earlybird has led the way, with a striking window display featuring the word ‘hope’ as well as colourful imagery, Heidi has encouraged other businesses as well as residents to join in with the campaign.

“We've got many other businesses involved already, and I am now really hoping it's going to spill over into the community,” said Heidi.

Left: Earlybird’s window of hope.

Alljoy and Blue Eyed Sun Go La La over GOTY There was great cause for joy at Dublinbased greeting card company Alljoy Design, the sun was definitely shining down on Blue Eyed Sun while Go La La owners Laura Kavanagh and John Higgins went ‘la la’ as all clinched wins in Gift of the Year (GOTY) awards.

Organised by the Giftware Association, the awards event took place virtually during the recent Spring Fair@Home.

Alljoy Design won the Card & Wrap category for its innovative 3D Message in a Bottle range while Go La La’s Filthy Gorgeous soap range (above) won both the Novelty and Judges’ Choice award.

Blue Eyed Sun won an impressive five awards with its Bioloco and bamboo cup reusable homewares products.

Mum’s the word Hallmark UK has picked up the pace on its commitment to sustainability and diversity.

For the first time ever, this year’s Hallmark branded Mother’s Day collection (of some 610 designs) are 100% recyclable, with all the ribbon, tassel and bow attachments having been made from paper and all foam pads replaced with paper-based ones. The range also includes some Croppers Cupcycled cards, printed on board made in the Lake District entirely from disposable coffee cups and responsibly sourced paper pulp.

While a first for its Mother’s Day collection, this follows on from the Valentine’s Day and Christmas 2020 Hallmark branded ranges that were also 100% recyclable.

“Changing the world happens one caring step at a time, and we know our efforts account for only a small portion of the work that needs to be done, but we’re so proud of the progress we’re making,” Emily Barhador, Hallmark’s UK sustainability lead commented. “We want to create meaningful action for the benefit and sustainability of our community, our planet and our people. The world needs more care now than ever, so as part of our sustainability journey we’re focusing our efforts where our company can make the greatest impact.”

As well as progressing on its sustainable goals, the designs also reflect a growing commitment to diversity.

Above: The Hallmark Mother’s Day collection had more inclusive captions than ever before.

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.

Ears, Eyes And Words Piers Morgan berating and interrogating politicians. Neville and Carragher breaking down the game on a Monday night. Louis Theroux probing on weird and wonderful subjects. Gabby Logan, Ariel Helwani, Joe Rogan, Graham Hunter and a myriad of other podcasts. Boris and his briefings. Nicola Sturgeon with her daily take on Covid.

The aforementioned are some of the things that have frustrated, confused and sometimes caused me worry and sleepless nights. These are also some of the things that have kept me informed, educated and often made me laugh.

The common thread in all of these is communication. They are doing it through actions, or words, or video or “next slide please”. At a time when we haven’t really met people and interacted physically, the

spoken and written word has taken on an even great importance than ever before.

Communicating at its absolute core is - the act of transferring information from one place, person or group to another. For me there needs to be another word in front of it, ‘effective’.

For communication to really be effective it also relies on you listening as much as or maybe more than talking.

Now anyone who knows me, knows that this is a problem! I am however working on it and am constantly trying to listen and interpret rather than simply speaking.

Being on the shopfloor as a retailer you have to be able to connect (and sell) to a wide range of people as you never know 22

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who will walk through the door. We have to connect and motivate our team. We have to be confident with our banker/accountant and we have to interact with companies/reps large and small. In short, we need to be good at this.

Setting the right tone will build relationships long term that matter and in these last 12 months that has never been so important.

I am honest enough to say that these lockdowns have been a struggle.

Mentally they have been tough and this last one in particular has felt different to the others. This one feels really punitive and in Scotland, with no Click & Collect, it somehow feels that our business has been slipping a little more with each passing day.

It has also been tough as we have not had and were not afforded the time to build up enough cash reserves to see us through all the bills and fixed costs that our businesses have. Between each lockdown it feels like we have managed to get our

Above: Gary Neville’s and James Carragher’s heated debates on Sky Sports have given David Robertson blasts of communication!

Left: David Robertson (bottom right) listened and participated on the Retail Panel that formed part of the GCA AGM and Conference last year that took place digitally.

Below: There has been a lot of noise made through social media over the last year which has been effective communication, if not as good as a real face to face chat.

heads out of the water and catch some breath but without fully stopping drowning.

In January I took the unprecedented step of deciding on a strategy to pay my suppliers and I shared this with them. It took the form of two letters, one for card publishers and one for gift companies, that were honest and straight from the heart. All the companies I work with were only too glad to help me put this plan into action.

A long time ago I learned that being honest and showing that everyone has struggles is a sign of strength and not weakness. Asking for a payment plan or a few extra weeks to pay a bill is fine, but I also said that if any of the companies needed paid I would do something.

I want people to see that what you can’t do is ignore or bury your head in the sand. You can’t because the pressure this puts on you and of course the companies who are trying to get some sort of answer from you is enormous and ultimately can lead to you not being in a good place.

You must communicate. Now of course the interactions have been very different over the last year. Zoom, Teams, Google Meet have become common. WhatsApp messages, emails and Facetime

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OVER THE COUNTER have allowed contact of sorts, although the lack of physical meet-ups is felt greatly.

What would business have been like if this had been 10 years ago and these things were not possible? How tough would that have been? In reality we would have found a way to make things work, but there is no doubt being able to interact and see the person that you are speaking to definitely helps.

Communication in these last few months has taken many forms and in this latest lockdown I have been lucky enough to be part of a card and gift retailers’ What’sApp group where we have all moaned, shared information and had a laugh supporting each other. The group is organically growing and the chat is good. It is basically a vent where we can all blow off steam/share ideas/exchange views on products.

This simple form of checking in has worked well and I have no doubt that it will continue long past Covid.

I joked recently to an agent that a certain company should see what retailers really feel about the way they are treating their customers. Comments like ‘we feel we are becoming a showroom for their own website’ should certainly cause ripples.

Publishers and manufacturers I feel are walking a thin line when they start selling direct to the public as they in fact become

In terms of these types of meetings, I know that many people find them daunting or believe that they will be judged. My experience is that could not be further from the truth. Recently someone new joined a group that I am in and they asked how I became confident enough to speak and put my points forward. Below is the little cheat sheet I gave them to help…

Above: David’s advice is don’t hide away from problems and be all ears to listen to others.

Below left: The Mother’s Day window in one of JP Pozzi stores.

Below right: A design of the times from Five Dollar Shake. Cards have really proved their worth as tangible communicators of emotion over the last year.

our competition. I know that if this trend continues many indies will question whether they still want to stock certain products.

I have also been learning with our new website and email campaigns about direct targeted marketing and it has been interesting again to see other companies asking their customers if they want to opt out of Mother’s Day emails for fear of causing upset. I think that this will play well with many and is a form of care communication that I want to adopt.

Staff communication is also so vital. And even though not all wish to engage, I have felt compelled to write and check in with my team, reaching out that hand of support.

I have also been involved in Zooms with our local MP, MEP, the Scottish Minister for Business, the Chamber of Commerce and even managed to get on one with the Governor of the Bank of England.

Politicians have a way of speaking a lot and saying little, but these sessions and the follow up emails have been invaluable

It’s just not right…

I was not going to comment on Paperchase, but I feel I have to as it will affect many in our industry. I wonder what will happen to these stores in the long haul as the way back for the High Street will be a long and complicated yellow brick road. The headlines tell of jobs saved and high street doors re-opening. But this is not what I see in the situation. I see venture capitalists picking the bones of a company, keeping the bits that work, ie online and certain stores and walking away from many buildings and rents that simply didn’t make sense pre-Covid, never mind now.

While Paperchase has been offering publishers a fraction of what they are owed to settle outstanding debts while the new terms offered for companies to still be a supplier is another. These are harsher than before, involve many conditions and include fixed pricing for a year. The companies can of course say no but some of them can’t afford to say no.

This is business they will say. They are just doing what everyone else would. While that may be true it does not make it right. Big business does not always make good or right business.

One publisher told me that they plan to focus on their indies, the ones that have paid them and supported them. Let’s hope more follow.

Effective communication l Take time before you speak, write or

indeed do anything. Plan what you want to say and be clear. l Be slow to speak - quick to listen. l Speak with straightforwardness - use honest words. l Non-verbal communication says a lot behaviour, body language, facial expressions. Read the room and be mindful of your own. l Verbal precision - be careful to use the right words at the right time. l Questioning is important - plan them and make them open to provoke a reaction or response. l Look for the moment of silent registry - this is when you know you have posed or caused those you are interacting to really consider your point. l Always be mindful of unresolved matters - you can’t do it all in one conversation. l Use tools such as paraphrasing, summarising at the end to leave people in a place of feeling assured.

Communication via Zoom etc has been great and frustrating at the same time, and no way as good as being with someone physically. Live music is always better than listening to a record. There is a rawness and an unpredictability to it. And let’s be honest, we are fed up of looking at bloody screens!

As I write this, I would normally have spent a marathon of days at Spring Fair, meeting new and old friends, finding products that would shape the future of our stores for the year ahead. But it was not to be. With the good news on the vaccine rollout, the new late July date for PG Live looks really promising. It will be a communications fest!

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

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cardsharp

Putting The

Boot In Isn’t it a weird world we live in at the moment, mused Cardsharp? At a time of unprecedented economic suffering for so many people in the UK due to the effects of the pandemic, there seems to be an unlimited amount of big money finance around and freely available. It certainly seems to be the case if you have a convincing sales pitch to present, Cardsharp thought as he read about the hugely successful stock market flotation of Moonpig.

Moonpig’s initial IPO valuation at 350p a share, rocketed on the commencement of trading. The shares went up as high as 450p a share, valuing the company at an astonishing £1.4 billion. As one newspaper headline succinctly put it ‘Pigs do fly’. And as a result, this meant the group’s top brass, including Kate Swann, the Moonpig chairman, (someone we in the trade know as a former ceo of WHSmith), among others, picked up a nice little earner of £40 million. On top of that she and her fellow directors are in line for further bonuses worth up to £15.5 million.

Nice work if you can get it! Especially as to Cardsharp’s knowledge not one of these were involved in the original launch of Moonpig in the first dotcom boom in the late 1990s. Moonpig was founded by Nick Jenkins, an ex-sugar trader in Russia, who was cruelly nicknamed Moonpig at school.

Nick, having made a bit of dosh felt it was safer to get out of the mafia state that he could see Russia becoming while he still could. But Nick would have been the first to admit he would not have got it to the

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position it was without the assistance of Louise Tighe, owner of Paperlink, who gave her creative expertise in exchange for a shareholding. Or longterm industry business angel, Duncan Spence, who bankrolled Moonpig and Nick all through those tough formative years. Nick sold his ‘baby’ in 2011 for a mere £120 million to private equity company Exponent. Exponent also did rather well out of the flotation. The shares it sold were worth £50 million while the stake it retained is valued at around £350 million.

Trebles all round mused Cardsharp!

For what it is worth, and this is only Cardsharp’s opinion, the flotation price of 350p a share over valued the company.

Above: The effects of the pandemic have ‘put the boot in’ to many people’s lives – in a good way if you were a Dr Martens shareholder.

Below left: Moonpig got off to a flying start with its flotation.

Below middle: Nick Jenkins, founder of Moonpig had to wait a whole decade until the company made any profit.

Bottom: Online operators, such as Funky Pigeon have been well placed to benefit from bonus sales as nonessential retailers were forced to close.

It was a shrewd time to float. This is a golden year for UK tech companies, with physical contacts so restricted, and not surprisingly sales and profits have been booming. Yet in the year ending October 31, sales (not profit) were £263 million.

Less than 20% of the current value of the business.

Also noticed Cardsharp, much was made of Moonpig’s 65% market share of digital greeting card sales, even though the company admitted that although sales had risen rapidly during a year of lockdowns, digital market share still represented only 10% of all greeting card sales in the UK. To obviously justify its high valuation of the flotation price, the Moonpig prospectus shared the expectation that the digital share of the greeting card market would rise to 20% by 2024. Cardsharp was taken aback by this prediction. Will digital sales of cards really double in just three years after taking 20 years to 10%?

If that is the case, then perhaps pigs really will fly to the moon!

Where will that astonishing growth come from? Passionate consumer card buyers that Cardsharp talks to, who often admit to only buying from Moonpig, (or

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Thortful, Scribbler or Funky Pigeon for that matter!) because there are fewer alternatives at present in lockdown. The booming card sales in the supermarkets and in independent greeting card and gift shops, in the periods when they were allowed to open show that the vast majority of consumers love the touch, look and feel of a physical greeting card in a bricks and mortar store.

Cardsharp will not be an investor, certainly not at 450p a share! The Moonpig flotation is overvalued and benefited from the City’s love all things techno at present, he thinks. Meanwhile, bricks and mortar card retailer and a former ‘floatie’, Card Factory, with a thousand or so stores, sees its share price languishing down at 35p (a tenth of

‘1000 jobs saved as Paperchase is bought out of administration’ was the headline.

But looking below the gushing PR hyped headline Cardsharp sees a different picture. Suppliers to Paperchase, who had already agreed to take a 20% hit on all debt back in April, would receive at best 15% of their outstanding invoices, and as if to add insult to ignominy, the new owners would be drastically cutting their supplier base. “Here you go guys! We have just made 700 million squids, but here are a Above: Dr Martens put its best foot forward with its flotation.

Left: Once the beacon of aspirations, Paperchase has left suppliers with debts at their doors.

Below: Former Paperchase coowner Timothy Melgund was always very proud that the retailer looked after its suppliers.

Moonpig’s share price launch), despite having a proven record of making prepandemic profits. It’s a funny old world!

But it was not just the Moonpig flotation that has made the business news headlines. Another private equity company, Permira, pocketed nearly a £billion from a flotation of boot makers Dr Martens. This was another very nice pay out after it bought Dr Martens for £300 million in 2015. Amazing when you think that when Cardsharp was a boy (and admittedly that was a long time ago!), Dr Martens boots were closely associated with football hooliganism and skinhead and racist violence.

But then just the very next day, Cardsharp noticed the Permira name crop up again in the business news. This time in relation to the private equity company’s debt management side buying Paperchase, the card and stationery chain out of administration in a pre-pack deal.

couple of scraps, so go away while we pick up this chain and long-established retail brand for virtually nothing thanks to you!” It must feel for suppliers that those Dr Martens boots, that made all that dosh for Permira, are now being used to kick honest loyal Paperchase suppliers in the teeth, good and hard.

‘Aggro’ was the word used for it in the 1970s!

And then the ultimate comic irony, if it were not so sad, is that the founders of Paperchase in the late 1960s, were art students of what we now would call ‘hippy beliefs’, who believed in young talented designers and artists and wanted to do their best to help them in their growth and give it a platform to the consumer. This was always the ultimate goal of Timothy Melgund, the ex-md and chairman of Paperchase, who throughout its long turbulent and challenging history, always tried to maintain the company’s integrity in what were extremely testing times. Timothy and his team, who reflected his beliefs, always attempted to do the right thing.

In hindsight the writing was on the wall a couple of years ago, when its then backer, Primary Capital took out a £10 million ‘management fee’ when the chain had just about broken even financially. An increasing reliance on, in the main, what became less inspiring own brand product, had undermined its reputation for being bold, new and innovative. Now little, if anything remains of the Paperchase, that many of us in the industry were once so proud of. ‘1000 Jobs Saved’ might be the headline, but how many livelihoods will be lost by the shabby treatment of suppliers?

And is the chain’s survival in this way, just blocking opportunities for new independent retail entrepreneurs, who could take advantage of low rents, to do something genuinely new and interesting in urban retail, and create new exciting job opportunities, if this Paperchase ‘zombie’ was not still there, blocking opportunities.

And Cardsharp concludes, if there was ever an apt metaphor for what has happened, it is the Dr Martens’ skinhead boot giving it large, in the face to the long-haired peaceloving sixties hippy.

White collar ‘Aggro’ at its worst, concludes Cardsharp.

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Back Pages & Crystal Balls This time 30 years ago, British scientist Tim Berners Lee had just launched the worldwide web, Sting was top of the album charts with The Soul Cages, a pint of beer in a pub cost the princely sum of £1.37 and – and the very first edition of Progressive Greetings under Max Publishing’s ownership was published! In a nod to the past, but with eyes very much focused on the future, greeting card industry leaders (from the publishing, retailing and production sides) share their respective perspectives on the major changes they have tracked as well as their predications for the future.

From a multiple retailer perspective: Paul Taylor, managing director of Cardzone has worked in the industry for many years, initially on the publishing side, but the majority of his time has been as a retailer. Here, he shares his historical learnings while his son James, trading director of the business imparts his prophesises.

What do you feel have been the main industry changes? “The past 30 years have seen some incredible changes in the greeting card world. As a former employee of Celebration Arts (at the time owned by American Greetings) I find it amazing that more than 50% of the UK market is still controlled

by Hallmark and AG. It’s a massive testament to both major companies that they continue to dominate over 30 years later.

It’s fantastic that many new publishers have come along over the last three decades, however so many have been bought by

Above: Reaching the 30th anniversary of PG is a good opportunity to turn page the pages of history while also looking into the future.

Left: Cardzone has embarked on a rebranding programme for its multiple chain.

Below: Cardzone’s Paul and James Taylor.

Hallmark and AG over this period.

The biggest ones being Andrew Brownsword and Creative Publishing by Hallmark, with AG acquiring Hanson White and Gibson Greetings. (Both Hallmark and AG had strong specialist retail businesses in the UK which they have offloaded over the past 30 years, with the exception of AG buying Clintons when it went into administrative receivership in 2012).

The number of card publishers in the market today is at least three times higher than it was all those years ago.

The retail arena has changed just as much although many larger specialist card shop chains have fallen away, with many going into administration.

Card Factory has dominated for the last two decades and continue to be the largest specialist on the High Street. Clintons, although still going strong has seen its estate contract by over 70% due to the success of their rivals CF. Independent specialist card stores have also suffered greatly as CF took its estate to over 1,000 stores. Although many have survived, regrettably far too many have fallen away.

Supermarkets now account for more card sales than the specialist sector and although the pandemic has helped enormously, the grocers’ market share has been growing significantly year on year for a long time. The selection in supermarkets today is so much stronger than it was, with brokerage being able to give the buyers far more choice from so many publishers. Although it’s good that the two major publishers don’t dominate the displays, the selection is so much better with many other publishers making the offer so much stronger.

Online has achieved phenomenal growth over the last decade with the last year being incredible as evidenced by the IPO listing for Moonpig, valuing it at 10 times more than Card Factory!”

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VIEWPOINTS James Taylor, trading director of Cardzone The Future…

How do you foresee greeting card retailing changing over the short, medium and long-term? “In the immediate shortterm with the lockdowns that non-essential retailers are currently facing; there is evidently a surge in demand for online greeting card operators offering either personalised or non-personalised cards, and also strong sales growth for grocers and convenience stores with a large choice and limited physical competition. This trend won’t change in the current lockdown situation and will quite likely pave the way for medium-long term growth in these channels, especially the digital space which has previously struggled to penetrate the greeting card market, unlike many other sectors.

How the re-levelling after this lockdown will look is a challenging thought for Cardzone, especially considering we only launched our ecommerce site at the end of January. I do however believe that in the medium-term, opportunities will continue to present themselves across the high street for continued growth. The pandemic has given the digital world acceleration which couldn’t have previously been conceived, and business levels along with footfall generated by bricks and mortar card businesses prior to the pandemic will not return to the levels once known. A saturated retail landscape will be enhanced by more empty shops and focus our landlords’ minds on redevelopment and repurposed usage. This will reshape our old high streets in many places and shrink the retail market which has been booming across the late 20th/early 21st centuries. There will continue to be great opportunities long-term for relevant and

Left: Late into online, Cardzone is going full pelt.

adaptable businesses with compelling propositions. This could be an independent, single store business or a 1,000+ store group. I do feel that customer service in future months will be compromised as trading levels remain challenging and businesses do their best to reshape themselves to become more viable for the future of the high street.”

If you had a magic wand for the future what would you use it for? “The simplest wish for us all would be to finally see the end of this horrendous pandemic which continues to affect so many of us on a daily basis. Both from a business and personal standpoint there are so many things that I previously took for granted which without realising made such a positive impact on life! Hopefully this day will come sooner rather than later! From a greeting card perspective as a predominantly bricks and mortar business, I’d wish for the soonest opportunity to trade all our stores again, the announcement of continued support and also a total realignment of our Business Rates system, and finally the opportunity to meet and socialise with our supply network again. All our suppliers have been so supportive and understanding of this situation, and for that we are very grateful.”

From a publisher and online operator perspective: Mark Callaby, managing director and cofounder of Ohh Deer What has the past taught you? “To worry less. I've definitely learnt that worrying before something happens only increases my anxiety and I've been trying to train myself into only worrying about something if it happens (then I'm only worrying once if at all).”

What have been the main industry changes? “It's got to be the rise of the internet. It's changing everything about the industry which will be really difficult for many to adapt to and will benefit others really well.”

The Future…

How do you foresee greeting card publishing changing over the short, medium and long term? “I think the pandemic has sped up a lot of the changes that have been inevitable. I don't see the High Street disappearing but it's going to continue to evolve - potentially it's going to benefit shops that aren't in big cities, places that can really knuckle down and work on customer loyalty and look at how they can manage local deliveries and tying up with other industries like florists etc.

I think publishers will need to think about their online presence, not only for selling direct to customers, but for selling to retailers as well. Technology will only continue to improve, and fast, and it's already difficult to keep up with, but the younger generations are increasingly buying anything they want on their phone or via 28

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something like Alexa and we need to try and keep up with that.

I don't want to see specialist retailers depart from the High Street but it's already happening. I remember venturing into Ipswich (my hometown) when I was a teenager to check out what Topman had to offer almost weekly, but fashion is really easy to buy online now, so a business like ASOS buying them out seemed almost obvious.”

If you had a magic wand for the future what would you use it for? “Other than a decent haircut for all, I'd like to improve how exposed publishers are to the bigger retailers - sale or return agreements just seem to be a loophole for poor data analysis and long credit terms for large amounts of money (which are often not kept to) are damaging for cashflow and without cash it's really difficult for some publishers to keep on innovating to keep up with the demand of new, new, new...

I'm also passionate about making sure the industry continues to strive for inclusivity - this takes work from each of us (not just within our industry). Please find me that magic wand!”.

Far left: Mark’s partner Jamie Mitchell putting the finishing touches to Ohh Deer’s first ever trade show, at Harrogate Home & Gift many moons ago.

Above: Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby (right) and co-founder/partner Jamie Mitchell at the company’s

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VIEWPOINTS From a specialist greeting card printer’s perspective Bruce Podmore, managing director of Windles What has the past taught you? “The past has taught us resilience, determination, to always plan ahead, cohesiveness, and the importance of creating an efficacious environment for optimum productivity. And the power of people, both our publisher customers and our team. It is the people who make Windles special. A remarkable number of our team have been with us for over 20 years and many more for over 10 years. We carry our living history with us.”

What have been the main industry changes? “There has been an enormous shift in the way publishers approach their greeting card selections as well as the production methods. Looking back to 30 years ago, it was all about printing in volume and having very few SKUs. We used to have large format A0 printing presses which could print 32 designs of 7”x5” cards on a sheet. And the sheet runs were often 50,000 - that’s 50,000 of each design! Now the production runs are much smaller, but there has been a massive increase in the number of designs from publishers, with their selections being constantly refreshed.

Our printing plant has evolved accordingly. We replaced our huge litho presses with B1 machines and invested too in digital presses when the demand for very short runs was established.

We have also seen a shift in the way publishers supply their retail customers, with their cards. Three decades ago, cards were generally transit packed in 12 cards with 12 envelopes and shipped out to store. Back then we had four flow wrapping machines transit packing 24/7. As time went these units of 12 cards became units of six cards and now for seasonal cards they are invariably packed in threes or fours.

During the mid-2000s we saw a sharp increase in demand for single wrapped cards. At this point we purchased our first brand new wrapping machine to individually pack. Having relied upon handpacking prior to this it was an incredible switch. And two years on we had four wrapping machines.

Below left: Bruce Podmore, md of Windles at the furnace that makes use of recycled pallets.

Right: Windles engineered the Kard Klasp, an alternative to cellowrapping cards.

Below: The Windles HQ was built as a state-of-the-art environmental production facility.

Innovation was typically associated with keeping our machines up to date. Applying innovation to greeting cards became the next new big thing. Publishers developed a need to constantly refresh their offering and push their designs to the limit.

The environmental concerns are quite rightly in the ascendency. This is something that has always been close to Windles heart. In 2013 we were the first greeting card producer to be crowned Environmental Printer of the Year. It was at this point that more of our customer base and therefore the greeting card industry as a whole started to think more about environmentally sustainable production. We’ve introduced carbon balanced materials for the World Land Trust and have led the way with the elimination of plastic through the creation of our Kard Klasp (which has already eliminated 20 million pieces of plastic), but we are on a mission to do more.”

If we had a magic wand for the future what would you use it for? “We have no doubt in the boundless creativity of publishers in continuing to come up with stunning and relevant greeting cards to pique the consumer interest. What we would really like is for the industry to become fully united in their drive for greater sustainability.

It makes no sense for us as an industry to put a strain on our fragile planet by cellowrapping cards and/or including secondary plastic banding when there is no need, with paper banding offering a solution for the latter. We do of course recognise the need for some product to be wrapped. So ideally if we had a magic wand, we would see that all of the local councils have the infrastructure and recycling facilities in place to recycle the 100% OPP plastic used for greeting cards.

It is a frustration for us as at industry level the plastic wrapping is recycled and put to good use.”

From an independent specialist retail mini-group’s perspective Nigel Williamson and Miles Robinson are coowners of House of Cards, the Home Counties group of six shops which reached its 30th anniversary last year.

What has the past taught you? Nigel: “To never be complacent. We have seen so many types of traders disappear from our high streets over the years - from video rental retailers to many banks!

As a retailer you always need to be sure you have a unique selling point that will appeal to enough people in your vicinity.”

Miles: “That nothing stays the same!

However, many of the old rules still apply although perhaps less so in the middle of this

‘pants pandemic’. It is still about great product at the right price at the right time in the right place!”

What have been the main industry changes? Nigel: “On a retailing side it would have to be the shift from Clintons and WHSmith being seen as the market leaders known for their premium priced cards to Card Factory usurping that position at the value end.

While there have always been value cards, Card Factory’s expansion changed perceptions onto the UK’s high street nationwide rather than their previous fragmented distribution in CTNs, on market stalls and the more northern based chains of Birthdays and Card Warehouse.

Left: An early House of Cards shop.

Continued on page 31

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VIEWPOINTS On the publishing front, I remember the excitement of Andrew Brownsword and Forever Friends coming on the scene as a ‘new breed of small publishers’ each justifying a metre of space instore. The ensuing decades have seen a proliferation of new publishers each with their own look so that your best sellers come from several players, ours currently include IC&G, Ling, Lucilla Lavender, Paperlink, Paper Rose, Rosie Made a Thing, Wendy Jones-Blackett, Woodmansterne and Wrendale Designs.”

Miles: “I think it has been the advent of digital print, which has enabled so many new and exciting publishers to grow and thrive.

There is also the gradual move card retailers have had to make into gifting/other lines as we can no longer rely on card sales alone.”

The Future…

How do you foresee greeting card retailing changing over the short, medium and long-term? Nigel: “In the short-term it will be more online sales. The ‘elephant in the room’ which will become more of an issue post lockdown are publishers going direct to the consumer, effectively competing with their retail customers. The danger will be if they undercut retailers or try to impose constraints on their retail customers, such as not selling on third party sites, such as Amazon, while they do.

From a creative’s perspective...

Geoff Sanderson, founder of Celebration Nation, but having held various senior positions in the industry with Moonpig, Hallmark, Tigerprint, Crown Greetings and Birthdays.

Historical perspective...

What has the past taught you? “Having been on the end of a number of JFDIs [Just Freakin' Do Its]…Innovation needs patience and agility as well as the killer idea.

If you’re an innovator and have big ideas, it often drives a unrealistic sense of urgency.

That energy can be great; but it’s not the race you may think it is and the market does not always necessarily align or behave how you’d like, no matter how good your designs, budget, data or research. There’s always an invisible tipping point to understand, whether audience, uptake, taste, trends or sales. Great ideas need great patience and careful building, which may also mean some careful expectation setting with those who are also on your journey - whether colleagues, backers, partners or family.

Formulas are for breaking…don’t rest on your laurels Once you have created a success never be afraid to challenge it - learn to test and iterate, try things out, go left/right of an idea, hit it with a stick, leverage it, be agile and prepared to pivot - this will make it stronger.

Data is great, but it’s not everything in this industry…there’s still room for the mercurial or creative.

In the medium and hopefully longer term, I do feel community retailing will thrive and the card and gifts shops within those will continue to do well.

Greeting cards remain very relevant and I see no reason why they would’nt continue to be.”

Miles: “No question that we are in a period of change right now. The move to online has been accelerated massively in the past year but this will not mean the end for bricks and mortar. We think the supermarkets will be taking a bigger share and the localism we have seen is a thing that will stay, but it will probably be at the expense of provincial towns and major cities. Online cannot replace the touch, feel and emotion one gets in a physical card buying environment and there is a certain remoteness/detached feeling about online greeting card buying, but it is and will remain an ever more important facet of the marketplace.”

If you had a magic wand for the future what would you use it for? Nigel: “For the Business Rates system to be properly reformed and for young people to enjoy forging an enjoyable habit for shopping in real shops.”

Above: House of Cards’ Miles Robinson (left) and Nigel Williamson at The Retas in 2016 with their winning trophy and (second left) Lynn Tait (the co-founder of The Ladder Club who sadly died in 2017) and PG’s Jakki Brown.

Left: House of Cards’ Wallingford flagship branch at the reopening last June.

The undoubted benefit of any commercial information (sales, research, analytics etc) is a massive benefit for the product development process. Through this you learn to know your target consumer and what they like more quickly, but don’t let data dominate creativity. When linked to the earlier point about challenging your success, you still need to find ways to blend in the creative and mercurial to create real USPs, excitement and points of difference.”

What have been the main industry changes you have seen? “Cards are more creative, more professional and more targeted.

Design levels have increased 1000%. Everywhere you look there are better designed and positioned cards. So much more understanding of the category, talent and innovation in play at all market levels.

The digital revolution in design/print has democratised the business a level or two for the designer, publisher and retailer In the late 80s all studios and designers were on/chained to drawing boards and now all studios and designers are almost completely digital to a point where hand-painting is almost a novelty, but ideas flow more quickly.

Left: Geoff Sanderson with former Moonpig colleague Iain Martin.

Right: Geoff with (left-right) the GCA’s ceo Amanda Fergusson, Ceri Stirland (UKG) and Rachel Hare (Belly Button) at the association’s 100th anniversary conference and AGM.

Continued on page 33 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Exciting new ranges and stunning additions to our bestselling collections!

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VIEWPOINTS A ‘press’ can now fit in your spare room and a website business can be run from a laptop, so you can get to market easily and cheaply.

E-commerce It’s felt like a long slow road of convergence from omni channel to multichannel and terrestrial to ecommerce, but the tipping point to e-commerce is now upon us boosted by lockdowns. Having said that I’m not sure it’s a straightforward race to e-commerce - there’s lots of room to innovate, maybe for years to come.

With e-commerce, publishers can now develop direct relationships with their consumers and well as customers. This will change the nature of the industry in years to come.

The Future…

How do you foresee the UK greeting card industry scene changing over the short, medium and long-term? “Clearly because of the last year there’s going to be a scramble as those not fully online get into e-commerce. I think this will continue for years to come and be in many phases.

Looking specifically on the online front I think AI and VR will start to blend the worlds of the physical high street to e-commerce to solve the long-standing issue of the tactility of cards as those

Left: One of the panels of the GCA’s centenary exhibition which was curated by Geoff.

shown online don’t have the tactility or beauty of the physical thing in your hand.

Meanwhile, there’s room for digitalhybrids. Surely to God we can crack selling physical cards direct to customers in a more relevant way!”

What do you see happening on the design front? “Due to the market place model, I see growth in the designer/maker, or designer/business run from home allowing a more independent/autonomy and maybe a reluctance to sit in a studio eight hours a day for low salaries. Relevance will become a ‘bigthing’. I think designers will learn to understand consumer needs more naturally due to confidence and ease of access of analytics and social media interaction and design directly for this.”

If you had a magic wand for the future what would you use it for? “A digital mantlepiece. This has been an ambition to realise since the late 90’s when I visited MIT for Hallmark and first saw technologies like WiFi, AI, VR being used for the first time.

With MIT we set a project to make cards digitally appear in a physical setting. ie a card appears ‘Star Trek style’ on a mantelpiece. Anyone interested should contact me as I still think it’s a $billion idea!”

From a specialist retailer’s perspective…

John Procter, managing director and co-founder of Scribbler, which has been trading for 38 years and currently operates from 38 standalone stores as well as through its active webshop and ‘store within a store’ displays in Sainsbury’s branches: What has the past taught you? “That this is an extraordinary stable industry that consistently performs because it is based on products that reflect societal tastes - through the humour, the cultural references, the words used, the colour palettes and the subject matter featured. The basic premise of our business and the industry for that matter has not changed over the last three decades. We need to take comfort in that.”

What have been the main industry changes? “The move to online is front of mind right now as this has been such as major shift over the last year - our online Valentine’s Day sales were up 400% year on year for obvious reasons.

I would say that the advancements in digital printing have been instrumental in enabling talented designers to get more trenddriven products out there. The speed at which popular celebrities or topical references can now make their way onto cards is incredible and has in so many ways been a saviour for this sector. It has made the cost of entry much

lower, less risky and wasteful. But even more than that it means that connections can be made with the next generation of card senders as they see designs that chime with their tastes.”

The Future…

How do you foresee greeting card retailing changing over the short, medium and long-term? “While in the short-term we will all have to operate with restricted footfall due to the pandemic, this will improve.

I envisage more of a reliance on digital printing, the print on demand model and online, but retailing will always have a place in this market. We are still looking to open stores and are excited, for example, by a new branch we are due to open in Edinburgh’s St James’ quarter.”

If you had a magic wand for the future what would you use it for? “To get rid of Covid-19 has to be the main one. From a selfish point of view, to have eternal youth, be able to drink superb wine without getting a hangover and to learn another three chords on my guitar!”

Left: The first Scribbler store opened in London’s King’s Road in 1984.

Above right: John and Jennie Procter were presented with an Honorary Achievement award at The Henries in 2015. Pictured here with the host Rhod Gilbert (left) and category sponsor Harry Shah of Soundtech.

Above: Scribbler’s card selection continues to reflect popular culture as this design, featuring chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty exemplifies.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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The Peaks And Troughs There is no denying that the last year has been brutal for independent greeting card retailers with the forced lockdown closures severely hampering their sales potential, forcing them to learn new tricks to serve their customers and to make hay when the sun did shine.

PG donned its tough walking boots to find out more about the rugged terrain indies braved over the last year in the findings of the PG Retail Barometer, the annual survey into the health and wealth of the independent greeting card retailer.

The PG Retail Barometer is an annual survey of independent greeting card retailers. This latest survey includes both independent retailers who are Cardgains members (accounting for 1,000 rooftops) as well as those who are not a member of the buying group. All surveys were completed by 4 February 2021.

How Was Business 2020 v 2019?

65% Worse 19% Better

16% Same

For the periods you were able to trade, average spend per customer 15% Remained The Same

4% Declined 3% Declined Significantly

28% Increased Significantly

50% Increased Slightly

Business boons Greeting cards came into their own over the last year, a tangible way of communicating with loved ones at a time when meeting up physically was not an option for many.

Over 75% of respondents were in no doubt that the consumer’s appreciation of greeting cards grew over the last year. Long may that continue!

Continuing on the positive vein, almost 20% of indies said that their business actually grew in the last year having made the most of the grant and furlough money to reduce costs while reaping rewards on the huge shift to shopping locally when they were open, as well as investments in online/Click & Collect having paid off.

When indie card retailers were able to trade, the majority experienced an upturn in the average spend, partly due to pentup demand but also due to customers reducing the number of shopping trips and so buying more when they did venture out.

Amplifying the ‘shop local’ message, with more employees working from home also brought new customers into indies’ shops (ranking third in the list of boons to business) while the value of social media really came into its own with retailers making the most of Instagram, and Facebook especially to boost their communication with customers.

How has your business fared over the last year?

PG looks back at the last eight years of PG’s Retail Barometer data.

2020 v 2019 19% Better 16% Same 65% Worse

2019 v 2018 31% Better 38% Same 31% Worse

2018 v 2017 Better 37% Same 31% Worse 32%

2017 v 2016 Better 38% Same 27% Worse 35%

2016 v 2015 Better 30% Same 38% Worse 32%

2015 v 2014 Better 52% Same 44% Worse 4%

2014 v 2013 Better 48% Same 32% Worse 20%

2013 v 2012 Better 27% Same 43% Worse 30%

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What main factor(s) had a positive effect on your business in the last year? (Previous year’s position in brackets) 1st

The ‘Shop Local’ Support (-)

2nd Social media (7th) 3rd New customers (6th) 4th Website/online activity (12th) 5th Staff (4th) 6th Promotional activity/Click & Collection/Home

7th 8th 9th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th

Minimum Wage (9th) Charity shops selling greeting cards (10th) = Empty shop units in the vicinity (7th) = Expansion of value/discount retailers (8th) Print on demand cards (13th) Reduction in service from suppliers/reps/agents (-) Consumer lethargy/uncertainty (4th) Brexit decision (6th) Below: Some plasticBusiness rates (11th) free packaging from Rent review (12th) Into the Green, Drop in people’s disposable income (-) produced by Loxleys.

delivery (8th) 7th Improvements in shop displays (3rd)

Environmental watch

8th Shop improvements/refits (5th)

Not surprisingly, concerns about the environment and playing their part in sustainability of the planet featured strongly for indies in the last year. Over eight out of ten (83%) of respondents said environmental considerations had played a part in their business decisions, compared to 76% in last year’s Barometer and 61% the year before that.

Reducing the number of cellowrapped cards came out tops on the eco improvements front for indies, pushing reduction of plastic bags into the second spot, while the expansion of eco-products stocked jumped three places, taking it into the third position.

Meanwhile, at a consumer level, indies feel that concerns about the environment had definitely played a part in the general public’s buying habits. While for 61% this change was ‘marginal’, for 14% it was considered to have ‘greatly’ impacted on their buying decisions.

9th Broadening card selection (1st) 10th Broadening gift selection (2nd) 11th = Improvements in service from suppliers (11th) 11th = Collaborations with local businesses/groups (13th) 12th = Increasing prices (9th) 12th = Decreasing prices (14th) 13th Local competition closing down (10th) 14th Improved PoS and signage (14th) 15th Becoming an Amazon/UPS drop off point (-) 16th Winning an award/resultant PR (10th) 17th Opening an additional store/pop-up (-)

How do you feel the consumer’s appreciation of greeting cards has shifted over the last year?

27% 49% 16% 8%

Increased Significantly Increased Slightly Remained The Same Declined

Below: Covid-19 rather put Brexit in the shade as this Virtual Safari design from Emotional Rescue recognises.

(The range won the Henry Cole Classic award in The Henries 2020)

What is your feeling about the number of Christmas cards people sent in 2020?

32% More than previous year 21% Same as previous year 47% Fewer than previous year

The big downers No surprises that Covid-19 was the top reason that 65% of indies experienced a drop in business. Linked to this supermarkets were also up there, not only as they have been allowed to trade throughout, but also as the choice of cards they now offer has improved. While some old chestnuts, such as parking still feature in the list of banes, these dropped down the list in light of bigger issues.

What main factor(s) have had a detrimental effect on your business this year? (Previous year’s position in brackets)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

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Covid-19 lockdowns (-) The UK retail economy (1st) Expansion of cards in supermarkets (3rd) Competition from multiples (5th) Parking issues (2nd) Online activity (6th)

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

What steps did your business take in 2020 on the environmental front? (Previous year’s position in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th

Reduction in cellowrapped cards (2nd) Reduction in plastic bags (1st) Expansion of eco-products stocked (5th) Reduction of cards/giftwrap with glitter (6th) Increase in cards in compostable bags (7th) Introduction of paper bags (3rd) More vigilant recycling (4th) Persuade staff to be more sustainable (8th) Removal of cellowrapped cards (10th) Environmental lighting (-) Change of energy provider (10th)

To what extent do you think environmental concerns have impacted on the consumer’s card buying over the last year?

14% Greatly 61% Marginally 25% Not at all

Going for promotion Indies certainly flexed their marketing muscle last year, with almost three quarters (72%) of respondents having embraced the potential of marketing, many experimenting with a number of different promotional mechanisms, pivoting swiftly when lockdowns came into force.

This year it was social media action that came out tops by a long way, which was a major tool in nurturing and rewarding

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customer loyalty activity, which clinched second place.

Collaborations with other businesses and sale-generating ‘money off’ offers also featured broadly. Many ‘shopping events’ shifted to the digital platform with retailers becoming adept at Instagram ‘live’ videos to promote certain lines to great aplomb and success.

Top Ten Promotional Mechanisms Over The Last Year (Previous year’s positions shown in brackets) 1st Social media (1st) 2nd Loyalty cards/loyalty initiatives (1st) 3rd In-store ‘money off’/discount promotions (3rd) 4th Collaboration with other businesses (5th) 5th Customer events/private shopping and competitions (2nd) 6th Free gift promotions (6th) 7th Press/Facebook advertising (5th) 8th Charity fundraising (4th) 9th Gift voucher scheme (8th) 10th Leaflets (7th) 11th Free giftwrapping service (-)

Business predictions for 2021 Despite the fact that the Barometer survey had to be completed in early February before indies knew when they would be allowed to reopen, they were feeling pretty optimistic about 2021 - it has to be at least as good as 2020, if not better!

Some 41% are setting their sights on growing their business this year - though most of these (33%) are realistic that this growth will not be significant.

On the downside, 21% are bracing themselves for a drop in business, but this is an improvement on two years ago when a third were anticipating coping with a decline.

Looking further ahead to the next 10 years, the ‘shop local’ trend has most definitely made indies feel more positive about the role of the independent card retailer with 65% seeing it as having a real future (up from 44% a year ago) with only 12% seeing the long future as weak (last year this figure was 30%).

Expectations for your business for 2021?

18% Slight Decline

8% Significant Growth 38% Remain About The Same

What local organisations was your business

33% Marginal Growth

involved with in the last year?

1st Local retailer group 2nd Charities 3rd Schools 4th Chamber of Commerce 5th Federation of Small Businesses 5th Just a Card Campaign 5th GCA

Threats and opportunities Supermarkets are now seen as much more of a threat to an independent card retailer than ever before, with 76% viewing them as a real concern. Almost a third of respondents (29%) go so far as viewing them as a ‘serious threat’. A year ago only 17% of indies viewed them in this way.

Despite the fact that Card Factory has continued to expand, it is as though indies have learned to co-exist, plus their stores were closed in lockdown restrictions while supermarkets, garden centres and print on demand operators were open for business. While 34% of respondents do view the UK’s market leading player as a threat, this is down from 41% the year previous.

Aggrieved by garden centres being granted ‘essential’ status, indies now see them as much more of a thorn in their side, with 63% citing them as a threat to their trade. Meanwhile, even though many indies have used the Amazon platform for their own online trading, over half (54%) recognise that this digital giant was a threat to their trade over the last year.

The immense product selection and marketing muscle has seen Moonpig, Thortful, Scribbler (and other print-on-demand operators) take a larger slice of the greeting card cake, with some 43% of indies now seeing them as a threat to their business.

3% Major Decline

How do you view the future of the independent card shop in the next 10 years?

8% Very Positive 57% Positive 23% Neutral 10% Weak 2% Very Weak

How do you view the supermarkets’ expansion on the greeting card front?

21% Neutral

50% Threat

29% Serious Threat

How do you currently view Card Factory?

12% Serious Threat 22% Threat 64% Neutral 2% Bonus

Far left: Sainsbury’s was among the supermarkets to have improved their greeting card selections and made the most of being able to trade throughout lockdowns.

Continued on page 39 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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How do you view Moonpig, Thortful, Funky Pigeon and other print-on-demand operators?

3% Bonus

17% Serious Threat

54% Neutral

26%Threat

How do you currently view garden centres?

17% Serious Threat 46% Threat 36% Neutral 1% Bonus

How do you currently view Amazon?

26% Serious Threat 28% Threat 44% Neutral 2% Bonus

we so want to see reps and agents. Knowledge is power and they know so much, so much better than online ordering!”

Keen to ensure they have a wonderfully fresh product selection 27% of respondents are looking to increase their number of suppliers this year though the majority will be remaining loyal to their existing line-up.

Catalogues and leaflets have really come into their own in the last year with so many exhibitions and face to face meetings cancelled, as 96% of respondents see these marketing tools as ‘very important’ or ‘important’.

There has been an increase in the last year in interest from indies considering moving to be supplied via brokerage, with 13% giving it the thumbs up as an option and other 23% saying they would consider it.

The issue of geographical exclusivity of supply seems to be less of a dividing issue, probably due to retailers having had larger ‘fish to fry’ over the last year. While 41% still see it as an issue, this is down 6% on the previous year, with almost 59% saying they do not see it as an issue.

38%

Would you consider being supplied via a brokerage system?

Do you feel the increased price of stamps affects your card sales?

5% Decrease dramatically

Above: Dean Morris, founder of Dean Morris Cards with this year’s catalogue.

13% Yes 23% Undecided 64% No

How do you view seeing catalogues and actual card samples?

4% Not important

50% Not affected 36% Important 45% Decrease marginally 60% Very important

36%

In a word Encouragingly ‘Buoyant’ was the word indies feel best describes the UK greeting card industry today, though ‘Challenging’ and ‘Difficult’ were not that far behind this descriptor.

The top seven POSITIVE descriptors…

Buoyant, Creative, Essential, Exciting, Positive, Resilient, Strong The top five NEUTRAL descriptors…

Coping, Challenging, Friendly, Interesting, Resourceful The top five NEGATIVE descriptors…

Difficult, Fragile, Stressful, Threatened, Uncertain

Sourcing matters It seems a long time since Spring Fair 2020, the last real trade show to have been allowed to take place. This means that sourcing products has been somewhat problematic with relationships with reps/agents proving to be ever more important.

Obviously online sourcing and ordering has seen a surge, but as one respondent put it, “sadly online ordering has increased, but

How Have You Sourced Products?

(Previous year’s positions shown in brackets)

1st From agents and reps (2nd) 2nd From catalogues and leaflets received (5th) 3rd = From the internet (7th) 3rd = From Progressive Greetings (3rd) 4th From publishers’ websites (9th) 5th Looking in other shops (4th) 6th Cards sent to you (6th) 7th From the Cardgains’ newsletter (-) 8th From exhibitions/exhibitions online sites (1st) 9th Feedback from customers (10th) 10th Word of mouth (8th) Continued on page 41 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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As far as the number of suppliers from whom you order, do you expect to…

27% Increase the number 62% Remain about the same 11% Decrease the number

How have service levels from suppliers been over the last year?

Right: Humour and pets, a double whammy! The best selling design from Cath Tate Cards’ PhotoCats&Canine range.

6% Improved Significantly 29% Improved Slightly 49% Remained The Same 14% Decreased Slightly 2% Decreased Significantly

If you place orders online, what percentage?

23% 26% 18% 33%

Under 10% Around 25% Around 50% 75% And Above

Below: Dandelion Stationery has hit the spot with its Words & Wisdom range, winning The Henries 2020 award for Best Contemporary Words & Sentiments Range, coming into its own as offering support for friends.

Do you see your online ordering as likely to increase in the coming year?

52% Increase 39% Remain The Same 4% Decrease 5% Not sure

More please…

When asked which card categories indies would like an increased choice, it is more of the funny stuff they are after! After humorous cards, it is male cards followed by contemporary sentiments ranges that there is a real appetite for more. New approaches for children’s cards as well as handmade/handfinished are also being called for.

On the specific caption front, it is ‘greatness’ that is being called for - Great Grand-daughter, Great Great Nan etc. Other common pleas from indies are for more same sex wedding cards, increased selection of ‘like a Mum/Like a Dad to me’, better designs for the LGBT+ community as well as those reflecting diversity.

Plus, to continue to expand the strong friendship/supportive sends of this last year as well as more covering a ‘feel better’ sentiment which is a wider catch-all than a ‘get well’ caption.

Which card categories have you seen sales decline in your shop(s) in the last year?

(Previous year’s positions shown in brackets)

1st Easter (6th) 2nd Valentine’s Day (1st)

Growth indicators

3rd Cute (8th)

It is a long-held view that humour flourishes in the face of adversity and this is certainly reflected in the Barometer findings, with humorous cards topping the greeting card charts for indies as being the card category that showed the largest growth over the last year compared to the year before.

Christmas boxes saw an encouraging uptick as people used them as a way of making contact, also reflected in the new entry of ‘keeping in touch/friendship’ designs.

4th Mother’s Day (4th) 5th Licensed (5th) 6th Father’s Day (2nd) 7th Christmas card boxes (3rd) 8th Photographic (7th) 9th = Handmade or Hand-Finished (8th) 9th = Traditional words and sentiments (9th) 9th = Christmas singles (10th) 10th Children’s (-)

Which card categories have you seen sales grow in your shop(s) in the last year?

Into which product areas would you like to further diversify?

(Previous year’s positions shown in brackets)

(Previous year’s positions shown in brackets)

1st Humour (1st)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 18th

2nd Relations and occasions (2nd) 3rd Christmas packs or boxes (11th) 4th Traditional words & sentiment (6th) 5th Christmas card singles (7th) 6th Lockdown Friendship/Thinking of you (-) 7th Contemporary trend (3rd) 8th Art (5th) 9th Handmade or Hand-finished (4th) 10th Photographic (9th) 11th Male (12th) 12th Children’s (10th) 13th = Mother’s Day (8th) 13th = Father’s Day (9th) 14th Cute (-) 15th Easter (9th) 16th Licensed (12th)

Eco-goods (1st) Gifts (2nd) Stationery (4th) Candles and diffusers (10th) Balloons and partyware (7th) Impulse items (8th) Home accessories (7th) Wellbeing products (8th) Jewellery (4th) Crafting products (12th) Pet products (10th) Fashion accessories (5th) = Gardening products (-) = Children’s products (3rd) Giftwrappings (8th) Chocolates/confectionery (6th) Bath and body products (9th) Calendars, diaries (13th) = Kitchenware and tableware (13th) = Clothing (11th)

Below: Blue Eyed Sun was well decorated in the Gift of the Year Awards this year for its eco products, including the Bioloco Loop water bottles.

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30 Years

Of PG

Do we see the present through a lens of the past? With this being the 30th anniversary edition of Progressive Greetings since we (Jakki Brown and Warren Lomax) bought in a Management Buy Out we hope you will indulge our personal reflections on some of the major events and trends of which we have been privileged to have been a part, in the past three decades of evolution of this incredible greeting card industry.

Setting the scene February 2021 marks a big anniversary for both of us - 30 years of Progressive Greetings. It would have been our 360th edition, if the wretched coronavirus had not put paid to our April edition being cancelled last year.

During that period, we have experienced many momentous changes in the greeting card industry. We have seen the rise and fall of great retailing and publishing greeting card empires. We have had the privilege of getting close to some incredibly talented entrepreneurs during this time; watching so many wonderful newbies burst onto the scene and flourish. We have experienced a dramatic change in distribution channels as well as design trends. And in those three decades, the industry has faced a myriad of serious threats, not least the latest worldwide pandemic. Yet despite all this, the UK greeting card industry is still, if not exactly booming, proving remarkably durable, and still the envy of the world when it comes to per capita send and design excellence.

So, this milestone issue in many ways pays homage to the thousands of people who have contributed so much to the greeting industry and continue to do so (just look at the amazing new ranges that feature in the adverts and in the extensive Innovations section for starters).

We also want to say thank you to all those who have contributed to Progressive Greetings, our awards events (The Henries and The Retas), our dedicated greeting card exhibition, Progressive Greetings Live, the Greeting Card Association, which (while an independent entity) we have been heavily involved for 24 years as well as The Ladder Club (that we co-founded with the legendary Lynn Tait who sadly died in 2017) to help newbie and emerging publishers.

The reason we bought Progressive Greetings 30 years ago, then a small embryonic supplement to a trade Above: Rosie Made a Thing’s Gin & Frolics was the worthy winner of The Henries 2020 Best Lockdown Range award and the publisher also won the Best Humorous Range trophy.

Right: Over the last two decades The Ladder Club has seen hundreds of publishers join the ‘alumni’!

Above: A young Jakki Brown and Warren Lomax (when he still had hair).

Right: The front cover of the February 1991 edition of Progressive Greetings, the first under Max Publishing’s ownership.

newsagents’ magazine, (from an inspiring businessman, Malcolm Pearce, who encouraged us to go it alone and very much inspired us to do things “our way”) was that we recognised that the greeting card industry was an exceptional trade - and it still is. It was centred around a fabulous product in greeting cards which brings joy and comfort to all. This all remains as true to this day as it was in 1991, as does the fiercely competitive, but counter-intuitively, rich-in-camaraderie spirit of the sector.

And it has been a fantastic journey for us with the belief and support for our little monthly magazine growing by the month.

Buoyed by this we were encouraged to launch The Henries awards (to reward card publishing innovation) in 1996, then, The Retas awards in 2005 (rewarding greeting card retailing excellence) and then, egged on by our industry chums to launch and establish Progressive Greetings Live 12 years ago as a global dedicated greeting card exhibition. And following this, embracing technology, establish our PG Buzz e-newsletter to make some noise news wise about the global greeting card community every week.

We have loved every minute of it, but the most rewarding thing about the journey has been the support received and friendships forged with so many in the trade.

The Viewpoints section in this edition (pages 27-31) covers so many of the industry changes, through the insights shared from retailers, publishers and trade suppliers. They pay tribute to PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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the constant stream of talented new publishers/designers who have come into the market (latterly facilitated by the low cost of entry that digital printing and licensing to print on demand operators allows), the greater focus on environmental issues as well as the ramifications of Card Factory’s expansion.

Brokerage (from Hallmark, UKG, Woodmansterne and Waterwells), which has paved the way for card selections to broaden, most notably in supermarkets and garden centres looks set to increase in the indie sector too.

1991 and all that The year 1991 was a pretty momentous year in many ways probably one of the most significant of the post war years.

That was the year the Soviet Union was dissolved, signifying, we all hoped at the time, the end of Russian interference in Europe and the beginning of genuine democracy in Russia. It was the year that apartheid ended in South Africa, again a move that instilled hope for millions. Less encouragingly, 1991 was the year of the first Gulf War, after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. And Yugoslavia was about to break up, leading to years of internecine bloodshed and war.

On the domestic front, John Major, had only just taken over as Prime Minister from Margaret Thatcher. After the booming late 1980s, the UK was experiencing a nasty recession with a 2% contraction in the economy and unemployment hit 2.5 million. It was the year that the pandemic of the time really hit home with the death of Freddie Mercury from AIDS. Back then Sunday trading was still illegal, with Tesco and Asda trying to force the government’s hands by opening illegally.

And so it was early in this historic year into a recessionravaged economy, that our Progressive Greetings saw the light of day. It emanated from a tiny cupboard in an office that consisted of two tatty desks, a second-hand filing cupboard and one static phone! No fancy mobiles then - or even a computer, with the articles still written by hand.

The UK greeting card industry had grown steadily in the 1980s from a low base to be worth around £500 million back then - less than a third of what it is worth today. But given the uncertain economic situation some publishers and retailers were starting to wonder if that growth was sustainable. And as owners and publishers, of one of the then three greeting card trade magazines, we had to hold our nerve that there was enough advertising support to pay our respective mortgages.

The greeting card retail scene was totally different then to what is today too. WH Smith led the field as market leader in everyday 44

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Left: Winners of The Retas 2019 greeting card retailer awards who continue the legacy of fabulous stockists of amazing products.

And just as specialist card shops have added to their greeting card bedrock with other products so we have seen cards become an increasingly important product for all manner of gift and lifestyle shops.

But whatever the ebb and flow, in the 30th anniversary of PG, greeting cards have remained centre stage in people’s lives and for that reason there will never be a shortage of ideas with which to fill the magazine’s pages.

cards, while the now deceased Woolworths stole the march on the Christmas card market share. But it was, (and to a certain extent still is) a fragmented retail market, with even these two aforementioned market leaders only boasting around 12% of the market.

Newsagents and market stalls were hugely important in the market then. Wholesale publishers, the main suppliers to this market impressively had captured an estimated 40% value of the market and over 50% of the volume.

Supermarkets did not really fare on the greeting card scene and of course online was only where you hung your washing!

Luckily for the greeting card industry (and us at PG), the early 1990s saw the UK retail economy emerge from recession and indeed experience a long and sustained boom which, a few hiccups aside, did not really come to an end until the banking crash of 2008.

These were also the ‘golden years’ for greeting card publishers.

Sales were growing and margins were exceedingly healthy.

But as the noughties progressed and the market consolidated, publishers found their margins being squeezed. The likes of the supermarkets and Clintons started flexing their muscles. Then there were the multiple business failures of Clintons and its Top: Freddie Mercury may have died 30 Birthdays subsidiary. The years ago, but he lives on as this greeting dramatic growth of Card card from StudioBoketto shows.

Above left: WHSmith was the market Factory, whose vertically leader on everyday cards when PG was bought by Max Publishing. integrated own brand model Above right: Ahead of its time. Carlton Cards (which became UK Greetings) took largely eschewed buying from print of demand into shops with its publishers, meaning the amount Creatacard machines promising personalisation options. Sadly it was not of business that publishers successful.

Below: Thortful has grown significantly, could do with this retail now also offering flowers and gin disrupter was restricted. alongside cards.

Yet as we emerge from this darkest of chapters, the signs are encouraging. It looks like there is a huge pent-up demand for people to visit good greeting card retailers and buy physical cards. The second half of 2021 could be a return to the best of times.

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The rise and fall of Clintons Everyone in the greeting card trade is aware of the multiple chain, Clintons. But now down to a core of around 300 stores even before the pandemic, many younger readers will not know what a huge influence Clintons had on the industry back in the noughties and the nineties. One person, Don Lewin, bestrode the industry like a colossus. It could be argued that there would not be a modern specialist card shop on the market today if it were not for Clintons.

The son of a London chimney sweep, Don opened his first shop in 1968 named after his son Clinton. The chain grew steadily over the 1970s and 1980s from its Essex heartland, until in 1988 it launched on the stock exchange and became a plc. It was from here onwards that Clinton Cards (as opposed to Clintons as it is called today) started a phenomenal growth spurt. The distinctive orange and brown fascia started to appear in high streets and shopping precincts all over Britain, buying up both mini and major card chains and quickly ‘Clintonising’ them. The 1990s were really the boom years for Clintons with Don being dubbed ‘The King of Cards’ by the press. He was even awarded an OBE in 1998, and on the purchase of a rival chain, Birthdays, Don achieved the milestone of having 1,000 stores.

However, from this high point, it was all downhill. A certain hubris started to creep in. The Birthdays acquisition turned out to be a poisoned chalice and most significantly a new hungry

Factory working Probably the most fundamental reason for the decline and failure of the Clintons empire was the rise of Card Factory.

With a retail portfolio of over 1,000 stores, the blue and yellow fascias are omnipresent on virtually every high street and shopping precinct (remember those!) in the UK. But Card Factory’s growth is a relatively recent phenomenon and like the rise of Clintons, was forged by another charismatic entrepreneur of humble origins.

In the mid 1990s Dean Hoyle was an ambitious greeting card van salesman from West Yorkshire, with a passion for soccer and his beloved local club, Huddersfield Town. In 1998 Dean opened his first shop in Wakefield with the help of his wife, Janet. This was just the start of what was to become a retail behemoth! Dean’s model from the start was totally different to that of Clintons. While Don Lewin’s motto was “You can’t sell sentiment cheap’, Dean was determined to be as competitive on price as possible, appealing to cash-strapped consumers, piling it high and selling it cheap.

The Clintons camp was obviously unhappy and pressure was applied to publishers to not supply this price disruptor. This forced Dean to forge an alliance with another visionary, Stuart Middleton, who at that time was heading up his card publishing business, Excelsior Graphics. Stuart was adept at not just coming up with great designs, but sourcing low cost Far East production, utilising it to

Far left: Clinton Cards orange fascia used to be omnipresent on the nation’s high streets and shopping centres.

Left: Don Lewin, founder of Clinton Cards with his children Clinton and Debbie who both worked in the business.

and aggressive competitor was emerging in the Card Factory chain.

And so, Clintons was in poor shape when the recession of 2009 hit. Its Birthdays chain was put into administration in 2010, and in 2012 in the face of mounting losses, its major supplier American Greetings (parent of UK Greetings) called in its debts, putting the Plc into administration, and subsequently bought up the newly slimmed down chain.

Since then Clintons has become a shadow of its former self. A period of being managed by US company Schurman Retail failed to arrest its misfortunes, and since then it has been acquired fully by the Weiss family, former owners of American Greetings. In late 2019 it entered into a creditor’s voluntary agreement (CVA) with its landlords, a condition it was still in when the Covid crisis hit a year ago.

So, a 45 year rags-to-riches fairy story ultimately ended in tears. Don has long since retired and none of his family (his son Clinton and daughter had both held senior positions) have been involved. It was a sad end to the career of Don Lewin, who for decades had sat at the head of the retail card kingdom.

There is a curious postscript to this, the last ceo of Clintons in the Lewin era was Darcy Wilson-Rymer, who after an eight year absence from the greeting card industry, has just returned to the trade as ceo of Card Factory. Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose! The more it changes, the more it stays the same!

publish high quality greeting cards and sell them at ridiculously low prices. And of course, manufacturing, publishing and retailing their own products meant they pocketed all of the margin.

Of course, Card Factory was not just about low prices. It stocked cheap cards, but from shop environments that looked crisp, clean and inviting, sold by motivated and well-trained staff.

And it changed the whole structure of the greeting card industry.

Here was a huge chain, not buying its cards from a third party, but producing them itself. Dean got out at the top, pocketing many £millions when he sold his majority share in 2010. He made another fortune when Card Factory went public in 2012.

He then devoted much of his time to Huddersfield Town FC, which he bought and helped get promoted to the Premier League for the first time ever. But the lure of retail never went away, and he is now heavily involved in The Works chain.

Meanwhile, Stuart Middleton is still the largest individual shareholder in the Card Factory plc and a non-executive director. At present the share price is in the doldrums, with shops closed in the lockdown. In the next year, Card Factory faces its biggest challenge in its relatively short history.

Above left: Dean and Janet Hoyle, co-founders of Card Factory.

Left: Card Factory has changed the shape of greeting card retailing over the last three decades.

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The king is dead, long live the king!

What has been evident over the last 30 years is that the UK greeting card industry is one of the most fluid and entrepreneurial sectors in the UK. And it has thrown up more than its fair share of larger-than-life success stories…

Andrew Brownsword Arguably the greatest publishing success stories in UK greeting card history is that of Andrew Brownsword and his eponymous company. His amazing rise to fame and fortune inspired a generation on new publishing entrepreneurs and has shocked many newer players, who cannot believe that in those days margins were so fat that Andrew Brownsword (far left) with such wealth and profits could be Above: Forever Friends’ creator Deborah Jones (right). made. And that from cute cards, a sector that now accounts for such as small segment of the market.

The story of Andrew Brownsword Collection, the originator of Forever Friends, has become a greeting card industry legend.

Andrew, a former wholesaler, started his publishing company with a successful humorous range by artist Deborah Jones. But when Andrew and Deborah came up with two hugely lovable cute faced bears in the mid 1980s things really started to take off. The bears had no name but appeared in a variety of guises, all expressing emotional warmth and sentiment. Forever Friends was the first cute range that managed to appeal not just to the young, but also to juveniles and adults. The public became immersed in a Forever Friends frenzy. Major licensing deals followed, and plush spin offs sold in their £millions.

In those days of mouth-watering margins, these bears were a licence to print money and in the last year the company filed accounts, it made a £12million annual profit. In 1996 Andrew sold the company in a deal estimated to be worth £200 million to Hallmark and became the first Brit to ever join the main Hallmark US board.

Andrew, since leaving Hallmark over 20 years ago, has resisted the temptation of going back into the greeting card trade, and has gone on to be a successful hotelier, among other business interests.

Rupert Magnus Throughout the 1970s and 1980s and right into the 1990s when Progressive Greetings first came on the scene, there was one larger-than-life character in the UK greeting card industry, whose face was known by virtually everyone in the trade - Rupert Magnus. Rupert was a highly successful greeting card wholesaler at a time when the wholesale sector was at its peak who mixed commercial success with an outrageous penchant for extravagant showmanship and publicity. Rupert just loved dressing up!

In that period, he was probably the largest advertiser in the newsagency trade press. He appeared on the front covers in a huge variety of guises, from Guy Fawkes to Charles Dickens, a musketeer, to a Wild West cowboy. Such was his fame that his cartoon image even appeared regularly in the satirical magazine Private Eye. Above: Rupert Magnus in one of his many guises.

Stephen Haines There was a narrative in greeting card circles that we would never see a phenomenon like Forever Friends again, yet within a few years, another dynamic young entrepreneur came up with another cute bear concept which at one stage Above: Steve Haines with Tatty Teddy at PG Live enjoying some 25th birthday cake. eclipsed even Forever Friends’ success. Ironically it emanated from a young man who had started out as a young salesman for Andrew Brownsword.

This of course was Stephen Haines, founder and owner of the Carte Blanche Group, home of Tatty Teddy, the star of the Me To You brand.

Stephen came up with Tatty, originally a brown bear that morphed into a grey character with a distinctive blue nose. And with the assistance of his brother Paul and financially, industry business angel, Duncan Spence, they came up with a cute plush version of Tatty. Somehow it achieved the impossible of being both incredibly ‘cute’ and at the same time ‘design orientated’. Clintons got behind the concept big time, and for years Tatty Teddy also became a star of the show for cards and plush sales in thousands of independent retailers.

The little grey bear has endured and as the licensing deals underline is still an extremely successful brand, appearing on thousands of different products globally. Stephen remains the owner of Carte Blanche to this day, and Me to You recently celebrated its 25th birthday.

Simon Elvin Ever present over the last 30 years, and never far away from the centre of the action has been the moustachioed figure of Simon Elvin.

Simon and his eponymous company, Simon Elvin Limited, was already a huge success story when PG started, even appearing in one of the earliest Sunday Times Rich Lists. In the intervening years, Simon successfully navigated his company’s reliance on the diminishing wholesale sector, to expand an empire that boasted such companies as Nigel Quiney Publications, Glick, Paper Rose and Polytint. Although he is handing over the ownership mantle of the group to Ian Jackson (who acquired the group in January 2020), Simon, despite having recently celebrated his 80th birthday is still working every day at the office.

A man of immense integrity and huge business acumen, who has inspired many, including us.

(In fact, the decision to buy PG was made in the Simon Elvin car park!)

Above: Showing how the treatment of a Simon Elvin traditional female design has moved on. The one of the left is from 27 years ago.

Left: Simon Elvin (right) at the first ever Henries awards event, receiving his first trophy.

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This fabulous new initiative comes complete with 10 new card designs.

The customer curates their own selection while supporting 6 amazing charities.

To find out more contact: Katie Dilnot 01924 465200 Ext: 2168 or email katie.dilnot@ukgreetings.co.uk

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The Growing Gains “The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit”, are the wise words of entrepreneurial speaker Fabienne Fredrickson that Louise Mulgrew would have echoed to her younger self - that, and perhaps have an idea of how much to charge for one of your cards before debuting at your first trade show!

With another two Henries recent trophies to add to the collection, a broadened product portfolio, growing export business and on a mission to plant a million trees through the company’s pledge to the Eden Reforestation Project, Louise Mulgrew Designs is on course for a fruit fest!

PG had the great pleasure in talking to the publisher and talented artist about her inspirations and aspirations.

“It was an unbelievable finish to what had been a fairly dodgy year for all of us,” said Louise Mulgrew, founder of Louise Mulgrew Designs of The Henries 2020 greeting card awards event which was staged virtually last December.

Instead of being all glammed up in a posh frock with all her peers, customers and trade suppliers, Louise was watching snuggled up on the sofa in her comfies. “I was so thrilled to be up for four awards, it meant so much that retailers had voted for me,” recalls Louise. “But when it was announced that I had won Most Promising Young Designer, the first award of the event, I just couldn’t believe it. I was on the phone to my Mum, who was crying in delight, that I almost missed that I had also won the Best Art Range award. It was such a wonderful feeling to receive the recognition,” admits Louise.

Wind back to Progressive Greetings Live 2015 at which Louise made her card publishing debut with her delightful animal watercolour designs, and you realise how from those first baby steps, great strides can be made in this industry if you have talent,

passion, a style that chimes with public tastes and are lucky enough to have neighbourly exhibitors who are generous with their advice.

“At my first PG Live I was lucky enough to have a stand opposite Sara Miller, who was also launching then. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit I didn’t even have a price for our cards.

Sara was so kind and gave me so much advice. I can’t thank her enough,” says Louise.

Above: Louise Mulgrew in her studio with her lockdown puppy George.

Left: The distinctive style of Louise Mulgrew.

Below: It was a double win for Louise Mulgrew Designs in The Henries 2020.

“By the time of our next trade show, Spring Fair 2016, I had worked out our pricing and much more! It has all gone so fast since then and I have learned many more lessons!” adds Louise with an infectious giggle.

While Louise is very much the creator and head of the Brighton-based business, she freely admits that the company would never have achieved the growth it has without the support and complimentary skills of her parents and teammates.

“I would never have been able to upscale the business without the input of my Dad, for example, whose ‘accountanty brain’ works so differently to mine,” says Louise.

“Like most families we drive each other crazy at times, but I absolutely would not have enjoyed my work half as much without their involvement,” adds Louise.

The last few years has not only seen Louise develop her distinctive illustrative style, but also broaden it considerably from its cute animal base, into more lifestyle subject matter as well as seasonal collections.

“I really enjoy developing my style even though it now takes me at least seven times longer to create a design than I PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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MINT VOLUME 1

FRESH CARDS

AN APOLOGY Dear Greeting Card Buyers,

VO LU M E I

We wish to issue an apology for our new publication M!NT VOLUME 1 which was, at time of writing, being despatched to our customers.

It’s come to our attention that this publication may contain unexpected freshness, optimism and originality. For those retailers hoping for a return to ‘business as usual’ in 2021 this may, in limited cases, cause a surprise response or possible persistent belly-laughs.

In developing M!NT VOLUME 1 we took the view that ‘business as usual’ was over and that everyone must, in one way or another, experience a FRESH START. We therefore refreshed M!NT’s offer and approach to meet the demands of this ‘new normal’, in good faith.

We have now limited our supply of brochures to ‘upon request-only’.

However some copies have already been despatched. If you receive one, and experience a reaction please consult your agent immediately or visit:

www.mint-publishing.co.uk We look forward to a more positive 2021.

Sincerely, The M!NT family Mint Publishing Ltd • Unit 9 Cronin Courtyard, Weldon South Industrial Estate, Corby, Northamptonshire NN18 8AG t: 0116 230 4197 • f: 01536 401 031 • w: www.mint-publishing.co.uk • e: sales@mint-publishing.co.uk

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did in my rather ‘wishy washy’ early days!” says Louise honestly.

In addition to the new greeting card ranges, Louise is also hankering to expand her brand onto other products.

“After five years I have just about got a handle on producing our cards the way we want to,” says Louise, the self-deprecation which is rather at odds with the company’s impressive roll call of UK stockists as well as overseas distribution. “Our licensing agreement with Glick for gift wrap works really well and I would like to build on this, moving into stationery ourselves and maybe

homewares. It will be all about finding suppliers that share our sustainable ethos,” stresses Louise, highlighting the publisher’s broad-reaching environmental commitment.

In addition to its focus on sourcing sustainable materials, manufacturing locally

Left: Artwork for a Christmas card Louise designed for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Below left: Some of the new designs from the publisher, which are not animal-based.

Below: While having graduated with a degree in illustration, Louise still works on developing her style, a sketchbook is never far away, either are her paints. This tiger appears in the Safari Party collection, which won Best Art Range in The Henries 2020.

and a pledge to plastic-free packaging (including in transit to retailers), it also supports the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the Eden Reforestation Projects. The former is very close to Louise’s heart. “I visited their elephant orphanage in Nairobi National Park during my second year of university and it was the first I'd learned of the incredible and far-reaching work they do to protect and preserve wildlife in Kenya. It marked a poignant time in my development and direction as an illustrator and was really the inspiration for me to start painting animals.

And elephants are still my favourite to paint,” reveals Louise. Since July 2019, 1% of Louise Mulgrew Designs’ turnover is donated to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

The publisher’s involvement in the Eden Reforestation Projects (a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to provide fair wage employment to impoverished villagers

Up close and personal

Louise was put on the spot with some probing questions…

What three words would your best friend use to sum you up?

“Sensitive, thoughtful, impulsive.”

What have been your proudest moments during the lifetime of Louise Mulgrew Designs?

“I think my proudest moments are all of my ‘firsts’ because when each of them came about, it was just totally unfathomable to me that they were possible…taking my very first order, writing out an order for a shop overseas at a trade show, winning the Best Art Range award (our first!) at The Henries 2017, taking on our first key account in the UK. I’d never planned to own a business, my dreams for selling my art were so small, so to actually be earning a living from it, and for my team to be as well, is a big achievement for me.”

Who has been your mentor/inspiration in business and what is the best lesson they have imparted?

“My mentor for sure has been my Dad (right). Dad is very much the unsung hero of Louise Mulgrew Designs and has been by my side with all his ‘businessy, accountanty’ wisdom from day one, when he left his own job to help me set up our operations and finance processes. Having worked in a career he was brilliant at, but really didn’t enjoy, he has always encouraged me to do something that I love, for which I’m very grateful.”

in Nepal, Madagascar, Haiti, Indonesia and Mozambique while reducing the negative effects of deforestation) is equally passionate. Louise Mulgrew Designs’ pledge is that for every single order received it will pay Eden Reforestation Projects to plant a tree.

“We have already planted over 173,000 trees, but I have made it our mission for this to reach a million trees over the next five or six years, so I had better keep designing!” says Louise with a twinkle.

What do you like most about the greeting card industry?

“I think you’d struggle to find a more supportive and community-oriented industry… especially considering it’s a creative one. So, definitely the people. I’ve made so many friends through trade shows, with other publishers, our customers and our suppliers. I even went to my Swiss distributor’s 50th Birthday party in Switzerland less than a year into working with him! (Big love to Markus at CART).”

What would you say to your younger self if you knew what you do now?

“I think I would tell a younger me the Fabienne Fredrickson quote: “the day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit”… the way forward might not seem obvious, but you’ve got this!”

What are your guilty pleasures?

“At the moment it would have to be Bling Empire on Netflix and the new Giant Wotsits.”

I have a magic carpet waiting - where do you want to go and why?

“It’s a close call between a safari in Africa (where I’d be accepted by a herd of elephants as one of their own), or a road trip in Canada (where I’d befriend a brown bear or perhaps a mountain lion).”

What three items would you take with you to a desert island?

“My teddy, my sketchbook and unlimited snacks.”

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2021 COLLECTION OUT NOW! Our inspiring new 2021 catalogue is now available to view. With exclusive new and refreshed card and stationery licenses, trusted product quality and unforgettable designs, we’re positively bursting with reasons to brighten your year. Please contact your local agent, register online or call our sales team for more information.

museumsgalleries.co.uk E: sales@mgml.co.uk

Tel: 01373 462165

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Retailer Focus

The Grand Re-opening The big countdown has begun in earnest, with Monday 12 April being the date that greeting card shops in England are working to, for (fingers-crossed) the grand re-opening for non-essential retailers, with those in Scotland following a few weeks afterwards.

PG interrupted the decorating, tidying and relocation programmes of some leading independent greeting card stockists to find out how they are planning to make a splash once they are allowed to open their shop doors once again.

“So glad we have a date to work towards,” exclaimed Sean Austin, owner of Austin & Co in Malvern, who will be throwing open some different doors on April 12, as the design-led card and stationery shop is relocating into a famous location within the Worcestershire town.

“Brays department store was a stalwart of Malvern's High Street. Having traded for over 100 years, it closed early in 2020 because the owner retired. It has now been converted into four retail units on the ground floor, of which we’ll be one,” said Sean enthusiastically, having set to on a contemporary refurbishment of the unit complete with showstopper lighting, custombuilt fixtures and dramatic interior design.

“The last 10 months have certainly been a rollercoaster,” sums up Sean. “There have been the lows of closing the shop, but then the rush when we opened again. I have to

Top left: All card retailers are galloping towards the hope that April 12 means they card re-open.

Above: With no website, in lockdown, Sally has adopted numbering cards she features in Red Card’s shop window that customers can order via email, phone or Instagram.

Left: Sally Matson outside her original shop in Petworth.

admit the first lockdown was scary - we had no idea of the future, no inkling of government financial support. I didn't even have a website as I always set myself out to be an indie bricks'n mortar shop. Online went completely against my way of working,” admits Sean. But he says that “after wallowing in self-pity for the first couple of weeks of lockdown, I gave in and built a website” - and from a standing start it now offers 3,700 different designs on the site.

“The website has saved me, and I only sell

Above: Sean Austin, owner of Austin & Co can’t wait to re-open.

Left: Progress is well underway on Austin & Co’s new shop location in Malvern.

cards. True it's nowhere near a shop turnover, but then my outgoings have been nowhere near a shop expenditure. It has done enough to pay the basic of bills like VAT, rent and a wage! And the good thing is it is now built so even when we are open in our new shop, I’ll have the website too.”

Sally Matson, owner of Red Card in Petworth is another indie who is doing a lockdown flit and is going full pelt to be able to reopen in a new shop unit that is double the size of her current one in the Sussex town.

“I was actually very pleased with the plans that were announced for coming out of lockdown. I think they make sense and I actually feel that the focus on getting kids back to school and sport, as well as getting people back to socialising and visiting family in care homes are all the right priorities.

Reopening the shop after Easter feels right and should give me time to have my new shop open if I get my skates on!” says Sally.

Sally’s believes that for all the hardships of not having been able to trade, “extraordinary opportunities” have been offered by these strange times. “I would not have been in a position to open a new shop if it had not been for the lockdown, the grants PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Happy Birthday PG !

W E H O P E A L L YO U R W I S H E S CO M E T RU E

T O O U R L O V E LY C U S T O M E R S W E L O O K F O R WA R D T O S U P P O R T I N G Y O U TO R E O P E N YO U R S H O P S

Get in touch today www.greatbritishcards.co.uk, sales@greatbritishcards.co.uk, or call +44(0) 1452 888999

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Retailer Focus

and loans that have been made available to small businesses. I think it’s really important to acknowledge this. I know there are many businesses who have been very adversely affected by the pandemic, but Red Card has been very fortunate, and I am really grateful for that.”

The vast majority of cardies, if not relocating, have most definitely gone for a reformation. Making the most of the enforced Lockdown 3 so many have given their shops a ‘nip and tuck’, had a good old clear out, been touching up on the decorating, moved things around, reassessed their product selection as well as in many cases, souped up their online presence.

All of this and more has most definitely been the case for Tracey and Chris Bryant, co-owners of the trio of card and gift shops Expressions in Swindon, Cats Whiskers in Bishops Cleeve and Polkadot in Keynsham.

“The chinks of light are most definitely visible - and the sun has been out! All is boding well for the re-opening of card shops on April 12,” believes Tracey. “This last lockdown has been a great opportunity for us to have a really good sort out, have a long overdue revamp of our Cats Whiskers’ gift shop, bolster our online presence while improving our Click & Collect/delivery services,” Tracey adds.

Tracey admits that the layout and fixtures in their Cats Whiskers store have irked her since she and Chris took over the shop in 2015.

Lockdown 3 has seen it all change at Cats Whiskers.

“The units that must have been there for 20 years have now gone - and we have moved to W Select brokerage for this shop, complete with new card fixtures,” explains Tracey.

Tracey cannot wait for all three of their shops to reopen, not least as it will mean that she and Chris will be able to reclaim the dining room in their home and stop frightening the neighbours.

“We took eight deliveries of stock at home last Saturday

alone - one was a spinner from Woodmansterne that our neighbour thought was a coffin!” revealed Tracey.

Tracey is more than happy with the results from the huge upscaling of its eCommerce site - with sales last month up more than 500% year on year, and she feels this could have been even higher if publishers made it easier to ascertain the wording inside their cards, either by featuring this information on their respective websites or catalogues.

Counterbalancing this mild criticism, Tracey gives great thanks to the digital communication that has been free flowing from the Retail Buddies WhatsApp group of which she is a part (spawned from a Retailer Roundtable, initiated by PG’s sibling magazine, Progressive Gifts & Home in 2019).

“The Retail Buddies group has most definitely kept me going; just knowing that I had retailer friends out there going through a similar experience to us was so great,” says Tracey. “Nothing is certain, but we are all moving towards the re-opening with a plan of what we want to achieve.”

Likewise, over in Dorset/ Hampshire, 3 Wishes, the group of Top: Lockdown has provided an opportunity for a tidy up for 3 Wishes shops.

Above right: The home page of 3 Wishes new website.

Left: Reluctantly Tracey Bryant has taken to modelling the shop’s new clothing items to share them with customers.

Below: It has been a complete clear out in Cats Whiskers.

five specialist card shops has combined wishes with hard graft to prepare for the grand re-opening. “I always enjoy a challenge, and this has certainly been one of the largest of my retail career, but we are determined to make the best of the situation and as a result our business is coming out of this experience in a good position,” says Sarah Henderson, who co-owns 3 Wishes with her husband Paul. “We have achieved more in the last 12 months than we have in the last five years and we know our lovely loyal

customers are desperate for us to reopen, which is definitely something to feel positive about!” say Sarah enthusiastically.

Working towards the April 12 date has seen Sarah plan her orders “to ensure we reopen with a good level of stock and some new designs/products. At least we know what to expect when we re-open this time.”

In addition to tending to their extended family, lots of children and animals, Sarah and Paul’s attentions have straddled both the digital and the physical sides of their business.

Never ones to do things by halves, the retailer’s eCommerce site has just gone live with over 9,000 greeting card designs.

“We have also nearly finished refurbishing Verwood which was long overdue,” admits Sarah. “We opened there nearly 13 years ago and the shop still had most of the original fixtures. Plus, we also decided the lockdown was the perfect time to install epos into our Verwood and Ringwood shops to improve overall efficiency and support a Click & Collect facility.

“Like so many other greeting card retailers, after the first lockdown, all we could do was hope everything we had put in place would work and we still had a viable business… now look!” states Sarah.

Bring on April 12!

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Behind The Scenes

Home

Inset: A lifestyle shot showing Sanderson’s Tulipomania wallpaper in situ.

Below: Woodmansterne’s Ian Blake.

Improvements For 160 years it has been improving the looks of homes the world over; its archive of 50,000 items is a veritable treasure trove of artistry and craftsmanship providing a wealth of inspiration for its ever-evolving collections of wallpapers and fabrics. And this month the Sanderson brand is adding to its claims to fame, by forging its first ever greeting card collaboration, which launches from Woodmansterne Publications.

PG went behind the scenes with Sanderson Design Group’s lead designer Becky Craig and Woodmansterne’s art director Ian Blake for a glorious immersion in two companies’ ongoing aesthetic heritage.

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Behind The Scenes

“S

ome things are worth waiting for,” says Ian Blake, art director of Woodmansterne Publications referring to the recent launch of the publisher’s inaugural Sanderson collection of greeting cards, with plans for more to follow.

“It must have been 10 years ago that I first had the idea of a collaboration with Sanderson, so when our paths crossed at a brainstorming day, two summers ago that had been organised by the National Trust (who we work with on a licensed collection), I felt it was meant to be,” adds Ian. That conviction was further borne out when Ian was invited to the headquarters of the Sanderson Design Group, in Denham, Buckinghamshire.

“It was definitely a completely ‘wow’ experience from the very moment I walked into the reception that was so stunningly decorated in William Morris designs,” recalls Ian. “And then when I was treated to a peek into the archives in a very cold, airsealed room, I was completely blown away by the heritage, the elegance of the designs, the craftsmanship and the enormity of the collection.”

Like a kid in a sweetshop, Ian’s eyes couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “There

The story behind…

King Protea The original artwork, from the 1960s, Becky likens to “a dress fabric that your mum may have worn.” Adding appeal it for the current audience, she reveals that an “experienced watercolour artist updated it for the current audience while retaining its essence.”

The story behind…Andhara With its handblocked feel this is great example of Chinoiserie, a European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions. “The original design from our archive was almost worn away, but we were able to reinterpret it to create a fabric design,” explains Becky.

The story behind…Birds of Paradise This exquisite design hailed “from a flat line drawing,” according to Becky “that we then gave a botanical twist.”

was an actual piece of wallpaper that had been created for George V!” recalls Ian. “And those rows and rows of curated items represented so many untapped treasures that have never seen the light of day on greeting cards. I realised that in Woodmansterne being granted the licence, I was in such a privileged position to help make that happen!”

Playing an integral role in the ‘happening’ has been Becky Craig, lead designer of Sanderson Design Group. After 20 years with the company Becky knows her

The story behind…

Woodland Chorus This was inspired by an 18th Century painting of plants and animals, which tapped into the trend for ‘fantasy’ depictions of British birds on trailing foliage in natural woodland surroundings.

The story behind…Tulipomania “Tulipomania was a period in the 17th century when everyone went mad for tulips. Some of the bulbs were worth more than gold and hence made their way onto wallpapers and fabrics. This design echoes that time,” says Becky.

way around the archives, but yet is always finding something new to bring to life in the company’s seasonal collections of fabrics and wallpapers that appear timeless yet wholly appropriate for today’s tastes.

While always retaining the essence of the original artefact, Becky and the Sanderson team of highly experienced artists then work to reinterpret it, either by introducing new colour palettes, reworking some repeat patterning, tweaking animals’ expressions or adding details. “There are a

fair few scary birds and animals that needed to be softened, for example,” reveals Becky.

The last year has seen Ian work closely with Becky to draw on the mastery of the Sanderson current portfolio while creating a greeting card collection of designs that do not compete with each other, yet have a continuity.

“Ian and the Woodmansterne team have been delightful to work with,” says Becky. “It helps that our two companies share similar values,” believes Ian. “We both have a long heritage - though Sanderson beats Woody by 100 years - as well as a commitment to quality production and design integrity,” he sums up.

Just as Sanderson’s wallpapers and fabrics have graced walls, windows and furniture, so Woodmansterne is now looking to add to the brand’s interior decoration presence through greeting cards.

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Something Special Roam, one of Think of Me’s bestselling ranges of 2020, is now even better with over 40 wonderful new designs having been added for 2021.

Beautiful embossing and detailed foiling compliment a clean modern style to create a stunning collection with all-round appeal. Printed on premium quality FSC board, these 120 x 170mm cards are paired with luxury white envelopes.

Think of Me 01727 375399 www.thinkofmedesigns.com

Sustainably Sourced

Paying Tribute

Wholesale publisher, Out of the Blue Studios’ Christmas 2021 counter range spans almost 1,500 skus. All will be produced on ‘sustainably sourced board’ with full FSCaccreditation. The publisher’s everyday instock range will also be moving to these same FSC material. Also, of excitement, is the launch of its Acquire giftwrap range of flat wrap and tags as an on-going ‘in-stock’ range from wholesalers. All of the ranges with the new FSC materials will carry a trademarked ‘Sustainably Sourced Paper’ logo.

Out of the Blue Studios 0800 529 8785 www.outofthebluestudios.co.uk

Funky and Fresh Earlybird has extended its vibrant Neon birthday card offering with some larger size cards called BIG FAB. These bright, eye catching designs pop with colour.

The 170mm square cards come with a kraft flecked envelope, naked or cellowrapped on request.

Earlybird Designs 01227 765372 www.earlybirddesigns.co.uk

Sisters United

ExaClair’s new Kenzo Takada stationery collection is named after the brilliant designer who sadly passed away last October. Inspired by the luxury home and lifestyle K-3 brand it features items that carry the Kintsugi mark, which is a tribute to an ancient Japanese art. This appears in the collection’s headline act – the stationery box which contains, two notebooks, one fine art pad, one memo pad, 12 envelopes, and a calligraphy glass pen. Additionally, a wider selection of notepads, pencil cases, folders and files are also available within the range.

ExaClair 01553 696600 www. exaclairlimited.com

Out of the Box Cards is celebrating female friendship with its new range cards. Aimed at sending to the friend whose heart beats to the same rhythm as yours, the friend who makes you laugh like no one else, the friend who gets you without you having to explain yourself your soul sister. The designs by Daisy Mojave Holland are gloss laminated to make the colours sing. The 15cm square designs come with a white envelope, supplied naked, cellowrapped or with a clasp.

Out of the Box Cards 07887506498 www.outofthebox.cards

A Timeless Classic Pretty vintage florals juxtaposed against bold printed captions are the latest additions to Bexy Boos’ award winning Scrabbley Neon Range. Featuring a vintage wooden scrabble tile and finished with the prettiest coloured preciosa crystals, 30 new designs (with more to follow) are now available. Printed on 300gsm card, the cards are accompanied by an alabaster white envelope and wrapped in a biodegradable cellobag.

Bexy Boo 01565 830 546 Bexyboo.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 59

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Moo Coos If you love highland cows, you will love the new Relations range from Pink Pig! While designed for Pink Pig’s Scottish customers, the titles and text can be adapted to suit if your customers ‘dinnae speak Scottish’! Mum, Mam, Grandad, Papa, Daughter, Son, etc are all included in designed with sketchy pattern borders in a vivid contemporary colour palette.

There are 17 cards currently in the range, with plans to extend already.

Pink Pig 0779 557 4548 www.pinkpigcards.co.uk

Get Squiggling Ho Ho Ho!

Designed to celebrate milestone birthdays, Squiggle is Dandelion Stationery’s new unisex ages range.

There are 14 cards in the range, which start at age 13 and go all the way up to age 100. Each card (114mm x 162mm) has a gold foil finish and comes supplied with a rustic kraft envelope.

These cards can be supplied plastic free or cello wrapped.

Dandelion Stationery 01332 504940 www.dandelionstationery.co.uk

Animal Magic Confetti Sprinkles is Rosanna Rossi’s latest cheerful collection of 20 birthday and occasion cards. Naive illustrations complemented with uplifting pops of colour, each card is designed with a light-hearted approach featuring cute animals and fun celebratory design elements. All cards are highlighted with embossing and gloss varnish detail.

Measuring 110x157mm, each come with white envelopes.

Rosanna Rossi +44 (0)7900 698522 www.rosanna-rossi.co.uk

This jolly Santa image features on part of the Lesser & Pavey 2021 Christmas range licensed from the Macneil Studio. The Santa and Robins illustrations project the jolly traditional scene of Christmas time, appearing on gift bags, fine china, melamine tabletop items, lap trays, kitchenware and candle plates. Fine china mugs come in gift sets with coasters and all chinaware if beautifully gift boxed.

Lesser & Pavey 01322 279225 www.leonardo.co.uk

The Gift of Giving Clare Maddicott’s 2021 charity Christmas range (which supports Parkinsons and Clic Sargent) is now available to pre-order. Featuring the work of illustrators Emily Hauck and Reuben McHugh, the collection includes 15 designs (five distinctive looks, with three packs of each style). The designs, which feature intricate hot foiled and embossed details are all 137mm square, come wrapped (five cards of one design) in biodegradable bags.

Clare Maddicott Publications 01638 569050 www.maddicott.com

Contemporary Creations Sabivo Design has launched its first fully sustainable new range Up & Away. The contemporary range has 36 captions across everyday, relations and occasions and features delicate hand drawn illustrations of popular celebratory icons. The cards are hand embellished with signature floral sequins and delicately hand-glittered with biodegradable glitter. All cards are 145 mm square, wrapped in brown kraft envelopes and compostable cello bags.

Sabivo Design 01858374221 www.sabivo.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 61

BY

Full of sweet, cosy charm, our Love Life by CELEBRATIONS® collection evokes the warmth of the family home. Refreshed for the new season with a nautical twist, this range is quintessentially British, and designed with love!

Broadgate, Broadway Business Park, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 9XE UK T: +44(0)161Broadway 688 1226Business F: +44(0)161 682 6808 sales@widdop.co.uk Broadgate, Park, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 9XE www.widdopandco.co.uk UK T: +44(0)161 688 1226 I F: +44(0)161 682 6808 I sales@widdop.co.uk I www.widdopandco.co.uk

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Natural Elements Lucy Maggie Designs has released a brand-new card collection, featuring sophisticated designs which take their inspiration from the natural world. Each card measures 120 x 170mm, is printed on textured, 350gsm, FSCapproved board and can be supplied naked or cellowrapped.

Lucy Maggie Designs www.lucymaggiedesigns.com

Groovy Woofer The updated Groovy range (GR) has more than 40 designs featuring the adorable Scottie (Scottish Terrier) character within the range. The latest designs cover party, celebration, winter, and seasonal themes. The main artist of all the designs is Martynas Juchnevicius, illustrator and traditional animator. The 150mm square cards are printed on quality, 350gsm paper stock and cellowrapped with white envelopes.

GroovyART 0741 2050478 www.groovyart.co.uk

Pride Of Plaice A brand new range of greeting cards from Sainsbury Plaice features the freshwater fish paintings of award winning British artist Maurice J.Pledger.

All blank inside, the cards are printed on carbon neutral 350gsm silk board and accompanied by an olive green FSC envelope. Each card carries the Woodland Carbon logo as well as a Buy British, Boost Britain logo.

Sainsbury Plaice 01789 778603 www.sainsburyplaice.co.uk

Fun For All For SS21 Caroline Gardner has launched five fantastic new card ranges full of fun new motifs, bright colours, accompanied by colourful envelopes. Among these is All About Print (AAP) which is sure to be a Caroline Gardner classic.

With heavy gold foiling, classic motifs and a new font, this range has a card for every occasion.

Caroline Gardner 020 3010 1995 www. carolinegardner.com

That Eureka Moment Deckled Edge has expanded its Eureka collection to include several new designs, notably this adorable illustration of a group of partying field mice! Suitable for any celebration, birthday, new year, or a big annual event, suitable for any age or gender. Eureka now consists of 32 blank designs, hand-drawn by artist Janna and are printed on thick tactile FSC 350gsm board. The cards measure 124 x178mm and each comes with a sparkly metallic gold envelope.

Deckled Edge 0800 771 0771 www.decklededge.co.uk

A Perfect Palette Cinnamon Aitch has added 18 new designs to its contemporary Geometrix range. The new designs extend the sophisticated palette and are enhanced with deep embossed elements. The additions cover thinking of you, new home and get well titles, complimenting the blanks and birthday selection. Made in the UK using 350gsm FSC board, each card is supplied with a FSC-approved envelope. Also new are little packs of cards for a simple message or ‘hello’.

Cinnamon Aitch 0121 773 6833 www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 63

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Decadent Design UK Greetings has just released a new range of cards under the Turnowsky brand. This beautiful collection of square cards is printed on premium board featuring intricate etched foiling. The vibrant colours and eclectic animals really make this range pop!

UK Greetings 01924 465200 www.ukgreetings.co.uk

Bright And Bubbly

Iconic Imagery

Bubbles is a brand-new collection from Rush Design. The key features of this range are bright and fun illustrations accented with gold foiling detail and text. The inaugural collection includes open female birthday designs as well as special friend and someone special captions. The 150mm square cards are printed on a luxury textured board and matched with a vibrant shocking pink envelope.

Rush Design 01788 521745 www.rushdesign.co.uk

Hype has recently added eight new designs to its Beatles range. There are now 36 designs in all, a mix of album covers, and press shots in both square, and portrait formats. Each card comes with a retro style brown kraft envelope and can be supplied naked or cellowrapped.

Hype Associates 0151 702 7788 www.hypa.com

Botanical Beauties

Hip Hip Hooray Hip Hip is a stunning new range of open birthday designs from Cherry Orchard Publishing which includes 14 male and 14 female designs. All beautifully finished with cold foil and embossing, the cards are supplied with coloured envelopes.

Cherry Orchard Publishing 01684 295500 www.cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk

Paperwhale Cards & Paper Goods has launched 15 new additions to the publisher’s bestselling Botanics Collection, doubling the size of the range. Featuring individual plant care tips on the back of each plant card, new additions include orange and lemon trees, cacti, bird of paradise plant and peace lily. The 105 x 147mm cards are printed on 300gsm Callisto soft white board and supplied with a recycled fleck kraft envelope, available naked or with compostable bags.

Paperwhale Cards & Paper Goods 07960812279 www.paperwhale.co.uk

A Show of Support Dayo’s Cards’ distinctive Locked in Love range celebrates love, friendship and diversity. These limited editions cards are a work of art that come in 19 different skin tones representing diversity. Dayo’s Cards donates 30p from each card sold to UK based women's charity, Solace.

Dayo’s Cards 07958 934 166 www.handmadecardsbydayo.com PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 65

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Full of Finesse Following quickly on the heels of a very successful launch of the Finesse female range from Kingfisher Cards is the new Finesse collection of male designs. Produced on a beautiful soft touch board, with subtle colours, fluted foils and full colour insert, this collection of 18 designs covers male relations and ages.

Kingfisher Cards 01245 327226 www.kingfishercards.co.uk

Into The Wild

Green Fingered Fanatics

Book & Botanics is a beautiful new range from The Art File, which celebrates British plants and wildlife. Each of the 20 designs - from a wren to a poppy, a pear to a wild mushroom - have been drawn and hand-painted by Lucie Whitehead, one of the publisher’s in-house designers. The collection reflects the growing awareness and appreciation of all things natural. Each of the cards come with an olive green envelope.

The Art File 0115 850 7490 www.theartfile.com

In the Garden is a delightful new collection of 12 birthday cards from International Cards & Gifts. As the range name suggests, the collection is all about gardening - covering everything from insect life to vegetable gardening. All designs feature foiled and embossed finishes, plus a handy ‘tear out’ insert that contains top gardening tips.

International Cards & Gifts 01202 897494 www.icgcards.com

Cause For Reflection Sense In Nonsense Abrams and Chronicle is fanfaring a new Emily McDowell Covid-related greeting card range. The Em & Friends Pandemic range comprises encouragement designs to help people support each other and occasionally laugh in these difficult days of collective anxiety, stress, and uncertainty. The collection even includes designs specifically aimed at parenting during Covid-19 as well as an It Shouldn’t Be This Way card.

Abrams and Chronicle Books 020 7713 2069 www.abramsandchronicle.co.uk

Extra Special With its unique arty greeting card with something extra, Artist Gifts continues to promote UK based artists with its new 2021 range of cards that come with a gift of a drinks coaster, keyring or magnet. All cards come with a recycled envelope, wrapped in a compostable cello bag.

Artist Gifts 01202 798 828 www.artistgifts.co.uk

Tabitha's Garden - Hellebores is a new special range from Christine Gardner, which was created in memory of Christine’s baby daughter Tabitha. The range comprises 15 cards and two giftwraps. There are six birthday designs which feature a mix of bold floral patterns and colours, paired with stripped back, garden-themed ones. There are three 'care' and three 'love' themed cards with sentimental messages and conversation starter questions like 'How are You?' There are also three 'celebrate' cards for post lockdown sends.

Christine Gardner x07793123631 www.christinegardner.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 67

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PG showcases a selection of new product launches

Painting Pictures

Best of British

Cheshire born artist, Jo Gough’s sunny disposition, love of bright colours and all things nature, combine wonderfully into beautiful vibrant paintings of acrylic layers on canvas. Portfolio has been publishing her images of iconic buildings and places surrounded by colourful flowers for over two years and is now delighted to launch new designs within the Jo Gough Art Collection. Sized 146 x 170mm, these cards come with a white envelope and are available naked, clasped or bagged.

Portfolio 020 8960 3051 www.portfoliocards.com

Enchanting images of nature and the British countryside at its best star in Abacus Cards’ refresehed BBC Countryfile range. The new designs that have recently joined the collection include spectacular shots featuring beautiful rural landscapes, coastal scenes, wildlife and domestic animals.

The designs also encompass factual information, written by the Countryfile team, on the reverse of each card. The blank cards are 160mm square and finished with high gloss varnish.

Abacus Cards 01638 569050 www.abacuscards.co.uk

Building Blocks

Birthday Boys …and Girls

Schafer Global has developed a card cum gift incorporating its micro-block construction brand Brixies. The company has developed a ‘greeting card’ version which can be written on and posted with build instructions and the model pieces.

Schafer Global 07734 567296 www.brixiesshop.de/collections/postka rten

Paper Salad has some brand-new Hoopla additions. It has added a further 23 styles to this range, including new age cards for both boys and girls, and also party animals. The new additions feature neon colours, deep embossing and foiling, and come with a bespoke rainbow envelope.

Paper Salad 0161 427 0001 www.papersalad.co.uk

Feline Great!

Redback has teamed up with the artist and illustrator Bert Fowler to release 12 brand-new designs. The range is bursting with charming characters, in Bert’s signature style using graphic lines and colourful cubist-like shapes.

Six of these ‘purrfect’ designs also include a die-cut feature that accentuates their cool hats! These 120mm x 170mm cards are finished with foil accents and paired with a premium white envelope.

Redback Cards 01752 830482 www.redbackcards.com

Signs Of The Times Lagom Design is delighted with its latest collaboration with illustrator and designer Ruby Taylor for one of its recent many new ranges. Ruby draws inspiration from old ephemera, vintage illustrations and retro signage. This ‘campy’ imagery translates into a lively collection of designs that are full of fun colour, punchy typography and wild pattern.

Lagom Design 0333 1230101 lagomdesign.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 69

2 2 E xc i t i n g n e w Masculine Designs.

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Reigning Cats & Dogs

Pet Rescue love than that There is no greater dad and the pet they betw een a grumpy r wanted neve said they

Far left: A relevant send for many, from Rosie Made a Thing’s Gin & Frolics range.

With a wag of a tail or a gentle purr, pets have provided immeasurable comfort and companionship through the uncertainty of the last year. And in line with pet ownership soaring during the pandemic, as the public made the most of their extended time at home to welcome four legged ‘babies’ into the family, so too have card publishers found they are barking up the right tree with their new doggie and moggie-related ranges.

PG shares some of the latest additions to the greeting card menagerie as well as taking the ‘lead’ from some besotted lockdown ‘pawrents’ from the industry.

A great dog’s dinner Inspired by her own overwhelming love for dogs and the joy they bring to her life, Wigan-based Gemma Connolly launched Scoff Paper, whose star product is a range of greeting cards that dogs can eat.

For almost ten years, Gemma has operated as a voluntary ambassador for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

She herself has raised, trained and cared for 11 dogs, preparing them for life as a guide dog. Her professional career prior to Scoff has seen her head up large projects in the advertising and marketing world, but suffering a heart attack in 2015, aged only 30, prompted Gemma to reassess her life which led to the launch of Scoff Paper last year.

“I took a step back from work, but what really helped me was my first guide dog, a Labradorretriever named Ian,” revealed Gemma.

“The sheer love and warmth I found in Ian, truly changed my life for the better. And to this day, I can honestly say that my dog saved my life. While I was caring for him, he really was caring for me too.”

Scoff’s greeting cards are made using natural ingredients (largely consisting of water, potato starch and oils, which contain

Omegas 3 and 6, but no rawhide, which is widely regarded as causing issues for a dog’s digestive tract). They include six alluring flavours to, as Gemma puts it, “trigger any dog’s drool reflex”. Jauntily named flavours include ‘Gone in 60 Chickens’ (chicken), ‘Gnashers Rashers’ (bacon), ‘Tearable T-bone’ (beef), ‘Chompable Cheddar’ (cheese), ‘Peanut Drool’ (peanut butter) and an unflavoured variety, simply called ‘Do Me No Flavour’.

Although the cards stimulate the taste buds of the dogs, the range also gives a dose of merriment to dog owners as the cards often carry humorous messages, such as the doggy birthday card ‘Another Seven Years Older’. In addition to birthday designs, there is also a ‘Gotcha Day’ caption, ‘Get Well Soon’ designs as well as Christmas and Valentine’s Day cards. (www.scoffpaper.com)

Barking up the right tree “Well before the pandemic, here at the Little Dog Laughed we've always known the joys and mental health bonuses of sharing our lives with a furry one,” states Gavin Smith, managing director of Little Dog Laughed, all of whose artwork and designs feature real dogs and cats which add to their genuine appeal.

When the company first started back in 1998, “cat designs outsold dog designs by a country mile, we were niche to say the least. Over two decades we have seen that trend completely reverse,” reveals Gavin. Referring to a pet’s role during the last year, Gavin suggests: “For females of a peri-menopausal+ age it is an unspoken escape from the demands of motherhood and rising early for a solitary dog walk is a necessary sanity/marriage saver! For men, the comedian John Bishop summed it up nicely when he said that the family rescue dogs, not his wife and teenage sons, are the only ones consistently pleased to see him when he walks through the door and let's face it, everyone wants to feel loved!”

Above middle: Who could refuse? A Scoff Paper Valentine’s Day ‘consumer’.

Above left: One of the edible designs from Scoff Paper.

Above: A topical card design from Little Dog Laughed.

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Reigning Cats & Dogs

Dog-ged Behaviour Paper Plane’s Designed By Dog range is made up of 16 cards, designed by the publisher’s co-founders Laura Harvey and Jack Thorpe’s dog (his name really is Dog), from a canine point of view. Designed to be given to humans by dogs (but some also work from humans to dogs) each comes with a bright yellow envelope (one of the only colours dogs can see very well, apparently!).

To keep pussycats onside, Laura and Jack have also created a range, Designed By A Cat. “Dog wasn't happy about it, but we gave him a biscuit and he forgot all about it,” says Laura. “The designs are a little bit more sharp-tongued and rude, but that's cats for you!” Laura adds about the 12 designs.

More Margo Mayhem In acknowledgement of our growing pet adoration, Cinnamon Aitch has extended its best-selling Margo range. Designed in the depths of the first lockdown last year, the range now comprises 55 designs which encapsulate the loveable antics of our furry friends. From the disdainful tendencies of our aloof cats, to mischievous and excitable dogs, with the occasional chameleon thrown in for good measure, the Below: In addition to cards, the Margo 140mm square, collection has been contemporary designs pop extended into ecosoaps and notebooks with colour and pattern. are coming soon.

Above: Paper Plane’s Laura, Jack and Dog. Left: Dog is a talented copywriter!

A canine can-do attitude Having been named after the family Cocker Spaniel (who has become the top ‘shop assistant’) card and gift shop Maddy Moos in West Totton has always set the tails wagging of pet customers and their owners and is looking forward to a continued upturn in pet-related purchases once the shop is able to reopen.

“We always have good stock levels of animal cards and in particular dogs, if a rep shows us a card with a breed we don’t have, then it’s immediately added to the collection!” says Karen Nolan, who runs the shop with her daughter Hayleigh (and Maddy of course). “Not many days go by without a dog or cat card being purchased and very often it’s the cat or dog buying it for their human Mum or Dad,” adds Karen.

With more new pups on the block where the shop is based, “for the first time ever we had to order more Christmas cards with the title ‘to/from the dog and likewise cat,” she reveals.

Karen and Hayleigh are more than ready if the customer wants the card to feature a specific breed. “We just go to the ‘dog drawer’ where they are all in alphabetical breed order and we can add say a Merry Christmas peel off caption to a Labrador card for example.”

Above: Maddy, the namesake of Maddy Moos is less keen on paperwork and can’t wait for the shop to reopen.

Left: One of the Jonny Javelin designs that Maddy Moos struggled to keep in stock last Christmas.

Lockdown pawrenting PG laps up the love from those in the greeting card community who have welcomed new, four legged, additions to their families during lockdown…

Michael Apter, owner of Paper Tiger, two shops in Edinburgh: “Our new puppy is called Clementine and she is a Border Collie.

She's just six months old, and we can't imagine what life was like without her. Getting a dog had been a discussion in our house for a long time - I was the principal objector! My younger daughter Scarlett produced a pros and cons list last year that persuaded me that I needed to fall in line with the rest of the family! I am now Clem's Number One fan, even creating an Instagram account for her! (@clementinecraigleith).”

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Jolley Pets Characterful cats and dogs star in Cinnamon and Ginger, a new card and stationery range from Roger la Borde. Illustrated by Holly Jolley the range features her charming pasteltinted artwork (with gold-foiled touches) of felines and canines greeting cards, journals, A5 softback journals, notebooks and magnetic to-do pads.

Left: Holly Jolley’s illustrations feature on the Cinnamon and Ginger designs from Roger la Borde.

Pennie Bryant, co-founder of Tache: “Our little Boux has definitely been an uplifting bundle of joy in all this doom and gloom.

Having a puppy really is like having a little child, (or at least I think it is ) - toys everywhere, a wire play pen for playtime, puppy pads on the floor to train her to go to the toilet!! It’s chaos sometimes.”

Louise Mulgrew, founder of Louise Mulgrew Designs: “I absolutely was one of those people who decided as soon as lockdown arrived that I needed to get a dog! I hadn’t thought it through of course, and I think George (a German Shepherd) has probably made my year of the pandemic harder rather than easier, having never had a dog before and with him not being far off my own weight at 10 months old. Fortunately, he is adorable and hilarious and the best company I could hope for.”

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Reigning Cats & Dogs

Caught on Camera New additions of philosophical pussies and poetic pooches have joined Cath Tate Cards’ PhotoCats&Canines collection.

Using original vintage photographs, the range spans some 27 designs which pair a variety of popular breeds with witty and wise captions.

Above: One of the topical designs in Cath Tate’s PhotoCats&Canines range.

Secrets & Lives Woodmansterne is continuing its collaborations with celebrated designers Ralph Lazar and Lisa Swerling to create two pet-related ranges - A Dog’s Life and Secrets of being a Cat. With

eight designs in each, the designs celebrate the nation’s obsession with their pets and the funny side/challenges of pet ownership.

Above and right: Telling observations feature in Woodmansterne’s new cat and dog related ranges.

Purrfectly Put Brand new from Mint is BOW WOW MEOW, based on a licensing agreement with a sub-brand of Stoopid Factory. There are 20 designs in the inaugural collection 10 cats and 10 dogs - featuring a mix of breeds. “We had a lot of fun with the captions and really tried - with the cats in particular - to get into their peculiar head space. We may be the first publisher with ‘Enjoy the Dead Bird’ and ‘I'm Plotting Your Demise’ as card captions, but these are really for the many cat-lovers out there who will definitely get the humour,” says Ben Dorney, group creative director of the Mint Group. There are also general/celebratory phrases as well as some off-beat canine fun like “I ate your Birthday present!"

Above: A catty comment on a BOW WOW MEOW design from Mint.

Muir and Meows ArtPress is forever adding to its veritable menagerie of animals, with a particular emphasis on the furry kind. Its Sally Muir collection comprises eight everyday blank card designs and a wallet in its Royal Academy Collection (containing six cards of two designs). The Dancing Cat spans eight everyday cards and eight birthday cards along with occasions, Spring Seasons and Christmas designs.

Right: A Dancing Cat design from ArtPress.

Paws for Thought Pawsitivity has bounded onto the market from Pigment. Many of designs by artist Chris Gaisey have been based on antics, pet parents have shared on social media including the design left that was inspired by a gorgeous little pup whose waggy tail knocked over a drink on a brand new carpet - how can you stay mad at them!?

The cute character, isn’t a specific breed thus broadening its appeal.

Bright Eyed And Bushy Tailed Super talented photographer Rhian Ap Gruffydd has welcomed some stunning new designs into the Gruff Pawtraits menagerie. Rhian’s ability to capture people’s dogs faces straight on results in some incredibly arresting designs. Among the newbies are a Whippington Terrier, a Working Cocker Spaniel, a Shar Pei and a Cockerpoo and a Minature Dachshund.

Above: This Pawsitivity design will ring true with many dog owners.

Left: A mini Dachschund from Gruff Pawtraits.

Alicia Barber, product manager of Pigment: “Our world has been put on hold and despite holidays cancelled and our wedding postponed, we’ve had our two loyal best friends (our spaniels Millie and Ted) with us 24/7. I have had two new furry colleagues, two pups to home school and two travel guides to show us all the beauty spots on our doorstep. We’ve had dance ‘pawtys’, morning snuggles and reasons to do some DIY - hello new

skirting boards!”

Ilona Drew, founder of I Drew This: “We got our kitten, a moggie called Comet in October and he has really made our new home complete. He's crazy but having extra company at this time has been really appreciated and comforting during a time where we can't see our friends.”

Wendy Jones-Blackett, co-owner of Wendy JonesBlackett: “We added to our dog family (Whiskey a longhaired German Shepherd) with Flora, a Golden Retriever in August. She was 6kg when we got her at nine weeks and is now a whopping 31kg (and still growing) at seven months old. Having a dog gives structure and purpose to many people’s days, which has been much needed in 2020, especially for those living alone either working from home or furloughed. A bit of exercise, fresh air, nature and a chat to other dog walkers is just fantastic for the soul!”

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Agents’ Revelations

Digging Deep Just as the public’s interest in gardening/ houseplant tending has blossomed during the last year, independent sales agents have not let the pandemic get in the way of them tending their respective patches.

Here a selection reveal how they have been digging deep, what approach they have taken to their ‘garden maintenance’ to keep ‘weeds’ at bay in their ‘allotment’ of the UK, as well as what has been their personal ‘fertiliser’ that has kept them well-rooted and their leaves shiny.

Carl Stirk of Carl Victor Agencies Your patch: “I cover the North East representing The Art File, Belly Button Bubble, Cinnamon Aitch, Five Dollar Shake, Hammond Gower, Rachel Ellen Designs and Rosie Made a Thing.”

Calling a spade a spade: “2020 started very upbeat with Brexit sorted and all companies launching new ranges and products.

The Art File started with a bang with their everyday ranges and amazing in-depth Christmas collection which goes from strength to strength.

Everything was looking good until we were ordered to ‘pass go’ and go ‘straight to jail’.

The pantomime pandemic and the emotional rollercoaster had begun. After the end of the first lockdown independents were much busier and feeling the support of their communities which seems to be an upward trend.

On the downside a lot of retailers were not impressed that some outlets were still allowed to sell cards and gifts when they were closed. And on a personal level as most agents are so used to being out and about, that being cooped up was a real hardship.”

Plantlife: “I would be a white gladioli as they are my favourite flower. They represent gladiators’ strength and integrity.”

Green shoots: “Rosie Made a Thing was absolutely the range everybody wanted as it was so current, amusing and heartwarming; a perfect lockdown collection.

I feel incredibly lucky to work in such a great industry that is so full of creativity with innovative companies bringing out ever changing styles.”

Garden maintenance: “I have stayed in touch with my retailer customers, keeping them in the loop by informing them of

Below left: Carl Stirk has been digging deep, whatever the weather!

Right: Rosie Made a Thing’s designs have kept up our spirits during lockdowns.

new products and also helping them with images for their websites/social media and any advice on increasing sales in the restricted window they had to generate business.”

Your hopes and dreams for 2021: “Just the thought of getting back to work and seeing everybody again has made me look forward and is keeping me going. We are all waiting for the sun to shine again and for a real renaissance for independents which in turn will fuel more creativity. I just can’t wait for the excitement and buzz to be back.

A card is a kiss and everybody loves kisses!”

Maria McKenna Your patch: “I cover the South East which incorporates Surrey, Hampshire, East and West Sussex and Kent. The card companies I represent include Dandelion Stationery, Green Pebble, Janie Wilson, Molly Mae, Redback, Rosanna Rossi, Rosie Made a Thing and Portfolio on the card front and I also carry Deva Designs and Eco Chic.”

Calling a spade a spade: “Obviously the last year has been really Above: Maria in her garden with tough for everyone. For me it’s been a bit some of her chicken friends.

Below: Like Sweetcorn Maria’s of a feast or famine situation a lot of the fares well in the Summer. time. Quite a lot of customers worked tirelessly when they could, including through the lockdowns, to offer their customers a Click & Collect service, and/or a delivery service.

Thankfully it seems that at last a lot of consumers recognised the benefits of shopping locally and have supported their independent card and gift shops.

The small shops felt safer than the big supermarkets and stores, and it became important to have a friendly face behind the counter ready for a quick chat, even if it was behind a mask!

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Agents’ Revelations

ranges that several companies launched at short notice were a huge success, and these have continued to sell all year. Sentiment cards have been popular too, I think everyone just feels they want to keep in touch that little bit more.

Anything about ‘sending a hug’ has proved a top seller!

Christmas card sales were very strong, even with the November lockdown - it seems lots of customers waited to shop locally and bought their cards from their local indies!”

Plantlife: “I’m very much into growing vegetables, so I’d like to think I’d be something like a strong and hardy broad bean plant, coping with all adversities and all weathers, but in honesty I am more like a sweetcorn plant, growing strong and tall in the hot weather and enjoying the Summer months!!!”

Garden maintenance: “I’ve kept in touch with quite a few customers by email and on the phone and have had some nice Facetime chats with a few! It’s was great to have new catalogues to send out with some fresh exciting new ranges, and some customers have said how it’s made a change this year to actually have time to pick them up! As far as tending my own veg patch is concerned, I have cleaned my greenhouse and planted a few seeds in the propagator!”

Left: A scene from the ‘good old days’ Maria (second left) with fellow agents Jo Bannister (centre) and Doug Kilby (far right) with publisher chums James and Ged Mace (The Art File), Jonathan Glick, Steve Baker (Pigment) and David Hicks (formerly of Really Good/Soul) at the PG Live 2019 opening night party.

Your plant food/fertiliser: “A few things have kept me going this year - my veg garden for a start it was my most successful year ever as I actually had time to tend to the plants and water and feed them! My husband built me a potting shed during the first lockdown, so that was a really lovely addition!

We rehomed six more commercial chickens in June (who would otherwise have been destined for dog food) and have loved watching them blossom! I found a fabulous online exercise class which I am doing daily, and I belong to a choir, which has obviously been unable to meet during all the lockdowns, so the wonderful choir leader has set up several Zoom choirs to keep our spirits up. And it’s been amazing how even sorting out a cupboard or tidying my office has kept me motivated!”

Your hopes and dreams for 2021: “Well, they are quite simple - to be able to visit customers again and see all the lovely people I’ve been missing would be a great start! To see family and friends again, to be able to be spontaneous and to just have some freedom. Another scorching summer would be a bonus too!”

Derren Seal Your patch: I live in Wiltshire and cover southern England - a square area from Gloucestershire, Dorset, Bedfordshire to Hampshire. I carry Lola Designs, Cherry Orchard Publishing, Gifted Stationery, Icon Art, Into the Green, Kingfisher Cards and Words ‘n’ Wishes.”

Calling a spade a spade: “2020/21 for all has been a very Above: Derren last summer during lockdown when he tried growing veg. This testing time and I was no one is one of him looking particularly ‘Raddishing’. exception when I was made Right: Derren is hope to spending less time this year forking in his own garden. redundant from my sales representative position I had held at Cherry Orchard Publishing for the past 10 years. I must say at that point I looked out over my much-loved estate and just saw a barren landscape of ashes.

Luckily enough the clouds parted and the sun began to shine as I had an opportunity to return to the greeting card industry shed as an agent for Cherry Orchard, which I and the rest of the sales team grabbed readily. Suddenly the scorched wasteland seemed to turn moist and fertile again as I realised that not only would I be able to grow cherries in my cultivated plot but also many other varieties of horticulture. I was no longer a one trick ‘peony’!”

Plantlife: “If I were a plant I would be a raddish…needs very little looking after, turns red in the sun and is surprisingly hot!”

The green shoots: “It’s obviously been something of a start/stop situation in the following months since becoming selfemployed, but I must give praise to all my fantastic customers who

have not only shown me so much support by encouraging me to continue but never cease to amaze me how upbeat and positive they are during these unprecedented times.

They have used this lockdown time to ‘weed’ areas of their gardens which probably never would have been done. Painting, decorating, sorting back rooms and planning for the day when we can finally get back to harvesting our fruits once more.

Lots of online activities too have been taking place to try to capture as much business as possible including making deliveries to loyal customers wishing to support their local suppliers.”

Garden maintenance: “Tending my patch through lockdown has been done as remotely as possible in order to keep my customers and my family safe. Where needs must I have ventured out to those few businesses that have been lucky enough to remain open in order to fully support their needs to flourish and grow.”

Your plant food/fertiliser: “The plant food that has worked best for all has been humour.

This is readily applied in the numerous phone calls and emails I make and receive from my customers who although their branches and flowers have been pruned back viscously still maintain a humorous positive outlook that together we can be allowed to bloom again soon.”

Your hopes and dreams for 2021: “My dreams for 2021 is simply that I’m never given as much free time again to fork around in my own back garden!”

Continued on page 79 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Beautifully expressive greetings cards

by Sarah Curedale (e) sales@realandexcitingdesigns.co.uk (t) 01223 207 080 (f) 01536 401 031

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Agents’ Revelations

Nigel Willcock of NW Card and Gift Agencies Your patch: “I cover the North West and North Wales for some wonderful companies… ArtPress, Bold & Bright, Heritage & Art Design, Holy Mackerel, Icon, Kali Stileman, Louise Tiler, Lucilla Lavender, Peartree Heybridge, The Porch Fairies, Special Delivery, Susan O'Hanlon, The Unique Paper Co, with a few postcode exceptions.”

Calling a spade a spade: “Being a Yorkshire man I always call a spade a spade! I probably could not have picked a worse time to plant the seeds for my new business as an agent, but every time I can get out there I am bowled over by the positive way my customers and principals have dealt with this last awful year.”

Plantlife: “I would like to be a bluebell…always signalling the start of summer and longer evenings!”

Your plantfood/fertiliser: “I am on a WhatsApp group for agents and the banter and videos that have circulated have been hilarious, helpful and have really stopped me from going 'potty'. I have been walking miles and eating plenty of wine gums!”

Garden maintenance: “I have kept in regular touch with my customers throughout this fallow time, sending out countless emails and mailshots while focusing on businesses which have remained open - such as Post Offices and garden centres or have continued to trade in some way, such as through Click & Collect. When I have not been able to go out and see customers I have kept myself pepped up by doing at least one positive thing for my business each day.”

My hopes and dreams for 2021: “Simply to be able to visit my lovely customers and really enjoy seeing people shopping locally which I am convinced will be the 'new way'. I can't believe how much I miss driving, but then there is some fabulous scenery on my patch!”

Top left: Nigel admits that his gardening skills are limited, but he and his cacti get along fine!

Above: Nigel having a socially distanced appointment with Sarah Laker of Stationery Supplies, Marple.

Left: Just call him Nigel Bluebell Willcock…here comes the summer!

Beth Robson Your patch: “I cover the London area representing Coral and Mint, Oliver Preston, Mint, Museums and Galleries, Real and Exciting, Redback, Sooshichacha, Special Delivery and U studio.”

Calling a spade a spade: “There was a fantastic start to 2020 - all very positive for the coming year for both my fabulous customers and me - lots of wonderful products to sell - then the ‘proverbial’ hit the fan in March. Mother’s Day, Easter and Father’s Day were all but effectively cancelled. We all thought it would all be sorted by the Summer, but little did we all know! Once trading started again things bobbed along rather nicely but then November lockdown was announced - sucker punch all round. There was so much stock in shops at the busiest time of the year but the doors were firmly shut.

However, when retail was opened again in December it went mad. In all my years as an agent I have never done so many repeat orders - it was really amazing and very surprising.

The public really shopped for those three weeks. What a rollercoaster ride 2020 turned out to be in the end.”

The green shoots: “Seeing the appetite people showed to still shop in the High Street when allowed and not just online was great. My retail customers’ optimism was so inspiring.

Plus, the publishers I carry have demonstrated extreme stoicism and loyalty, together with an incredible creative output and innovation throughout and are prepared for the good times ahead.”

The thorns and weeds: “The internet connection for Zoom meetings! For my customers last year was just challenging, weird and deeply frustrating at times due to the stop start nature of trading. But for me the biggest thorn was my darling dog dying in LD2 - huge blow.”

Plantlife: “I would like to be a camelia - evergreen with gorgeous flowers. Colourful, bringer of joy with an excellent root system. It bends but never breaks whatever the weather.”

Garden maintenance: “Well like all my fellow agents there have been calls, text messages, all forms of virtual meetings and emails. WeTransfer and Dropbox have been very busy during lockdown! And how I’ve grown to love a link and a PDF!” Your plantfood/fertiliser: “I started a WhatsApp group for agents in the summer and that has been a huge source of support, help, joy, humour, sharing stories and earned wisdom.

Agents are used to working alone but we actually needed each other. And I now live in the cleanest most organised house and my garden's a literal blooming triumph!”

Your hopes and dreams for 2021: “Getting back to work, having a jab, hugging anyone if they’ll let me, sunshine and a new knee!”

Above: Beth Robson, suitably attired in a fern patterned face covering.

Above left: The wonderful blooms of Camelia match Beth’s evergreen personality.

Left: Beth (second left) at the last PG Live with retail customer (second right) Tish Easmon-Forge of Gift, Crouch End and fellow agent Doug Kilby.

Continued on page 81 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Agents’ Agents’Reverlations Revelations

Corinne Forbes Your patch: “Together with my three sub-agents we cover Scotland.

While my sub-agent up North carries everything as do I the other two supply the same customers but with half of the companies each. We are lucky to represent Belly Button, Five Dollar Shake, Hearts Designs, Janie Wilson, Little Dog Laughed, Me & McQ, Molly Mae, Paper Salad, Stop the Clock and Think of Me.” Calling a spade a spade: “The last year has been like no other! I am very lucky that my business has been going for over 25 years therefore could stand so many months with so little income. This current lockdown is so much harder than last year - weather (we are currently under a foot of snow), darkness, cold and most of all that we have been here before. We are over all the regular catch-up Zoom calls with colleagues, friends etc and just want life to get back to some kind of normality.”

Plantlife: “I think I would be an azalea. It is hardy, which is so important right now and no matter what, it comes back every year!”

The green shoots: “Customer loyalty was amazing. The thing that pepped up my spirits the most was the volume of re-

orders in December as customers kept running out, with so many people shopping local for Christmas.”

The thorns and weeds: “The biggest thorn was retail being closed for so long, then half the country having to close again Nov/Dec which was the worst possible time for them.”

Garden maintenance: “Tending my patch has not been easy but there is always a way round everything! My customers were so adaptable under the circumstances and I was seeing them frequently, socially distanced at their homes, going to shops to do orders at 8am before they opened or at 5pm once they had closed. Early starts and/or late finishes and lots of coffee and biscuits consumed. The secret was just to be as flexible as possible to fit round whatever made customers comfortable.”

My hopes and dreams for 2021: “I have to be positive and know that as soon as retail does open we will be so busy - there is a vast amount of fantastic new product for this year! I also think Christmas 2021 sales will be very strong due to how well everyone did last year.

At this exact moment, sitting in Top: Corinne tending the Five Dollar Shake tree-festooned stand my office with over a foot of snow at last year’s Spring Fair.

Left: An azalea in Corinne’s outside, my dream is to get on a garden.

Above: The latest Belly Button plane and travel somewhere hot launches includes several and sunny!!” featuring plants and flowers.

Rosie Trow Your patch: “I cover the South West representing Coral & Mint, Five Dollar Shake, Glick, Go La La, IC&G, Janie Wilson, Jellycat, Marmalade, Museums & Galleries, Oli Olsen, Paper Rose, Paper Salad, Real & Exciting Designs, Redback, Transomnia and Wrendale Designs.”

Calling a spade a spade: “The last year seems to have been somewhat akin to planting an unlabeled packet of seeds and then having the anxious wait to see what happens next followed by a mad panic to harvest as much as possible before the next frost!”

Plantlife: “Going into my 31st year in the industry and I know I’m not ready to be a wallflower, I’m still happy to be a rambling Rose.”

The green shoots: “I only work with the lovely High Street indies and it was so good to see them gaining a lot of loyalty in the last year. I think when the first lockdown happened people walked down their streets of closed shops and realised if they didn’t use those local shops when they re-opened that is how it would be.

When the November lockdown happened my retail customers worried that they would not sell what was in the shops but on 2 December when the ‘essential to us’ shops re-opened the public showed how they had waited to get their cards and gifting from their

Far left: Rosie Trow going for green in her garden.

Left: The green shoots on Rosie’s kitchen sill garden!

Below: Rosie commissioned a website to be built by Skylight Media so her customers can order from all of her principals.

favourite indies. This pesticide pandemic may have caused a wilting of the High Street, but the roots have shown themselves to be strong!”

Garden maintenance: “I kept in touch with every one of my customers. I have spent a lot of time sending cards (and chocolates) of support to customers as well as planting ‘seeds of opportunity’ by sending samples and just being able to help with customers’ requests. This can make a dull grey day turn into a sunny day just by feeling good at helping and talking something through and discovering that scattered thoughts shared can create a whole new vision.

I had lots of calls from customers asking me about web building which I knew nothing about, so I sat in on a GCA webinar that Skylight Media hosted to learn more. It also led me to ask Skylight to create a website for me featuring all my brands that my customers can order from in between visits.”

Your hopes and dreams for 2021: “I am very much a believer in fairies at the bottom of the garden and I am very hopeful that we will all have our vaccines soon and can get back to a different day every day.”

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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ART SOURCE

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Art Source

Right: Part of the mood board for Advocate’s Boogie Wonderland trend.

The

Artistic Pulse From our new-found crafting prowess, colourful boogie wonderland, a travel itch that needs to be scratched and an increasing environmental and social awareness are just some of the trends highlighted by the leading artists agencies and picture libraries that are likely to be reflected in greeting cards over the coming year.

In the second in the series, PG was all eyes and ears as to what these experienced aesthetic bellwethers cite as the cultural drivers of our creative tastes.

Sue Bateman, director of Yellow House Art Licensing: Drivers: “The drivers for trends in 2021 will all be down to our responses to the key events in 2020 - the global pandemic, Black Lives Matter and the ever more urgent climate emergency.

The global pandemic has made us more aware than ever how connected the world is, our aesthetic tastes will be more influenced by different cultures as we appreciate that we are truly all in this together. At the same time our need to stay home and stay safe will bring us back to the comfort of craft and familiar traditions. We will all need cheering up and I am aware of the increase demand for bright colours in our art - something Pantone has recognised with its selection of Yellow Illuminating as one of the colours of the year. I maybe be biased but you can’t deny how cheering yellow is!”

A trio of trends…

Comfort & Support: “It would be good to think that the pandemic has reinvigorated our social conscience and we are now more aware of our community and the need to support each other. I think we will see more type-based designs on cards with sentiments that reflect our changed lifestyles and with general messages of comfort, thanks and support.”

Colour Pop: “We need bright colours to cheer up our lives and remind us that summer and travel will be back before long. Over the last couple of years colours have been gradually asserting themselves in a sea of neutrals, especially in the world of interior design and a bright greeting card is an easy foray into the world of colour.”

Craft Appeal: “Over the last year people have turned to creative pursuits in a big way. Our new-found fascination with home crafts will endure and tastes will continue to move away from digital art towards hand-crafted images. Textures, painting, printing and mark making will be important, as will an increased interest in the artist who actually created the image. As part of this I have noticed an increase in requests for folk art that spans across cultures.”

Above left: Sue Bateman, who this year celebrates the 10th anniversary since setting up Yellow House Art Licensing.

Left: Yellow House artist Gabriela Larios’ work is colourful collage and painted work taps into the ‘Craft Appeal’ trend. © Gabriela Larios Above: Sentiment will continue to have real resonance this year. © Suzy Taylor (from Yellow House).

Right: Sarah Campbell’s work is an explosion of colour, pattern and joyfulness, much needed right now. © Sarah Campbell Designs (from Yellow House).

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Art Source

Bhavisha Vadgama, art director and senior agent of Advocate Art: A trio of trends…

Bonne Fetes: “After Covid, we believe that celebration will be a big thing for everyone, and swanky cocktail parties, glitter and glamour paired with elegant muted tones will be a trend. With pops of colours to add contrasting accents.”

Boogie Wonderland: “This Retro look is making a comeback and it's all about projecting positivity.

We love the graphic, bold patterns, bright colours, integrated type and vector style. It's a celebration of type and delivering empowering messages which ties in well with how big of a trend mindfulness has become too.”

Top left: Bhavisha Vadgama.

Above: A celebratory image

by Sharon Montgomery (from Advocate).

Left: A positive retro vibe from Rebecca Prinn (from Advocate).

Above right: Dramatic contrasting colours from Charlotte Pepper (from Advocate).

Blazing Hotchpotch: “This trend is also very graphic and stylised, that makes the Kitsch look trendy. The colour palettes revolve around the pantone colours of the year; PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating Yellow. We think more contrasting, minimal colour palettes will be leading the way in design and be more texture focused too.”

Paola Fumagalli, marketing manager of Bridgeman Images: Four key trends…

Travel! Travel! Travel!: “After such a challenging year, one of the trends we predict is Travel! Travel!

Travel! We will be dreaming of travelling to exotic places, to the sun, to the lush green landscapes of faraway lands. The desire to escape, to travel abroad, to explore the world, to discover new cultures and immerse ourselves in new colours, will be key to 2021!”

Sustainability: “This takes us to the third trend: Sustainability. The past year has given us lots of time to think, to consider which part we play in society and how our behaviour affects the planet we live on. A more sustainable lifestyle will become more and more popular: from going green and making eco-friendly life choices to the very basic shop-local and supporting our communities.”

Mindfulness and Wellbeing: “The last (but definitely not least) trend is Mindfulness and Wellbeing. We discover

Above left: Paola Fumagalli.

Left: Drifting, 2019 © T.S. Harris/Bridgeman Images.

Above: Octopus Eyes © Frances Ferdinands/Bridgeman Images.

Green Awakening: “The second trend we identified is the green awakening: the desire to connect with nature everywhere: in our houses, in our gardens, on our windowsills, in the parks, in the wild. This need for making peace with Mother Nature is expressed with bold colours that fill our senses with strong emotions and inspire us to a more sustainable future.”

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

the importance of connecting with others, the understanding of mental health issues and the importance of movement and exercise. We want hugs, love, affection, relaxation, yoga and to be healthy.”

Above: Space, 2019 © Alex Caminker/Bridgeman Images.

Left: The Beauty of Face Masks, 2020 © Trygve Skogrand/Bridgeman Images.

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Art Source

Richard Patey, managing director of Pure Illustration: Drivers: “We expect that the gloom and doom of Covid, and multiple lockdowns is going to influence a movement toward bright and breezy content and colour trends as well as a yearning for open space as well as hobbies that have grown in popularity due to the pandemic.

On design trends, it is a tough call as there is so much on hold out there right now when it comes to design. It almost feels as if we’ve not had a chance to fully enjoy the trends that were supposed to happen in 2020!””

A trio of trends…

Bright & Positive: “The future is bright, the future is positive. So, any messaging that a brand, manufacturer or publisher wants to put across in 2021 has to reflect the incredible desire for people’s lives to get back to normal. So, colours will be bright, even scarily so. Expect big Marimekko-esque florals, tree ferns and tropical references. Rainbows aren’t over yet, but sunsets and celestial peace will help calm the mind and ease the worry.”

Anything Outdoors: “The world has been sat indoors for month upon month while outside Mother Nature has shown her

true glory. Inspiring landscape photography and fine art will be back with a vengeance and it will adorn walls as well as product and branding.

Wildlife, either exact or stylised is a great way to bring the outside in, and we expect to see more whales, garden and wild birds as well as marine animals being displayed on product as well as in the media.”

Familiar: “One thing we’ve all felt since last March is that a ‘familiar’ family is a key influence in helping us move forward.

So, we expect to see more one to one messaging that refers to family relationships and gratitude for the positive service they play in our lives. Father to Son, Mother to Daughter, the possibilities are endless.

But the designs need to reference that relationship. So shared hobbies like cooking, baking, gardening, cycling, DIY will all be depicted in bright and breezy colours.”

Top left: Richard Patey.

Far left: Bright and breezy artwork by Sian Summerhayes (from Pure Illustration).

Above right: Celebrating the outdoors will be a key trend this year, as reflected in this design by Tony Parsons (from Pure Illustration).

Left: Reassuring sentiment on a Gill Eggleston design (from Pure Illustration).

Christa Mavroudis and Paula Rich, design directors of Dot Dash Studio Drivers: “Despite all adversities placed on our families, friends and personal lives we have remained optimistic and motivated by so much positivity and love through collaboration and community. We have taken part in other creative hobbies and forged new friendships and communities. Having been forced to use our homes for work we have had to rethink them into places of protection, peace and comfort.”

A trio of trends…

Optimism and hope: “With the new moon and Chinese New Year we are seeing new beginnings and goal setting for the year ahead. Optimism and hope are key for 2021, using positive slogans with a focus on community spirit and goodhearted gestures.

Florals like sunflowers and daisies will be popular in elevating our days and celebrating Mother Nature.”

Celestial and Grecian: “Horoscopes and celestial artwork is coming through strong, bringing calmness and holistic touches to homes.

Historic and Grecian influences are also being seen, with symbols and hidden messages. Organic and natural products are also on the rise using recycled and hand-painted materials.

Hand painted expressive strokes and conceptual silhouettes are also strong.”

Outdoor life: “There will be a huge rise in outdoor activities. We will be fruit picking and making homemade organic produce and appreciating Mother Nature. Summer days will bring joy back into our homes with Illustrative travel art, sun motifs and slogans as we fantasise about the trips we can’t take right now.”

Above left: Dot Dash’s Christa Mavroudis (left) and Paula Rich.

Above: One of the horoscope designs from Dot Dash Design.Left: Positive artwork and playful slogans will help encourage the optimistic vibe.

Right: Enjoying being outside will continue in 2021 believes Dot Dash.

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WHAT’S HOT? PG ASKED A SELECTION OF CARD RETAILERS FOR THEIR ‘HOT’ CARD SELLERS Pam Malin, co-owner of Occasions and LisKards, two card & gift shops in Liskeard Cornwall.

A small traditional Cornish town with a mature customer base.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Everyday

Cherry Orchard Publishing

Kaleidoscope

Humour

UK Greetings

New Yorker

Relations and Occasions

Words ‘n’ Wishes

Generally

Regal Publishing

Special Thoughts

Photographic

John Worth Photography

General

Children’s Giftwrap Gifts

Abacus Cards Glick Designs Dunoon Gibson Games

100% Kids General Mugs Jigsaw puzzles

“Lovely traditional designs at a very sensible price.”

“Our customers love these safe, but quirky cards that can be sent to anyone without offence.”

“Good quality cards that appeal to all ages.”

“Striking images that stand out on the displays.”

“A local photographer who captures beautiful Cornwall images from a 20 miles radius of Liskeard.”

“Great designs.”

“High quality paper and accessories.”

“Classic designs for gifts or self-purchase.”

“The quality is their main selling point.”

Above: Two of the many Special Thoughts designs from Regal Publishing.

Right: A bright and cheery 100% Kids design from Abacus Cards.

Sean Austin, owner of Austin & Co, Malvern.

A popular medium sized card and gift shop in the attractive Worcestershire town.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Everyday

Dandelion Stationery

Words of Wisdom

Thinking of You

Lagom Designs

Mini Greeting Cards

Relations and Occasions Humour

Megan Claire

Pandora

“A stalwart that constantly evolves, is current. People come to the till with a handful.”

“They are literally paper hugs with a fold in them.”

“Understated elegance. Sheer class.”

Sarah Edmonds Illustration

Puns

Children’s

Paper Salad

Kids’ Jamboree

Art

ArtPress

Sally Muir

Adult Ages

Earlybird Designs

Fab Neon

Giftwrap

The Art File

Rollwrap

Gifts

Green & Wilds

Dog treats and toys

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

“The sales prove that the humour we learnt in the playground never deserts us.”

“Customers buy these cards over and over.”

“ArtPress never disappoints - the Sally Muir range of dog portraits are particular popular.”

“I hope when I'm 80, someone will send me a card with a big fat neon 80 on it and the word 'Awesome' on the front!”

“Perfect if you need a roll of wrap that covers a number of occasions and customer tastes.”

“After cards, we do sell stationery, Top: A pun-filled design from Sarah but what sets us apart is our Edmonds Illustration. dog offer.”

Above: A Sally Muir design from ArtPress.

86-87.qxp_Grid 02/03/2021 12:38 Page 87

Rohit Patel, owner of Paper Art, Swiss Cottage.

A popular medium sized card and gift shop in a North London enclave.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Everyday

Woodmansterne

National Trust, Quentin Blake, Opium Sara Miller London Jaz & Baz Across the board

“We do so much with Woodmansterne, across the board.”

“Sara Miller’s artwork on both these publishers’ ranges is stunning.”

“Always so beautiful.”

Redback Cards Woodmansterne Pigment Rosie Made a Thing UK Greetings Museums & Galleries; Artists Cards; Canns Down Press; Art Angels Woodmansterne Rachel Ellen Designs;

Cloud Nine The New Normal Across the board Gin & Frolics Recycled Paper Across the board

“Humour is seeing us through this pandemic. So many of the designs are so appropriate.”

Quentin Blake

“Just great artwork.”

“Rachel Ellen’s designs really stand out for children’s age cards.”

Giftwrap

Hype; UK Greetings; Glick Designs

Across the board Across the board

Gifts

Eco-chic

Foldable bags, backpacks, face coverings Plush

Handmade/Handfinished Humour

Art

Children’s

The Art File Portfolio Five Dollar Shake

Jellycat

“People have used art cards to keep in touch.”

“I cherry-pick from the wide selection of wrap that always has fresh designs.”

“We do well with the spinner of these reasonably priced products.”

“Adorable creatures; you just look at them and laugh.”

Top: Topical humour from Woodmansterne.

Above: A Mr. Men design from Hype Cards.

Katrina Roberts-Pollock, co-owner of Coorie Doon, Campbeltown.

Having sold their original shop to their manager Yvonne Milloy and her husband Gus last October (which now trades as Coorie In), Katrina and her husband Bob opened their new shop in Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula last December.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Everyday

Truly Scotland

Blether

Think of Me Alex Clark Art

Aura and Zephyr Sparkle and Little Sparkle Jaz & Baz Privee Various Various Blether and Tartan

“Our own range is the biggest seller.”

“Great for male sends.”

“Customers still love sparkly and whimsical!”

Humour Adult ages

Thinking of You Relations and Occasions

Giftwrap Gifts

Portfolio Hammond Gower Noel Tate Twizler Truly Scotland

Rachel Ellen Designs Amber Lotus Publishing Think of Me; Hammond Gower; Noel Tatt; Molly Mae; Woodmansterne; Truly Scotland Hammond Gower Portfolio Glick Designs Compton & Clarke Wild Things Truly Scotland

TLC Kristina Swarner Various

“Very funny!”

“Our new Tartan Ribbon range became our best-selling age cards.”

Above: An ethereal Kate Swarner design from Amber Lotus.

Below: One of the many strong sellers from Truly Scotland, the card company Katrina and Bob set up.

“Beautiful images and words.”

Privee Jaz & Baz Various Pocket charms Birthstone angels and sun catchers Coasters and notepads

“Great ‘go to’ gifts.”

“Feel-good small tokens that are easily sent in the post.”

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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

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BEXY BOO bexyboo.co.uk enquiries@bexyboo.co.uk Tel: 01565 830546 @BexyBooLtd

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www.lingdesign.co.uk

01892 838 574 information@lingdesign.co.uk Great brands, Great service Bespoke planning We can help with all your planning l i requir i ements. t From smaller displays to redeveloping complete card departments

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

@NoelT Ta attGroup 01227 811 600 sales@noeltatt.co.uk www.noeltatt.co.uk

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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PRODUCT DIRECTORY

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

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

raspber r yblossom.com

@ @paperlinkcards

hello@raspberryblossom.com

Send Love e

020 3723 5405

( all year round )

LUXURY GIFT PACKAGING

t: 0208 6138 085 paperbirdpublishing.co.uk u

ICONIC LICENCED BRANDS

greeting cards & contempoRary gifts

01892 838 574 www.pennykennedy.co.uk

www.redbackcards.com e: info@redbackcards.com t: 01752 830482

PURPLE TREE DESIGNS Exquisite Designs Beautiful Cards

Making card giving a bit more awesome Uk publisher of Greetings Cards with an extensive range of quality Birthday, Relations, Occasions and Seasonal product...

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

available from

t. 07779 654 694 e. info@ruby-tuesday.co.uk www.ruby-tuesday.co.uk

LING DESIGN

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

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

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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

purpletreedesigns.co.uk info@purpletreedesigns.co.uk @purpletreedesigns

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

AGENTS WANTED

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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

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

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

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

DIRECT TO RETAIL & EXPORT

Method of sale: Wholesale Distributors

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

7RPFDW &DUGV TEL: 01480 435562 FAX: 01480 450599

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.tracksltd.com

WWW.XXPRESSYOURSELFCARDS.CO.UK

UNIT 2, 12 BLACKSTONE RD, STUKELEY MEADOWS IND EST,

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.

HUNTINGDON, CAMBS, PE29 6EF

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.

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

www.tomcat.cards info@tomcat.cards

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

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WHOLESALE

view by rufus designed in thames ditton

We offffer a We COMPREHEN

range of high Greeting Cards f ALL Occasions,

CHRISTMAS an

... and if we fall into the ountain, we will just prosecco ffo ha av ve to drink our wa ay y out!

Season f Sale:

topdog@view by rufus.com 020 8972 9706

viewbyrufus.com

mail: inffo o@words-nWeb: www We w..words-n-wishes.co.uk

register ffo or a trade account: www w..viewbyrufus.com/b2b

Tel: 01942 233201

Market Leaders in

& entimen

an extensive range of superior quality,

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

A Cards e Art Botanical Fine

Verse

Vibrant and nd elegant gree greeting cards A fr freshly modern perspective on nature

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

94

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Call Now 075 7700 1145 www.zaquarella.co.uk info@ zaquarella.com

EUROPE’S LEADING GREETINGS CARDS, PARTY PRODUCTS, GIFTS, CANDLES, TOYS, STATIONERY AND FLORIST SUNDRIES DISTRIBUTION CENTRE 75000 SQ FT BESCOT CRESCENT, WALSALL, WEST MIDLANDS. WS1 4NG 01922-646666 www.greetingshouse.co.uk info@greetingshouse.co.uk MON,WED,FRI 8.00am-4.45pm TUES,THURS 8.00am-7.45pm SAT,SUN 8.00am-1.45pm

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

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DIRECTORY OF WHOLESALE

CLASSIFIED

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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

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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 96

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

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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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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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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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