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Designs On Society
We are all becoming aware of how important it is to grow wildflowers to help nature thrive and protect our beloved bees too. Even if it's just a couple of pots on a doorstep, it all contributes to giving plants a place to grow and insects to feed - and worms a place to call home! Our seed sticks focus on wildflowers and bee-friendly varieties, as well as herbs and strawberries. The range currently comprises nine everyday designs, and we are just about to launch three Christmas designs that contain seed sticks to grow your own Christmas tree! We are also in the process of designing some additional birthday and Spring Seasons designs, plus we are in discussion with our seed supplier to see what additional varieties we can include.” Above: One of the Christmas designs in Stormy Knight’s Bloom range.
Kay Patel, director of The Seed Card Company
“The idea for The Seed Card Company goes back to seven years ago, when, through our Intricate Creations business (which specialises in bespoke corporate design projects and wedding stationery), we created a pop-up oak tree card for L’Occitane as part of its pledge to sustainability. The ‘card’ enabled the recipients (bloggers, celebs and influencers) to grow a tree sapling. The following year we undertook another two projects in a similar vein which meant we fell in love with the idea of working with a material that grows, giving the product a wonderful continual life and helping the planet. Then, during lockdown, with no weddings to distract us, we set up The Seed Card Company, going into great detail about the provenance of seeds that were embedded in the paper we use in all our cards, experiencing the wonder ourselves of seeing them germinate in 3-4 days. The pandemic, as well as accelerating the drive for protecting our planet has most definitely made people appreciate the natural world more. We are big believers in the ‘Power of One’, how doing one small thing can help the planet. We love the idea that our cards are contributing positively in the climate change battle, one card at a time. From a standing start a year ago, we are now up to 400 designs and have a new card collection, The Doodlings, all set to launch at Spring Fair, with other new designs also joining our existing ranges.” Above: One of The Doodlings designs from The Seed Card Company. Left: Kay Patel and Jit, her husband and business partner on their stand at Autumn Fair.
Emma Sutton, founder of Mosney Mill
“The idea for the range came during 2020 when we were revising our Sustainability Policy and looking at the products across our range. Mosney Mill already had a range of notelets printed on FSC paper, and talking with our suppliers we discovered the possibility of printing images on ‘seed card’ paper. At Mosney we are fortunate that for the past five years we have set aside a large area of land to plant a wildflower meadow as we recognise the need to support pollinating insects, therefore the seed cards complemented the vision for our home and business. As with all Mosney Mill products, the inspiration for my illustrations come from the animals, birds and insects that live alongside us on the Mosney land. Once the images were created we wanted to ensure that the packaging and envelopes were also environmentally friendly. Therefore, the individual cards are packed in compostable clear packaging and suppled with a Kraft brown envelope produced from recycled material. To complement the range, we also offer a beautifully illustrated countertop Point of Sale which reflects the design and environmentally friendly aspects of the cards. Being lucky enough to live in a beautiful part of rural Lancashire, as a family and business we recognise our responsibility for the stewardship of the land on which we live. Apart from the natural beauty and sense of wellbeing we can receive from observing flowers, they are essential to help with pollination and to support the life cycle of the bee population. We have also received feedback from parents and grandparents who have planted the cards with children and the cards have therefore become part of their learning about nature. There are 21 designs in our current range of seed cards and this Spring we are introducing two new designs featuring two adorable bunnies hugging.”
Above: A card from Mosney Mill that celebrates its bee-helping attributes.
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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