In Conversation With…Dandelion Stationery

Poster

Zero training in design and print has been the making of Jo Wilson as a greeting card publisher, she believes it’s because she had no preconceptions about the industry and she’s been able to do what she thinks is right.

Luckily, with a business studies degree and years of corporate experience at blue chip companies like Rolls Royce, Bombardier, and Ernst & Young under her belt, Jo had the background knowledge to make things work - so long as the designs are there.

And, with the recent triumph making it five Henries trophies and three finalists’ spots since Dandelion Stationery started with its Words of Wisdom collection back in 2014 there’s no question about the designs!

“I'm not trained in anything creative,” Jo admitted. “I went to uni., did a business studies degree, had various corporate jobs at big companies and then wanted a change. Some of it was having children, and the sort of corporate life I had that didn't necessarily suit. I also had a really horrible boss and just thought, ‘I've had enough’.”

Jo’s husband Paul was in a similar situation. She said: “Although his boss was okay! - but he was also in a corporate role as an accountant at Toyota and didn't want to do that for the rest of his life. A small printing business near us in Derbyshire came up for sale, so he bought that in 2011.”

The idea was for Jo to stay in an employed job for a while to provide some stable income, but she started doing wedding stationery, and a few greeting cards that were sold through Paul’s business. After 18 months Jo was happy to give her job up, with Dandelion Stationery born in 2014.

For the first six months it was just Jo and her iPad, thinking up witty captions and drawing her Words of Wisdom designs to match, where she cornered the market in traditional sentiment meets modern phrasing and images, as a little bit of cheek and taking the mickey is how she gets the right words “without it being too mushy”!

First off the press was the now classic ‘It’s ok to get excited when the Screwfix directory arrives’ card - definitely inspired by Paul whose role has now expanded from

Jo Wilson has become something of the poster girl for the greeting card industry as the Dandelion Stationery founder has not only built up the publisher over the past eight years, but now does a nifty sideline in giant window display posters to support its independent retailer stockists.

Fresh from her recent stardom on BBC Radio 4’s You And Yours and latest Henries win, PG caught up with the multi-talented publisher.

Above: Jo celebrates willing her fifth Henries award at the October 2022 ceremony. Left: One of the free general downloadable POS that Dandelion has developed for retailers. Right: No 14 Ampthill owner Jo Barber (left) and her shop manager Kirsty Hammond (right) with

Dandelion’s Jo Wilson.

Below: The first poster

Dandelion produced for Austin & Co.

print maestro to DIY expert in charge of building trade show stands along with managing Dandelion’s accounts to feed his love of a good spreadsheet.

Jo was then joined by Jess Greaves who is her super-organised studio manager as well as being in charge of all things marketing, social media and customer service-related, and the team now includes graphic designers Sophie and Rebecca, who both started as interns, Jo K looks after accounts admin, Helen keeps the stock topped up and the warehouse running smoothly, Nicola is operations and orderpacking queen, and Alison ensures the inventory is all under control - oh yes, mustn’t forget Ted and Toby, the four-legged head of security and his sidekick.

New designs are launched each January and again in the summer, just prior to PG Live, “always the show where we launch the summer collection - it was the first show we ever did and remains our favourite show,” revealed Jo.

Despite expanding into gifting lines that are outsourced, there’s a distinct advantage to having Paul’s Melbourne Print company on tap as it means there is no need to sit on large amounts of stock, plus they can also turn around topical new designs within days.

And with some of their bestselling designs being personalised cards, where trade customers can choose a location to be included, the ability to print these in quantities as small as just 12 cards is really popular.

The print link has also led to increased engagement with Dandelion’s independent retail customers - who make up around 70% of its customer base, starting with Jo Barber at No 14 Ampthill who became the publisher’s first stockist outside Derby back in 2014, closely followed by Sean Austin at Malvern’s Austin & Co, both of whom still order regularly.

“It was Sean who approached us first, asking for posters,” Jo said, “I think one of the first we did for him was a Remembrance Sunday one, just a really simple poster that had some poppies on. Then we did a couple of others for him, including a Covid one that featured toilet rolls, and it just went from there. “It then made us think ‘oh, actually, maybe other customers might want this especially if they've got a big window to fill’.”

So now, if customers place an order over a certain value with Dandelion, they can choose a poster free of charge, under that value it is offered at cost. “We don’t aim to make any money on poster sales, it’s an add-on service purely for the retailers’ benefit,” stressed Jo.

After growing continuously through to 2019, Dandelion unsurprisingly took a hit in 2020 with Covid, but bounced back last year. “In what felt like a really short space of time we were back to where we were, or even beat our 2019 figures,” Jo said.

As to the current climate, Jo says that she feels “Shops are more cautious in terms of their spending, whereas a retailer might have placed a £600-£700 order, they may be doing £200 orders now, ordering more frequently, but in smaller values, making sure they've sold it through before committing more money. Cash flow is tight for everybody.

“Turnover-wise we will have done okay, but the margin within that turnover is tighter than it's ever been,” said Jo.

And for the new year, Jo will be keeping the product range fresh, futureproofing the company for its 10th birthday in 2024.

“Before Dandelion I used to go to work to earn money and not really get any enjoyment. I can genuinely say I love what I do now and the friendships you make in an industry like this are just so fabulous,” exclaimed Jo.

Jo’s work with the posters, free downloadable Shop Small POS, and willingness to help retail customers with community projects such as Stationery

Supplies’ children’s Christmas Card contest (where Dandelion printed the winners’ designs to be sold for school

PTA funds), grounds the publisher in its independent retail roots. “Small independent shops are our lifeblood,” Jo explained, “without them, we wouldn’t be here. “Ultimately, all any of us want is for

Joe Public on the High Street to go in a shop and buy a card. That's what we're all here for. So, anything that we can do that brings footfall into the shops, we should be doing it.”

Worldy Wisdom

Above: Paul, Jo’s husband with his large digital printer. Below left: One of the best sellers in Words of Wisdom. Below: A sneak peek of a new Words of Wisdom design for 2023. Bottom: Jo (second right) with industry chums Austin & Co’s Sean Austin, GF Smith’s Emma Oliver (left) and Janet Stevens.

As well as its indie retail base in the UK, Dandelion now has a large export business in America, through Notes & Queries, plus in Australia and New Zealand. Most of the humour translates, apart from having to change Mum to Mom for the US along with swapping out Screwfix for the Aussie equivalent of Bunnings. The publisher also has a range of cards in French while other European nations tend to take designs without words, and there’s a 200-strong Welsh collection including 140 from Words of Wisdom.