7 minute read
Face to Face
Hare Raising
“I felt rather emotional watching the episode of The Crown recently which covered the formation of the Prince’s Trust and its vision to help young people, as I was one of those people,” revealed Rachel Hare. “Receiving a £1,500 grant from the Trust meant I could buy a word processor, a portfolio case and a camera for photographing the cards.”
It also gave the embryonic Belly Button Designs the opportunity to exhibit at the Spring Fair at a hugely subsidised rate, including free hotel accommodation.
“I didn’t even know what a trade show was before the Prince’s Trust. My friend Jude and I arrived with no real idea of what would happen, we made it up as we went along, including the prices we charged!” admitted Rachel. “One of the first people who came on our stand was John Procter, co-owner of Scribbler who placed a £900 order, I couldn’t believe it. Then someone approached me to say they would like to be our sales agent in London. I had no idea of how that would work, but thought it sounded like worth a try. Then, we won the Prince’s Trust Silver Medal at the show and I found myself in front of Prince Charles…what a start!”
Fast forward 28 years and Belly Button Designs has rightfully earned its place as one of the greeting card industry’s ‘crown jewels’. The company’s ever evolving portfolio reflects Rachel’s creative knack of interpreting design trends, colour palettes and societal nuances into products which chime with the public and retailers alike, be it in brand new ranges or by continually refreshing winning concepts, as evidenced by Belly Button’s prominence in The Henries awards. Testament to the strength of its ranges, Belly Button reached the finals in several categories in the 2022 Henries alone, with its Elle range clinching the Best Relations and Occasions Range trophy. “I can honestly say that this was the one I wanted to win, as Elle is right at the core of what we do. It is a very special range to me personally as it represents everything I believe in creatively,” said Rachel. “I first launched it 18 years ago and back then I was calling on independent shops locally, such as Harriet & Dee in Didsbury. The range has continued to grow, evolved over the years.
King Charles’ ascension to the throne has a special meaning for Rachel Hare, as it was the grant from the Prince’s Trust back in 1994 that set Belly Button Designs on its successful pathway.
With a whole raft of new card designs, a brand-new approach to giftwrappings and the relaunch of its gifting side launching at Top Drawer as well as aspirations to expand through licensing the brand, PG caught up with the founder and creative maestro who heads up the multi award-winning company.
Above left: A new Elle design. This range is at the heart of Belly Button. Above: Rachel on stage at The Henries 2022 collecting the Best Relations and Occasions Range award for Elle from (right) Pete Stevens, southern UK sales manager of Fedrigoni UK, the sponsor of this award category and with host Patrick Kielty. Left: Rachel Hare, founder of Belly Button Designs at the Spring Fair in 1994 meeting King Charles in the Prince’s Trust area.
Every two years I move it on with a different look, but it always retains its essence - a traditional card, but with a design trend twist.”
Rachel explains that Elle “has always been a range for independents; I design it very much with them in mind, though now also develop variations for some key multiples that launch six-eight months afterwards.”
While staunchly supportive of independents and the publisher’s team of sales agents who serve them - and is part of the party, owning two beautiful card and gift shops in Belly Button’s home city of Manchester - Rachel has not shied away from selected opportunities with multiples and grocers.
“The retail landscape has changed so much and we very much need to be a part of this. Michelle [Hindle] joining [as head of
sales] has meant we have been able to build relationships with other retail groups and grocers and grow the Belly Button business,” elaborated Rachel, with the commercial planning being very much worked on with Kimberley Williams, the company’s financial director which makes for a strong winning partnership.
“In actual fact, Kimberley is another reason to thank the Prince’s Trust. I first met her as a business advisor. She arrived in her sports car in impressive high heels all those years ago to give me some interim advice and just never left, thank goodness,” explains Rachel.
Another area likely to see more traction in the coming year for Belly Button is through licensing its brand looks to other companies and has appointed Licensing Link as its licensing agents to help achieve this. “We are well aware that our designs lend themselves to be translated onto other product areas, such as bedding, textiles, homewares products, but we want to work with the specialists in these fields while we concentrate on what we do and know best,” says Rachel. One priority area for Belly Button is its ongoing commitment on the sustainability front.
“It is about all our futures,” Rachel states firmly. “We did have some resistance initially when we decided to go unwrapped, but I felt it was important. We also removed all our gems, removed all plastic from our packaging and even changed the handles on our giftbags so they are made out of paper, moved away from rollwrap as it would mean relying on Far Eastern production, and come up with a whole new plastic-free approach to packaged giftwrap, all made in the UK.”
What does Rachel think King Charles would make of this Prince’s Trust protégé? “Hopefully he would be pleased…I know a bit more now about business and life since I met him all those years ago!” chuckled Rachel.
Rachel’s Personal Insights
What three words would your best friend use to describe you?
“Tenacious, Scatty, Creative.”
Running Belly Button aside, what would be your dream job?
“I absolutely love fashion, so my dream job would be a fashion stylist.”
A magic carpet awaits, where would you like to go?
“To Rajasthan in Northern India, to go walking with Giles [Rachel’s husband].”
What are your guilty pleasures?
“Watching Made in Chelsea, listening to Radio 4 and visiting stately homes.”
How do you relax?
“I now go running four times a week with my dog Brody.”
What is your favourite shop?
“The fashion retailer Cos. I just love the approach. Edgy fashion, but forever clothes.”
Who would you be your dream dinner party guests?
“Hilary Mantel, Louise Bourgeois, Victoria Wood, Margaret Attwood and Emma Barnett.”
Left: The latest take on Electric Dreams, including new ceramic gift lines. The range is named after Rachel’s favourite song, by Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey. Right: Licensing is likely to see Belly Button design concepts being translated onto other products by other companies. Below: The new Luxury Eco Giftwrap Display Unit which will launch at Top Drawer in January.
Raft of Newness
Belly Button’s greeting card launches for January 2023 include…
l Hue - a new male greeting card range of 38 embossed designs. 161mm x 192mm. RRP £3.50 l Electric Dreams - 91 new embossed designs join the range. 130mm square. RRP £2.50 l Elle - 26 new additions, all embossed and foiled, to the collection. 165mm x 165mm. RRP £4.25 l Elle Bleu - six additional embossed designs are joining the range. 165mm square. RRP £3.50 l Luxe Male - three new embossed designs join the collection range. 200mm square. RRP £5.99 l Mini Packs - eight mini cards and envelopes in sustainable packaging. RRP £10.99
Gifting and giftwrappings launches for January 2023 include…
l Launch of packaged Luxury Eco Giftwrap complete with a display unit. There are 18 designs to choose from. Each pack contains four sheets of wrap (two of two designs), printed on uncoated FSC certified paper with two pop out tags on the back of the packaging. Sheet size 696mm x 500mm. RRP £4.50 l New giftbags, with handles made from knitted paper. l As well as new mugs, new for this year are ceramic trinket trays. Augmenting the stationery portfolio are writing sets and A6 single notebooks, all made in the UK.
