PG January 2025

ON THE CARDS

‘Making a list and checking it twice… got to work out who’s been naughty or nice’… well Cardsharp has been a great help with me there with his column in this edition (see pages 1819). His Happy Santas and Bah Humbugs awards lavish praise and scorn to the deserving for their efforts and achievements, in either a positive or negative direction, in our sector in the crucial Christmas trading period.

The widespread publicity about all things greeting cards, clinched by the GCA (superbly orchestrated by Arena PR’s Nick Agarwal and Andrea Ross) has been phenomenal. Achieving coverage on BBC Breakfast, Sky News, ITV News, Radio 4’s Today Programme, Associated Press and a myriad of regional media in the space of the last few weeks is just phenomenal (see pages 28-29).

While the true picture of Christmas card trading for cardies will not be fully apparent until mid January when all the checks and balances have been done by multiples and grocers, anecdotal indicators from indies as PG went to press (five full trading days still to go before the big day), were looking pretty good.

Which is why it made me feel really sad to see that in John Lewis’ Shop-Live-Look Report, it dumped Christmas cards under the banner of ‘products that we left behind’, lumping them in with gazebos, factor 30 sunscreen and boring ice cubes!

As Mark Janson-Smith of Postmark exclaimed: “I completely disagree with the John Lewis report claiming that Christmas cards are products we have left behind – certainly not our experience!” with Christmas singles in its 15 stores up double digits and boxes and packs achieving a great sell through. (For more on Postmark see pages 31-33).

And Hallmark’s recent research findings about the younger generation’s Christmas card buying habits in 2024 delivers even more reassuring festive cheer with 63% of 18 to 35 year olds intending to send more cards than they did last year and almost two-thirds (60%) of the same age group spending more on the Christmas cards they bought. Let’s hope this trend continues into their everyday buying in 2025 and beyond.

As we wave off 2024, Warren, Tracey A, Tracey B and I would like to wish each and every one of you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2025.

Left: Postmark’s Mark Janson-Smith with PG’s Jakki Brown in the retailer’s new HQ. Above: Longtime WHSmith card buying manager, Claire Castle (right) goes down memory lane with PG’s Jakki Brown (see pages 39-41).

Below left: PG’s Jakki Brown (pink trousers) with fellow members of The Light Fund committee and supporters at the last fundraiser of the year, which has seen £92,000 being distributed to 19 different charities.

CONTENTS

7-15 News

All the latest happenings and developments in the trade.

16-17 Talking Shop

An Abundance Mindset

Are January blues real or are they a mindset? Indie David Robertson suggests it’s time to adopt an abundance mindset.

18-19 Cardsharp

No Bah Humbugs Please… Just Happy Santas

Cardsharp presents his Happy Santas and The Humbugs awards, for recent positive and negative greeting card activations.

21-27 Viewpoints

Adder & Minuses

With 2025 being the Year of the Snake - a symbol of adaptability, strength, wisdom, intuition and transformation – some members of the GCA Council share what they see are the hopes and dreams for the coming year.

28-29 Industry Publicity Focus

Reach For The Sky

A rundown of just some of the PR coverage that reached 27.4 million people’s hearts, minds, ears and souls of millions in the crucial run up to Christmas.

31-33 Retailer Up Close

Marking Time

Marathon man and innate retailer, Mark Janson-Smith, founder of Postmark reveals his plans to stay in the running to open more stores.

35-37 Focus on… Cute Cuddlies

Flush With Plush

PG was happy to cuddle up with some of the latest plush launches.

39-41 In Conversation With… Claire Castle Castle Keeper

Celebrating 41 years since she joined WHSmith, longtime greeting card buying manager Claire Castle, takes PG on a trip down memory lane.

Jakki Brown Editor/Joint Owner jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk

42-43 In Profile: Woodmansterne Publications

Pressing Matters

Anticipating the arrival of its new printing press, Woodmansterne’s Adam Osborne and Seth Woodmansterne bring PG up to date with the company’s sustainability progress.

45-49 Company Anniversaries

Marking Milestones

A celebration of some of the publishers and suppliers who will be hitting their 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th and 50th anniversaries in 2025.

51-53 Focus On… Sir Henry Cole A Truly Great Grandad

Alice MacDonnell, the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Sir Henry Cole, namesake of The Henries, shares her determination that her ancestor receives the recognition he deserves.

55-57 Up Close… Newbie Henries Winners A Triumphant Trio

PG spotlights a trio of newbies - Bird & Co Studio, Little Roglets and Heyyy Cards - who all triumphed in the recent greeting card awards.

59-65 Innovations

New ranges and designs, including many Top Drawer launches.

67-69 Focus on…Christmas Card Trends Festive Magic

Publishers lift the lid on the design nuances and captions that are reflected in the 2025 Christmas card collections.

71 Art Source Trend Trackers

Experienced aesthetic bellwether, Deborah Millinship, agent for greeting cards and licensing at Advocate Art shares what she believes will be the cultural drivers of our creative tastes for 2025.

73-74 What’s Hot?

A trio of leading retailers lift the lid on their best-selling ranges.

75-83 Sources of Supply

Tracey Bearton Features Editor traceyb@max-publishing.co.uk

Warren Lomax Joint Owner warren@max-publishing.co.uk Ian Hyder Joint Owner ianh@max-publishing.co.uk

Tracey Arnaud Sales Manager traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

Braced For The Final Flurry

All looking good for the last minute surge

As PG went to press, greeting card retailers were braced for the last big sales push in their festive trading, with kind weather, no postal strikes and the midweek falling of Christmas Day, there was a distinct feeling of positivity in the air.

“Our Christmas card sales are incredibly buoyant, we are well ahead,” stated Mark Janson-Smith, managing director of the Postmark group of 15 stores. “Our Christmas card singles are up double digits on last year, the appetite for Christmas boxes and packs is holding up well too. We’ve had over 85% sell through of boxes already and are regularly replenishing the displays in our stores. Christmas card sending is a tradition that is still very much alive!”

Echoing this view, Priya AuroraCrowe, co-owner of 19 Lark stores in London and Surrey revealed that the majority of its stores “have been trading better than last year which is amazing.

John Lewis’ blow to Christmas cards

The shoplifters have been incredibly persistent, but our customers have been as loyal as ever.”

Bev Yates, manager at Maddison in Harborne and the two Bentleys stores, highlighted that its sales of Christmas cards “have done extremely well this year. Despite postage going up, people still want to stay in touch.”

It is a similar story for Jon May, coowner of Mooch Gifts & Home in Bewdley and Stourport-on-Severn. He said: “Last week was crazy! Realisation

BBC Breakfast at Paper Salad

Greeting cards have been making the news big time in a multifarious PR campaign instigated by the GCA to boost Christmas card sending.

Setting the bar high, at the start of

December, BBC Breakfast filmed at Paper Salad’s Stockport HQ to highlight how much people still love festive greetings.

away dawned on a lot of people, with many leaving our shops with bags loaded with goodies!”

John Lewis dealt a sweeping blow to the greeting card industry by declaring “Christmas cards are lost in the post” in its latest retail Shop-Live-Look-Report.

Despite being one of the most sought-after retail accounts for publishers, John Lewis only included cards in its list of Products We Left Behind, alongside gazebos, ice cube trays, office chairs, personal video recorders, small handbags, chrome housewares, and factor 30 suncream.

The Report, which aims to cover how we shop, live and look claims sales of boxed Christmas cards are down 23%. It was not made clear that the claim is based on its 2023’s overall festive figures as sadly media, including Daily Mail latched on to it.

many families have taken to Facebook or even WhatsApp to send their festive greetings,” the annual How We Shop, Live And Look Report for 2024-25 stated.

“But in the last year they seem to have taken another dive, with sales of boxed cards down 23%, and individual Christmas cards down 15%. Their fortunes will not have been helped by the fact that a first-class stamp now costs an eye-watering £1.65.”

“Writing and sending a box load of Christmas cards, a key part of people’s annual celebrations, has been in steady decline in recent years, not least because

Taking issue with the coverage of the Report in the Daily Mail, Danilo ceo Laurence

Prince hit back at John Lewis’ claims with his letter headlined

Don’t Write Off Cards being printed in the newspaper: “John Lewis sells only a tiny fraction of the cards people buy at Christmas each year and, in fact, as the GCA will confirm, despite increased postal costs, the market is buoyant,” Laurence wrote.

Featuring Paper Salad owner Karen Wilson and GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson, there were two segments within the 3½-hour news programme featuring greeting cards, championing the 91million Christmas cards sent last year alone, that equates to a total £178m spend.

Recognising the creativity involved, reporter Nina Warhurst highlighted that all the publisher’s designs are hand-drawn first, before being scanned and tweaked via computer programmes to add their signature neon colours and foil, adding: “This is original art – it really is art landing on your doorstep.”

Karen unfalteringly and engagingly delivered the all-important message of how lovely it is to receive something that someone “has taken the time and trouble to select and handwrite a message” also highlighting how the joy of sending cards has not been lost on youngsters, citing the increase in card sending among 18-30 year olds.

With studio presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent raising the issue of the significant Royal Mail price increases taking first-class stamps to £1.65 each – making a book of 50 now £20 more expensive than this time last year – Karen, who is also vice-president of the GCA, explained: “We must remember it’s only 85p for the second-class stamp, and post your cards early.”

It was an early start as Karen’s slot was filmed live at 6.35am, before the cameras returned to Paper Salad to close the show just before 9.30am with Amanda’s comments: “We all love receiving a handwritten envelope on the doormat, a greeting card that someone's chosen and written especially for us. You can't put a text on the mantelpiece.”

(See pages 28-29 for more on the media splash)

Above: Shoppers consider the Christmas singles in WHSmith’s Reading store, before the last minute dash.

Below: Customers of Maddison and Bentleys were full of festive spending spirit.

Above: Karen Wilson with reporter Nina Warhurst being filmed.

Below: Reporter Nina Warhurst shared the facts about Christmas cards on TV.

Above: Christmas cards featured in the Products We Left Behind section of the JL report.

eight new jewels designs

Embossed with gold and blue or silver holographic foils

Blank inside making them suitable for most occasions

All cards can be supplied naked or in a biodegradable bag

TOP STORY

A Czech’s In The Post

Govt agrees Royal Mail takeover – but ‘weak’ obligations questioned

Government approval of Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group bid to buy Royal Mail means the sale to foreign owners is on the cards – but the total £5billion deal does still have to be approved by shareholders.

The news broke late on 15 December, with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds claiming the “legally binding” undertakings the government had agreed mean the takeover “will be a good deal for the UK, be a good deal for the people who work for Royal Mail and a good deal for customers”.

However, there are warnings from within the greeting card industry that these assurances seem “pretty weak” although there is support for how a “savvy operator” like Daniel Křetínský could harness the public’s love and demand for the 508-year-old Royal Mail to grow it.

The takeover of Royal Mail's parent company International Distribution Services is a £3.6bn payment plus debts, valuing the company £5.3bn, and is expected to be completed early in 2025 as the IDS board has already given its approval, taking it into foreign ownership for the first time in its history.

The government will retain a so-called “golden share” in the organisation which will require it to approve any major changes to Royal Mail's ownership, HQ location and tax residency, which must stay in the UK for the next five years, during which time the Czech billionaire will not take any dividend payout unless the delivery service equals or exceeds the 2023/34 performance.

EP Group also has to maintain the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service obligation (USO) to deliver letters six days per week, Monday to Saturday, and parcels Monday to Friday to all UK addresses.

It has also reached an agreement in principle with unions that include workers receiving a 10% share of any dividends paid out to Daniel Křetínský.

Cardology co-owner

David Falkner, who is also the GCA lead on Royal Mail relations, was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, where he gave his views on the deal.

“Items like the government share are welcome safeguards but, overall, the assurances appear pretty weak,” David said. “Just five days ago, Royal Mail received a £10.5m fine for failing minimum service standards, which was almost double the previous year’s fine for causing significant public harm – yet the new assurances essentially say ‘Just don’t get worse, and you’re fine’.”

David stressed that there have been five centuries where service performance was good, and how it’s only in recent years that RM’s service has declined significantly.

“Our £1.5bn creative industry is thriving despite the postal challenges. There’s still hope. The demand is there, and a savvy operator like Daniel Křetínský could harness it to rebuild trust and success, and Daniel stated, we’ve certainly got some great ideas for how you can grow the market if you want to roll up your sleeves alongside us!”

Waterstones, Oliver Bonas, Lark and Postmark join the Den Waterstones, Oliver Bonas, Lark, Postmark, House of Cards, Utility, Jumping Bean, Red Card, Highworth Emporium, George’s, Chirpy, Presentation and Mantons are among the retailers who will be turning into Dragons in a few weeks, having committed to participate in the GCA’s Dragons Speed Dating 2025 event, which takes place on Thursday, 27 February

At the event, up to 72 publishers have the chance to make a 10-minute pitch with at least three of the 18 different participating retailers, with card samples given to all the retailing dragons to take away.

The event, with sponsors Loxleys, Enveco and GF Smith on board, will take place at London’s Business Design Centre from 12.45pm to 5.30pm – and there’s a bonus this year where each retailer Dragon gets to choose one card company they definitely want to see, meaning those picked will be able to present their designs to four shops.

There are still some places left for publishers to attend the event, costing £195 plus VAT. Book via the GCA website. There’s a free Prepare To Slay The Dragons online meeting on 7 January, where essential information will help publishers prepare.

More AI on the cards at Moonpig

Double-digit growth at Moonpig has underpinned a 3.8% revenue increase at the group to £158 million with continued technology innovation including artificial intelligence credited for the rise.

However, the online card and gift retailer reported a £33m loss overall in the half-year results to 31 October 2024, after writing down the value of the Experiences gift business it bought for £124m in 2022.

But on the core greeting card side active subscriptions to Moonpig and sister Netherlands-based online platform Greetz Plus surpassed expectations to hit 750k members from 200k a year prior, while the database of customer occasion reminders grew to 96million, up from 82million.

Nickyl Raithatha, ceo praised the AI moves: “We’re excited to have launched Your Personalised Handwriting, an AI-driven feature that allows customers to add their own handwriting to our cards.

By creating their handwriting as a font saved to their Moonpig account, customers can type a message and see their handwriting seamlessly appear within the card. This launch is a key step in our roadmap of innovative features, leveraging emerging AI technologies to enhance the cardgiving experience.”

The 10% increase in the Moonpig brand revenue was underpinned by growth in orders, offsetting the Greetz revenue decrease. Between the two, total orders grew by 4.7% with an average order value rising by 2.5% – and revenue in the US, Australia and Ireland has grown at a combined 42.5% year-on-year.

Above: ‘Dragon’ Oliver Bonas’ newest store, which opened in Cardiff.

Above: Moonpig CEO Nickyl Raithatha.

Top: Maintaining the USO is part of the Royal Mail deal.

Above: Daniel Křetínský.

Below: Cardology’s David Falkner on Radio 4.

To find out more or to place an order, please call us on:

Cardfactory Expands To America

£25m Garven Holdings acquisition marks CF’s physical entry into US

America is the latest destination for Cardfactory as the greeting card retail giant has taken over gifts and celebrations company, Garven Holdings for £25million to expand its international operations and secure a physical entry into the US.

The acquisition of the Minnesotabased business, which trades as Garven Design and Cadence Packaging, gives the retailer a presence in the US gifts and celebration essentials sector, which represents the biggest market globally, valued at around £70billion.

Cardfactory ceo Darcy Willson-Rymer said: “The acquisition of Garven is an important strategic milestone in our partnerships’ strategy. Together with our separate wholesale supply agreement covering over 1,100 stores across the

US, it establishes a physical presence in the US market.”

With Cardfactory already having footholds in South Africa, Ireland, Australia and the Middle East, Darcy added that this US acquisition “accelerates our partnerships strategy in one of our key international target markets”.

Chief operating officer Anne Schulze and chief financial officer Walter Jungbauer will continue to manage the Garven business, which has an established customer base of general and speciality retailers and will allow Cardfactory to explore design and buying synergies, alongside opportunities to introduce its own ranges into the US wholesale market.

CF’s Stay Another Day card raises funds for Nordoff & Robbins

Cardfactory got in tune with the giving side of Christmas as the retail giant partnered with East17 legend Tony Mortimer to raise money for the Nordoff & Robbins music therapy charity.

Marking 30 years since the Christmas classic Stay Another Day, which Tony both wrote and sang on, topped the charts, Cardfactory launched an exclusive charity card in all its stores which included a QR code to stream the music. Cardfactory donated 25p from every £1.49 card sale to the charity.

Tony, together with the London Community Gospel Choir brought their Stay Another Day magic to Cardfactory’s Westfield store in the run up to Christmas with a live performance, plus Tony serving behind the till causing a stir with Christmas shoppers.

“Through this collaboration with Nordoff & Robbins and Cardfactory, I really want

to raise awareness of how music can offer hope, expression and healing to people everywhere,” Tony said. “This 30-year anniversary is more than just a celebration of a song – it’s a call to remember the profound impact that music can have on our lives, particularly in moments of struggle.”

The QR-code design came about through Ellie Fitzgerald, who is now head of music industry at Nordoff & Robbins and also the brains behind the Say It With Songs card and gift concept.

Taylor Swift loses out to football in the calendar charts.

Football has proven its resilience in the world of calendars by kicking global pop favourite Taylor Swift off the top spot and turning the Danilo top 10 red.

The licensed calendar and card specialist’s annual league table of its top-selling products puts Liverpool’s 2025 calendar at number one, leapfrogging Miss Swift to relegate her to the runners-up spot while close behind are rival Reds Manchester United, who stay in third place, as Arsenal FC enter the list at number six.

Music fans have shown their devotion for two oldsters with Sir Cliff Richard’s 40th edition of his annual date with fans at number eight, dropping down three places, while the Oasis reunion has made the Britpop stars a new entry at number nine.

Showing how movies and entertainment influence purchases, Disney Stitch has climbed two places to fourth, and children’s favourite Bluey appears for the first time in seventh place, The Gruffalo slips in at 10, and the recently released Wicked is a new entry in fifth place.

The Light Fund greenlights

for good causes

Industry charity The Light Fund has increased its total fundraising to £2.3million, and the 2024 £92k fundraising efforts will see 19 charity projects come to fruition, helping men, women and children across the world.

£92,000

“What a wonderful way to end The Light Fund’s 20th anniversary year! The impressive sum from this year’s fundraising means that The Light Fund has given well over £2.3million to 174 different charities, since it started,” stated PG Jakki Brown, who co-founded the charity with fellow director Ian Hyder and likeminded folk from the greeting card and licensing industries back in 2004.

“All the monies raised by the raffles at The Retas, The Henries, The Gift Awards and the Licensing Awards, along with generous donations from those in the industry as well as many other events over the years, have all added up!”

The charities benefiting from the 2024 funds are Bone Cancer Research Trust, Bowel Cancer UK, The Brain Tumour Charity, Brain Tumour Support, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), Child Bereavement UK, Child Rescue Nepal, Crohn’s & Colitis UK, Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, Inspire Youth Zone Chorley, Maggie’s, Motor Neurone Disease Association, New Life Special Care Babies, Orchid Cancer Appeal, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Papyrus, Princess Alice Hospice, ShelterBox and Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.

Above: The acquisition includes Garven Design and Cadence Packaging.

Below: Cardfactory’s store expansion has continued in the UK in 2024.

Above: Liverpool FC trumped Taylor Swift in the Danilo calendar league.

Top: Tony Mortimer serving in CF’s Westfield’s store.

Above: London Gospel Choir performing outside the CF store.

Left: Available in Cardfactory’s stores and online, 25p from the sale of each of the limitededition card will go to Nordoff & Robbins.

Left: Trevor Goodall, founder of New Life Special Care Babies, with a hot cot The Light Fund paid for to be installed in Leicester Hospital.

TOP STORY

Destination Design

Top

Drawer’s

showfloor will feature 600+ brands

Top Drawer Spring/Summer will be back at London’s Olympia from 12-14 January 2025, unveiling an expanded show floor. There will be over 600 design-led brands showcased, featuring more than 25,000 products.

This year’s theme is Destination Design, which will feature across eight curated sectors: Gift, Home, Wellbeing, Fashion, Greetings, Play, Food Emporium and Launchpad. Show highlights will include the Spotlight Awards which will be celebrating the best products at the show; the

RetailRevealed Stage, offering keynote presentations, masterclasses and panel discussions; Product Pitch, a live Dragons’ Den style product pitch in partnership with IND!E Pop-up, and Hub of Design Innovation. There will also be exclusive trend insights in collaboration with The Better Trends Company.

“We are delighted to welcome so many new and returning brands to our expanded show floor,” stated Top Drawer’s event director David Westbrooke. www.topdrawer.co.uk

(See Innovations pages 59-65)

Cath Tate distributes Type and Story

collaboration.

Cath Tate Cards has taken over the distribution of Type and Story’s distinctive cards. This follows the decision of Niccy Iseman, founder of Type and Story to have a change in career direction.

“We were so excited when the opportunity to work with the brand came up,” Cath Tate director Rosie Tate told PG. “We've been admirers of Niccy's beautiful design style and strong brand image for a long time, and we're delighted that she's trusted us with the brand she's created with so much love and care.”

Explaining the reasons behind the move Niccy, who will be working in collaboration with Cath Tate Cards going forward, said: “I’ve gone through some personal changes, and I have re-evaluated what I want to focus on. I’m taking some of the transpersonal themes I have developed within my greeting card designs into the world of psychotherapy instead.”

Cath Tate is launching 63 Type and Story foiled designs at Top Drawer, including birthday bestsellers, ages 16-70 and popular occasion cards featuring intricate die-cut details..

The Art File x Fox Under The Moon

Winning awards definitely gets you noticed and The Art File has picked up on Fox Under The Moon’s success, which has led to a new partnership with the affirmation greeting card and book company.

Part of The Art File’s mega early 2025 launch of 250 fresh designs and expansion into new areas, such as calendars, is a collaboration with Fox Under The Moon creator Stacey McNeill on a series of cards featuring her natural scenes and thoughtful messages.

“It seemed that at functions I attended Stacey and her husband Jamie were there winning

awards,” The Art File MD Ged Mace told PG. “We’re always interested in collaborating with like-minded successful brands and so we had a conversation. Fox under the Moon is a perfect fit with our brand as there’s always space for words and images that create magic.”

Fox Under the Moon was a finalist in The Henries 2024 in the Contemporary Words & Sentiment category, while the company has won the Gift Of The Year People’s Choice twice.

The Art File will be showcasing its Fox Under The Moon collaboration on its stand at Top Drawer alongside a wealth of other newness.

Ohh Deer secures V&A and NHM licensing partnerships

Ohh Deer has announced two significant heritage licence signings in the last few weeks. Breaking new ground for the publisher are the announcement of its collaborations with both the V&A and the Natural History Museum, with the resultant products being showcased at Top Drawer

“We feel incredibly fortunate to be collaborating with the V&A, an institution with such a diverse array of works. It’s been a joy for us to explore their archives and bring a fresh, Ohh Deer twist to source material,” commented Mark Callaby, managing director of Ohh Deer. The inaugural V&A collection of 82 SKUs comprise four different looks across greeting cards, giftwrappings, Riso prints and stationery.

Of the Ohh Deer range, the V&A’s brand licensing senior creative manager Jon Morse commented: “It presents the museum’s objects through a new lens – dazzling neons and trend-driven cottage-core compositions help us to broaden the appeal of the V&A’s collections.”

On the Natural History Museum front, working with the home of dinosaurs has allowed Ohh Deer’s co-founders Mark Callaby and Jamie Mitchell to unleash their own love of the prehistoric beasts while injecting humour into the museum’s historical and educational illustrations for the inaugural collection of 24 greeting cards, six postcards, and four Risograph art prints.

“This range has been especially fun to work on,” said creative director Jamie, “because the museum really allowed us to bring the fun elements of our brand into the collaboration.”

Maxine Lister, head of licensing at the Natural History Museum, added: “Through our collaboration with the incredible Ohh Deer, we’ve put a fresh twist on the historical illustrations we have tucked away in the museum’s archives. Together we’ve had fun reimagining them as humorous and colourful products that will allow younger generations to share in the wonder of both the museum’s collections and the natural world in a whole new way.”

Top: Giftbags are included in Ohh Deer’s V&A licensed collection.

Below: Top Drawer is positioning the show as ‘Destination Design’. Bottom: A design from the new Gone Tagging range from Objectables who will be exhibiting at Top Drawer.

Right: Ohh Deer has brought humour to the Natural History Museum’s illustrations.

Above: Rosie (left) and Niccy are looking forward to the

Above: A design from The Art File’s new Fox Under The Moon range.

Collective Rant On Rates

GCA and BIRA push Treasury for business rate reform

The GCA and British Independent Retailers’ Association are among those joining forces to fight for retailers in crucial Treasury discussions on business rates reform.

The round table talks follow the government's recently-published discussion paper on reforming business rates, released in the wake of the Autumn Statement. The consultation process runs until March 2025, with the resulting changes set to be announced in the budget next October, and implemented from the following spring.

The talks come at a critical time for independent retailers with many set to be hit by the October Budget’s cut in business rates relief from 75% to 40%, although capped at £110,000, from April adding further pressure to an already challenging trading environment exacerbated by the increases in employers’ National Insurance contributions.

A number of Independent Retailers’ Confederation members including the GCA and BIRA are involved in the discussions as part of an ongoing consultation involving a series of meetings with a broad range of organisations and trade bodies.

business rates reform.

“Like us, several IRC members have a diverse membership so this is a good way of gathering evidence on behalf of indies as together we represent over 100,000 retailers. A business rate system that’s fair for all is crucial to ensure businesses and our High Streets prosper – with the GCA Market Report showing over 80% of cards are bought in a bricks-andmortar store a thriving High Street is vital for our members, and with research showing over 90% of people send cards each year we reach every High Street.”

GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson said:

BIRA, which works with over 6,000 indie retailers has been lobbying for “meaningful business rates reform” for many years. Andrew Goodacre, ceo said: “This is a real chance to shape a rates system that better serves independent retailers and our High Streets.”

Neil Matthews wraps up his Artebene tenure

It’s a wrap for Neil Matthews, as the long-time Artebene sales manager and agent is to retire after 44 years in the greeting card world.

Neil is stepping down from his day job at the end of 2024, having started as a rep at WN Sharpe – which was a bit of a change from his original job as an apprentice toolmaker and metallurgist!

After WN Sharpe, Neil stayed in the industry, taking on roles at Gordon Fraser, Andrew Brownsword and Hallmark before joining Artebene in 2009, two years after the German-based giftwrap, accessories and stationery company opened its UK arm.

“The Artebene team has been incredible to work with over the last 15 years,” said Neil. “I’ve fulfilled many roles, worked with some inspiring people and learned a lot about this business.”

Neil will oversee the transition for the next step in the Artebene development. Neil’s immediate plans then are “to play as much cricket as possible with the Devon 70s – body permitting! – spend some time with our family horses, and an extended visit to our daughter in Australia is definitely on the cards, while still keeping an eye out for what’s going on in the industry.”

Looking out old photos Neil found one of a Gordon Fraser sales meeting

Archway guarantees £3k to EACH from festive FSDU

Altruism runs deep at Norwich-based greeting card wholesaler Archway, and the family-run business has further notched up its commitment to charity while showing its support of the GCA Cardmitment campaign.

The wholesaler business has guaranteed a £3,000 donation to EACH (East Anglia Children’s Hospice charity), having produced a bespoke FSDU full of festive card packs and donated a full display of cards to The Nook, one of the Hospices in Norwich, for the cards to be used by families and staff.

“We’re donating 50% of the profit from the cards to EACH which is notably higher than the industry standard,” explained Dan Begby, technical director at the Norwichbased business.

Dan runs Archway with his operations director wife Amy and her MD dad Chris Dyball, who set up the company 40 years ago.

The business got involved with EACH after nine-year-old family member Fraser Delf, who suffered from the rare Coats Plus Syndrome, received end-of-life care there in 2020.

Dan and Chris delivered one of the FSDUs to The Nook Hospice in Norwich for the cards to be used free of charge by families and the hospice team.

“We really like the GCA #Cardmitment campaign to prompt people to send Christmas cards. We thought that by donating the FSDU it would make it a little easier for families who have the misfortune to be using the hospice and by sending the cards, it will spread awareness of the efforts and sentiment of EACH. We’re pleased to be participating in the spirit of the campaign by doing our best to find initiatives that benefit everyone involved,” stated Dan.

from the early 90s.

“Everyone is wearing suits and ties! I don’t think you will be at any sales meeting nowadays where that’s the case, it’s so much more relaxed now.”

Of other ways the industry has moved on, Neil highlights: “Communication. Now you can contact anyone in the world, find any order, use your phone as an office with little paperwork, all at your fingertips, whereas when I first started as a rep the only way to communicate with anyone before the original ‘brick’ mobiles was to find a telephone kiosk, call the operator and reverse the charges to your company or have an endless supply of coins!”

Above: The IRC is encouraged that PM Keir Starmer has said that cutting business rates are among measures in a new plan. Below: Andrew Goodacre and BIRA have been lobbying for years for

Above: Dan (left) and Chris delivering the unit to The Nook Hospice. Below: Some of the charity designs, which were developed by Second Nature in collaboration with the Archway team.

Above: Neil (right) at Spring Fair with Artebene export manager Peter Giese.

BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.

An Abundance Mindset

others it can be a period of low mood, sadness and a lack of motivation.

I would hope that most of us retailers have enjoyed a good December and are in a reasonable place, that is until our VAT bill drops, Typically, the third Monday in January is classed as Blue Monday, which is nothing to do with the epic New Order tune, but the day when people are classed as being at their lowest.

So here are a few simple tips and hints that can be followed to safeguard your own personal wellbeing, something I am trying to implement as I want to be fitter as my son grows up!

1 - Understand that feeling a little low is normal

2 - Get as much daylight as possible

3 - Keep fit and active

4 - Avoid unrealistic NY resolutions

5 - Eat well

6 - Sleep properly

7 - Learn a new skill

8 - Seek help if things get on top of you

9 - Use the power of positive thoughts to help each day

Now I have started my January early with a goal to lose some weight, sleep more and try and relax. In recent years I’ve found it a

drifting to work or a million little tasks I have to do. I really want to be able to stop and switch off.

So, another Christmas of sparkly lights and stellar sales has come and gone and all of a sudden, January looms with dark nights, cold mornings and bills to face for us retailers as well as our customers. Are the January blues real or are they a mindset? David Robertson suggests it’s time to adopt an abundance mindset.

Workwise my clear goal is to find a better way to manage our stock both in terms of the amount we are holding and how we order going forward as it has such an impact on the success, cashflow and physical space in your business.

Retailers need stock, but we also need to have different products that set us apart as well as fabulous presentation to sell that product.

My other major goal is better communication. This includes between the business and customers as well as between myself and the team.

We all sit here knowing that with the NI increases, the change in rates and the increase in Minimum Wage we will have to be so much cleverer in terms of how we run our teams.

The Government has basically gone back on most of its pre-election messages and of placing blame on the Government who has left office. I have lost all interest in Government and maybe even the news. It just feels like we are all going to work a lot harder to be left with even less.

The new year should be a positive thing, but instead so many businesses are looking at cutting hours, reducing staff, working longer themselves and protecting cashflow. This negativity is not

Above: David is putting his back into getting fit and losing weight. Above right: Hudson, David’s son seems to making more time for reading than his Dad.

good for anyone as the worry extends to your team and your home life.

The role of Government is never to run your business, but it is also not their role to put so many large obstacles in your way that it makes it impossible to do okay.

If you look at Living Wage (a 15% increase in two years), NI (a tax on jobs), employment rights from day one (even harder to recruit and retain), increased health and safety (additional work piled on top of you), a huge amount of the fun in employing people is going and the incentive for anyone to scale up their business is challenging to say the least.

So, I am viewing January as a way to reset my business and ask some questions of myself and others. What exactly does a roadmap look like to allow you to change a mature business? For a map to be any use you need to know the ultimate destination, which for me is to have a well-run business that is part of my life without it dominating my life.

To reach this goal I set little markers along the way that you can go forward and back to at any point to check your progress or to start again.

These waypoints could look a little like this: Lean into the issues… Discuss and dump it all out there. Being honest in your failings is the first way to conquer or push past them. Key here is that it is not just you as the owner, but you need your team members to contribute as well.

Reflect… Step back, look at the problems and decide what needs to be worked on or changed.

Analyse data, both hard and instinctive… As indies we probably will not have all singing EPOS systems and stock tools, but we will have what we think has happened as well as input from members of the team.

Maintain a positive mind… Even if the mistake is glaringly yours or is one that has serious consequences you must give off the aura that you can and will get through it. Take the helicopter view… Pulling back from above and truly looking at the full situation can give you a different outlook on things.

Take a pause… Not rushing into a decision, comment or argument can be crucial long term. You may want to sort things right away, but sometimes the best thing to do is nothing until you know exactly what your plan is. Adopt a growth mindset... don’t let failure or set back define your journey. Keeping that perspective and momentum of moving

forward is crucial. It maybe baby steps or even a sidewise shuffle, but you need to keep the wheels turning.

Slow down… Taking your time to breathe, consider and find solutions is much better. Examine things from different angles; put yourself in other people’s shoes. You control the speed that a situation is dealt with.

So, in 2025 thinking about your health and mind plan is essential. I have reinforced some ways to look at it as least as the starting point.

In 2025 and beyond will be all about shifting the way we buy, sell and run our businesses to allow us to continue to be profitable, but we also will need to be aware of the issues facing publishers and the wider industry.

Greeting cards have a retail price ceiling. For us to maintain our margin we may need to push retail prices for some of the more bespoke cards to above the £5 bracket.

How will the public react to this? How do we tell the story that the greeting card is worth it?

I recall only 18 months ago being in a workshop about coffee pricing where the guy giving the talk said a £5 cup of coffee would become the norm. Sure enough a large coffee from most of the coffee shop chains now hovers around that price and with the news of a poor coffee bean harvest, prices will again rise this year. The public seem to accept that, so we just need them to understand that special cards cost a little more.

The final phrase I want to implant on your brains on these dark nights is to adopt an abundance mindset. Rather than limit yourself too much, shoot for the stars and think of all the things you could or would like to do. You need to think not that you can’t do something, but you can’t do that something yet.

Here’s to a 2025 that’s filled with energy, willpower, greeting cards and customers.

l To contact David email: jppozzi@btconnect.com

Left: Chancellor Rachel Reeves didn’t make many friends with her Autumn Budget. Below left: David Robertson has lost faith in Government, both Holyrood and Westminster.

Right: Champagne and fine cards justify higher prices. Below: Shoot for the stars in 2025.

No Bah Humbugs Please…

...Just Happy Santas

By the time you read this Christmas will have come and gone and we will have welcomed in a New Year. But penning this a week before Christmas, and despite dire predictions, Cardsharp’s reading is that trading has gone quite well.

So, with this in mind Cardsharp is launching two of his very own awards - The Happy Santas, which highlight and recognise many of the positive things that have given support to our greeting industry in this key time, and (boo and hiss!) The Humbugs, those nasty stories and actions the greeting card community could well do without.

No doubt the true picture about Christmas trading will emerge, as always by the middle of January, but with there being a Monday and Tuesday (when most people won’t be working) before Christmas Day on the Wednesday, hopes are high, that despite the poor economic news, it will be an okay, if unspectacular season.

So, donning his awards presenter’s bomber jacket, Cardsharp thinks we should get all the negative stuff out the way first with The Humbugs, and unfortunately, they are rather a lot of awards to be presented.

Firstly, a Humbug goes to John Lewis for dismissing Christmas cards as ‘products

people said goodbye to’ in 2024. Its Shop-Live-Look Report, that it published on December 13, proclaimed that sales of Christmas boxed cards were 23% down on 2023 levels. Why do that and put out a negative trope at such a key Christmas card selling time? Surely this just reflects on the retail group’s own Christmas selection or

the inappropriate timing of its research window. It certainly will not have helped JLP or any other retailers’ Christmas card sales for that matter. The fact that some of the media seized on this as indicative of Christmas card sales across the board, was certainly not helpful.

A second a big Humbug goes to Ofcom, the organisation that is supposedly meant to protect the interests of the customers of Royal Mail, but at times seems to do exactly the opposite. It recently fined Royal Mail £10.5million, after it substantially missed its First Class and Second Class service targets. But why announce this in December, just as the Christmas card sending season is warming up? This was guaranteed to suggest to some consumers that the Christmas cards they were planning to send may not arrive in time, which is precisely not the message the greeting card community wanted conveyed. Why didn’t they hold back on this announcement until January when it would have less of a negative effect?

Below: The John Lewis Shop-Live-Look-Report includes some Humbug reading on Christmas cards.

Above: Daniel Kr�etínský has now added Royal Mail to West Ham and Sainsbury’s as companies he has his fingers in.

Left: There are several key contenders for The Humbugs negative awards.

Then a big Humbug goes to the prospective buyer of Royal Mail, Daniel Křetínský, and the politicians of all persuasions who seem intent on letting this mysterious figure and his private equity backers (perhaps we should call them the ‘Kretins’!) acquire the historic treasured institution which is the Royal Mail. Watch Cardsharp’s prophesy, that this deal will load Royal Mail with debt, assets will be stripped and ‘cast iron’ guarantees for the future torn up. Cardsharp fears a Thames Water debacle all over again. Added to the fact that the Czech Sphinx has had some murky dealings in the past in Russia and it all adds up to bad news in the future.

And then there are those responsible for the marketing at Royal Mail. Given that Christmas cards make up a huge percentage of letter post this time of year, why were cards not included in RM’s marketing this year? It seemed to be everything but greeting

cards featured. And why didn’t they highlight the still very fair price for second class delivery? They could have done that with an early media campaign in November, but perhaps this is further illustration of the lacklustre management team at Royal Mail. Or someone more cynical than Cardsharp might suggest that this is because their margin is so much smaller on second class than on a first class send.

And lastly a great huge Humbug to BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay. After a fantastic segment with Karen Wilson, owner of Paper Salad, at her Manchester studio, who demonstrated the creative process behind the publisher’s fabulous Christmas cards, this smug, sanctimonious, bearded twit, expressed surprise that anyone sent them these days. Thankfully his reaction was in stark contrast to his enthusiastic copresenter, Sally Nugent, who was inspired by the piece, to get moving on her own send. Actually Jon, I am surprised that anyone still pays their BBC TV licence fee with presenters like you!

So, enough Brickbats, let’s get into positive territory with the Happy Santas awards. These must go in piles to the GCA and the association’s public relations advisors, Nick Agarwal and Andrea Ross, the co-founders of Arena PR. What a fabulous job has been done on what are limited resources compared to the results.

Firstly, there has been the tireless and complicated work to triple think how best to

safeguard an affordable and reliable service from Royal Mail. Cardology’s director David Falkner must also have an Ology in Royal Mail and Ofcom documents and proposals, having pored over hundreds of pages to extract the salient points and help define a strategy with others on the RM committee.

The media has literally been love bombed by the greeting card industry. In the month of December, you could hardly turn on the television, the radio, or read the national press without hearing or seeing Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA, a member of the GCA Council or publisher or retailer member fighting the industry’s corner for greeting card sending.

And generally speaking, the media was very receptive to the positive messaging that we as an industry put out. It is interesting to see the differing reactions from the male and female presenters. While the male presenters were generally a bit dismissive and condescending, the female ones were much

more supportive and enthusiastic. Even Kay Burley, Sky News’ Queen Bee who is renowned for being the toughest interviewer on TV was eating out of Amanda’s hands.

And the messages that came across loud and clear included how the younger generation is really picking up on the tradition of sending Christmas cards, despite the perception to the contrary. Timely findings from Hallmark’s research underline that 63% of all 18-30 year olds planned to send more cards for Christmas 2024.

And another Happy Santa must go to the Cardmitment campaign. The Cardmitments WhatsApp group pioneered by some of the best independent card retailers in the UK have taken the GCA’s Cardmitment campaign and run with it big time. The idea to set the bonkers Instagram Cardmitment Challenge which kicked off with spoof videos of Pam from Gavin & Stacey extolling the virtues of sending Christmas cards on Nov 1 to make the most of them, was inspired and very funny.

The whole GCA Cardmitment campaign this year has been extraordinary. Any greeting card publisher, or serious trade industry supplier who is not a member of the GCA,

should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves and join immediately.

Finally, Cardsharp was absolutely blown away by the brilliant creative window displays that independent greeting card retailers came up with to show off their Christmas wares. Dramatic lighting displays, snow flurries, highland themes, dinosaur panoramas, the various incarnations from so many were a joy to behold. There may be fewer independents around these days, but the ones that are still thriving have had to work so hard to maintain this.

So, there you go. Cardsharp’s list of some of the good, the bad and plain ugly this Christmas past. Cardsharp is sure that PG readers could give plenty more examples from the last few months, but now it is time to put this all to bed and look with hope to a prosperous, healthy and happy 2025.

Above: No mention of Christmas cards in Royal Mail’s recent marketing. Bah humbug!

Above: (right-left) Cardology’s David Falkner with Arena’s Andrea Ross and Nick Agarwal, Woodmansterne’s Seth Woodmansterne and Royal Mail’s head of public affairs Fiona Hamilton at the recent GCA AGM and Conference.

Below: Sky News’ presenters (second right-left) Kay Burley and Gareth Barlow with GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson (second left) and journalist Mel Hunter.

Below: A stunning circus-themed Christmas window at Austin & Co in Malvern.

adder & minuses

In the Chinese zodiac, 2025 will be Year of the Snake. The Snake in Chinese culture is seen as a symbol of adaptability, strength, wisdom, intuition and transformation. PG put members of the GCA Council on the spot asking them what would be top of their ‘hisslist’ for the magic snake to grant for the greeting card industry; what they cite as the biggest challenges as well as opportunities they see for the GCA and the sector as a whole in the year ahead.

Darren Cave, customer and channel director of UK Greetings and president of the GCA Opportunity Knocks: “The key to success lies in understanding and supporting the consumer’s desire to commemorate life's special moments, even during economic uncertainty. By focusing on creating meaningful connections and providing accessible ways to celebrate how the industry can adapt to challenging market conditions. As consumer confidence stabilises and businesses seek supportive policy frameworks, greeting card companies have a strategic opportunity to reinforce their product proposition, emphasising the emotional significance of personal communication and milestone recognition.”

Key Challenges: “Falling footfall on the high street and the increasing challenges businesses are facing with antibusiness policy making (NI being a good example), are creating challenges for our industry that we must navigate by thinking differently.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: “My wish would be for consumers to feel more stable and have the confidence to spend, and for businesses to be supported with policies that support growth.”

Daniel Prince, managing director of Danilo Opportunity Knocks: “To drive unity across the industry and keep reinforcing the importance of giving and receiving cards among the public, across all demographics. The GCA must also continue to fight for a viable postal service across the UK.”

Key Challenges: “Publishers are still under enormous pressure to meet increasing costs of production and general business expenses. This has been made even more challenging with the imminent increase in the employer’s National Insurance rate. There is a genuine need for support from all parts of the industry and retailers to ensure that publishers can survive these tough times.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: “My plea would be for more to be done about the increase in copycat designs that are appearing in the market – it’s a massive problem. This is not only impacting on independent publishers whose unique designs are being copied and exploited by large organisations, but as an officially licensed publisher, Danilo is seeing increasing levels of unofficial products being offered at retail, which is blatant passing off. It really needs to stop. As an industry in which publishers collaborate, there shouldn’t be a need for this. It’s just not ethical.”

Right: As Kantar research company revealed at the GCA Conference, half of card sales are from older generations

Above left: Daniel Prince with Pip Heywood, md of Thortful, who has also been keen to stem the amount of copying of card publishers’ designs.

Above right: This pensioner shows her delight at an officially licensed Cliff Richard card from Danilo during a recent Caring at Christmas visit to a care home.

Above: Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA (centre back row) with members of the GCA Council. (Left-right) Karen Wilson (Paper Salad), Daniel Prince (Danilo), Rebecca Green (Raspberry Blossom), David Byk (Ling/GBCC), Georgina Fihosy (AfroTouch Design), Mark Williams (Brainbox Candy), Darren Cave (UKG), Warren Lomax (PG), Fiona Pitt (Hallmark), Mark Callaby (Ohh Deer), Jakki Brown (PG), Nick Carey (Abacus), Chris Bryant (Glick), Sarah Jackson (Stormy Knight), Wendy Jones-Blackett, Seth Woodmansterne (Woodmansterne) and Rosie Tate (Cath Tate Cards).

Above: Darren Cave addressing the audience at the recent GCA Conference and AGM.

“The Gift Fair will feature some amazing new brands, such as Cheeky Legends and Little Roglets, both recognised with the Future Star Awards, celebrating rising talent with exceptional promise in the gift industry.”

Wendy Jones-Blackett,

creative director of Wendy Jones-Blackett

Opportunity Knocks: “There is so much that can still be done to promote card sending and keep reiterating the uplifting message that cards are good for the soul!

It amazes me how resilient our industry is - despite having made it through lockdowns, energy price rises, material price rises, Minimum Wage rises, and so on, most of the companies I know are still around. I personally think that as a creative industry we don’t just apply creativity to the products we design and sell, but also to how we run our businesses - we are more able to roll with the punches and make changes when necessary.”

Key Challenges: “Our job is to keep the card sending tradition alive and relevant year on year and to make sure that cards are widely available and easily sent. For the 50% of cards not given by hand but sent by post, the GCA will continue to push to keep the postal network affordable and trustworthy - if you send a card First Class

Sarah-Jane Porter,

you need to know it’s going to be delivered the following day.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: “I would still love Facebook to have a notification for sending birthday cards‘Wendy, it’s Jacqui’s birthday in four days, why not get a card in the post today and you can send it Second Class.’ I wonder how many extra cards would be sent over the year if this happened!”

global design and licensing director of Moonpig

Opportunity Knocks: "The greeting card industry has a significant opportunity to align its offerings with the diverse and evolving preferences of key consumer groups. This means not only understanding, but actively engaging with younger generations to nurture the emotional connection of card giving in a way that feels relevant to their lives. Offering modern designs, humour, and digital integrations like QR codes or augmented reality and personalisation can bridge the gap between tradition and technology.

Simultaneously, there’s huge potential to cater to the UK’s multicultural landscape by introducing inclusive themes that celebrate diverse cultural and religious events, offer bilingual options, and represent a broad spectrum of relationships and identities. By prioritising inclusivity and innovation, the industry can create meaningful connections across generations and communities, fostering a renewed appreciation for the timeless yet adaptable connection through greeting cards. I think a great example of this is the work that the GCA's has done with Winston's Wish charity, exploring more appropriate and relevant greeting card imagery and editorial for more meaningful connection and support to bereaved children."

Key Challenges: "In 2024, I think the UK greeting card industry faced three main challenges:

• Economic pressures and changing consumer behaviours. The ongoing cost-of-living crisis led to reduced discretionary spending, making consumers more price-conscious and less inclined to purchase non-essential items.

• Reduced high street footfall, store closures, and the continued shift toward online shopping will have impacted high street greeting card sales.

• Royal Mail's increased postage costs and less reliable service have impacted the greeting card industry. Delayed deliveries can lead to missed occasions and frustrated customers, damaging brand reputation and reducing sales. To mitigate these challenges, businesses have had to adapt by offering alternative delivery options and encouraging early purchases."

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: "My wishlist for 2025 would be to harness the transformative energy of the Snake to reignite and nurture the joy of card sending, particularly among younger, digital-first generations. The focus should be on showcasing the unique value of tangible, thoughtfully crafted greetings, helping younger consumers to recognise the emotional power and personal connection that a physical card offers, in contrast to the fleeting nature of digital communication and of course transforming and restoring our Royal Mail service back to the world class service it once was."

Sarah

Jackson, founder of Stormy Knight

Opportunity Knocks: “I don't pretend to know about politics, but if Labour and Trump are set on strengthening trade ties between the UK and USA then I'm hoping we will see more opportunities for export to the US, possibly with grants for trade shows and good shipping prices.”

Key Challenges: “I think making sure that the younger generation is engaged in card sending - it's been a long-running tradition for the UK for such a long time, but I don't think we can just assume that it always will be, unless we make sure that we are designing for Gen-Z and below as well as the ages that we know to be dedicated card buyers.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: “Magic snake? That sounds like an excellent theme for The Henries!”

Above: Sarah Jackson with one of the Cardmitment posters she designed that is available to download from the GCA website.

Right: The GCA’s overarching Cardmitment campaign has been successful in reminding people of the joy and importance of sending cards.

Below right: Wendy (centre) and Steve Jones-Blackett with long serving team mate Jacqui Godlove at PG Live.

Above: Sarah-Jane Porter (right) and Moonpig colleague Chloe Allum with Winston’s Wish’s Paul Moore and three discussion boards which were used at the recent workshop.

Below right: Moonpig’s collab with Gu puds is one way the online retailer is looking to encourage the younger generation to send cards.

David Falkner, managing director of Cardology

VIEWPOINTS

Mark Callaby, managing director of Ohh Deer

Opportunity Knocks: “Our industry continues to shine. Our love for greeting cards isn't slowing down and younger generations are continuing to reject social media and keep sending cards. I believe we have a real

Opportunity Knocks: “For me, 2024 was 100% about stabilising our foundations in the face of exceptional change: We secured strong alliances, we were named a Strategically Important Sector by the Government, and are now a welcome voice at most tables shaping key policies. In the middle of this, we’ve delivered a return to growth for our industry, maintained our exceptional 94% category engagement rate and I suspect a few of us can even point to a few significant export wins. It’s this platform that now offers all of us the base to accelerate in 2025.”

Key Challenges: “While Royal Mail’s ongoing commercial seppuku offers an increasingly bizarre industry backdrop and exporting to either the EU and US is unlikely to get easier in 2025, both are dwarfed, in my opinion, by the critical urgency to understand, assimilate and effectively incorporate AI, both to protect our boundaries but, even more importantly, to explore transformative business processes and models that are now starting to enable massive further change. Agility, for the smaller players at least, will be key.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: "I’d ask the Magic Snake (who may arguably benefit from a rebrand!) to wish everyone in our industry - partners, colleagues, and competitors - a year of adaptability, innovation, and success. Let’s shed what no longer serves us and strike at new opportunities together. Here’s to an hisstorically great year ahead!"

opportunity to continue growing our industry by engaging future generations even more. The products we have on the market are rich and diverse and cater for all ages and I think that the message that the GCA has been shouting out over the last couple of years resonates with so many people, across all generationsbecause cards mean more. It's the small moments that we're not often hearing about from the public, where they're receiving a card from a loved one which means everything to them, but we know it's happening because it's happening to us as well. We break through the noise of what's happening in the world around us for so many people with a simple card that spreads love and support when people need it the most.”

Key Challenges: “Because of the Government's recent Budget, all businesses, including within our industry, are going to be hit with more financial struggles. Then throw in additional, pending, taxes from the US as well as its change in government and the continued uncertainty of trading with Europe, I think we're all going to have our guard up and watch our margins more - which will only bite the end consumer more.

Plagiarism continues to be a problem, especially with the rise of Temu with its blatant copying. We're in a difficult position as we're one of the most creative industries there is, with pressure to bring out new designs all the time, but many small businesses can't afford to fight these copycatsand even if you can, the fight can take you away from the need to stay focused and continue innovating.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: “I've come across a few people telling me they have a magic snake before now! When I was exhibiting at Paperworld in the UAE in November, I had someone trying to convince me that the future of greeting cards are plastic. His argument? They'll last for over 100 years. I politely told him how wrong I thought he was and how he was preaching to the wrong person, considering we'd just gained our B Corp status. So, this magic snake... it would be great if we can continue to build on our sustainability progress as an industry and for no one to fall for a dodgy salesman.”

Above: David Falkner and Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA campaigning outside Parliament about safeguarding Royal Mail. Below: Exporting to the US is set to be challenging with the tariffs Donald Trump has mooted when he becomes President.

Above left: Mark Callaby at the GCA Conference and AGM asking a question to the Royal Mail representative.

Below: The presence of the GCA at both London and Manchester Pride marches in 2024 saw almost 50,000 cards celebrating diversity being handed out to members of the public.

Below left: So many publishers have discovered their designs have been copied and are being sold on the Temu online marketplace.

Georgina Fihosy, founder of AfroTouch Design

Opportunity Knocks:

“It's a great time to get savvy with AI in terms of supporting our internal processes and outputs. Also, it would be remiss of me if I did not mention that as the demand for more inclusive and representative designs continues to grow, there's definitely an opportunity to amplify diverse voices within the industry and encourage retailers to stock a broader range of representative cards.”

David Byk, ceo of Ling Design and GBCC

Opportunity Knocks: “I think the issues for all of us for 2025 is that the only certainty we seem to have are tax rises! These will reduce consumer confidence and spending ability plus, while the government is promising a growth agenda this really doesn’t feel like one for retailers or publishers. The rises in the Minimum Wage and National Insurance will hit us all hard as we all see our costs increasing.”

Key Challenges: “A key challenge for all of us and the GCA while watching the government/Ofcom not taking a hard enough line on the Royal Mail is to continue to push that cards are great value in relative terms and bring joy. ‘Send a Card and Deliver a Smile’ could not be more appropriate at a time where life feels hard.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: “In terms of snakes I sadly have never found much time for reflection, yoga and personal transformation. Perhaps 2025 is the year to do so, if I get time which would be a surprise…”

Key Challenges: “Retail uncertainty is a worry. The shifting retail landscape, including store closures and reduced footfall, continues to challenge bricks and mortar card sales so there's a real need to think about omnichannel strategies.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: “O wise snake, lend us your transformative powers to enchant all text messengers and WhatsApp-ers to rediscover the joy of ink on paper, and while you are at it, could you weave some magic to ensure every household in the UK buys at least one card a week? Preferably two!”

Rosie Tate, director of Cath Tate Cards

Opportunity Knocks: “In 2025, it's highly likely that the value segment of the card market will continue to grow, as we've seen in 2024. This trend isn't necessarily a negative for greeting card producers and retailers. Given that greeting cards are a relatively low-cost item - often cheaper than a cup of coffeethey remain an affordable way for consumers to express care or send birthday wishes without splurging on an extravagant gift.

Another 2025 opportunity is the GCA and entire greeting card industry rallying behind, is the public's strong support for maintaining Royal Mail.”

Key Challenges: “High street retailers ‘finding a way through’ in 2025 is a challenge for us all. As a product that needs bricks and mortar shops, the greeting card industry must hope that retailers, big and small, find a way to navigate some of the challenges they’re facing, particularly after the recent Budget.”

Year of the Magic Snake’s Hisslist: “This year I’d like to ask the magic snake to make international trade, particularly trading with the EU, a tad easier in the paperwork we have to now do. Another personal wish for 2025 - we don’t want AI to write scripts or do interesting things, but can someone please code AI to do boring household tasks, like the washing up!”

Above: AfroTouch’s Georgina Fihosy (left) exhibited at the recent UK Black Business show. Right: Georgina wishes that we could convert more texts into physical card sends.

Above: David Byk (left), GCA’s Amanda Fergusson and Cardology’s David Falkner delivering smiles. Right: Could 2025 see David Byk becoming a yogi?!

Top: With the majority of cards being cheaper than a cup of coffee, they remain an affordable way to show you care.

Above: Rosie Tate joined the GCA Council in September 2024.

REACH FOR THE SKY

ITV News and even a video shared on the Associated Press wire, the greeting card industry has banged the PR drum mighty impressively over the last few weeks, ramming home the message about the importance of sending Christmas cards as well as safeguarding a reliable and affordable Royal Mail.

PG shares a rundown of just some of the coverage that reached 27.4 million people’s hearts, minds, ears and souls of millions in the crucial run up to Christmas.

Plenty of people have popped up to write the obituary for Christmas cards of late but, in the words of Mark Twain, the reports of the death have been greatly exaggerated, as the greeting card community has been at pains to point out, clinching a stunning amount of publicity in the process. While largely orchestrated by the GCA’s PR maestros, Arena PR’s co-founders Nick Agarwal and Andrea Ross, the messaging has been delivered with aplomb and authenticity from publishers, retailers as well as the association’s head honcho, Amanda Fergusson.

Following a few days after Paper Salad’s owner and GCA vice president Karen Wilson and Amanda were in the spotlight on BBC Breakfast, the UK’s most watched TV programme, Amanda then appeared on prime-time Sky News on 17 December, where she was invited to refute journalist Mel Hunter’s lengthy article in The Telegraph from the day before in which she wrote that this would be the last year she would be sending Christmas cards.

Amanda, who also appeared on BBC Radio Wales last week, capped her discussion of how the very British tradition is part of the Christmas decorations, and that research shows younger generations are increasingly sending more cards, with handing a festive card to Mel, as well as one to news anchor Kay Burley, along with a birthday card too as it was the revered presenter’s big day.

And Amanda highlighted how people are spending more on single cards that have extra meaning – part of the £1.5billion greeting card industry that supports

Above: Media has proliferated since the typewriter ruled the roost, but spreading the word remains all important. Below: Sky’s Kay Burley with Amanda’s Objectables’ card.

Bottom left: As one of the most watched TV programmes in the UK, clinching prime slots on BBC Breakfast at the start of December meant the footage of Paper Salad’s Karen Wilson (left) with BBC’s Nina Warhurst and GCA’s Amanda Fergusson was seen by 5 million members of the public at peak Christmas card buying time.

Bottom right: Amanda (second left) with journalist Mel Hunter (left) and Sky News presenters Kay Burley and Gareth Barlow on the morning news programme.

thousands of jobs across publishers, suppliers, and retail – by showing an Objectables’ Christmas card she had received from an old friend featuring Folkestone where they went to school together.

Kay thought so much of the discussion that she went on to post part of the programme’s footage on her personal X account asking for engagement on: “Will you be sending Christmas cards this

year? Is this very British tradition dying, or just changing?”

While many responses bemoaned the price of stamps, many others were very supportive of the Christmas card, as was the recent Independent article from columnist Will Gore who admitted: “Writing Christmas cards can be a chore but there’s no magic in emails, and a WhatsApp one-liner just won’t do.”

He said he’d been putting off completing his Christmas card list until opening some that arrived: “Each was a little reminder of the love we feel for these people, and the love they feel for us.

“I realised the game was up. I might resent the cost of postage and get frustrated when I can’t find the address of a cousin who I’m sure has moved but. the truth is, I would resent even more not hearing from those old mates and the relations I rarely catch up with in person.”

And, while Flora Watkins’ recent piece for The Spectator asked how many can afford the postage for sending reams of cards these days, it also gave Amanda a platform to explain the dynamics of how Christmas sending is changing from lots of cheaper ones to fewer more considered sends, as well as charities showing how they are directly affected when people decide to cut down.

Cath Tate Cards hosted the ITV News team on Friday 13 December, with the publisher’s director Rosie Tate, who is also GCA Council member going on camera for a segment on the Royal Mail being fined £10.5million by Ofcom for not meeting delivery targets, and the impact on the greeting card industry.

David Falkner, co-owner of Cardology and the GCA lead on Royal Mail relations, was interviewed on both BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the Associated Press news reel where he gave his personal views on the news that the government has

approved the sale of the business to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group

And indie retailer Heidi Early was also part of that story as she was filmed at her Stoke Newington-based store Earlybird, appearing on ITV News, explaining that the current postal service is so unreliable, she has to pay extra to track orders dispatched by Royal Mail.

Sarah Laker of Stationery Supplies is another known for speaking out in support of indie businesses and the card industry as a whole, which she did to great effect on TalkTV’s show with Westminster insider Peter Cardwell on 15 December.

She was on to speak about the recent Small Business Saturday, explaining how local stores have a real connection to customers, and linked it to the host’s previous segment on stories about people not receiving Christmas cards, making the point that it is “so important during this season”.

“We sell a huge amount of Christmas cards. I think when you look at the cost of it, it's 85p for a second-class stamp these days, that coupled with the cost of a card is less than you'd spend in a chain buying a coffee that people buy every day.

“When you compare it to that and the fact that you're choosing and you're sending some love to somebody that they're going to put on their mantelpiece and enjoy for a few weeks, you can't put a text or a WhatsApp message on a mantelpiece to enjoy. You don't get that same feeling of excitement and of being loved by somebody.”

Certainly, the love of Christmas cards has been spread far and wide this year, more so than ever. And who knows what Arena PR will be drumming up to keep that heart beating for Valentine’s Day card sending!

Above: Heidi Early on ITV.

Below left: Rosie Tate gave the Cath Tate Cards’ view on Royal Mail being fined on ITV, reaching almost 4 million viewers in the process.

Below right: Radio 4’s Today programme has 3.28 million listeners and Cardology’s David Falkner made the most of the opportunity of this airtime as well as appearing on the Associated Press video newsfeed to push to protect service levels from Royal Mail.

Right: Mel Hunter’s article in The Telegraph on cutting back festive card sending.

Below: Flora Watkins’ Spectator article.

MARKING TIME

“Instigating the inaugural new look in our Kings Cross store at the same time as opening a brand new store in Liverpool Street at the same time as Christmas stock was going into all stores… you’d think I’d have learned to slow the pace down, but seemingly not!” admitted Mark Janson-Smith, co-owner of the Postmark group, who also squeezed in running the Berlin marathon in the same period.

PG donned its trainers to chase after the marathon man and innate retailer to learn more about Mark’s plans to stay in the running and to open more stores.

This time last year, Mark Janson-Smith’s wife and business partner, Leona strongly requested: “Please let’s not open any more shops this year.”

They sort of kept to the deal, well for a few months at least, instead putting their boundless energy into bedding in the former Paperchase sites Postmark took on which effectively doubled the size of the business and confronted the new challenges of running stores in busy railway station locations, with limited storage facilities and strict regulations on deliveries into those stores.

It also became apparent that while an idyllic setting, the garden ‘office’ at their home was no longer practical as the HQ for the growing retail business. Now Postmark has its name above the door of a new office and warehouse in London’s Fulham, with a showroom set to be installed in the new year.

“Much as it was a luxury to wander to the end of the garden to go

to work, the new set up is so much better, not just from a logistics point of view, but on the team front too. While most deliveries go straight to store from suppliers, we also have a van delivering into our station stores a couple of times of week,” says Mark, who is full of praise for Graham Leese, Postmark’s head of operations for his tenacity in setting up the new warehouse system.

The significant consumer-facing change however has been the creation of a whole new

look for Postmark, which made its debut in the Kings Cross store in October.

“When we took over the Paperchase sites in March 2023, to get them up and running we used the former fixtures and fittings, but it was always the plan to bring them into the Postmark family with our look and feel,” explained Mark.

While freely admitting that he felt “absolutely terrified” before seeing how his blueprint for the transformation had come to fruition, largely as it represents “such a large investment”, Mark is delighted by the results. “I feel it really represents an exciting next step in the company’s evolution,” he endorses.

With a contemporary ‘wooden tree’ providing a central focus as soon as you enter the Kings Cross station store, the light wood flooring, fixtures with a pale turquoise accent colour, illuminated card genre signage and repositioned till

Above: The curved frontage of Postmark’s Kings Cross station store was the first to fanfare the new look.

Below left: Leading stationery brands, such as Leuchtturm, have a strong presence in Postmark while, having sourced a quirky collection of stickers from South Korea they are featured in their own hanging space (left).

Below right: Postmark’s greeting card selection is vast.

Rewarding and awarding

It was a proud moment in July for Mark and Leona Janson-Smith and their team when Postmark not only won the Best Small Multiple award in The Retas greeting card retailing awards, but the Overall Retailer of the Year, testament not only to the quality of the stores, but the fairmindedness and passion of those who run it.

Meanwhile, as part of Mark and Leona’s belief in supporting the industry that supports them and their business, Postmark is a steadfast sponsor

area creates a warm welcome into the card and stationery emporium.

A wide selection of greeting cards flank the back wall while standalone fixtures are used to great effect along the curved shopfront and in the main body of the shop to showcase various stationery ‘stories’ from a vast array of suppliers, including Leuchtturm 1917, Vent for Change, The Art File, Museums & Galleries, Chronicle Books and Galison.

With the new look having debuted in Kings Cross, it was then translated in the new Liverpool Street store, with Postmark’s London Bridge store next up for a makeover, very early in January 2025.

Although accommodating a small selection of quirky novelty gifts in the station stores, the product portfolio throughout the estate remains largely true to Postmark’s remit of championing greeting cards and stationery.

“Greeting cards are still our bedrock. Our card sales are still very strong and customers are still trading up on cards,” reveals Mark. “However, I have been forced to change my mind on how they should be presented. I was always a believer that you should only ever have one card design in a pocket. In the station shops, with trading space at a premium, I had to rip up that preconceived idea, and now we might as many as four different designs in a pocket! Never say never!”

Stationery too is a sizeable and growing chunk of the business. “People love stationery, and there are some great brands out there that do stationery so well,” reveals Mark.

A case in point was evident in Postmark’s Battersea Powerstation store in the run up to

of The Henries’ Most Promising Young Designer or Artist award, with some of the contenders’ entry boards adorning the walls of its new offices.

“The greeting card industry is full of wonderful talent. It is only right that we support this creativity by sponsoring The Henries, something that I would like to build on in years to come,” stated Mark.

Christmas when Leuchtturm offered a personalised notebook service, where customers could buy a notebook and have it embossed with a name or initials. “The demand

was unbelievable, we had to turn people away as the shop had to close!” shared Mark.

Adding extra context, in the last year alone, across its 15 stores, Postmark has sold over 65,000 notebooks and over 90,000 pens.

“Like greeting cards, stationery is another tangible product. Yes, people have a need for stationery, but like cards, when they see something they like and pick it up instore, they invariably want to buy it,” believes Mark.

This year Postmark also ventured into importing, sourcing a quirky range of stickers from a company in South Korea. “I love the relationships we have with the best companies in the UK, especially the card publishers, but importing a line directly means that we can offer something that few other retailers will have, and this further adds to our point of

difference for our customers,” he believes.

With new systems and facilities now in place it does appear that the self-imposed store opening curfew has been lifted.

“Some opportunities are just too good to ignore,” teases Mark. “We are also getting approached by more landlords who are keen for Postmark to open in their sites, but they so have to be in the right location.”

Although its store in Glasgow is doing well, London remains Postmark’s heartland. “We believe there is still considerable growth potential for us in the capital. We have one store in the pipeline now and finding another two or three would be ideal,” confirms Mark.

Having forged a joint venture partnership with Paul and James Taylor of Cardzone several years ago, to help grow the Postmark brand, means that there are extra pairs of eyes and ears out there for new sites that could suit Cardzone, its Mooch gift brand or indeed Postmark.

“Paul and James leave the running of Postmark to me, Leona and the team, as we know our brand inside and out. And I feel the same about Paul, James and the team at Cardzone, but it is good to keep in touch in good times and challenging ones,” admits Mark.

When teased about him being someone who thrives on challenges, both in his business and personal life, his marathon running being proof of the latter, Mark mulls it over.

“In the 20 years since we started the business, for 16 of them there has either been a recession or Covid, so I have never really known a sustained boom time, so trading in challenging times is my norm,” accepts Mark. “On the marathon running front, maybe you are right. I was never a runner and don’t even class myself as being very fit, but having run two London marathons and now the Berlin Marathon, I would like to do all of the Super Six, which means Chicago, Tokyo, Boston and New York to go, but these will have to be slotted in somehow between our future plans for Postmark!”

Above: Mark and Leona Janson-Smith with the two Retas trophies Postmark was awarded in 2024. Left: Mark with card buyer Shannon Fisher at The Henries judging in front of the Best Young Designer entries.

Above: The inside of Postmark’s store in Liverpool Street’s Broadgate. Right: Mark Janson-Smith (left) with Cardzone’s James Taylor after completing the 2024 London Marathon. Postmark’s card buyer Shannon Fisher also ran the 26.2 mile course.

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Come and meet our Directors at Glee 2024

Classic nostalgic characters are happily sharing the plush arena with trendy Kawaii, kidult and noveltythemed soft incarnations.

PG was more than happy to cuddle up with some of the latest plush launches.

With their cute faces, super-soft fur and nostalgic memories, plush is enjoying something of a renaissance. While the Jellycat brand has had a dramatic effect on the sector, changing consumer perceptions on what can be ‘plush-ified’ and the price they are willing to pay for these new collectables, it is certainly not alone on the soft and cuddly front.

“The plush market has seen an explosion of trends in 2024,” states Leynah Potter, global head of marketing for Charlie Bears, whose collectable bears are all handmade, each with their own personality. “We’ve seen plush ranges developed specifically for pets, as well as producers using technology to deliver enhanced sensory experiences that are inclusive and diverse within their plush products.”

Leynah says that plush now is very much seen as a collectable item. “However, that wasn’t always the case, and we’re proud that Charlie Bears was one of the founders in creating affordable plush collectable bears and characters, both in the UK and globally,” she continues, adding: “The trend that will remain true in 2025 is nostalgia, from enhancing the classic teddy bear to bringing the stories and magic of childhood memories to life. Trends such as nostalgia don’t come and go, they grow, and in Charlie Bears’ 20th year we will be

launching more mystical and mythical to that.”

Zara Grindrod, sales and brand director for Rainbow Designs, says that high quality soft toys, featuring renowned timeless characters, are very much evergreens in the plush sector and are continuously on trend.

“Many of these classic characters, with nostalgic appeal, such as Paddington, Peter Rabbit and Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, are the foundations of our Rainbow family and continue to form an important part of many childhoods across multiple generations, making them constantly in high demand.”

A modern day classic joining these brands at Rainbow is the

Wizarding World, featuring a new Harry Potter Wizarding World collection of infant plush toys featuring Harry Potter, Harry’s Owl, Hedwig and house elf Dobby. Along with many other plush suppliers, Zara also highlights that another trend is for eco-friendly plush. “New parents in particular want to give their baby the best possible start to life. In support of this, we have joined forces with Sri Lankan ethical nursery toy company Tikiri to offer an eco-friendly range of infant toys and nursery essentials,” confirms Zara.

“In terms of trends, we’re seeing continued demand for high-quality, character-driven plush toys,” says The Herdy Company’s comms manager Sally Proctor. “There’s also a growing interest in collectable ranges. We expanded our plush range last year with the introduction of Sheppy the sheepdog, who has had a fantastic first year. Our customers have loved being able to add to their ‘flock’ and it’s been great to see such a positive response. Building on this success, we plan to expand our plush collection in 2025 with several new,

Right: A large bunny from Wilberry Eco Classics. Below: Dazzle from Charlie Bears.

Say ‘hello’ to Spring Fair’s unmissable greetings cards collections. Join our 75th anniversary event this February.

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thoughtfully designed soft toys that are currently in development.”

Katy Rugman, product and marketing director at The Puppet Company/Wilberry, highlights that plush has limitless options for gifting, ranging across impulse and ‘just because’ gifts, while being ideally suited to seasonal and extra-special gifts.

As for trends, she says that the ‘kidult’ trend is continuing to grow, with no signs of slowing down, alongside continued demand

Keeping It Personal

PMC will be expanding the company’s plush offering over the coming year, with new releases due out in 2025.

“Personalisation adds a heartfelt touch, uplifting a traditional gift and creating a memento the recipient will treasure,” says PMC’s marketing director Keren Dicken.

“Our licensed Me To You plush is a customer favourite - especially for Mother’s Day – with plush gifts a large part of any gift giving occasion, whether celebrating a new baby, wishing someone a happy Birthday or just as a gift to say ‘Thinking of you’.”

PMC’s personalised Me To You

by the company’s Snackies. “This is an ecofriendly culinary themed collection of characters that include Franco Fries, Pablo Pizza, Dottie Donut and Harry Hot Sauce. Additionally, our best-selling Plant Bobballs, an all year round gift, have been a huge favourite with buyers and customers alike, where we have a new addition, Flower Bobballs.”

Puckator’s graphic designer, Ellie Wheeler, adds that currently, the plush market is increasingly embracing Kawaii, with characters inspired by consumers favourite animals.

“We’ve tapped into this shift with collections such as Squidglys, which feature colourful, durable plush toys made from super-soft fabrics such as Velboa,” she confirms. The range includes the popular Adoramals characters, a series of collectable characters who each have their own unique name and personality, appealing to collectors and gift givers alike. “They are not only huggable but are also designed to withstand daily play with tough, resilient construction,” says Ellie.

axolotls and sea sheep/bunnies to foodie friend combinations. Plus, the Kawaii Kuties are available across various formats, from traditional squishy plush, to bag clips, pocket money gifts and more.”

At Wrendale Designs, founder and creative director, Hannah Dale, says the company has received an “incredible reaction” to its plush range, where the detail and quality have made the difference. “We take over a year to

character, selecting the perfect fabrics and adding detail to make each one really capture the artwork.”

Pointing to a strong trend towards timeless, eco-conscious, character-driven designs that resonate with people of all ages, Hannah highlights some new additions: “We’ve added two new characters to our plush collection for the Spring/Summer 2025 season –Oliver the mouse and Rosie rabbit - as well as three plush comforters to our Little Wren range.”

for environmentally conscious products. “We’re also seeing an increased trend for older generations with more classic gifts,” she highlights. “Our new Wilberry Eco Classics collection combines traditional, timeless toys with sustainability - plush items which are suitable from birth and loved by children, but which also appeal to the older age bracket with their nostalgic traditional designs.”

At Keel Toys, Patrick Downs, head of design, says that current trends in the soft toy market are for the continued growth of novelty-themed collectable items, highlighted

Also highlighting the Kawaii trend is Posh Paws’ marketing manager Steven Russell. “The demand and growth of Kawaii/Japanese-inspired plush toys and gifts has been one of the biggest stand-outs we have seen, and we have invested heavily in our Kawaii Kuties plush collection,” he confirms. “Seeing demand from young kids through to tweens/teens and adults, we have built a range that focuses on popular animals from Japanese culture - trending animals ranging from

Such is the love for plush, that it often becomes a lifelong friend, with everyone from Royalty (rumour has it that King Charles travels with a childhood teddy bear), to babies forming an emotional attachment to a soft toy. For gift givers, plush is the ideal gift for baby showers, or to welcome a new arrival into the world, and, of course, for birthday presents, not just for children, but

plush.

Focus on… Cute Cuddlies

Left: Puckator’s Squidglys plush toy range. Below right: Keeleco Snackies from Keel Toys. Below middle: Oliver the mouse is one of two new plush additions from Wrendale.

Inset: Posh Paws Kawaii Kuties and Swizzels Love Hearts plush collections. Left: Sheppy the sheepdog from The Herdy Company.

In Conversation With… Claire Castle

CASTLE KEEPER

With her family albums including sepia photographs of your ancestors’ retailing businesses, something her dad continued, taking on the Castle family bakers’ business, you might believe Claire Castle was always destined to join the retail sector, but her early experiences somewhat put her off that idea.

“Running a bakers’ shop seemed like too hard work to myself and my three siblings. My dad, a master baker used to get up at 1.30am every day to light the ovens and we all had to help at the weekend. It didn’t appeal to me at all as a career growing up,” admitted Claire.

However, thankfully she changed her mind. With no job advertised it was on spec 41 years ago that Claire sent her CV into WHSmith, stating her wish to work for the retail group. Not only was her wish granted, but it was to lead several years later to her clinching her “dream job” of becoming greeting card buyer for the High Street giant and vastly expanding its greeting card selection in line with the burgeoning sector.

Having started with WHSmith as a Relief Team PA, it was when she was promoted to a PA with

the market research team, at the same time that the buying team was moving from London to the Swindon offices (where Claire was based), that it was mooted by a colleague that she should consider moving into buying.

“I was 26 years old at the time and liked the sound of becoming a buyer, so I enrolled for an Institute of Marketing Diploma, funded by WHSmith and embraced the opportunities,” recalled Claire.

“It was all done rather differently then compared to now. I remember as an assistant

One of the frustrations for greeting card publishers supplying multiple retailers and grocers is the seemingly constantly changing buying teams. No sooner is knowledge built up and relationships forged that card buyers are invariably moved onto other product areas.

One ever smiling exception to this is Claire Castle, the long serving greeting card buying manager of the WHSmith High Street retailing division.

As Claire celebrates 41 years at WHSmith, the majority of which involved in greeting card buying, PG enjoyed a personal trip down memory lane.

buyer for arts and crafts, we used to see suppliers for a casual chat in the local pub. There were no spreadsheets or the level of data analysis we have at our fingertips now,” summed up Claire.

In her early days of buying, as well as having responsibilities for diaries, calendars, frames and albums, Claire was also involved in a new concept store which WHSmith had opened in Thurrock, trialling a different product mix and retail execution. “This came under Timothy Melgund who was also heading up Paperchase, which was owned by WHSmith at the time. I was also involved in the Paperchase concessions, which gave me great insight into the importance of collaboration and respect of different teams and ways of doing things,” revealed Claire.

One month Claire will never forget is August 1996 as it was to change her career path forever.

“The company instigated a huge restructure and everyone in buying had to write down, in order of preference, the three product areas they would most like to buy. I had no hesitation in putting greeting cards in first place as I loved cards so much. I put pens

Above: Claire Castle in WHSmith’s Reading store, one of the flagships.

Below right: Claire’s Great Grandmother and her son outside their grocery store, R Castle in East Hendred circa 1870-80.

Below left: Claire’s Grandpa Castle (right) outside one of his bakeries in Swindon in the 1920s/30s. Claire’s father carried on with the bakery until he retired 27 years ago.

second and core stationery as zthird. Then we all had to spend a whole day doing written tests and case studies in an ‘exam room’. I never found out how I fared in the tests, but I did get the job of my dreams as greeting card buyer!” said Claire. “I was so excited and couldn’t wait to get going and continue WHSmith’s strong heritage as a leading greeting card retailer.”

Claire admits it didn’t get off to a sparkling start though. “Myself and my new team mates were lugging crates around to establish our department when the landline rang and it was Paul Woodmansterne from Woodmansterne Publications saying he wanted to pull out of supplying us. I said to him: “Can we meet up and talk about it please? I can’t lose one of our suppliers before I have even properly started in the role. He agreed, we’ve been friends ever since and thankfully Woodmansterne remains a loyal supplier!” laughs Claire.

Back then Claire recalls that card ranges were huge. “The norm was to have 50+ designs in a range and all the designs in that range had the same barcode, irrespective if they were everyday, occasions or relations

Claire is in no doubt that the real game changer was the introduction of EDI in WHSmith stores in 1998.

“It was a massive project that involved every single card design being given a unique barcode, but from that day forward it was an eye opener as we knew exactly what designs were selling, when and where,” Claire summed up.

While Claire had some time out to have her two children, Charlotte and Angus (who has recently joined WHSmith as assistant book buyer), she has been firmly back in the greeting card buying manager role since 2006.

cards. You wouldn’t know how well specific designs were selling until merchandisers went in to collect the stock tickets,” said Claire.

Of the big hitting brands and ranges back then, Claire cites Camden Graphics, Paper House, Eric the Penguin, Andrew Brownsword’s Forever Friends, Carte Blanche’s Me to You and Emotional Rescue’s On the Ceiling as some that stick in her mind, with the latter still holding its own in the WHS displays today.

“Thankfully I have never been asked to move away from cards. I so love this industry, the people and the products,

and with our customer base being so wide and varied it means we need to cater for their diverse tastes.”

Not counting Christmas, the flagship stores offer 3,000 different card designs that Claire and her team select from over 20 publishers and then work with UK Greetings to physically build the displays.

“It was my dream job when I was appointed card buyer in 1996 and I am still living that dream!” sums up Claire.

In Conversation With… Claire Castle

Revelations, Inspirations and Aspirations

Claire was put on the spot with some probing personal questions…

• As a little girl what did you want to be when you grew up?

“A business executive. Even as a tiny little girl I used to parade around the home with my Dad’s briefcase.”

• What words would someone who knows you well use to describe you?

“My cousin always sums me up as: ‘Buzz, buzz, busy, busy’.”

• What is your guilty pleasure?

“A G&T as soon as I get home from work.”

• What would be your quirky claim to fame?

“In primary school I was something of an arm-wrestling champion and could even beat many of the boys.”

• What other retailers do you most admire?

“All independents. I know how hard they have to work and how the responsibility of doing everything is on their shoulders.”

• There is a magic carpet waiting, where would you like it to take you?

“To Botswana to go on safari.”

• Which famous person would you most like to invite out for dinner?

“Sir David Attenborough. I just love the way he talks about things.”

Right: A big supporter of industry events, here’s Claire at The Retas 2018 with industry stalwarts Chris Houfe (right) and Martin Nevin.

Below: The addition of Toys R Us into a chunk of WHSmith stores will further add to the variety of customers looking for greeting cards.

Below right: Claire (left) with card buyer Scarlett Ford and Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby at the recent GCA Conference and AGM.

Above: At The Retas 2021 WHSmith was crowned Best Non-Specialist Multiple Retailer of Greeting Cards. (Right-left)

Rosie Tate, director of Cath Tate Cards, presented trophy to Claire Castle and her colleagues Chrissi Bee and Jen Morgan.

Above right: Claire (right) catching up with longtime store colleague Carol Henderson in the Reading store.

Right: There are 3,000 everyday card designs in a WHSmith flagship store.

“At a time when the world seems less stable, true values mean even more,” believes Seth Woodmansterne, managing director of Woodmansterne Publications. “Business has to be a force for good in what we do and how we do it, and a commitment to sustainability has to be very much part of that,” he adds.

Anticipating the imminent arrival of a state-of-the-art printing press at Woody’s mighty impressive Magna Park distribution and soon to be production hub, PG talked to Seth and operations director Adam Osborne about sustainability, rollercoasters and chairs.

PRESSING MATTERS

While understandably delighted at becoming a father for the first time in the last year, this is not the only way in which Seth Woodmansterne is looking to safeguard the Woodmansterne legacy, as what is evolving at the company’s mega Magna Park premises in Milton Keynes testifies.

“I feel passionate about preparing the business not just for today or tomorrow, but for the decades to come,” states Seth, who now heads up the third generation publishing and brokerage company that was started by his grandfather as a colour slide business back in the 50s. “Investing in Magna Park and moving our production here alongside our warehousing and fulfilment is very much part of that,” he adds.

If Woodmansterne had wanted to keep quiet about its Magna Park building it would have a job, as the massive unit with its prominent branding is like a beacon to anyone driving up the M1. But rather than keep quiet, the team are rightfully proud of what must rank as one of the most sustainably advanced premises in the industry.

Bursting at the seams in its previous distribution facility, a

Where do rollercoasters and chairs come into this?

As enthusiastic and committed as Seth and Adam are about Magna Park, PG probed to discover their personal passions… with surprising revelations. Seth: “Mine would be chair design. I am fascinated how something that has such a simple function can be so varied and in many cased, so beautifully designed.”

Adam: “Rollercoasters, I love them. I like riding on them, learning all about the engineering involved.”

move had been on the cards for years, especially given the exponential growth of its W Select side, brokerage of John Lewis, Waitrose. And having clinched supplying Ryman Design and the Blue Diamond group in recent months these deals further endorse the decision.

Top: Woodmansterne’s state of the art distribution centre, Magna Park, near Milton Keynes was conceived to have incredibly high sustainability credentials.

Above: Seth Woodmansterne (left), managing director of Woodmansterne, marking the company’s 70th anniversary in 2023 with his father Paul Woodmansterne, chairman of the business.

Left: Awaiting the press! PG’s Warren Lomax (second right) joined (right-left) Woody’s Adam Osborne, Seth Woodmansterne, Louisa Guelch and Rhiannon PryceLewis in front of where the new press will be installed by the end of January.

Wrapping and rolling

Woodmansterne’s recent expansion into gift packaging was done with a major focus on sustainability, with every item made entirely from paper. All the products are fully recyclable and made from sustainablesourced materials. The gift tags are made from sturdy paper and can be fastened with the 100% paper string, while each roll of wrap is protected by a paper sleeve easily opened using the pull-down kraft tab, and the tissue paper and gift tag multipacks are packaged in kraft paper, while the gift bags feature strong woven paper handles.

“You could fit our old warehouse inside here five times over!” sums up Adam Osborne, operations director who, alongside Rhiannon Pryce-Lewis, operations manager embraced the grand plan, reeling off the building’s sustainability credentials with the relish of waiter extolling the virtues of the delectable

delights on the menu.

The net carbon-neutral building is equipped with 99 skylights that flood the warehouse with natural light, a water solar array to pre-

Evolutionary measures

• Woodmansterne has been a pioneer on sustainability initiatives since the 1980s, when the publisher first used recycled boards for its greeting cards, moving to solely FSC paper by 1998.

• The company’s own printing operations achieved FSC certified status in 2009.

• The luxury envelopes used for all cards have been made from 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper since 2017.

• In 2019 it’s Smart Seal replaced its polypropylene bags, thereby removing over 50 tonnes of plastic from the process each year.

• It has gone on to replace the cellobags in its Christmas charity packs with first a plastic band and now a paper band and Smart Seal, meaning that the product range is completely plastic-packaging free – and the packing processes also use paper bands round trade units.

heat hot water, a rainwater harvesting system to flush the loos and sensor-driven ambientadjusting LED lighting, plus 393 solar panels supply over a third of the site’s overall electricity consumption, explains Adam, able to go into minute detail on ducting, wattage, carbon capture and recycling processes at the click of a switch (on a LED light of course!)

While the racking, picking and packing is in full swing, and has been for some time, the anticipation is building for the arrival of a brand new Komori B1 press, which represents several £millions of investment. It also marks the move of Woodmansterne’s production from its Watford base up to the new world in Magna Park.

“We have had our previous press since 1995. And while it has served us well, printing technology has moved on considerably – you wouldn’t use a classic car as your daily car, would you?” asks Seth rhetorically. Sticking with the car analogy, he added: “The new press will take us up several gears, on capacity, on quality, on efficiency and of course sustainability.”

While Woodmansterne’s creative studio is steadfastly remaining in its current Watford location, the whole production team are moving to Magna Park with the plan that as from 2025 all of its greeting cards will be printed, finished, packed and then dispatched all under one roof – a great big solar panelled one of course!

Above: Adam Osborne, Woodmansterne’s director of operations and IT is something of an expert on sustainability aspects as well as, randomly, is fanatical about rollercoasters.

Right: The ‘field’ of solar panels on Magna Park to power the building and beyond.

Below: There is capacity for expansion at Magna Park

Below: The introduction of the Smart Seal has been just one of Woodmansterne’s sustainability solutions.

Inset: Everything’s paper in Woodmansterne’s giftwrappings range.

MARKING MILESTONES

With birthdays being the beating heart of the greeting card industry, makes it all the more fitting to celebrate some of the publishers and suppliers who will be hitting their 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th and 50th anniversaries in 2025.

PG enjoys some reflection as milestones are marked.

25 YEARS SILVER REMINISCING

Looking back over the past 25 years has given the Jonny Javelin team a good laugh at how the publisher’s style has changed.

The original range was the World’s Greatest… designed by Mandy Mega which included the Farter caption with her partner Jonny Spears providing the hilarious and slightly outrageous 36-line verse that could be personalised.

by 2002 they engaged Express Pack for warehousing and distribution, and they’d taken on eight sales agents too, with the team having expanded over the years.

Now known and loved for their classic and continually-expanding Velvet collection, with captions and relations covering the whole scope of occasions, anniversaries, and birthdays, alongside numerous other ranges, the JJ combination of traditional design and sentiment is a fixture in the greeting card world.

Jonny said: “Many are still with us and doing a great job promoting our product – in 2022 Ron Ritchie joined the company as our first sales rep, bringing with him a wealth of experience and enthusiasm.”

Wells in 2018: “Over the earlier years we developed many popular ranges with a wide variety of styles, including Melodies, Daisy Day, Twisters, Manhattan and my old favourite Naughty But Nice where I got to be a bit cheeky again.

“The launch of the Winter Velvet Christmas range in 2012 has to be a major milestone – we still remember the exciting buzz around Spring Fair that year, and the subsequent development of this range across everyday as well as Christmas has carved Jonny Javelin’s place in the market.”

Judy McEwan was their first employee giving support to customers and the sales team, joining in 2005 and still working for them – the others are all long-serving too, with Nicky Heward joining in 2010, then Liz Whitehead (2014), Cate Hartley (2015), and Angela Dawson (2016) while Donna Umpleby is the newbie, having only started in 2019!

Celebrations for this special silver anniversary will start at Spring Fair in February, with new products, gifts, discounts and a bit of reminiscing, while also focusing on the continuing popularity of greeting cards, particularly in the traditional and sentiment market.

Looking back, Jonny said: “The brand really took off in 2001 with two totally diverse ranges – Limericks was a cartoon style, designed again by Mandy, with shorter, cheeky verses and Treasured Moments, which featured sepia-toned nostalgic images with a 16line sentimental verse.”

Moving on from doing everything themselves with help from Mandy’s parents at their shared home in Harrogate,

Having used freelance designers until 2008 to broaden their range of styles, Jonny and Mandy then persuaded Yvonne Howard to join the company permanently, followed by Lindsay

Left: Poppets is a good seller.

Below: The Jonny Javelin team (from left) designer Lindsay Wells, MD Jonny, design director Mandy, sales agent Alistair Black, designer Yvonne Howard, office IT manager Cate Hartley, office manager Judy McEwan, credit controller Nicky Heward, admin staff Donna Umpleby and Liz Whitehead, and sales agent Ron Ritchie.

Above right: Mandy’s drawing and Jonny’s poems got the business underway.

Below: Naughty But Nice is a Jonny favourite.

Right: Treasured Moments and Limericks cemented the brand’s position.

10 YEARS LEAP OF FAITH

Fuelled by optimism, creativity, and a little leap of faith, Apple & Clover’s story began in 2015 when Jo Hawkins decided to take the plunge into the world of greeting cards.

“Pregnant with my third child and with no prior experience, I naively thought ‘how hard can it be to sell some cards’?,” Jo laughed, and her first collection was entirely hand silk screen-printed and painstakingly adorned with crystals.

“A national retailer had spotted our cards at PG Live and wanted to place a large order. It was thrilling until I realised the deadline fell a week before my due date! With the help of friends and family, we rallied to meet the deadline, and thankfully, the baby stayed put until every card was delivered.”

She admitted: “There was no grand strategy, just beautiful cards made with love. Inspired by The Apprentice, my husband Michael spent a day as a traveling salesman, armed with a box of my cards and sheer determination. His efforts secured our first sales, and two of those original stockists – Roy Beswick from Card Collection in East Molesey and Kim Lewis from Longacres in Bagshot – are still valued clients today.”

Following their debut at PG Live, where the experience of speaking to buyers and connecting with other experience outweighed the orders taken, a game-changing email landed:

10 YEARS SCRABBLING ABOUT

With three kids under 4½, Bex Hassett realised the travelling involved in her fashion buying career wasn’t working, but it took children’s birthday parties to discover what she should do next.

“I took some time out and loved being a full-time mum,” Bex explained, “and, with lots of birthday parties to buy for, I started making personalised Scrabble frames and matching birthday cards. The parents loved their kids’ frames so much they asked me to make some for them, too.”

Local artisan and Christmas markets followed with more than a few 3am finishes to complete the personalised pictures, and Bexy Boo began, with visits to local shops picking up 15 regular orders as her mum’s glitter-glueing skills came to the fore,

A whirlwind few years followed as Jo juggled three boys under four with nap-time design work, limiting trade shows to local events so she was always home for bedtime, making slow but steady progress and celebrating her first Henries nomination in 2019.

The 2020 decision to move to a fulfilment company meant the house was finally free of boxes and, following the Covid era, things looked up when

a 2021 PG Buzz advert led to Apple & Clover getting its first distributor in Australia, followed by US expansion and, by 2023, international sales surpassed UK business.

“I ventured outside of my home county of Cheshire to Harrogate, where retailer Butterfly Kisses had placed a £600 order – my biggest yet – and put me in touch with agent Mike Rignall. It all took off from there!” Bex added.

The official Bexy Boo launch was at PG Live in 2015, safe in the knowledge that her pricing strategy was sorted and her cards sold, and she gained four nationwide agents at the show, capping that with The Henries Award for Best Hand-Finished Range as well as the Best Start-

Jo added: “We’ve had a year of transformation in 2024, Michael joined the business full time, adding fresh energy and direction. We exhibited at Spring Fair for the first time and made our debut at a trade show in the US, while also expanding our team with three UK agents.

“Looking ahead, we’re excited to evolve and grow even further. Plans are already underway to launch a gifting range, and we’ll be showcasing our collection at Top Drawer, NY Now in New York, and PG Live for our milestone 10th anniversary,” summed up Jo.

Below left and right: Recent trade shows in the US and UK have boosted sales.

Below: Cute dogs in the hand-finished Kaleidoscope range.

Above: Wedding designs from Apple & Clover.

Right: Winning ways and a trip to Downing Street from Bex’s very first year.

Up Business honour in the Cheshire Business Awards

And in the December she was chosen for Small Business Saturday at The Drum in London, visiting Number 10 to meet then-Chancellor

George Osborne followed by being a 2016 finalist in the British Small Business Awards for the Best British Micro Business in the UK.

business Global River and, when the pandemic happened, she used the down time to design new ranges.

Squeezing four hand-finishers and pals in the studio above the garage allowed Bex to keep up with demand but she then realised all the profits had been lost in paying hourly rates instead of per piece, so moved to The Imaging Centre, which now juggles the 1,000 different components across her ranges to take the pressure off.

The workforce was down to Bex’s mum, a bookkeeper, and graphic designer Ross who also works for Bex’s husband’s web design

50 YEARS A FAMILY AFFAIR

Working in a farm shed at night was both how Badger Converters started 50 years ago – and gave rise to the company name.

Founders Robin Harris and Charlie Dennis set up the business and felt like badgers as they worked in the dark making bags, but they came into the light by the late 70s having moved into a larger factory – although increased demand for the high-clarity film bags for the greeting card industry soon led to a 24hr production operation five days a week, and another move to accommodate the four FMC bag machines, folders and slitters.

Robin’s son Jonathan stepped up as MD in the late 90s, with Jason Bergdahl joining in 2000 as sales manager and he’s still overseeing all operations and sales, having introduced production of walletstyle bags and hot-foiled bags along with an online presence selling the most popular polypropylene film bag sizes.

Having now turned their studio and garage into their home with a new garden studio, Bex still works with Ross, as well as Alison on admin, Ellie and Neil on accounts and bookkeeping, and daughter Amelie looks after social media, newsletters, and the website.

Bex said: “I’ve loved my 10 years of growing Bexy Boo, and thrived and survived in this incredible industry Every day, I feel so grateful to do what I love – designing, coming up with new ideas and pushing the boundaries of the hand-finished greeting card world.”

“The last 10 years have seen us successfully navigate the everchanging environmental landscape, with the introduction of biodegradable/compostable PLA

film bags,” Jason explained. “More recently the UK has started to improve the recycling of plastics with most major supermarkets offering collection of soft plastics. This means polypropylene film bags can easily be recycled into heavier nonfood/non-health related products, such as trays, car parts and hoses.”

And the continuing sustainability thrust will be headed up by William Harris, now taking the helm as the third generation managing director, as Badger Converters looks forward to the funding for the Extended Producer Regulations (EPR) making it easier for council-operated kerbside collections to take soft plastics for recycling.

Left: Trade show fun.

Right: The original Scrabble tile designs are still going strong, and the latest Because… range.

Above left and right: Then and now, the 70s factory and the latest base.

Left: Sales manager Jason Bergdahl. Below left: Jonathan Harris is about to step down as MD. Below right: On the move in the 1980s.

30 YEARS COMING FULL CIRCLE

It all began for Hotchpotch in 1995, when designer and illustrator Lauren White sat at her kitchen table creating tiny scenes in fine pen and adding colour with pencils.

anniversary this year –Hotchpotch has grown and evolved into a trend-led brand with creative studio spaces in Richmond-uponThames and Teddington and a team of talented artists and designers.

All her cards were limited editions, she signed each one and used beautiful, high-quality papers for her designs, and her original logo featured acorns and oak leavers as she was an early adopter of the treeplanting scheme.

Entrepreneur Paul Steele (who sadly died in 2024) soon noticed Lauren’s work and got on board, committing to building up the portfolio of designs, working with a number of artists often straight from art school to grow the business and Hotchpotch became a major publishing force, winning a Henries Award in 2001 for Pearlies featuring designs by Dublin-based Joanna Kidney.

Since Paul sold the company in 2011 to Carte Blanche Greetings –coincidentally also celebrating its 30th

10 YEARS ORGANIC GROWTH INTO GIFTS

Starting off with just six cards in her Etsy shop, Fiona Fawcett launched Plewsy from her spare room in 2015, with a little help from The Prince’s Trust.

Having secured a handful of stockists from her first trade show that year at Pulse London, some are still valued customers today and, a couple of moves around the Bedale area later, November 2024 saw Fiona open her own store in the town, which also houses the studio.

She’s built the business up with the help of part-time wholesale accounts manager Rosie Parker, who joined in 2016 and also helps with order packing.

After welcoming her first baby in 2017 following a Top Drawer debut, Fiona concentrated on building the wholesale side and added giftwrap to the offer before a second baby in 2019 then there was the challenge of

Anna Price has headed up the design team since 2014, pushing the boundaries with her concepts and inks and a further Henries award for the Flair collection featuring enamel pin badges. There are 70 new designs to start off the 30th anniversary year, along with a special edition of the Hotchpotch brochure.

“Now 30 years on, Hotchpotch has gone full circle, with the designers working from home at their kitchen tables, as Lauren White did back in 1995,” Anna explained, “but this time around we’re leading the way

vital in 2025.

“Lauren loved to apply the saying “from little acorns, great oaks really do grow”, and she was right. Hotchpotch designs are sold worldwide and we are so proud of how far we’ve come.”

Covid, where she pivoted overnight to sell mostly B2C, investing in training and social media marketing and, as shops opened back up, the wholesale side slowly

launching a range of British-made textiles in 2022.

Fiona added: “We worked hard at PR and our children's aprons were featured in The Guardian Christmas Gift Guide in December 2023 and secured our Australian distributor. We also proudly won Micro

Business Of The Year in our local Hambleton Business Awards.”

The third baby’s arrival in late 2023 saw Rosie holding the fort until Fiona returned over the summer and, with the addition of Macey in September making packing orders and stock control look like a breeze, the scene was set for the permanent move into retail following forays into pop-up shops.

“We’ve gone from selling a handful of cards to organically growing into a giftware business, juggling kids and family life along the way,” Fiona said. “We make cards and gifts to put smiles on faces, inspired by those little everyday moments when you’ve got a nice warm cuppa in your hand.”

Below left: How the logo has evolved. Below: The current design team of Anna Price, Emily Lester and Rachel Burt.

Above left: Moving into textiles has expanded the offer.

Left: Shop! Fiona now has her own retail outlet. Right: Die-cut is a feature of Plewsy cards.

Above: Lauren White’s first Christmas cards. Left: Pistachio and Pocket Square are new designs.

Above: Former owner Paul Steele sadly died in 2024.

What do the National Archives, Royal Society of Arts, V&A, Royal Albert Hall, the Great Exhibition, postage stamps, the blue plaque scheme and Christmas cards have in common? The Victorian entrepreneur, inventor and campaigner, Sir Henry Cole.

A TRULY GREAT GRANDAD

PG took its seat at the Royal Society of the Arts recently as his descendant, Alice MacDonnell shared her determination that her greatgreat-great-great grandfather receives the true recognition he deserves.

4x grandfather. At a recent presentation at the Royal Society of the Arts’ London base, Alice explained how she recently rediscovered the Brompton Cemetery grave of the man after whom the greeting card industry’s highly-prized Henries awards are named, who was a great friend of Prince Albert and with claims to fame that most could only dream.

“If there's one thing that people know about Henry Cole, usually it's that he invented the Christmas card,” Alice said, pointing to the display by The Steps area at the RSA HQ, which included an original 1843 Christmas card, kindly loaned by PG’s editor Jakki Brown. However, Alice is now on a mission to extend the good wishes of her ancestor.

Sir Henry and his wife Marian had eight children including son Alan, Alice’s three-times great grandfather, and she admitted her quest was sparked from only knowing Grandpa Henry had “created the first Christmas card and that he had a connection with the V&A”.

She set out to buy a copy of the only biography of the man – The Great Exhibitor: The Life And Work Of Sir Henry Cole by Elizabeth Bonython and Anthony Burton – at the Victoria & Albert Museum only to

than 20 years, and one section is called the Henry Cole Wing.

Going on to explain the event’s title From A Mummified Rat To The Creation Of South Kensington, Alice said it starts with Sir Henry’s initial work with the Public Record Office where he found the aforementioned

Above left: Sir Henry and Marian with their eight children. Bottom: Alice MacDonnell is raising awareness of her ancestor Sir Henry Cole’s legacy, which started with the mummified rat.

Bottom: The RSA display includes PG Jakki Brown’s original Sir Henry Cole Christmas card.

rat corpse in the depths of the building and “its stomach was full of the nation's documents, all of our important things that were being stored for our history were basically in such appalling conditions that this rat had made his house there”.

He took the rat into parliament to show the conditions, which led to the department being revamped into the National Archives, where Sir Henry’s story is now celebrated with toy rats for sale, and there’s even a 3D printed version available for youngsters to handle.

At the RSA he’s known as the second founder having been highly influential at the then Society Of Arts when Prince Albert was president, and there is now a Sir Henry Cole room in the prestigious London building. He helped establish the Great Exhibition of 1851 with Queen Victoria’s consort and they worked together to use some of the proceeds to develop the South Kensington area of London known as Albertopolis – where Sir Henry later helped design the Royal Albert Hall in his memory. He also campaigned with Rowland Hill for the reform of the postal service, bringing in the ground-breaking idea of stamps which the sender paid for to replace the old system where the recipient had to cough up to get their letters – and Alice is currently working

on new evidence that suggests Sir Henry may have even designed the Penny Black, the world’s first postage stamp, which helped with the distribution of the Christmas card he invented three years later in 1843.

Also known as a champion of women’s rights, it’s thanks to Alice’s ancestor that Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron’s work came to public attention as part of the first photography exhibition at the V&A in 1852. He also started the Royal Female School Of Art, and his wife Marian laid the first brick at the Albert Hall, following Queen Victoria laying the first stone.

Named in a cartoon for Vanity Fair magazine as King Cole, Prince Albert was heard to remark: “We must have steam, get Cole” when he needed someone to get a project off the ground.

As part of her determination to raise the profile of Sir Henry, back in the summer Alice took part in a conversation with historians Janina Ramirez, Sir Christopher Frayling, Anton Howes and Dan Cruickshank at the RSA discussing his

A Man And His Dog

remarkable legacy and contribution to British innovation, design and manufacturers.

And Alice has also recently held talks at Brompton Cemetery Chapel, where she is now working with the RSA to have Sir Henry’s fairly humble grave restored with the hope that a mosaic memorial could be installed in tribute to the one at the V&A made by his female relatives, and where he started the museum’s first school of mosaics – the London School Of Mosaics.

Following on from the Jim’s Spectacular Christmas book about Sir Henry’s real-life dog Jim and his adventures at the V&A

Sir Henry Cole may have been a brilliant inventor, designer, civil servant, philanthropist and entrepreneur but at heart he was the same as many, a dog lover.

Henry’s long-time four-legged companion Jim has been immortalised with a commemorative plaque to the terrier set into the wall of what is now the V&A’s John Madejski garden.

Jim lived with the family in a flat above the gallery at the museum, and was always by his master’s side with the pair often “seen clambering over bricks, mortar and girders, up ladders and about scaffolding” eyewitnesses reported in The Builder magazine at the time.

One entry from Cole’s diary reads: “In museum with Jim, who barked as usual”.

The loyal Jim was buried in the V&A courtyard because his owner wanted his dog to be “forever immortalised” at the museum where he was “a character”.

written by actress Emma Thompson (see story below), Alice has made her ancestor’s story even more accessible to children by developing a workshop that she teaches as part of her educational programmes at schools in London, and would also love to work on a documentary to showcase all his achievements.

She concluded: “I can't imagine the number of words I've come across describing him. Some of them don't really sum him up at all, like ‘organiser’, but his own blue plaque sums up quite succinctly what he was and everything he did. He was a campaigner and he was an educator. But again, it still doesn't really give clout to how much he achieved!”

The scruffy pooch is now well-known to many children thanks to the 2022 book Jim’s Spectacular Christmas, that was written by actor and screenwriter Dame Emma Thompson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, which is a heartwarming Christmas adventure blending fact and fiction.

After receiving a Jim-shaped Christmas decoration and becoming enraptured by a drawing Sir Henry had made of his faithful pet, Emma was inspired to pen the tale of a “very lucky, very special, very grubby dog, who lives, improbably, in the Victoria & Albert Museum”.

And, after seeing the photograph, she said it was “charming”, adding: “I think you can just about see the gamey whiff that I imagined Jim had!”

Above left: As he invented the blue plaque, it is only fitting Sir Henry has one of his own on his former home opposite the V&A.

Above: The Great Exhibition was organised by Henry Cole and was a popular and financial success.

Left: The RSA display includes PG Jakki Brown’s original Sir Henry Cole Christmas card.

Above: King Cole and Jim in Vanity Fair.

Above: Emma Thompson has brought Jim’s story to a wider audience thanks to Axel Scheffler’s illustrations.

The Henries greeting card awards have always been a level playing field - free to enter and open to every UK card publisher, irrespective of size or tenure.

Here PG spotlights a trio of newbies - Bird & Co Studio, Little Roglets and Heyyy Cards - who all triumphed in the recent awards to find out more about how they are making their mark on the greeting card map.

A TRIUMPHANT TRIO

SPREADING HER WINGS

Emily Byrd is flying high having transformed her life from the burnout of her creative director job in the fast-moving consumer goods category to spreading her wings as a publisher.

Setting the uplifting tone of The Henries 2024 awards ceremony was Emily’s emotional reaction to being announced she was crowned The Lynn Tait Most Promising Young Designer Or Artist, the first award of the evening. The prestigious award came just over a year after Emily had set up Bird & Co Studio

“Leaving a secure salary and steady job was no easy choice,” Emily said, “I was plagued by financial worry and imposter syndrome, but it felt like something inside was calling me to do this and I had to listen and follow.”

After a childhood of creativity, from designing her swimming club’s badge to coming up with an animation for Nickelodeon, a graphic design degree followed.

Emily then became a creative director and partner at a creative agency, producing branding and packaging for global companies but admitted: “I often found myself frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of waste in the

FMCG category where so many everyday items are made for one use, without the ability of being recycled or reused.”

In 2022 “after suffering from burnout, I finally spread my wings and made the decision to go after my dreams of starting my own creative business, one that worked to help protect our environment and allowed me a life of freedom – freedom to create meaningful art that makes me happy, financial freedom and the freedom to go on an adventure during the week if the sun pops out,” elaborated Emily.

“The beginning was lonely and I craved community. At times it felt like I was climbing a mountain in the dark without a headlamp or a map!” recalled Emily.

“Seeing my artwork on products and selling to shops was my ultimate goal so I reached out to some wonderful creatives that inspired me. I knew I needed support and help with direction and, straightaway, I was struck by how generous this industry is with sharing knowledge and encouragement,” she added.

Having taken part in The Ladder Club, Emily also attended the GCA’s Dragons’ Speed Dating event in March this year, and officially launched to trade on online marketplace Faire and at PG Live in June: “I was so chuffed to leave the show with orders, amazing new contacts and industry friends as well as a Golden and Sunshine ticket!” said Emily.

Her biggest achievement in the last year though was “being announced as a finalist for two Henries awards and ended up actually winning one!”

Emily is feeling positive about the coming year with lots of ideas for products, stands booked at PG Live and Harrogate Home & Gift, and plans to get help with fulfilment and packing orders as well as ambitions to get into art licensing.

Above: A range of Emily’s collections.

Left: Emily was overwhelmed with her Henries win.

Below: Emily’s Henries’ entry board showed off her talents.

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE

A lack of purpose and fulfilment in her work led to Lex Rogy accidentally starting Little Roglets, and the move has been validated by winning the Best Cute Range award at her first attempt.

''I didn't plan on starting Little Roglets, it just sort of happened as I knew I needed to do something about the creative call that was getting louder and louder,” revealed Lex. “I was daydreaming at my day job about what I could create next and spent every evening I had free happily beavering away at my desk in our tiny spare bedroom.”

At the end of 2020, Lex told her nearest and dearest to give her six months before she started looking for another job. “Within that time, I made my world map print and my first six cards. I then got my first stockist for Little Roglets cards,” and generated extra income from painting people's pets and commissions.

“Winning a Henries’ award in my first year of entering was huge – I still can't believe it! – but for me it's also opening my inbox to see messages from friends or customers who have now become friends, sending photos of my cards that they have found in gorgeous shops all over the country.

Nothing beats that feeling!” added Lex.

Revealing the biggest challenges for Little Roglets, Lex cites “overwhelm, and stock management! You have to wear so many hats… it's like learning to walk, you keep wobbling and falling down a lot but then you get back up again.”

With growth comes new questions. “I found it really hard to predict how much stock to order in. Thankfully I have help with this now and systems in place, but it was a juggle,” explained Lex.

As to what is her favourite thing about the industry, Lex is in no doubt: “It’s full

LOVE STORY IN CARDS

The tale behind Heyyy Cards is truly a love story as founders Dan and Yvette Clarkson went back to their courting days to come up with the name for the business.

“When we first met, we used to send each other love letters, written inside greeting cards, each one would start ‘Heyyy…’ so, when we decided to start our own card business during lockdown, it was the first name we came up with and has stuck ever since!” explained Yvette.

And cards were always their passion with Dan working as a graphic designer since leaving college 15 years ago, turning his typography and branding background into becoming the creative director, while Yvette has worked in the greeting card industry since 2005.

Now working from the garden studio that they built by hand, their collection of 500+ cards is growing all the time and has earned them three Henries awards, having lifted the Best Male Range trophy this year to add to the same title in 2023 along with the Best Diversity & Inclusion Range award.

“Our biggest triumph is winning three Henries awards in our first three years, we honestly could not have hoped for more,” revealed Yvette. “The fact these awards are voted for by buyers from shops all around the UK makes us even more proud to be recognised by people who sell cards every single day, who really know the industry and the market so well.”

of people who truly care about keeping cards alive. We all just love how much power there is in sending and receiving cards and how much joy they bring to others. It’s an industry that could be seen as so competitive, yet everyone still just supports everyone, which is rare.”

To sum up the last year for Little Roglets, Lex says “it’s been about strengthening foundations, taking on help so in 2025 I can bring more of my ideas and visions to life.”

Without a doubt the biggest challenge in setting up their small business has been keeping everything moving while they both still have full-time jobs. “It was a choice we made that we carry on working so we have the stability and security financially while we grow – but with 3am finishes it can sometimes be quite challenging getting up for work the next day!” admitted Yvette.

Both really rate the greeting card industry for its diversity, creativity and warmth. “We’ve made so many amazing connections and friends, from retailers, to other publishers, to industry supporters. With hundreds of publishers often competing for the same space in shops, everyone somehow manages to be different and come up with their own unique ideas. It’s been so lovely to work in an atmosphere where everyone supports each other and is rooting for you,” says Yvette.

Accepting that 2025 will bring its own challenges, “for us and our customers” Yvette predicts: “One thing is for sure, the industry and retailers we work with are incredibly resourceful and resilient and we’ll do everything we can to support both to continue to thrive.”

Left: Lexy (centre) collecting her Henries trophy from Alpha Colour Printers’ Amy Muldrew and Luke Ostle, sponsors of this award category. Below left: The cute hedgehog is now the Little Roglets logo. Below right: Little Roglets’ cuteness.

Below left: Some Taking Shape designs. Below right: Dan getting the Heyyy brand out there.

Above: Dan and Yvette on the stage at The Henries.

A selection of fabulous products that will be on show at Top Drawer (12-14 January) at London’s Olympia.

Feline Relaxed

At Top Drawer Ricicle Cards will be debuting Ashley Dugan, a brand new greeting card collection. The new designs cover birthday, engagement and wedding occasions featuring picturesque beaches, charming picnics and an unbothered cat! The A6 cards all come accompanied by a classy white envelope.

Ricicle Cards

+44 (0)7850757676  www.riciclecards.com

Growing Gains

Badge Of Office

Apple & Clover is launching a new set of children’s eco, wooden badge cards. The bright and colourful cards in the collection each feature a removable, wooden badge attached to the front. The cards are 133mmx184mm, are printed on FSC board, accompanied by an eco kraft envelope and packed in recyclable, compostable and biodegradable cellos.

Apple & Clover 07790 900976

www.appleandclover.com

Top Drawer Stand P37

There’s lots of newness at Penguin Ink, not least welcoming new designs into its Flora range. New bold and bright designs will be joining the line-up as well as new Spring Seasons cards and some big numbers too. All letterpress printed in Gloucestershire onto 100% recycled board with gorgeous texture and each comes with a recycled Kraft brown envelope.

Penguin Ink 07525 497122

www.penguinink.co.uk

Top Drawer Stand O49

Lift Off

Rocket68 has ‘lift off’ with Rocket Science, a new collection bursting with neon energy. Inspired by a trip to NASA space centre in Houston USA, the card designs feature punchy neon pinks and yellows juxtaposed against dark and illuminated backdrops with astronauts and UFOs. The collection spans occasions and relations, LGBTQ+ birthday including ages 16-80. There’s also a new Rocket Science wrap design.

Rocket68 01935 829015

www.rocket68.com

Top Drawer Stand Q40

Life Affirming

Good can come from sadness as the idea for the Super Fab Sentiments collection came about as a result of chief creative Dom Early’s recent loss of his sister to cancer. He set about designing a range of modern sentiment cards that reflected the cards he would have liked to have received, with eye-catching colours and positive wording.

Earlybird Designs 01227 765372

www.earlybirddesigns.co.uk

Top Drawer Stand N51

Shopping Mission

Hi Street is a new range by Stoats & Weasels comprising 21 designs covering birthdays and special occasions. The collection is in homage to the great UK high street and British sense of humour featuring shopfronts stuffed to the rafters with humorous puns. The designs continue onto the back of the cards with extra fun details and messaging. Each card comes with a yellow envelope.

Stoats & Weasels

07796 664912

www.stoatsandweasels.shop

Top Drawer Stand P59

A selection of fabulous products that will be on show at Top Drawer (12-14 January) at London’s Olympia.

Purrfect Collections

Inspired by her naughty family cats, Lydia Evans, the owner of Lydia.London, has created the Paw Behaviour collection. And staying with the feline feeling, also set to debut for retailers is the Fishy Tales collection, where cats share the stage with fish in the designs.

Lydia.London

+44 7973 625506

www.Lydia.London

Top Drawer Stand P54

Jelly Good Fellow

Rising To The Occasion

Gorgeously gold foiled number cards, various occasions cards and some coastal designs will all be debuting from Kali Stileman Publishing, as well as lots of new wrapping papers. Of the latter, there are glorious gold foiled stars in sumptuous colours; cool and colourful geometric triangles and a teal green floral wrap.

Kali Stileman Publishing 01305 848899

www.kalistileman.co.uk

Top Drawer Stand M58

Heather Trefusis is promising a 'jelly good show', with a launch of 12 new birthday 150mm square designs joining the Joy collection - many of which feature a sprinkling of biodegradable glitter.

Meeting Heather's eco-requirements, the glitter is thermographically applied to the cards, rather than glued, meaning they are still fully recyclable. Each card is accompanied by a recycled kraft envelope.

Heather Trefusis Art 07946 605564

www.heathertrefusisart.com

Top Drawer Stand R50

Back To The Future

Puns For Fun

There are 20 new, pun-tastic designs from Citrus Bunn covering lots of occasions, with each card coming with a kraft envelope. In addition, are some new boxed Christmas cards, with 50% of proceeds being donated to a Dorset charity, local to the publisher.   Citrus Bunn 07746324124

www.citrusbunn.com

Top Drawer Stand Q60

If The Capy Fits

One of the new launches from Jolly Awesome is Capy For You. The collection of 22 fun and playful designs, created by the publisher’s founder Matt Nguyen, are based on the wildly popular and loveable capybara. Foil accents feature on the everyday and occasions cards which are each accompanied by an orange envelope.

Jolly Awesome 07904383876

www.jollyawesome.com

Top Drawer Stand N47

Happy Street Cards has added 14 occasion and four everyday designs into its popular Piccadilly range. The contemporary designs, which feature crisp retro graphics with a nostalgic nod to the 70s, are 105mmx150mm in size, printed on thick quality board and come paired with a kraft envelope.

Happy Street Cards

07956680935

www.happystreetcards.co.uk

Top Drawer Stand P80

You can finally buy our best-selling mugs directly from us ...to bring a smile to your face and a bit of fun to your kitchen!

Come and see us at Spring Fair Stand 3P21

A selection of fabulous products that will be on show at Top Drawer (12-14 January) at London’s Olympia.

Go Gatsby

Paradiso is the latest range from Stephanie Davies. The 12 inaugural everyday and occasions designs meld the glamour and sophistication of the 1920s Gatsby era with playful party imagery, such as exotic painted animals, feathers, balloons and decadent cakes. The 120mmx170mm cards are finished with intricate gold foiling, some are hand-embellished with crystals and all come with an eco-kraft envelope.

Stephanie Davies info@stephaniedavies.co.uk www.stephaniedavies.co.uk

Top Drawer Stand Q76

Bold Moves

To The Letter

Roll Up! Roll Up is a brand-new alphabet collection of mini cards from The Art File. Created by the publisher’s talented in-house designer, Millie Martin, every card features a dedicated letter, finished in two pantones, embossing and gold foil. These cards are printed on premium board and come with a luxury ivory envelope.

The Art File 0115 8507490

www.theartfiletrade.com

Top Drawer Stand G31

The new Bold & Iconic collection from Running With Scissors exudes bright colours, dry humour and iconic design.  The 24 designs in the range celebrate instantly recognisable objects and sentiments.  In addition to birthday and anniversary designs there are cards for milestone ages and Pride season.  The A6 cards come with a kraft envelope.

Running With Scissors 07514 600422

@runningwithscissorsdesign

Top Drawer Stand Q54

Sweet As Candy

Making A Plan

Storigraphic has launched a new series of undated weekly planners within its Re-editions Collections (Volume 1). In an A5 format, the pages feature dedicated grids for undated month and week views. The planners include a double-page monthly overview, a week-view spreads with areas for priorities, goals, and to-do reminders with space for sketching, note-taking, listing, or journalling.

Storigraphic hello@storigraphic.com

www.storigraphic.com

Top Drawer Stand O42

Lexicon Solutions

Offering the perfect solution for those moments when the English language falls short is Lost in Translation, Cath Tate’s latest range. Looking for a word that summarises ‘the joy of jumping on a bouncy cushion’ or ‘to get drunk alone in your underpants’? this is a collection of quirky greeting cards featuring words to describe unique emotions and niche scenarios. The A6 cards are printed in the UK on 100% recycled high-quality paper, each accompanied by a kraft envelope.

Cath Tate Cards 0208 671 2166

www.cathtatecards.com

Top Drawer Stand N60

Who doesn’t love being transported back to childhood by a favourite sweet treat? The Hello Sweetie collection from Grace Jackson Design draws inspiration from vintage sweets and classic chocolates. The designs celebrate not just love but the joy found in life’s little moments.

Grace Jackson Design   07902 875014

www.gjdesignwholesale.co.uk

Top Drawer Stand M29

A selection of fabulous products that will add freshness to 2025 displays.

In The Mix

Telling stories and evoking memories through tiny details that connect people to each other, are evident in Imogen Partridge Illustration and Design’s new ranges. There are new birthday cards which capture nostalgic baking sessions as a child with ingredients everywhere, sticky fingers and slightly wonky outcomes. Each card is A6 printed on FSC certified off white textured 300gsm board and each comes with a brown kraft envelope.

Imogen Partridge Illustration and Design 07999137672

www.imogenpartridge.com

Top Drawer Stand M36

Sign Here

Inspired by popular birthday images, Jonny Javelin has created a brand-new Signature range with designs covering key male and female relations as well as adult milestone birthdays. All the designs feature bright and funky images with popular and contemporary icons on colourful backgrounds enhanced by a mix of fluted foils, embossing and flitter. The higher price codes also include colour printed inserts.

The Jonny Javelin Card Company 01423 563740 www.jonnyjavelin.co.uk

The Cat’s Whiskers

Ronald Searle (1920-2011) was a left-handed graphic satirist who had his first drawings published with the Cambridge Evening News at the age of 15. His experience as a Japanese PoW sharpened his eye and pen which, combined with his exquisite draughtsmanship, resulted in his unique comic style. ArtPress’ new Ronald Searle collection of single cards and wallets featuring expressive felines are the real cats’ whiskers!

ArtPress Publishing 020 7231 2923 www.art-press.co.uk

Top Drawer Stand O59

What A Dahlia-ing

Squaring Up

Hotchpotch is building on the success of its male Pocket Square range with the addition of popular milestone ages to the collection. Originally inspired by London’s Savile Row in Mayfair, the design style is classic and luxurious echoing the gold and copper lettering styles seen in tailor’s windows and patterns used on waistcoats, shirts, ties and pocket squares form the basis of this collection.

Hotchpotch 01243 792600 www.hotchpotchlondon.com

Tipp-ing Point

Rosie Made A Thing has further expanded its Tipp Top range with 12 new designs, taking it up to 30 cards. Collaborating with Abi and Roz of Tipperleyhill, each design features quirky animals in rather fancy shirts. The 109mmx157mm cards come naked, accompanied by a snazzy aqua envelope.

Rosie Made A Thing 0116 478 0946 www.rosiemadeathing.co.uk

Dahlia Beach, the famed flower farm, has collaborated with Lola Design to create a new collection of greeting cards, stationery, wallpaper and gardener’s soap, inspired by the horticulturalist’s iconic dahlias. The inaugural stationery range includes a gardener’s notebook, journals, magnetic list pad and flip pads, all printed with vegetable inks on FSCcertified paper.. Lola Design 01904 900141

www.loladesignltd.com

There’s no rest for the greeting card designer as no sooner has one festive season ended than it’s time to have the next year’s ranges ready to show to retailers. Here PG looks at some of the trends being pitched on the new clutch of Christmas cards.

Meaningful connections, expanded captions and keeping the eco-friendly vibe are the trends for Christmas 2025 as publishers look to build on the magic.

An ever-important part of designing festive cards, Merry Christmas and Magical Christmas remain consistently popular captions at The Art File.

But sales and marketing manager James Mace said: “An emerging trend is more contemporary captions such as Cosy Christmas and playful puns like Holly Jolly and Merry Catmas which draw from the design of the card.”

Continuing with packaging innovations, The Art File’s Christmas collections are all completely plastic-free for the luxury boxed cards, charity packs and even the new gift bags – totally recyclable, including the handles!

All the trends identified at Hallmark point to meaningful connections with writing director Adam Yare picking out the new Hand To Heart range: “It goes beyond simple greetings. We’ve focused on genuine compliments, meaningful phrases that truly connect.

“We understand that Christmas is about more than just exchanging gifts – it’s about sharing moments of joy, connection and meaning. With this year’s range we’ve focused on creating cards that resonate deeply, whether through nostalgic imagery, heartfelt

messages or playful humour. We want each card to feel like a gift in itself – a way to bring people closer and celebrate traditions both old and new.”

And he said there’s a shift towards people rejecting the chaos of Christmas and embracing simple joys and the magic, while blending modern and nostalgic elements to keep the season familiar but new.

And the Parcel Up collection taps into the playful spirit, offering keepsake attachments like the Santa key for hard-toreach homes, with Adam adding: “These cards become more than just greetings, they’re tokens of affection that create lasting memories and spark joy year after year.”

There’s always a Hotchpotch team outing at Christmas into London, where head of design Anna Price said: “We’re always inspired by all the wonderful displays. Some highlights were the

Above: The rococo Christmas window at London’s Choosing Keeping is already inspiring Hotchpotch for 2026 with its fresh and uplifting colours. Left: The Art File has completely recyclable gift bags. Below: Hallmark offers playful Parcel Up and classic Country Companions.

Christmas shops at Liberty, Fortnum & Mason as well as the most beautiful window display at Choosing Keeping

“We loved the colour palette Fortnum had used, including burnt orange, forest green, classic red, deep purple and teal.

“The iconic stores on and around New Bond Street are always fabulous to see –we spotted celestial and under the sea themes as well as plenty of bows! We’re already excited to design for Christmas 2026!”

Thanks to significant growth in singles sales in 2024, Caroline Gardner has added even more for the new festive season, and design director Nicola Breen agreed that bows continue to be on trend: “We love how much they add a nostalgic feel to trees and wreaths. After adding new stripe ranges into everyday cards, following trends in interiors and fashion, we just had to add some into Christmas to give the cards the feel of wrapped presents adorned with beautiful tags.

“Traditional icons remain at the heart of the range, with newness coming from novelty decorations that have been so popular on Christmas trees in the last

fashions for that season hitting the shop floor at the end of 2025 – my years selling fashion to department stores finally proves to be useful!

few years – hot pink, soft coral and pale pink remain important in our festive palette, with accents of pine green and rich teal.”

On the single card front, Great British Card Company’s head of creative Lucy Ledger has introduced almost 20% more in 2025, due to customer demand, along with creating new looks, formats and themes.

Lucy commented: “The focus for us has been on adding value at every price point while also placing careful consideration on sustainability for the ranges. We’ve developed a beautiful, new deep embossing on our finishes alongside thoughtfullydesigned inserts on our higher price points and avoiding finishes that might make it challenging for our customers to recycle.

“We’ve also seen significant growth in our charity category so GBCC has developed more options with 40 designs to sit in our charity FSDU and three brand-new boxed collections.”

“My Bold & Iconic collection celebrates everything I love –bright colours, dry humour and iconic design. They’re full of personality. AI could never invent this light hearted combo of sketchy style and gorgeous pink and red tones!”

At Ricicle Cards, David Nichols-Rice is focusing on Christmas relations: “I've noticed a trend over the last couple of years that single Christmas cards that lean more towards everyday sell slower than box sets or special cards for family members.

“So, I've created Christmas cards for husband, wife, brother, sister, mum and dad, etc – it's how I would buy cards if I didn't make them! I'd spend more on single, special cards for relations and a bumper pack for friends and extended family.”

Blending tradition, gentle humour and luxury, IC&G believes in timeless designs,

It’s all about cuteness at Kali Stileman where the publisher is building on the popularity of its Mini Smilies collection to add fabulously festive and friendly characters, such as a cheeky Brussels sprouts and cheerful Christmas puddings on bold jewel-toned backgrounds, in both Tiddly Widdly and larger rectangle form, and as singles or mini card boxes.

as Santa, snowy landscapes and cosy scenes are still customer favourites, while cheeky penguins and festive characters add a soft giggle.

Running With Scissors is also bucking the red and green trend, as Steven McFee is going with the WGSN SS26 colours that feature fuchsia: “They should coordinate well with the

“We pride ourselves on getting the message just right,” said design team member Kathryn Coyle. “Captions are a speciality for us, and we work closely with retailers to ensure our designs cover every need. From heartfelt and sentimental to light-hearted and cheerful, our captions are crafted to suit every recipient and occasion.”

Traditional works best for Jonny Javelin too, with the nostalgic colour palette of red, white, gold, silver and green still in high demand reflecting a warm and cosy Christmas as well as outdoor scenes including lots of animals and winter activities.

And co-owner Jonny Spears added:

Far left: Anise, Pocket Square and Nutmeg are three new Hotchpotch ranges. Left and below: Singles from GBCC.

Right: It’s all about relations at Ricicle Cards.

Below: Kali Stileman’s cute Smilies.

Below right: Running With Scissors is in the fuchsia pink.

Below: IC&G combines tradition, humour and captions.

“Special people captions are going very well, such as relation couples including partners, boyfriends and girlfriends, while the cards for family and close friends seem to be a winner, winner – turkey dinner!”

At Rush Design, owner Lorraine Bradley said: “A traditional design palette is the key for Christmas. Add to this, modern fonts and finishing along with a twist of quirkiness to the illustration and it’s the perfect Christmas card for Rush Design.

“Thinking Of You captions for Christmas are growing in popularity and customers are requesting Happy

Forth Bridge task

Birthday At Christmas too.”

There are plenty of new designs across UK Greetings’ portfolio, mixing cute, tradition and humour, in its latest Camden Graphics photographic range Felties, Giggles from Hanson White, new charity boxes with luxurious finishes including laser-cut detailing and z-folds, and plenty of Boofle, both in Christmas singles and in new Boofle charity boxed cards. Plus, everything is fully sustainable meaning consumers can not

Designing the huge Christmas collection at Ling Design, according to Clare Twigger, head of creative, is akin to painting the Forth Bridge – as soon as she and her team have finished one yearlong process, they have to start on the following festive season.

As Clare summed up: “When we receive the first samples for the upcoming season, it’s always an exciting moment. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve created.”

Highlighting the growing demand for premium products and the publisher’s continuing evolution of its design strategy based on customer feedback, trends and many years expertise, Clare added: “We’ve noticed a significant shift in buying habits, particularly with a move toward premiumisation in Christmas cards.

“We’re fortunate that our take on traditional designs continues to be in line with market demand and this has been our focus for our 2025 range. We’ve also increased the size of some cards in response to sales trends and customer feedback.”

For 2025, Ling Design has introduced over 600 new designs, blending its signature classic styles with innovative and eyecatching elements, with the team working hard to “build on the successes of previous years”, incorporating new features like innovative 3D embossing, delicate foiling, luxury inserts, and more refined sentiments, and the boxed card offer also reflects the trend toward more premium products, while maintaining excellent value.

Clare continued: “We have everything from traditional Ling designs to modern traditional, our handmade Talking Pictures range, and also our more contemporary The Curious Inksmith so we have a card for every customer. We’ve also paid careful attention to packaging, offering various box styles and wallets that

only bring joy to the world, but also do their bit for it too!

Tradition, captions and charity make the grade at Noel Tatt where seasonal design manager Vicki Edwards said: “For the last couple of years, we’ve experienced a significant increase in the sale of caption cards and have strengthened our portfolio accordingly, focusing on just three key price points.”

Having a complete refresh of all Christmas brands, Noel Tatt has added a Boutique box range to sit between the Premium and Traditional boxes, while charity multi-packs continue to be a significant sector.

And she laughed: “We offer an eclectic mix of designs, contemporary, religious, quirky, and whimsical but it’s still the case that traditional remains No1 – you can’t go far wrong with a robin on a Postbox for open Christmas cards!”

Ho, ho, ho, Christmas design cheer is still here, never fear!

look great and also align with our core sustainability goals.”

The new festive offer sees Ling continue its environmental focus and produce a sustainable product, with card designs and packaging choices, whether for singles or boxed sets, always being environmentally friendly.

And there’s a strengthened commitment to the charity offer, as Clare explained: “We know 42% of adults are more likely to donate during the Christmas period, and greeting cards offer a great opportunity for charitable giving.

“We’ve expanded our charity pack and boxed offerings, each featuring our charity partners on the back of the cards making it easier for consumers to see the positive effect of their purchase while ensuring great shelf impact with strong design – as well as a new 100% recyclable paper band.”

Above left: Boxed cards reflect the quality trend. Above right: There are 600 new designs in Ling’s offer.

Above: Nostalgic scenes and special captions from Jonny Javelin.

Above right: Rush Design offers tradition with a twist.

Right: Noel Tatt’s new Boutique boxes.

Below: UKG has humour, luxury charity boxes and Boofle.

Art Source

Trend Trackers

Creative Drivers For 2025

“Reflecting on the eventful 2024, we turn our gaze toward the upcoming trends of 2025. More than ever nostalgia will be driving trends, as consumers seek immersive escapes to bygone eras and distant worlds for seasonal delights.”

With over three decades of experience of providing greeting card publishers and other companies with designs that chime with the public’s tastes, illustration agency, Advocate Art’s posse of artists are adept at picking up and reflecting trends coming through.

Deborah Millinship, agent for greeting cards and licensing at Advocate Art shares what she believes will be the cultural drivers of our creative tastes for 2025 as well as some design trends that will shape our interactions.

Trend 1: Mythical Creatures

“Creatures like dragons , phoenixes and unicorns have long been associated with fantasy and escapism. I believe they could see a resurgence in popularity as people seek solace in imaginative worlds.

So, we will see creatures like the unicorn a secure place in 2025, along with added touches of magic and the odd toadstools or two.”

Trend 2: Loveable Pets

“The enduring bond between humans and their furry, feathered, or scaly companions will continue to inspire licensing trends. As consumers increasingly view their pets as very much part of

the family, there's a growing demand for greeting cards featuring adorable animals. By tapping into this emotional connection, brands can create heartwarming and personalised products that resonate with a wide audience.”

Trend 3: Positive Messages

“The trend of celebrating life's little moments and uplifting others will continue to drive forward in art licensing in 2025. This positive messaging, combined with a focus on comfort and coziness, will be reflected in the use of soft, soothing colour palettes, such as the 2025 Pantone Colour of the Year, Mocha Mousse. This trend will inspire ranges of greeting cards and other licensed products designed to evoke feelings of warmth, security and joy.”

Above: Nostalgia is what it used to be! A retro design by Paula Doherty, one of the many artists represented by Advocate.

Above left: A design by Amy Hodkin (represented by Advocate) which reflects the mythical creatures trend. Left: A unicorn by Joanna Little who is represented by Advocate.

Above: Deb Millinship is feeling cosy about the 2025 trends.

Above: A loveable pets design by Clarice Diamantino, who is represented by Advocate.

Above right: A Nicola Cowdery (who is represented by Advocate) design that reflects pet mania.

Above right: Positive messaging by Charlotte Pepper, who is represented by Advocate.

Right: Uplifting wording on a Laura Silveira Lasi design, who is represented by Advocate.

PG ASKED A GROUP OF RETAILERS FOR THEIR BEST SELLERS

Debbie and Jerry Brown, co-owners of First Class Greetings and Plum Green gift shop, Hadleigh. The two shops (which also includes a Post Office) are in the ancient Suffolk market town’s historic High Street.

Category

Relations & Occasions

Name of Publisher

Woodmansterne

UK Greetings

Rosie Made A Thing

Emotional Rescue

UK Greetings

Product/Name Range Comments

“These are good sellers across the board – but this time of year sympathy is sadly the top caption.”

Gin & Frolics Is It Friday Yet?

Mine’s A Pint Traces Of Nuts

“Always a fantastic seller.”

“These ranges, in collaboration with Paper Salad, do well.”

“Even after all these years, this is still a good seller. It just makes people giggle – there are a few risqué references, but it’s all good fun.”

Woodmansterne

UK Greetings

Five Dollar Shake

Museums & Galleries

Paper Shed

Carte Blanche

Photographic

Museums & Galleries

Woodmansterne

Tracks

3D/Pop-Ups

Gift Wrappings

Gifts

Second Nature

Glick

Woodmansterne

Jellycat

Quentin Blake

General

Milestone Ages

Me To You

Natural History

Naughty By Nature

Pop

“These are great sellers for adults buying for children.”

“They’re always popular - we have a much larger selection from these guys so they stick out more.”

“They’re beautiful cards, very delicate and just gorgeous.”

“These are very good.”

“These are a kind of art, different and very cute too.”

“We still sell a lot of Me To You, it’s the traditional cute for us and people still like it.”

“These are the best photographic.”

“People like birds and gardens so these are perfect.”

“Tracks is very strong in photographic humour.”

“It’s the milestone designs that are really special.”

“We do mostly Glick wrap, but we have done quite well with Woodmansterne since it launched into wrap.”

“We can sell anything from Jellycat that we can get our hands on – and they’re great for window displays.”

Right: UKG’s Traces Of Nuts is still going strong.

Right: Tracks’ photographic humour.

Right: Second Nature’s Pop Ups mark milestones.

Right: Customers are flushed with excitement about all things Jellycat.

Roy and Julia Beswick, co-owners of The Card Collection in East Molesley. A long established card and gift shop in a Surrey suburb located on the Thames.

Category

Everyday

Relations & Occasions

Humour

Children’s

Adult Ages

Art

Cute

Photographic

3D/Pop-Ups

Gift Wrappings

Gifts

Name of Publisher

Lucilla Lavender

Words ’N’ Wishes

Emotional Rescue

Woodmansterne

Rush Designs

Pigment

Klara Hawkins

Woodmansterne

Me&McQ (Paper D’Art)

Glick

Sarunds

Charm Anna

Across the board

On The Ceiling Norbert

Quentin Blake

Florere

Fox & Butler

Various

National Trust

Across the board

Across the board

Belgian Chocolates

Comments

“Both ranges are gorgeous with their foil details and lovely captions.”

“Something for every occasion and everyone.”

“Everlasting giggles from these two classic ranges.”

“The illustrations are still a delight for both children and adults.”

“Delicately pretty images with foil and diamantes.”

“Beautiful images, with foil again -– there’s obviously a theme here!”

“Very sweet. Oh! And some designs have foil!”

“The photography is simply stunning, always a delightful send.”

“The detail in these fabulous designs is incredible.”

“So many quality gift bags and wrap.”

“Who can resist delicious chocolates?! Our chocolate and pick ’n’ mix retro sweet area is a definite draw.”

Gayle McCartney, owner of The Little Gift Shop, Beith. A really lively wee store in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire in Scotland.

Category Name of Publisher

Everyday Relations & Occasions Humour

Molly Mae

Rachel Ellen

Rosie Made A Thing

Molly Mae

Richarts Designs

Belly Button Designs

Freckleface

Product/Name Range Comments

Carried On The Breeze

Blue Skies

Gin & Frolics

Painted Brush Strokes

Dogs

Big Hearts

Pick & Mix Wax Melts

“These are super popular little cards, something for everyone.”

“Lovely eye-catching designs that our customers love, especially the new grandparents.”

“Most popular card range since we opened, guaranteed a laugh.”

“One of my personal favourites, especially the female ages.”

“A new supplier for us. Super cute dog designs with a bit of humour too.”

“Can’t wait for our 2025 Big Hearts gift bag/gift range to arrive in January, just in time for Valentine’s Day!”

“Without a doubt one of our bestselling items of 2024, we have been blown away by the customer feedback we’ve received.”

Right: Sarunds chocolates are a great gift.

Right: Cute Hartley from Words ’N’ Wishes.

Right: Rush Designs’ adult ages hit the spot.

Right: Cuteness with foil from Klara Hawkins.

Right: Pigment’s Fox & Butler’s art cards.

Top: Molly Mae’s ages are Gayle’s favourite. Middle: Cute dogs from Richarts Designs. Right: Belly Button Designs’ big hearts.

PRODUCT DIRECTORY l PRODUCT DIRECTORY l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

CHARITY GREETING CARDS

PRODUCT

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To

To appear in the Product Directories contact Warren Lomax T: 020 7700 6740 email: warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact Tracey Arnaud T: 07957 212 062 email: traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

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

WWW.XXPRESSYOURSELFCARDS.CO.UK

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

BRANDS: Cherished Thoughts, Sweet Sentiments, Buddies Always, Symphony, Thinking of You, Style, Special Wishes, Special Times, Young Editions, Groove Sensations, Forever Blessed, Grey Skies, Classics. METHOD OF SALE: SENSATIONS –Direct to retail XPRESS YOURSELF –Now one of the leading wholesale publisher suppliers in the 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 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

To appear in the Product Directories contact

Enquiries: warren@max-publishing.co.uk or Tracey Arnaud traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

Warren Lomax T: 020 7700 6740 email warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud T: 07957 212 062 email traceya@max-publishing.co.uk

Tel:01274531828 Email: info@herbertwalkers.co.uk

www.herbertwalkers.co.uk