Progressive Greetings July 2024

ON THE CARDS

There are some times in our lives when events take us by surprise, delivering unexpected treats that make you feel so privileged to experience those positive emotions; real memory makers. I feel incredibly lucky to be in something of a ‘purple patch’ on this score right now.

First up was PG Live 2024. Sure, this was not our first rodeo, but this year’s show felt different. Exhibitors - from the tiniest start-ups to well-loved names - pulled out the stops and not only ‘went for it’ on newness, but also appreciated they were a part of something unique. On the newbies, up in the Upper Village/Springboard area of the show I felt for them, as they arrived with their boxes and bags looking somewhat overwhelmed at the empty shell scheme stand or table, but in the space of a few hours had brought their brand to life with some incredibly strong product ranges, making new friends with their neighbouring exhibitors in the process.

The enthusiasm and joy from the buyers was palpable, coming from all over the UK and the world to see and appreciate the wonders and the people who had created them.

I was fortunate this year to stay in the ‘PG Live bubble’ for longer than usual as my extended 60th birthday festivities included a rather wonderful mini-break to Hydra in Greece with a group of longstanding industry friends which really rammed home to me the strong bonds that we create as a bonus of working in such a lovely industry.

And then, a new one for me…Jim (my long-suffering chap) and I were among the 70+ fellow cardies to be a part of the GCA

@Prog_Greetings

Pride in London march. Now this one really caught me off guard as just how incredibly joyful and soul-enriching an experience it was. Seeing the appreciation of members of the public lining the parade to the 25,000 cards we handed out was so heartwarming. Huge credit goes to Mark Callaby, co-owner of Ohh Deer for spearheading what is now surely a firm fixture in our industry calendar, don’t miss out…there are still a few places available for the Manchester Pride in August!

As I write this it is the eve of the General Election and The Retas, so more happiness to follow, for different reasons!

Left: US-based Notes and Queries’ Alan and Vanessa Harnik (second and third right) with PG’s Warren Lomax (front) and Jakki Brown at the Overseas Drinks Recepition on the eve of PG Live.

Below left: PG’s Warren Lomax with some fellow cardies on the recent Cardgains Charity Challenge walk. Below: Cardies getting ready to join the Pride parade.

11-19 News

All the latest happenings and developments in the trade.

20-21 Over The Counter

The Economy And Me…

David Robertson, co-owner of JP Pozzi has come to the conclusion that none of the political parties really understand the plight of SMEs.

22-23 Cardsharp

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

Cardsharp sees a challenging time ahead for many in business as we enter a new political era, but there are still positives to be had.

24-27 PG Live in Pics

PG shares a photographic flavour of just some of the joyful treats from the recent PG Live show.

29-35 Viewpoints

Sharing The Love

Retailers happily share what marvellous products caught their eye at the recent PG Live show.

37-39 Focus on…Spring Seasons

Spring Loaded

On the back of a decent 2024 Spring Seasons, PG looks at their changing patterns and what other events are coming to the fore.

40-41 Industry Issue

Shipping Forecast

A deep dive into the current shipping issues that publishers bringing products in from the Far East are having to face.

Jakki Brown

43-47 Innovations

Publishers’ new ranges and designs, including a selection launching at Harrogate Home & Gift.

48-49 Retailer Profile

The Nor Way

Retas’ award winner, Serge Sumerling, owner of Nor takes PG on a walk in the park to his new shop.

50-51 In Conversation With…UK Greetings

Positive Heritage

PG Live saw UKG put a new spin on its heritage brand, Camden Graphics as well as revealing Age Friendly Vibes, a collection of age-positive cards created with pro-age advocate Jan Golden.

53 Art Source Boulder Hopping

Colorado-based artist Abby Jacobs is equally happy creating bold loose florals as she is working on incredibly detailed artwork. She shares her creative life and loves.

55-57 What’s Hot?

A quad of retailers reveal their best-selling ranges.

58-67 Sources of Supply

TOP STORY

Honest Talk About Clintons

The Taylors confident of a turnaround in 2025

Having almost doubled their retail estate overnight to nearly 350 stores when the family-run Cardzone group acquired the Clintons chain back in March, Paul and James Taylor knew they had a lot of sorting out to do before revealing their grand plan.

Speaking out publicly for the first time since the acquisition in March the father and son duo who head up the business have been honest in admitting the Clintons “business was in a worse state” than they had expected, but trading director James assured PG “it is 100% sortable”.

James explained it was never going to be an overnight success to dovetail Clintons into the existing Cardzone retailing business, but he feels very confident that all the key changes that need to be made – including strategy, store realignment, product balance, branding and management team – will be in place by the start of the group’s 2025/2026 financial year, which runs from 1 July 2025.

While not known for ever courting publicity, the father and son duo recognised the merit in explaining the Clintons’ situation to Retail Gazette “to give the clear message to landlords how we are excited by the potential Clintons brings to our group, that there are challenges that we are working through,” said James.

The article came on the back of what James described as “a really good Father’s Day trade,” adding: “Like-for-like sales from our Clintons’ stores were up 2% and Cardzone stores’ sales were up 6%.”

With half of its stores on the High Street, James readily admits the drop in general footfall is a concern: “While shopping for seasons and events such as Father’s Day brings people into the stores, everyday sales are something of a challenge.

“We remain very confident of the greeting card sector and our sales are in line with footfall, and so a strong season can make up any shortfall in everyday.”

While six Clintons stores are in the process of closing down, a situation Cardzone inherited, James stressed talks are still underway with landlords “to do everything we can to avoid any further closures or cause any alarm to our loyal team”.

More store openings are also part of the plan “because that’s what the High Street needs,” believes James.

Noel Tatt wraps up bags and tissue

Noel Tatt has just launched its inaugural giftwrappings collection of gift bags and tissue wrap. The development has come as a result of requests from customers as well as the publisher’s sales team.

“We wanted our collection to look and feel uniquely Noel Tatt. It was essential that the range would reflect many of our bestselling card ranges and at the same time, stay true to our core brand values of quality and value for money,” explained Michael Griffiths, sales manager.

CBG’s boost for indies

Carte Blanche Greetings has announced management changes within its UK independent sales division to enable it to further improve its service to indies.

Industry stalwarts Peter Goodman, Mike Apicella and Bill Greeno are to be working with Carte Blanche helping to manage the company’s salesforce.

And the team, which includes employed business development executives and sales agents, is about to be expanded with the appointment of experienced sales agents Janice Miller for the north east, Brendan Cahill in Wales and Neil Pearson in the south west.

The changes coincide with CBG’s independent sales manager Richard Mortimer leaving the business. Carte Blanche ceo Alister Marchant commented: “We want to thank Richard for his time at CBG and wish him well for the future.”

Alister added: “The independent channel has always been and will always be a vital channel to us, hence we have always been proud to have one of the largest employed independent sales forces in the industry, but we acknowledge the speed of change in the retail landscape and, as such, we need to be flexible in our approach to servicing our customers.”

The initial collection comprises 20 designs, featuring embossing and foil, across three bag sizes – eight large, eight medium, and four bottle – plus six coordinating colours of tissue. Sustainability has been another major consideration, with all elements being recyclable, including the paper handles, tags, eurohooks and tissue packaging.

In addition to its own designs, the new collection also includes three Smudge bags, a brand that Noel Tatt licences from Simson Cards in Australia.

Above left: James Taylor and his sister Alex, marketing manager of the family business. Left: Some Clintons units are considered too large to be viable.

Above: Work is underway to futureproof Clintons.

Above: Mike Apicella (left) and Peter Goodman are now working with Carte Blanche.

Below left: Bill Greeno is now a consultant with the Me to You brand owner.

Below right: CBG created a co-ordinated Me to You thank you teacher range.

Far left: Noel Tatt’s Emily Terris and Vicki Edwards with some of the new giftwrappings.

Left: This bright floral Noel Tatt card has translated well on to bags.

TOP STORY

Real Sense of Pride

Joyous dispersal of 25,000 greeting cards on the parade

Around 1.5million people found out how to send a card with pride as the GCA’s 75 marchers joined the 52nd Pride In London event, and handed out 25,000 special greeting cards along the route.

“It was a truly wonderful day,” commented Mark Callaby, md of Ohh Deer and head of the GCA D&I committee, who has spearheaded the greeting card industry having such a strong presence at Pride for the last two years. “To be there right at the front of the parade, marching with over 70 fellow members of the greeting card community and seeing the positive reactions from those lining the route to the greeting cards we were handing out, is something I will never forget,” he added.

This was only the second time the GCA has been involved in Pride In London and, after running out of the

10,000 cards that had been donated at last year’s event before the walkers were even a quarter of the way along the route, this year The Imaging Centre sponsored the printing of 25,000 cards (featuring designs from participating publishers) with the board donated by Fedrigoni and the envelopes from Enveco

Ensuring the participation was cost neutral, other Pride sponsors included Cath Tate Cards, Clarion Events, Dean Morris Cards, Hallmark, Ohh Deer, Paper Rose and UK Greetings. There are another 25,000 cards ready for Manchester Pride on Saturday, 24 August and there are a few places left in the GCA marching group. Anyone interested should contact Mark on mark@ohhdeer.com

Hallmark helps men talk

Helping men express their feelings and supporting mental health was behind a Father’s Day partnership between Hallmark and male suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club

With suicide the biggest killer of men under 50, the charity’s strapline It’s Okay To Talk reinforces its aim to change this through the power of conversation but research recently commissioned by Hallmark found that 50% of the 1,000 men consulted struggle to talk about their feelings, while 19% find it easier to reveal their emotions in writing.

Andrew Dewhirst, senior writer for Hallmark, said: “Men can find it challenging to open up because society has conditioned them to believe that vulnerability is a sign of weakness, which came out as one of the top reasons in our research. Sometimes the simplest gestures – a card filled with love, appreciation and understanding – can become pathways for crucial conversations, especially for fathers who may find it difficult to open up.”

And the research, which also cited fear of embarrassment (42%), feeling awkward (39%) and nervousness about looking weak (30%), among the main reasons for the issue, fed into the launch of a special collection of Father’s Day cards, that was supported by a social media campaign.

Above:

launched a social media campaign about the tie-up with Andy’s Man Club.

Dads Did Well

Positive Father’s Day sales brought to a pretty decent Spring Seasons trade to a close, with Dads’ special day coinciding with England’s first group match in the Euros.

John Lewis buyer

Jason Billings-Cray was very pleased to report:

“An amazing final week means we finished the event at 5.4% up on last year!”

On the Isle Of Man, Port Erin’s Mantons Cards had one of its “best Father’s Days ever” according to owner Chris Beards, who said they’d sold out of nearly all FD cards and gifts for dads and grandads.”

In Stevenage, “Jo Sorrell of Cardies revealed her sales were slightly up on last year helped by her putting out her Father’s Day display earlier. “I think people were trying to be a little less last minute because of the football.”

It was a daddies v doggies day for Jo: “For us one of the most popular captions is ‘Father’s Day from the dog’ – it generally means that many of our customers are buying at least two Father’s Day cards, which is a bone-us!”

Paul Southgate of Cards ‘N’ Things in Hellesdon added: “It really is in the last few days that sales significantly increase for Father’s Day. We’re always surprised by the amount of ‘from the dog’ cards we sell but, who am I to judge, I got one too!”

Sean Austin was another who went with an early start to Father’s Day, at Austin & Co in Malvern, and the shop’s strapline of Cards, Stationery, Dog, shows his priorities with plenty of social media reminders beforehand about it being Dogfather’s Day too.

“Card sales were definitely up,” Sean said, “helped by putting our FD display out six weeks before the day. In turn, cards drove up gifting sales and sales of everyday cards. I’m a happy bunny – the trick now is to carry momentum over the next three months before Christmas goes out!”

At MiMi in Hartley Wintney and Wokingham, owner Julianne Moore commented: “Our Father’s Day stats were really positive. Card sales were up 15% and gift sales were up 20%. All of our cards sold out by 12 on the day.”

Over near Swindon, Highworth Emporium coowner Aga Marsden saw a 16% increase in overall trade for the event: “We had very strong Father’s Day trade, though cards were slightly down.

“Cards, as always from the dog, from daughter, from son sold out in no time and there’s no doubt humour is the bestselling category when it comes to dads.

Very strong Father’s Day sales saw a 25% increase for Paul Cheshire at Berkhamsted’s &Quirky, where he saw “sales start in May and, as new lines were introduced up until the beginning of June, we saw a major increase”.

Hallmark

Left: Mantons sold out of Father’s Day cards and gifts.

Far left: Rosie Tate (of Cath Tate Cards) in card handout mode.

Left: Marchers’ children were super enthusiastic at handing out cards.

Above: There was a 70+ greeting card contingent in the Pride parade.

Left: Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby with the GCA’s Amanda Fergusson (centre) and PG’s Jakki Brown.

Above: Dog dads and Emotional Rescue had a busy weekend at Cards ’N’ Things.

Celebrate those special occasions with our Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter and Father's Day ranges.

PG Live-tastic

Setting an upbeat tone for an incredibly memorable PG Live, the greeting card ‘love-fest’ started at the Angel underground station, close to the Business Design Centre where the show took place. There for all to see on the first morning of PG Live (June 4) was a special poem extolling the importance of greeting cards written on a large board on the station concourse, but also shared widely on social media. It was the work of Transport For London’s All On The Board duo of Ian Redpath and Jeremy Chopra, who have day jobs as station assistants, but have 1.2million Instagram followers for their daily musings.

public, all posting their love of greeting cards, making it a great start to the PG Live show.

This unexpected extra fillip was all thanks to Ellie Fitzgerald, founder of Say It With Songs, who was at PG Live exhibiting with new partner Widdop and Co, which has taken on distribution of her unique cards that link recipients to a special tune they can listen to as many times as they like.

There was a surge of support from countless members of the

Yorkshire does greetings proud

“All On The Board have so many celebrities following them. I knew it could make an impact so managed to get in touch with them through some people I know at TfL – and what a fantastic reaction!” explained Ellie. “As well as the many likes from publishers, retailers, buyers and visitors to PG Live, there are loads from the public on the Insta post, sharing the sentiment and love of sending and receiving cards.”

(See pages 24-35 for pics and comments about PG Live).

Public love for Cardfactory

On a roll of opening more stores - totting up 15 new ones since February - Cardfactory has hit the high spot of the UK’s Most Loved Retail Brands. Taking 18th spot in the top 100 list from Savanta BrandVue, the greeting card and celebrations retailer continued its rise, moving up one place from the 2023 poll, having jumped nine spots from the previous year. It also had the top spot in the poll’s Books & Cards category.

Savanta’s research survey recognises the most emotively-connected of more than 200 retail brands canvassing the opinions of over 96,000 consumers via its market intelligence platform. Cardfactory was the only greeting card retailer to move up the table, leapfrogging Waterstones, which was 21st overall, having dropped down from 17th last year. Moonpig dropped to 58th from 52nd, WHSmith fell to 81st from 68th, there was a 10-place drop for Thortful to 83rd, and Cards Direct, which had earned 100th place last year, is out of the rankings again. John Lewis & Partners won the Department Store category coming 14th in the overall top 100.

Amazon, Apple and Aldi clinched the top three spots.

CF’s ceo re-elected

Cardfactory’s recent AGM saw ceo Darcy WillsonRymer re-elected as a director with 99.93% of the votes cast – but there are questions over Paul Moody’s continued chairmanship, with almost a quarter (24.87%) voting against his re-election. Shareholders concerns are being investigated.

The Yorkshire contingent does greeting cards proud, with many businesses based in the UK’s biggest county, and leading local newspaper, the Yorkshire Post backed the industry with a special editorial feature. With Hallmark (Bradford), UK Greetings (Dewsbury), Cardfactory (Wakefield), GF Smith (Hull), Loxleys (Sheffield), Wendy Jones-Blackett (Leeds), Pigment (Harrogate), Jessica Hogarth (Whitby), Stephanie Davies (York), Lola Design (York), Heyyy Cards (Rotherham), Janie Wilson (Pudsey) and Teepee Creations (Keighley) among the best-known publishers, retailers, paper merchants and printers in the county, the acclaimed Yorkshire Post newspaper recently featured GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson in its 900-word Weekend Interview slot.

Talking to deputy business editor Greg Wright, Amanda explained how “greeting cards create really powerful connections between people. The British love sending and receiving cards and we are now particularly seeing growth in customers aged 16-24. The industry is constantly innovating to

ensure that we have the cards that reflect our diverse culture and that consumers want.”

She moved onto the current issues with Royal Mail and Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s £3.57billion bid to buy its parent company International Distribution Services through his EP Group

“We need a national, reliable and affordable postal system to support the small businesses that make up our industry and to ensure card senders can connect with their loved ones,” Amanda stressed, before adding: “We also need the new government to understand the issues small businesses face as they try to build up the international trade again.”

Above middle: The On The Board poem that went viral.

Above: TV presenter and author Laura Whitmore is among those who love On the Board’s Ian and Jeremy’s boards.

Left: PG Live 2024 brought the global greeting card community together.

Above: Cardfactory has built the love for its 1,050 stores.

Above: Yorkshire-based publishers get together at PG Live – front row (from left) Katie Ibbetson, Pigment; Wendy Jones Blackett; Fiona Pitt, Hallmark; Jessica Hogarth. Second row: Steve Baker, Pigment; Dan and Yvette Clarkson, Heyyy Cards, Stephanie Davies; Amanda Fergusson, GCA. Third row: UK Greetings’ Lee Gale, Louise James, Lorna Connor, and Ben Whittington. Top: Adriana Lovesy, GCA, and Toni Pilling, Teepee Creations.

Above: Darcy WillsonRymer ceo picked up 99.3% of the vote.

Sun Shone On Cardgains’ Challengers

Walk sees Mind fundraiser hit over £18,000

A lovely sunny day greeted over 40 members of the greeting card community as they put their best feet forward for over 17 miles around Sheffield recently for Cardgains’ annual charity challenge. The walkers, made up of many card publishers and retailers, who took part to raise money for mental health charity Mind certainly agreed with the It’s Not Grim Up North! title as a great day was had by all and the fundraising running total has already gone above £18,000 plus gift aid donations, over half way to the £35,000 target set to match the buying group’s big 35th birthday.

Bottom:

“What a day!” was the comment from Ian and Lorraine Bradley, of Rush Design, who took 5hrs 44mins to complete 18 miles – it was a 17½mile route so there were a few wanders off piste – in 43,875 steps. The Bradleys did the walk with retail buddies Presentation’s Andrea Pinder and Hugs & Kisses’ Caroline and Jon Ranwell.

Moonpig’s sales “exceed expectations”

A strong performance at Moonpig saw it grow the group’s full-year revenues by 6.6% to £341.1million after investing in innovation and technology which has fostered “extraordinary” customer loyalty, according to the company.

Nickyl Raithatha, ceo of the online greeting card and gift retailer, said its Moonpig Plus subscription scheme has “exceeded our expectations, passing the milestone of half a million members within one year”, in the report released with its full-year results to 30 April.

Alongside the revenue growth, its adjusted pre-tax profit increased to £58.2m from £55.4m.

Nickyl commented: “We are delighted that the group has delivered full-year growth in both revenue and profit, with trading performance strengthening across our peak trading periods in the second half of the year. This has been driven by our multi-year investments in technology and innovation, which continue to foster extraordinary customer loyalty.”

The group said trading since the start of the new financial year has been in line with expectations with an increase in new and existing customer orders, and it now expects the year’s revenue growth to be at a mid to high single-digit percentage rate.

Among the first back, completing the arduously hilly route in just over five hours were Ollie Guise-Smith, from Cards & Gifts in nearby Dronfield, GCA’s Adriana Lovesy, UK Greetings’ Matt James, PG’s Warren Lomax, NQP’s Jenny Weare, Skylight Media’s Simon Pyrce and recently retired industry stalwart Alan Holmes.

“We had lots of laughs and several medicinal pints,” revealed Ian. And at the celebratory meal at the finish point, Penny Shaw, Cardgains’ md said: “A huge well done to everybody for completing the Cardgains Charity Challenge 2024. It’s been an honour and a pleasure to walk with you all today, cheers to us – and hopefully you now agree it’s not grim up north!”

Autumn Fair is open for registration

Nickyl added: “Our investments in new AI technologies are delivering an increasingly personalised experience for our customers,” and said the group is “well positioned to benefit from the long-term structural market shift to online”, with its Netherlands-based Greetz arm launching Greetz plus in January 2024 and “following a similar encouraging trajectory” to the UK.

Strategic and operational highlights included that organic growth accelerated through the year underpinned by Moonpig, which grew revenue by 8.2% through growth in both orders and average order value.

Some 89% of Moonpig and Greetz revenue is being delivered from existing customers – the same level as in FY23.

Its database of customer occasion reminders has grown to 90m from 84m in April 2023, and the creativity features were used over 10m times to add video and audio messages, sticker images, digital gift vouchers and AIdriven customised messages to the inside of greeting cards.

Registration is now live for Autumn Fair (1-4 September, at the NEC), the largest second half of the year showcase for gifts, home, greetings and fashion, with over 800 brands on board, a quarter of which are new to the show. Within the greeting card and stationery contingent in Hall 6 will be The Art File, Brainbox Candy, Cardgains, Coach House Partners, The Eco-friendly Card Company, Emma Ball, Emotional Rescue, Five Dollar Shake, Go On Make Me, Lola Design, Louise Tiler, Manuscript Pen Company, Marina B Designs, Megan Claire, Moongazer, N Smith & Co, Natural Partners, Paper Salad, Rush Design, Toasted Crumpet, Twizler and Wish Strings – and there will also be a GCA Debut space.

The 2024 show will also see a greater focus on new and original products, Best of British and sustainable suppliers. There’s a new collaboration with online marketplace Faire aimed at helping exhibiting brands take orders on its platform from retailers attending the show. There will be a 50% discount for new retailers on their first order. www.autumnfair.com.

Left: Among the first back, in 5 hrs 10 mins were Adriana, Ollie, Alan and Alan and Matt.

Below: Ian and Lorraine Bradley, Caroline and Jon Ranwell from Hugs & Kisses, and Presentation’s Andrea Pinder.

At the start…and everybody made it!

Above: Moonpig Plus has exceeded expectations

Below: Moonpig’s ceo Nickyl Raithatha.

Above: Autumn Fair will have a focus on British made and sustainability.

TOP STORY

Harrogate Beckons

Sunny times ahead at Home & Gift Exhibition

Home & Gift 2024 will be returning to the Harrogate Convention Centre and grounds of the DoubleTree by Hilton Majestic Hotel from 2124 July, unveiling a larger footprint and a new layout for the Design Points, to include an extended Design Point 1, which will be hosting an additional 10% more stands in 2024. Visitors will also find a relocated Design Point 4, and a new entrance at the Rose Gate.

Across the show, there will be over 15% more exhibitors than in 2023.

The Art File, Roger la Borde, Alljoy, Caroline Gardner, Two Little Monkeys, Ginger Betty and Dandelion are among the greeting card companies exhibiting.

In addition to the design-led Design

Points 1, 3 and 4, Halls A, B, C and M at the Harrogate Convention Centre will feature sectors including Gift and Home, Jewellery and Fashion, and the Food Emporium.

“The Home & Gift team have worked incredibly hard to deliver a third successive year of double-digit growth, and we look forward to showcasing over 15% more brands again this July, giving buyers even more choice as they look for their next best sellers,” commented show manager David Westbrooke. Register at www.homeandgift.co.uk.

(See Innovations page 43).

Stephanie Davies’ wrap collab with Glick

Stephanie Davies is topping an excellent year having clinched her first licence, which sees her greeting card designs being translated onto giftwrap with Glick

And it’s partly thanks to The Henries awards where she won The Lynn Tait Best Young Designer Or Artist 2023 trophy last October.

“Glick md Becky Dobson contacted me after spotting my designs in The Henries 2022 finalist brochure,” revealed Yorkbased Stephanie Davies, founder and designer of her eponymous company. “I’d previously worked designing surface prints and had long dreamed of turning my greeting card paintings into patterns. Collaborating with Glick has been incredibly enjoyable.”

The launch range of everyday gift wrap, roll wrap, bags and tissue paper comprises four flora and fauna collections with rich autumnal colours.

And working together has been an “absolute joy” for Becky too “Not only is Stephanie incredibly talented, she’s an all-round wonderful human too, and we’re really loving the partnership and work that’s being produced.”

At Harrogate Home & Gift Stephanie is launching a Print & Pattern greeting card collection as well as new Christmas cards on Stand DP4-56.

Anagram acquires Pioneer Europe

The party industry has seen several changes of late with Anagram acquiring the assets of Pioneer Europe, Smiffys becoming part of the same Ad Populum group as giftware brand Enesco and Amscan Europe GmbH has written to partners stating it has initiated provisional insolvency proceedings.

Leading balloon manufacturer Anagram International USA strategic acquisition of Pioneer Europe brings together two industry leaders who have significantly shaped the premium balloon category in foil and latex over many years, and are well known to the many greeting card retailers who stock balloons.

In the announcement on 1 July, Anagram’s president Jim Plutt said the company, which has been running for over 40 years, has established Anagram International as its new EMEA head office, commencing operations this month, to “re-establish itself as an independent global company that prioritises innovation and customer service”.

He added: “We now plan to provide our partners in the EMEA region with the most comprehensive foil and latex balloon programmes. The experienced team from the former Pioneer Europe, located in Bishop’s Stortford, will lead this initiative, managing the distribution of Anagram’s and Pioneer’s product ranges across the EMEA region.”

Marie Gransbury, newly-appointed md at Anagram International trading as Anagram Europe, added: “I would like to start by thanking all of our customers for their business over many years; your support and loyalty has been greatly valued. I am very pleased to say that we have been able to keep all employees as part of this acquisition process.”

All existing Pioneer Europe contact telephone numbers and email addresses will remain in place in the short term.

Meanwhile, after dress-up specialist Smiffys – RH Smith & Sons – filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the end of May, it was announced on Friday, 28 June, that Ad Populum has acquired the business.

In the definitive agreement Joel Weinshanker, md and founder of the company that owns brands including NECA, WizKids, Kidrobot, Enesco and Rubies II, will lead the worldwide Smiffys business.

He said: “Smiffys joins the Ad Populum group of full-service, boots-on-the-ground brands that in this day and age are necessary to properly service our retail partners.

Recognition For Talking Tables’ Clare Harris

Talking Tables’ founder, Clare Harris, was recently named in the E2E Female 100, (in association with The Independent newspaper), which celebrates the top 100 female entrepreneurs in the UK, highlighting their achievements and inspiring the next generation of women in business.

Above: Stephanie’s cards have been translated into giftwrap with Glick.

Left: Bentleys’ Stephen and Julie Hale (left) presented their Golden Ticket to Stephanie at the recent PG Live show

Left: Home & Gift will be taking place from 21-24 July.

Below: A new range from The Art File will be on show.

Above: It’s all happening in the party sector.

DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.

The Economy And Me…

Thursday 4 July was a day of fireworks for several reasons. The sky was lit brightly as it was American Independence Day, the General Election and of course The Retas awards.  Rewind a few weeks though and I am crystalising this column after taking part in an election hustings with the six candidates representing Moray East. Now I don’t want to get into politics or the whys and wherefores. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that the parties really don’t like small business very much or at the very least, don’t understand us.

Canvassing politicians trotted out loads of examples of why Non-Domestic Rating (NDR) Reform is just around the corner, why the huge increases in the Living Wage gives everyone more money in their pocket to spend and why the changes to NI will make a real difference. They of course mention the

The definition is of course how the country is performing in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money. Simple stuff. We contribute to the economy every single day as we spend, go to work and lead our day to day lives. Again, simple stuff, but it has to have a bit more to it than that.

that things are getting better. Inflation has dropped back to around 2% and is predicted to stay there which should trigger a drop in interest rates post-election.

Unemployment is relatively low at 4.4%. The wider issue here is there are 9.4 million people classed as ‘economically inactive’, meaning they are not actually looking or wanting to work.

Inequality is the distance between the wealthy and the rest of us and again the general feeling is the masses are getting poorer while the rich continue to pile up wealth.

economy and its importance to the health of the UK, but what does all that mean?

Will a change in Government mean that the UK economy will have the reset they are always speaking about? Or does the recent drop in inflation to 2% mean that things are in a better place already?

I am not sure about you, but when they refer to the economy what do they really mean?

If you look at the economist handbook, the four things that contribute to the economy are GDP, inflation, unemployment and inequality.

GDP in the last quarter came back after two consecutive quarters of negatives and while it has been challenging, signs are

If you are reading this the likelihood is you are either a publisher, retailer, agent or trade supplier and you will all have your own take on the state of the economy depending on the balance sheet of your own business/life. I also don’t imagine that many of you would fall into the ‘super wealthy’ category but if there are and you need an employee to carry your bags, let me know!

Looking back at the last 10 or so years, between bank crashes, internet challenges, Covid and a million other problems, running a small to medium size business of any kind is not for the faint-hearted. Yet SMEs make up 99% of UK businesses, employing millions of people, so your and their collective success has a massive impact on the economy. SMEs had a combined turnover of £2.3 trillion and that was in

Above: The election has cleared the air, but David Robertson still feels that politicians need to get a better understanding of life outside Westminster/Hollyrood.

Below: David Robertson had cause to celebrate as JP Pozzi was crowned Scotland’s Newstrade Retailer of the Year recently.

Bottom: Gary Stevenson breaks down the fundamentals of economics.

2021 off the back of Covid.

Microbusinesses, that is those with 10 or less employees, contributed over £953 billion on their own.

Economists and traders make their money predicting what will happen and one of the most interesting traders is Gary Stevenson, who wrote the book The Trading Game. Gary came from a very modest background and due to his ability with numbers went onto have a successful trading career before becoming disillusioned with the City.

He breaks things down in a way that can help the normal person understand economics.

What he also does very well is summarise how he learnt about the economy. It was of course driven by the numbers, but it was not all about the GDP or the employment. He says that where he truly understood what was happening was by looking and listening.

He looked at our High Streets and how people were living. He thought about how he shopped and ate. He didn’t come from a wealthy family or was accepted to the London School of Economics because he was the son of X, he fought his way there.

One thing for sure is that the Taylor family, who bought the business in March, will sort out the issues. They simply will not allow for complacency, but turning around what has been as struggling chain since 2012 is not a job that can be done in a few weeks. Card selection, the look of the stores and especially the challenge of

established companies and newbies there.

Cards have a low barrier of entry. It is a friendly place where PG, GCA, The Ladder Club and others will actively point and get you going in the right direction.

He believes that he has predicted so many things correctly based on what he is simply seeing and hearing from those living life day to day.

This is where the problem is. Many of those in Government, namely career politicians, don’t have that connection. They have never run a business or had to do what we do.

So, what is the economic state of the card industry? Well, the biggest players in our physical retail sector are Cardfactory, Cardzone/Clintons and the supermarkets. They are the guys with the national coverage and they are the guys that are shaping the card world to the masses.

Cardfactory is changing. It is still a value offer, but now there are more small publishers supplying CF than ever before. Its model is evolving and despite a recent questioning by shareholders about its Chairman Paul Moody, Cardfactory said that it had seen “continued positive momentum” in core categories and hailed the performance of its stores as it maintains its “relentless focus on value for money”.

Clintons was of course the once mighty beast that took cards to the masses. It was never a value operator and in many ways it set the tone for cards. In recent years though it simply didn’t know what it was.

gifting are all immediate urgencies, as well as reassuring the staff and making sure that they understand the new direction, but as James Taylor, trading director said recently, it will be in its 2025 financial year before any sort of true assessment can be seen.

Supermarkets (and including M&S) are perhaps the biggest threat to the indies at this time, more than ever before. They are now fully attuned to the card calendar as testified by the Thank You Teacher, Graduation and all the minor events popping up on cardboard FSDU’s and gondola ends. We indies still have the advantage that the card displays in grocers’ shops can often be a mess and there’s no one to serve you in the way a card and gift indie would do, but they are getting better in their fixturing and card selection.

Cards though do still give us indies a fighting chance. In fact, more than a fighting chance as cards is a category in which we can really excel without having to make large investments. We can also take risks and challenge both our own buying and that of the customers with a different look or feel. A great barometer for cards is of course PG Live. This has just taken place and of its 220 exhibitorsover 60 were brand new to the show. This again shows the rude health of the sector with both

Anyone with an idea, belief or talent can put their designs together, but a bit like the debut album it is not those first songs/designs that are difficult, it is being able to keep producing and innovating many years down the line. The same can be said for opening a store. The ability to keep the store fresh changing the product and look is the secret to keeping your tribe and building the business.

So yes, I believe cards are in a good place. Let’s hope that upon receiving their congratulations cards, our new Government realise just what the SMEs of the card industry actually contribute to the UK’s wealth and they take our concerns and needs on board.

l To contact David email: jppozzi@btconnect.comz

Below: Cards are live and kicking! Wearing his retailer hat, Tim Gould from Objectables rewarded two relative newbie publishers, Dinosaus Doing Stuff and Teepee Creations by spending two of the Folkestone retailer’s special vouchers at the recent PG Live.

Above: Supermarkets such as Asda (pictured) have upped their game on the greeting card front.

Left: M&S have positioned their greeting card selection to give them greater prominence in many stores.

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

Cardsharp sees a challenging time ahead for so many of us in business as we enter a new political era, but there are still positives to be had. By the time you read this the results of the election will be known, meaning we can all get on with life knowing that despite all sides, manifesto promises, the tax burden will increase, the economy will struggle to grow at the rate needed to increase most individual prosperity and so many of our key institutions will continue to struggle to be fit for their purpose.

As Cardsharp reflects, the last five years since the 2019 election have not been kind for most of us. Brexit supposedly ‘sorted’, the Covid pandemic and the associated lockdowns following on shortly from that. And then the post Covid inflation rampage later, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Add to that four different Prime Ministers and the debacle of different cabinet ministers coming and going through an ever-revolving door.

For the past 15 years, the average Brit has seen little increase in living standards, which not surprisingly made our lives in the greeting card industry, a lot harder. So, will a new government improve our economic performance and our living standards? With the amount we pay in tax set to rise and government debt at record high levels, this looks unlikely.

much as their rent, while the big online retailers like Amazon pay just a fraction per square metre. Let us hope the new Labour government with its large majority will look to help the ‘hard working small businesses’ it talks about and levels the playing field.

If that was not enough, our particular industry has had to live with the ongoing uncertainty over the fate of Royal Mail. It seems the billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, the secretive and silent Czech Sphinx has undergone a metamorphosis. He has suddenly become ‘Mr Cuddly’, promising almost anything to get his deal

Most disappointingly, in this election campaign, very little has been said about the outrageously unfair Business Rates tax system in this country, where many bricks and mortar retailers end up paying through the nose, sometimes as

to buy Royal Mail over the line. There are media friendly interviews, guarantees galore, and even a promise of shares for the ‘posties’. Cardsharp is half expecting that next Kretinsky will also be offering free use of his various luxury mansions at the weekend for all!

But there seems to be little doubt that uncertainty over Royal Mail, notably the increased cost of stamps and poor postal delivery is having a negative effect on our industry. For the last decade our industry has more or less held its own in terms of value. There are worrying signs now that in the last year, volumes of greeting cards bought are starting to drop.

Mind you, we should be thankful that in the greeting card industry we are in a lot better position than another social expression sector, closely

Above: Always look on the bright side of life!

Below left: Those crosses in the boxes on July 4 reflect the public’s feeling.

Below: A Quitting Hollywood Rishi Sunak design on the Thortful platform.

aligned to us, the party industry. The last couple of years has been vicious, with the closure of so many party and dress-up shops as business gravitated online to court the consumer. There has also been something of an environmental backlash against the use of plastic. And ‘dress-up’ so popular pre-Covid seems to have lost some of its lustre, with fewer big children’s themed parties held at home, instead favouring a smaller group trip to a venue.

Cardsharp saw this came to a head recently with the business failures of two of the biggest names in the UK party industry. Amscan, a name synonymous with helium balloons, initiated insolvency proceedings and top UK owned dress-up business Smiffy’s went into administration, although as Cardsharp writes this, he hears Smiffy’s has been acquired by Ad Populum, the group founded and run by serial entrepreneur Joel Weinshanker.

It does not seem that long ago to Cardsharp that these two companies would have near football pitch size stands at the

Spring Fair. How the mighty have fallen. The Amscan situation will be concerning to many independent and indeed multiple greeting card shops, who treasure both the turnover and high margin from selling helium balloons.

Thank goodness, we in the greeting card industry are in a much stronger position, but there is no room for complacency especially given another problem is raising its ugly head - the shipping crisis. As we came out of Covid, if you recall, there was an astronomical increase in the cost of a container coming from the Far East. A price per container went up from around $2,500 to over $18,000. In the last year or so, some sanity had returned to the market with prices going back down to the $2,000 mark.

However, the Houthi rebels in Yemen attacking ships in the Red Sea has meant that they are now re-routing to avoid the Suez Canal, taking a longer route around the horn of Africa. This and a fear of increased tariffs on imports from China to the USA, post the presidential elections, has led to the price per container to shoot up to the near $10,000 mark.

on somewhere down the line. We thought the inflationary beast had been tamed, but it would seem it is still trying to escape the cage. Let’s hope the costs come back down to a reasonable level soon.

But as Eric Idle in Monty Python’s, The Life of Brian implored us, “Always look on the bright side of life”.

Cardsharp thinks whatever the myriad challenges we as an industry face, we do have an awful lot of good things going for us. The recent buzzing PG Live exhibition was awash with creative vibrancy that was lapped up by retailers and the international distributors visiting in numbers in awe of what we in the UK create.

Our largest specialist greeting card multiple Cardfactory recently announced sparkling results and online retailer, Moonpig exceeded expectations with its recent financials.

What’s more, another major specialist chain and a historic brand at that, Clintons has gone to a good home having been acquired by Cardzone, after years of speculation that it would go to the wall.

This, reflects Cardsharp could have another negative impact on our industry. So much Christmas greeting card boxed product in particular is still manufactured in the Far East, and these increased costs and time delays will have to be passed

And increasingly beleaguered independent retailers are co-operating and communicating on ways to thrive and prosper, be it through formal organisations like the buying group Cardgains and GCA or the informal online groups of like-minded independent greeting card retailers, such as the Retail Buddies and The Cardmitments, and who share ideas and action points as well as moral support.

Yes, Cardsharp is sure the next five years will be tough, but as an industry we are in a better position to fight it than most.

Above left: All is not happy in the party world.

Above: The increased costs of shipping and longer lead times is putting pressure on publishers producing in the Far East.

Left: Monty Python’s Eric Idol has the right idea on the positivity front.

Below: The Czech Sphinx Daniel Kretinsky is getting closer to the Royal Mail takeover.

Show Business

They came, they marvelled, they bought, they laughed, they chatted - buyers came to PG Live 2024 not just from the length and breadth of the UK, but from all over the world, lapping up the inspiring newness from the 220 exhibitors. PG shares a photographic flavour of just some of the tasty treats from the recent show.

Above: The Windles-sponsored tea trolleys were out in force, providing free sustenance for exhibitors and visitors alike.

Below: Creative Cove’s Sandra Jervis (right) was overjoyed to discover Pear Tree Press in the Springboard area and spent her Sunshine Ticket with owner, Emma Randall.

Top: Retailers, overseas distributors and PG Live directors were a happy bunch to officially declare the show open.

Above right: WHSmith’s (left-right) Chrissy Bell, Claire Castle and Scarlett Ford were there bright and early to help open the show.

Above: The BDC is the well-loved ‘home’ of PG Live.

Below: The Indigo Tree’s (right-left) Harriet, Adam and Meg de Wolff enjoyed seeing their shop name on The Retas Wall of Fame.

Below right: Cardzone/Clintons’ co-owner Paul Taylor and colleague Sally Wyles (right) happily spent their Sunshine Ticket with Paper Shed’s Jo O’Brien.

Above left: Cardboard geniuses Nigel Reynolds and Kerry Tyers, co-owners of N Smith, made a giant birthday card, pens, inkwell and a pencil for its stand at PG Live. Kerry received a surprise gift and Happy Birthday rendition from a saxophonist as it was her birthday at the show.

Above: It was also happy birthday for Origamo’s Furio Ceciliato and PG’s Tracey Bearton during PG Live.

Above right: Minions’ Stuart was a welcome guest courtesy of Danilo.

Left: Pigment’s Steve Baker and Katie Ibbetson flank PG Live’s central stairway that was emblazoned with the branding for its new Everybody’s Lovely range with Giles Andreae.

Above: Retail buddies (left-right) Andrea Pinder (Presentation), Caroline Ranwell (Hugs & Kisses), Aga Marsden (The Highworth Emporium), Jo Webber (Jo Amor) and Libby Holden (Lovely Libby’s) catching up at The Retas/Greats drinks reception.

Left: Poet and Painter’s ever smiling Lucy Creed (left) with Scribbler’s always joyful buying manager, Tori Heath-Smith.

Above: The handmade flowers on IG’s Eco Nature stand were amazing. (Left-right) IG’s David Jackson and Stephanie Evans, Sainsbury’s Shar Grothier and Bethany Preistley with UKG’s Zoe Callister and Katie Riding. Right: Jazz saxophonist extraordinaire Roger Mumbles, sponsored by Skylight Media brought some sublime sounds as people arrived, in the lunchroom and at the Opening Night Party.

Below and left: The Scribbler team (left) with a little help from their friends at Talking Tables did a fantabulous job at dressing the lunchroom in which all exhibitors and visitors were served up a delicious, free lunch on both days.

Above: Village Green sponsors envelope company Enveco’s (left-right) Lucy Glover, John Johnson and Dhruman Shah had that area licked.

Right: Dean Morris and Stationery Supplies’ Sarah Laker enjoyed a Titanic selfie pose.

Below: The Overseas Visitor Reception on the eve of the show got things off to a great start. (Second right) Jenny Cummins of McMillan Cards and Gifts came over from Sydney while Andy Meehan, of the US GCA and Designer Greetings travelled from the States. Seen here with Paper Rose export and licensing director Perlina PierreDavis (right) and PG’s Jakki Brown.

Above left: At 91, Elizabeth Walsh has been in greetings retail a long time at Good Wishes, and spent her Cardgains voucher with Carl Pledger at Nigel Quiney, while the show’s youngest visitor was little Ruby (born on 1 May), the daughter of Sanne Wigbels from Crystal Palace store Ivy And The Wolf – Sanne was on maternity leave, but just couldn’t miss out on PG Live!

Above: Penguin Ink’s Lizzie Parker (left) was a high roller at PG Live.

Left: Everyone who’s anyone was there, even Tatty Teddy!

Below: Blue Diamond’s Nick Dale, Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby, Ricicle’s David Nicols-Rice and Dean Morris and partner Matt practice for the GCA Pride presence.

Below: The end of the show saw a frenzy of exhibitors coming to cash in their special tickets that retailers (who were finalists and winners of The Retas and The Greats retail awards as well as members of the Cardgains buying group) had spent with them.

Above: In celebrations of printer Loxleys’ 175th anniversary it sponsored the Opening Night Party. Greeting everyone from Loxleys were (right-left) Sally Drinkwater, Tony Lorriman, Heather Bull and Alice Woodland.

Below: Some party people! Holy Mackerel’s Katie Meeke (far left) and Sarah Hopkins with Brainbox Candy’s Ben Hickman (second right) with Dean Morris (right) and partner Matthew O'Marah.

Left:

Below: Exhibitors jumped for joy up in the Upper Village/Springboard as it was (third right) Libra Fine Art’s Katherine Khangurra’s birthday – (fourth left) Arrthi Little of Cheeky Legends was excused jumping duty as she is pregnant!

Above: The meeters and greeters were walking, talking advertisements for exhibitors

Left: Jo Webber of Jo Amor was very happy with her PG Live

Right: Sure as eggs are eggs, the annual wager between Spurs’ fan Danilo’s Daniel Prince and Hammers’ fan PG’s Warren Lomax saw dues being paid for the team which finished higher in the table.

Above: The Woodmansterne team was out in force at the Opening Night party.

Above centre: Jen Winnett with her furry friend who brought the addSquirrel brand to life.

Above right: Two Hallmark big cheeses. (Right) Graeme Karavis, group md UKI and ANZ and Jim Shay, executive vice president - chief financial officer at Hallmark Cards Inc.

wonderful newness.

keepsake tote that was sponsored by Hallmark in celebration of becoming the master greeting card licensee for Peter Rabbit.

Above: Friends reunited at the PG Live Overseas Reception, (second and third left) Melbourne-based Simson Cards’ Simo and Bindi Simson with (left-right) Avanti’s Chip Owen, David Laubach and Rick Ruffner.

Harry Styles with Say it with Songs’ Ellie Fitzgerald and Widdop’s Stephen Illingworth.

Sharing the love

It was buzzy, upbeat, crammed full of marvellous new designs, talented publishers, fabulous retailers and overseas distributors from all over the world – and the joy of PG Live 2024 lives on as orders placed at the show are now out on cardies’ shelves. PG caught up with a selection of retailers who were only too happy to share some of their top picks from the show.

Mark Janson-

Smith, managing director of Postmark

Show Business: “What wasn't there to like! This was one of the best PG Lives yet, such a great show, full of such wonderful products and not just from the established publishers. So great to see so many 'newer' publishers continuing to flourish.”

Top Picks: “Too many to mention them all, but we really liked the new die-cut range from Mifkins , the new Mini Neons from KDee Designs

We spent our Golden and Sunshine tickets with Jackson, Heyyy Cards Brilliantly Brave

retailers.

Pete Whiteman, co-owner of Dzo Dzo, Woodbridge

Show Business: “PG Live 2024 was as great as usual. Not just for seeing all the new and old suppliers, but for seeing old friends and fellow retailers and catching up on news and gossip.

The show always brings together a vast wealth of talent within the industry, all under one roof where you can just focus on greeting cards. The free lunch and drinks always go down well, so many thanks to the organisers and sponsors. In the words of Arnie...We’ll be back next year.”

Top Picks: “We placed around 14 orders at the show, a near record for us, with several new companies. These included Paper Bird, with its different blank card designs to a real newbie David Mould of Ecosse Encaustics (at his first show), which were brilliant atmospheric images from Scotland. Humour was high on the agenda and Ohh Deer fitted the bill wonderfully for a gap that we had in that genre.”

Above: Dzo Dzo’s Pete and (right) Jelena Whitehead with Rosie Made a Thing’s Rosie Harrison spending the first Sunshine Ticket of the show, just minutes after it opened.

Left: Newbie Ecosse Encaustics’ designs caught Pete’s eye.

Above: The Mini Neons from Earlybird were a top pick for many

Right: Postmark’s Mark Janson-Smith (right) with Dan Clarkson, coowner of Heyyy Cards.

Above: PG Live is where business meets pleasure! The Art File’s Ged (left) and James Mace with House of Cards’ Miles Robinson.

VIEWPOINTS

Tori Heath-Smith, buying manager of Scribbler

Show Business: “We spent a fantastic couple of days at PG Live. It was great, as always to catch up with our suppliers, see the new ranges, and meet new talented designers. The whole Scribbler team got involved in hosting the PG lunch this year, alongside our friends at Talking Tables, and got to play a small part in the event, which really added to our enjoyment.”

Top Picks: “There were some great new ranges on show, but a couple to note were the new mini designs from The Art File for the modern simplicity, and the Toast Art range by Objectables, which is completely mad and right up Scribbler’s street!

We spent our Sunshine Ticket with Georgi at Lil Wabbit and have placed our first Christmas order with them - we can’t wait to see these designs in stores.”

Sean Austin, owner of Austin & Co, Malvern

Show Business: “It’s no exaggeration that I could visit all 220 exhibitors at PG Live and fill my shop 10 times over. It’s not called the world’s greatest greeting card show for nothing.

Lucy Eason, owner of George’s, Whitstable

Show Business: “At PG Live I felt like a kid in a fantastic sweet shop! Yes, the show is easy to get to by train and the Business Design Centre is a great venue, but the overriding thing I liked the most about PG Live was its friendly vibe. The atmosphere was buzzing with optimism and newness, what a perfect combination. It was my first time visiting as a buyer and I found it such a refreshing change to be solely absorbed into the greeting card industry among people who are so passionate about cards, or some might say crazy! Due to the size of the show, it was so easy to meet and interact with the business owners and card creators, a fantastic opportunity for me to meet new suppliers and to build bonds with present ones. I came away with an appreciation that the greeting card industry really is a community, and it highlighted that my choice of supplier is not only based on the cards, but the people behind them.”

Top Picks: “I couldn’t not notice the Mini Neons from Earlybird, an extension to its fabulous regular sized cards ranges and the additional designs in the wrapping paper will be really well received. Say it with Songs jumped out as unique and interesting. I think my customers will love them when they arrive, let alone the team, boogying in the shop!!! The cheesy tunes cheeseboards are also genius for gifting.

This year my job of selecting products for my little card shop in Malvern was made so difficult and that’s a credit to all of the publishers who exhibited.”

Top Picks: “In total, I placed about 16 orders, some with current suppliers, but the majority with those who are brand new to Austin & Co. Honourable mentions should go the recipients of my three Silver/Sunshine tickets; The Curious Pancake, Lucky Ink, and Stoats & Weasels. And if there was any proof needed on the strength of the show, it was that all of the recipients were based in Springboard/Upper Village.”

It’s Bin Ages is Objectables’ wheelie bin card range which has been expanded into a few occasions like get well. Think of a crappy wheelie bin, tipped over, with ‘get well’ painted badly in white paint, sound awful? sound completely crackers? Will it sell, definitely! When you come across a card range that you 100% know your customers will love I stop questioning my buying skills and the Naughty By Nature range from Tracks Publishing was it! It quite literally stopped me in my tracks (pardon the pun) and I had to place an order. The photographs of an oldish aged couple doing activities like golf, window washing and gardening in the nude are risqué, fun and relatable, exactly the recipe for a card range my customers will appreciate and buy.

I also bought the coaster spinner from Rosie Made a Thing, as they are selling so well, this way of displaying really will showcase them for even better sales.

I also bought two ranges from Lydia London called Swim Wild & Free and Flowers of the Catwalk. I received a handwritten post card from Lydia Evans explaining that her self-painted wild swimming range would be ideal for Whitstable, the seaside town I call home. Meeting her in person at the show and having a chat was all the encouragement I needed to place an order.

I came home with lots of flyers, scribbled on catalogues and great photos of ranges and suppliers from which I crafted a buying plan.”

Above right: A design from Objectables’ Toast Art range hit the spot for Tori. Above: Scribbler’s Tori Heath-Smith (right) and Laura Clarke (left) with Lil Wabbit’s Georgi Doig.

Left: Lucy Eason in the lunchroom at PG Live. Below: Wild and Free cards from Lydia London.

Top: Austin & Co’s Sean Austin with Lucky Ink’s Holly Hall. Above: Some new Stoats & Weasels designs.

Nigel Williamson, co-owner of House of

Cards

Show Business: “PG Live is such a well thought out show with many special touches like the Golden/Silver/Sunshine Tickets and the refreshment trolley all adding to a feeling that the buyer is

Cilena Easton, owner of Artichoke, Tynemouth Show Business: “PG Live had a real buzz about it. It is such a lovely show to attend and having a free lunch thrown in - what’s not to love?!

You could see that the exhibitors had put in such hard work designing their displays and it really paid off. And, the champagne reception for winners finalists of The Greats and The Retas extends the celebration these significant awards. Thank you to the PG Live team - you do it so well!”

Top Picks: “The big ‘stand outs’ for us were Bird & Co Studio, such beautiful cards. We spent our Golden Ticket with them which they were thrilled by. Another stand out to us was Not At All Jack with whom we spent our Greats voucher. We loved the humour on their cards.”

Above: Artichoke’s Cilena Easton and her son and colleague Patrick at The Retas/Greats drinks reception. Left: Some Bird and Co Studio products.

special. I also really like the drinks reception for Retas’ finalists and winners as this is a great opportunity to compare notes with other retailers on what we have seen at the show and what is also working in our stores.”

Top Picks: “We loved The Art File’s 64 pocket floor spinner with C6 size cards which we have ordered for each store even though previously we had a no spinner policy. Good to see Paper Shed Design has expanded its product range to include keyrings, fridge magnets and a limited number of titles in A4 size that will be popular because sourcing larger leaving cards and wife cards is difficult.

We have not dealt with Ohh Deer previously, but are now as we spent our Cardgains’ vouchers with the publisher. Upper Village exhibitor Lil Wabbit caught our eye with whom we plan to place an order very soon.”

Kayleigh Hisim, co-owner of Milford Cards and Gifts, Milford on Sea Show Business: “We love being a part of the greeting card industry as it's such a friendly and inclusive group. It brings out so much creativity and inspiration in us and we get excited to fill our shop with new cards. We were particularly excited this year as we have a whole new layout in the shop which created new space for even more cards. This year we bought lots of humour cards which we really enjoyed choosing, lots of laughter on the way round. We went with lots of small businesses this year as being a small business ourselves we know much it means.”

Top Picks: “We placed an order with Abacus Cards. Even though we had seen our rep Mark only a couple of weeks before we couldn't resist the new Harold's Planet humour range. We also placed an order with Brainbox Candy, and despite the cards having only been on the shelves for a few days, they are already flying. People are coming in and picking up three or four cards at a time because they are so funny.

We ordered the football card range from White Cotton Cards, excited to learn we could personalise the cards for our local teams. We think these will go down a storm. We couldn't resist Pickled Cards’ collection of humour so we are excited to receive these and put them out on our shelves, I even added a few extra designs onto our order this morning as couldn't resist.

I had seen some cards online before coming along so was on the hunt for them. So, I was very excited when I found The Supermarket Bag range on The Curious Pancake stand.

Last but not least we ordered from KDee Designs who is very local to us. She has redesigned some of her range to personalise some cards for our shop. She is even going to hand deliver them.”

Above: Milford Cards and Gifts’ Kayleigh (left) and Sinan Hisim with KDee Designs Kathryn Wilkinson. Left: One of The Supermarket Bag designs from The Curious Pancake.

Above: House of Cards’ two owners, Nigel Williamson (left) and Miles Robinson enjoying a glass of fizz at The Retas and The Greats drinks reception at PG Live. Right: A framed print from Paper Shed Design.

Hazel Walker,

senior buyer of greeting cards, stationery and gift wrap for Waterstones Show Business: “The show was great – there were so many publishers that we struggled to get round everyone and will be planning to attend for two days next year. PG Live is always great for catching up with current publishers in person as well as discovering new ones and we of course love the lunch!”

Top Picks: “It was great to see Jelly Armchair and Sooshichacha back at the show with lots of newness. The Art File had some lovely

Olivia Reilly,

co-owner of Little Boat Gifts, Brightlingsea

Show Business: “We had a fabulous time at PG Live on the Tuesday, we were only sad that we couldn’t make the Wednesday as well!

We've been visiting the show for many years and this year's event didn't disappoint.

Alongside catching up with our favourite companies we found lots of new suppliers to add to our collection. With a strong regular customer base it's important to us to keep our card ranges fresh. It was a very productive visit which was fun too, and we can't wait for next year’s!”

Top Picks: “We placed quite a few orders at the show and brought home lots of information on others that we will look at in the future. One company that really stood out for us was Ink and Ivy group, both its Wallypops and Stories of the Sea ranges will be on our shelves soon. We were particularly impressed with Stories of the Sea range being printed on seaweed paper. As a business we have really started to look into and develop our sustainability statement and discovering these cards was an easy order, so much so that I used my Sunshine Ticket.”

Michael Apter,

new ranges on both cards and wrap which we are excited to try and Danilo had some great licensed designs that will go down well with our customers. There were many others and we came away with a long list to follow up – we’ll definitely be adding some new ranges to our offer for summer from both current and new publishers.”

Paul and Helen Southgate, co-owners of Cards N Things, Hellesdon, Norwich

Show Business: “A great PG Live show! It’s by far the nicest to attend and always has a great buzz catching up with everyone. And the delicious food and supply of free tea and coffee were welcome, as ever!

It’s the perfect size of show. You never feel rushed and feel we have plenty of time to place orders and catch up with all our lovely suppliers plus also see all the new products.”

Top Picks: “White Cotton Cards caught our attention with very nicely designed cards in more obscure (but still popular) titles. We often get asked for captions like Great Grandson & Wife Wedding Day or Mum & Dad Platinum Anniversary. The publisher even does Congratulations on your 50th/100th Park Run! We love to have a card for any occasion.

We were also impressed with The Cambridge Confectionery Company. The products were not only very well branded, but had a great taste too! It will sit well with our other chocolate offering.

We placed orders with White Cotton Cards using our Silver Ticket and spent our Sunshine ticket with The Cambridge Confectionery Company. We also placed orders with Rosie Made a Thing and Deva Designs.”

Managing Director, Paper Tiger, three (soon to be four) shops in Edinburgh

Show Business: “PG Live was fun, friendly and full of interesting products; the Business Design Centre is a nice space in which to do business. We had a high speed, high impact visit to the show and were impressed by the calibre of exhibitors and the volume of new designs that were being launched.”

Top Picks: “It is really good to see publishers like The Art File, Stormy Knight and Earlybird introducing their mid season ranges and new designs at PG Live. We loved the new notebooks from Cath Tate Cards; they have had a great reaction in store. We are also looking forward to selling lots of the award-winning chocolate cards and the mints tins from Rosie Made a Thing. We placed a big pile of orders with new and existing suppliers, and we couldn't resist sprinkling in a bit of additional sparkle to our Christmas selections.”

Above right: Little Boat Gifts’ Olivia Reilly (right) spent her Greats Voucher with Meg Hawkins.

Above: A Wallypops 3D wall decoration/card from Ink and Ivy.

Above: Cards ‘n’ Things’ Paul and Helen Southgate (right) with White Cotton Cards’ Georgie Palmer.

Left: The Cambridge Confectionery Company was another top pick for the Southgates.

Left: Waterstones’ Hazel Walker (right) being taken through some of the new products by Raspberry Blossom’s Rebecca Green.

Above: Noo + Boo was a new range that was launched by Sooshichacha at PG Live.

Above: Paper Tiger’s Michael Apter (centre) with Earlybird’s Dom and Heidi Early. Right: A notebook from Cath Tate Cards.

VIEWPOINTS

Heather Middleton, owner of Bazaar, Barnstaple

Show Business: “I thoroughly enjoyed PG Live; the Business Design Centre is a fabulous building. We were very well looked after from start to finish with plenty of tea and coffee available throughout the day and the free lunch was absolutely delicious, plus drinks at the end of the day! What more could you possibly need!

There was a lovely atmosphere, and it was great to see so many up and coming greeting card suppliers.”

Top Picks: “The companies/ranges that caught my eye included Stephanie Davies. I absolutely love her elegant and sophisticated designs. I placed an order with her after seeing reading about her in PG when she won the Best Young Designer award in The Henries last year, so it was lovely to meet her at the show.

Not At All Jack sent me some samples and a catalogue before the show and I was impressed with the quality so I will be placing an order very soon.

It was good to see all the awards that Rosie Harrison from Rosie Made a Thing had won, her designs and products are very popular with our customers.

I was very pleased to spend my Golden Ticket with Feather & Hare. The cards are gorgeous and it was lovely to chat to owner Lauren at her first show. She has sent me a lovely email thanking me and I'm very much looking forward to working with her.

I also placed an order with Rosie Made a Thing, Objectables and The Cambridge Confectionery Company.”

Karen West,

manager of Red Card, Petworth

Show Business: “This was my first time visiting PG Live and it was a really feelgood day! It was so lovely to see lots of our friends and suppliers as well as all the new designs. The vibrant colours, bold illustrations and cheeky humour really make me smile and giggle - there is literally a card range for everyone!

The exhibitors had such passion and enthusiasm for their cards, and had taken such care and attention to make their stands beautiful and eye-catching.”

Top Picks: “I placed orders with Earlybird (Dom and Heidi were

Evonne Pearson, co-owner of The Hedgehog Bookshop, Penrith Show Business: “We really enjoyed our time at PG Live. It was one of the best shows we have ever attended. Everyone was very friendly and it was great having all the card designers under one roof offering such a tremendous choice. One of our highlights was seeing our shop name on The Retas’ Wall Of Fame!”

Top Picks: “We topped up on ranges we already have, including Alljoy, Dandelion and Louise Mulgrew that sell very well. Lucilla Lavender's Art and Anna ranges are a favourite with us and its new Signify collection will sit very well with these.

We placed orders with Helen from Dyson Design. Its Laura Andrew Splash Bird cards and David Austin ranges are lovely.

Three ranges other that caught my eye right away and we placed orders for were: Paper Mirchi for its block printed cotton cards, which are stunning and different; Meg Hawkins Art’s British Countryside art range which will fit in well as we are in an agricultural area and Marina B Designs’ lovely quality cards for all occasions with a stunning rainbow foil.”

my first order of the day); Paper Salad, its new ranges are so bright and have already arrived and been put out in the shop; Dandelion; Grace Jackson (who Sally [Matson, Red Card’s owner] met at the Dragons event); The Art File; Cath Tate; Penguin Ink (spending our Golden Ticket), Bewilderbeest (spending our Sunshine Ticket) and Ohh Deer (spending the lovely £50 voucher they sent us).”

Above: Bazaar’s Heather Middleton (left) with Feather & Hare’s founder Lauren Bott. Below: A Not At All Jack design.

Left: Red Cards’ Karen West with Bewilderbeest’s Iain Hamilton. Right: A design from Grace Jackson.

Above: The Hedgehog Bookshop’s Evonne Pearson (right) with Marina B’s Marina Brooks. Below: Dyson Design’s ranges were a winner for Evonne.

Fran Stone, buyer of cards, stationery, souvenirs and food for National Trust

Show Business: “We thought it was great show, with lots of exciting new suppliers.”

Top Picks: “A particular highlight was Sophie Brabbins and her beautiful 3D cards featuring butterflies and birds – so unusual and charming!”

Kate Salmon, head of home and gift buying for Oliver Bonas

Show Business: “There was a real air of excitement and a great buzz to PG Live. As we continue to open more stores and cards are doing so well, it is a great opportunity to catch up with current suppliers and to be on the hunt for new. It is such a special industry, I love how passionate suppliers are with their products, and there was a great sense of collaboration to make sure we are stocking best sellers and getting a good look at the newness. We came away looking forward to reviewing all the new samples!”

Top Picks: “A couple of potential new suppliers who caught our eye were Letterbox Lane and Happy Street’s Secret Garden range.

We also saw some exciting new lines/refreshes from existing suppliers, including The Art File (particularly Tiny But Mighty), Archivist, Eleanor Bowmer, Katie Leamon, Brainbox Candy (David Shrigley), East End Prints, Lucky Ink and Ohh Deer (on fire!).”

Aga Marsden, owner of Highworth Emporium, Highworth

Show Business: “I loved the vibe of PG Live! It is such as friendly, cosy, small and yet big show. I love the focus being on cards and that there are no disruptions, other than cheeky champagne glass or two and a tasty lunch of course. It is a great show to see the trends in industry and to discover new, smaller publishers. It is also a very social event. I have met so many lovely people in this industry and PG Live is great opportunity to catch up with them and share news, both private and business.”

Top Picks: “Everything colourful, sparkly and different always catches my eye…Cath Tate, Ohh Deer were among them. I was also on search for good quality yet affordable pop-up cards, so my focus went to companies like Origamo and Kiriori. I also liked the new look of the Camden Graphics range from UKG

Of course I placed orders, especially as this year I had four vouchers to spend, yay! I ordered from Kiriori and am really looking forward to receiving these cards. I also placed an order with Ohh Deer and Lucilla Lavender, who are new suppliers for us. And I topped up a few new ranges from publishers we work with already, like Paper Shed and UKG.”

Priya Aurora-Crowe, co-founder of Lark

Show Business: “We really enjoyed finding shiny new brands and socialising with other retailers in the industry. We placed many orders and are in talks with over 10 companies.”

Top Picks: “We really liked Oh Squirrel’s age cards and Stormy Knight’s newness.”

Above: Highworth’s Aga Marsden (left) was happy to spend her Sunshine Ticket with Paper Shed’s Jo O’Brien.

Left: The Cath Kidston range was among many ranges on Ohh Deer’s stand.

Left: Priya Aurora-Crowe with fellow indie (centre) Brent Milburn of New Frames and sales agent Howard Gregory. Right: Some of the newness from Stormy Knight.

Above: A charming card from Sophie Brabbins.

Above right: Cards are a growing part of Oliver Bonas’ growing business.

Above: A design from Letterbox Lane.

FOCUS ON…Spring

SPRING LOADED

Despite the early timing of Easter this year, resulting in something of a squish between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, Spring Seasons sales seem to have held up pretty well for most retailers – and boding well, next year Valentine’s Day is on a Friday and Easter is in late April. With the launch of the 2025 offerings, PG looks at their changing patterns and what other different events are coming to the fore.

As Mother’s Day is the top selling seasonal event after Christmas, it would traditionally be where any article about Spring Seasons would begin, however there’s one publisher that bucks this trend.

Despite the general consensus that mums have way more than twice as much spent on them as dads, at licensed card specialist Danilo it’s Father’s Day that brings in the sales.

“In relation to the brands we do, we find they lend themselves more to Father’s Day than Mother’s Day,” said licensing director Dan Grant.

“Sales in 2024 have been strong across all our seasonal ranges. Each of the four main events performed well but, while all these events are crucial to our business, Father's Day always performs the best for us, underscoring its importance in our seasonal sales strategy.”

Danilo has also been tracking the shifts in Spring Seasons designs, with Dan explaining they notice how licensed characters and themes are being incorporated.

“Customers increasingly seek personalised and contemporary designs that resonate with their unique relationships and experiences,” he said. “From a variety of different types of mum and dad captions such as ‘mum and dad rolled into one’, to incorporating more designs from and to the pet, there has been an increase in the number of captions available.”

Dan added that GlobalData’s info reflects broader societal trends, where Mother's Day has traditionally received more emphasis so, to balance this, Danilo believes marketing efforts should highlight the unique

contributions of fathers and the importance of celebrating them.

“Creating campaigns that emphasise personal stories and experiences can help raise the profile of Father's Day, encouraging more people to show their appreciation for dads,” he commented.

And UK Greetings has picked up on the growing love for dads with over 100 new designs being launched for Father’s Day 2025 covering classic, contemporary, humour and cute looks, including expanding on the successful partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society.

While some publishers have been rolling back on Spring Seasons, it’s a growing market for Cath Tate Cards where director Rosie Tate has seen a “marked increase” over the last few years and “sales nearly double for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year” so the company is busy adding

a lot more options to its 2025 offer, including non-humour.

She added: “We’re sure the brilliantly inventive shop displays and store fronts created by our independent retailers have greatly contributed to this success!”

Design direction has helped Cinnamon Aitch’s stronger Father’s Day sales with the colour palette working particularly well this year, although director Sara Burford admitted it’s still relatively small in comparison to the other Spring Seasons.

“That’s not because there’s less love for our dads, but because they embrace the sentiment of a greeting card less, and the love is shown in different ways,”

Sara believes.

“This year’s Spring Seasons have been strong with sales up on recent years. We suspect this is largely due to the fact we reintroduced hand-finished ranges for Valentine’s, Mother’s Day and Easter, something we’ve not offered since Covid.

“Mother’s Day without a doubt is the best Spring Season but Valentine’s has definitely picked up for us and Easter has also increased. There are less publishers producing beautiful, hand-finished cards, especially those made in the UK, so this may also be increasing traffic in our direction when customers want something extra special for their mum or loved ones.”

Luxurious but cute works particularly well for Five Dollar Shake where Mother’s Day sales remain ever strong, although sales manager John Stevens noted: “The early date for this year was hugely challenging for retail.

“We see growth in our extra-special large Valentine’s Day cards, especially

Far left: A Tour de France licensed Father’s Day card from Danilo.

Middle: Spring Seasons is an expanding area at Cath Tate.

Left: There are over 100 new Father’s Day cards from UKG.

Left: A great palette boosted Cinnamon Aitch FD sales. Below: Luxury from Five Dollar Shake.

for wife, husband, girlfriend and boyfriend. In general Spring Seasons remain relevant and important events for us as a supplier and even more so for the retailer. They drive footfall to the High Street.”

And for the more niche occasions such as Galentine’s Day and Burns Night, Five Dollar has a personalised card service which is working well for retailers.

Hallmark has seen those smaller occasions as an opportunity to expand its events offer to cover significant dates which marketing manager Laura Manley explained “are so important for those who celebrate them”.

Religious festivals such as Rosh Hashanah, Diwali and Eid are part of the mix, and Laura added: “Our focus is always on meeting the needs of the diverse mix of people shopping our range.”

Back to the main four Spring occasions, Hallmark feels a celebration of modern living will continue, capturing consumers as they see

themselves, and Laura said: “This particularly includes humour, helping people connect through funny shared experiences that feel relevant, meaningful and bring a giggle.”

And the publishing giant recognises people want to celebrate everyone they love, giving Valentine’s “a wider meaning” that takes in romantic relationships as well as children, pets, best friends and other family members “to celebrate love, kindness and gratitude as a whole”.

The changes are carried through to Mother’s Day with the longer-living, ageing population and rise of singles, blended families and couples without children placing a greater emphasis on friendships, wider family and caregivers which, Laura said: “Drives a new

middle: Demand has pushed Rush Design to a new collection.

Below: Wendy JonesBlackett updates classic designs with cold foil patterns.

definition of care and kindness. We’re seeing an increase in captions and sentiments that recognise this changing family dynamic.”

That change is also part of Caroline Gardner’s new focus, as head of marketing Kyra White commented: “What people want in a Valentine’s card remains pretty consistent, but we’re finding that what Valentine’s Day means is changing.

“In considering the sentiment and nostalgia of love and romance in all its forms, we’ve added new icons and captions for 2025. We wanted to offer cards that feel meaningful to the people sending and receiving them, as well as celebrating everything from self-love and friendship to romantic love – hearts are part of our brand DNA so Valentine’s has always been a very natural event for us.”

Sister publishers Ling Design and The Great British Card Company take the genre very seriously as one of the few independent companies to create a new collection across all four main seasons specifically for the indie retailer, and the 2025 range is already taking early orders.

David Byk, ceo explained: “We all know these are very competitive seasons with factors such as when they occur and the weather influencing sales but, since Covid, we’ve seen a strong return of sales.

“Father’s Day for us performs less than the other three seasons but we have addressed that with an improved humour offer for 2025.

2025 diary dates

Get ahead with your planning…

• Burns Night – Saturday 25 January

• St Dwynwen’s Day – Saturday 25 January

• Chinese New Year – Wednesday 29 January

• St David’s Day – Saturday 1 March

• St Patrick’s Day – Monday 17 March

• Galentine’s Day – Thursday 13 February

• Valentine’s Day – Friday 14 February

• Ramadam – Friday 28 February

• Mother’s Day – Sunday 30 March

• Eid al-Fitr – Sunday 30 March

• Passover – Saturday 12 April

• Easter Sunday – Sunday 20 April

• St George’s Day – Wednesday 23 April

• Eid al-Adha – Friday 6 June

• Father’s Day – Sunday 15 June

• Rosh Hashanah – Monday 22 September

• Diwali – Monday 20 October

• Halloween – Friday 31 October

• St Andrew’s Day – Sunday 30 November

We know FD will not be as big as Mother’s Day if for no other reason than the lower price point of the cards which sometimes skews the data as you need to look at the number of cards sold as well as revenue to see underlying performance,” explained David.

“We’re all motivated by sell through as opposed to sell in and most retailers appear to have had good sales in 2024.

As a full-service card publisher to the independent we need to back the retailer with a complete spring offer as it’s an important, albeit challenging, part of the card retailer’s calendar. In return, we see our great customers supporting us by buying into this,” he added.

Above: Hallmark’s new definition of care and kindness.

Above: St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers.

Above and right: IC&G has expanded its detailed captions.

Far left: Halloween is an extra occasion at The Art File. Left: Easter and Wales are important at Holy Mackerel. Below

On the design side, David said they analyse those that sell well and those with less demand and change the offer accordingly, with the Ling and GBCC design teams working together on the Nicely Said brand offering all four seasons.

At Bexy Boo, founder Bex Hassett is hoping for summer inspiration to get going on her 2025 spring collection.

Having offered the printed This Card Is For You Because… range and hand-finished Inky Scripts for Valentine’s Day, Bex said: “I did them based on what had sold best for me in my everyday designs.“

The Easter offer has been reduced at Rosie Made A Thing where marketing manager Emily Snelson explained: “Our cards are cheeky and humorous, and we’ve noticed customers tend to lean towards more traditional cards at Easter.

“But Spring Seasons are super important for the industry, For Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, we’re seeing a pretty even split, contrary to industry trends. Dads deserve just as much love, right? And they’re getting it from our customers!

“Valentine’s Day was a hit, with our You’re My Favourite card being the bestseller. It’s a joy seeing people share lols and love with our cards.”

International Cards & Gifts covers all four seasons with a small range across the key

sends to support its loyal customers, and creative director Amanda Miles said sales have been better than in previous years.

For the latest trends, she said IC&G has seen “a requirement for more detailed and specific captions” resulting in a larger collection of 120 new designs and, Amanda added: “Captions now include supportive designs in recognition of those people who have lost parents and loved ones, such as Thinking Of You On Mother’s Day.”

Day outstrips Father’s Day as “it’s the new kid on the block compared to Mothering Sunday, which has tradition behind it, particularly for the older generation. I’m sure the dads will eventually catch up though”!

As Spring Seasons have become more important to Holy Mackerel in recent years, Sarah added: “Having 3,000 cards, we’ve been able to find something for every occasion, from Hogmanay to Halloween!”

And Sarah said: “Being based in Wales, St David’s Day is, of course, big for us but so is St Dwynwen’s Day – in Welsh it’s Dydd Santes Dwynwen. It’s sometimes called the Welsh Valentine’s Day, and is celebrated on 25 January. The Welsh are obviously doubly romantic, celebrating both Saint Dwynwen’s and Valentine’s Day within three weeks of each other!”

Retailers’ requests have pushed Rush Design to produce its first Spring Seasons collection for several years with founder Lorraine Bradley deciding it’s time to spring into action for 2025 with designs for the four main events.

“The big opportunity here is, without doubt, Mother’s Day which continues to be the next strongest card buying season after Christmas,” she said, adding that there’s been very little interest in the more niche occasions.

At The Art File sales and marketing manager James Mace said they’ve seen a “steady increase” in other occasions over recent years, particularly with Halloween.

“Religious occasions have always been buoyant for us,” he said, “with Chinese New

Year, Eid, Ramadan and Passover being popular occasions. We’ve proudly carried the licence for the Peace & Blessings Collections for many years now covering these areas.”

In general Spring Seasons still remain “very important” to The Art File and James added: “Retailers are struggling to fill their shelves with a strong mixed collection from different publishers so I feel it’s more important than ever to continue to offer a great design mix for these seasonal events. I was speaking to a leading specialist card retailer about this only yesterday!”

Wendy Jones-Blackett believes dads, step-dads and grandads all play an equal role in family life and should rightly be celebrated, adding: “The outdated assumption that dads only like humorous cards is quite wrong, they like a handwritten keepsake just as much as mums do – but are perhaps less likely to reveal such sentimentality!”

She’s seen an increase in Easter sales at lower price points while Mother’s Day increases year-on-year and Father’s Day remains stable, and Wendy said: “Valentine’s Day surprises me every year with how popular it is at the top end. Turns out we’re quite romantic at heart as a nation!”

Holy Mackerel’s Sarah Hopkins isn’t surprised Mother’s

On the design front, while customers do try to offer something different, the WJB bestsellers are “always traditional imagery presented in a contemporary way”, and Wendy added: “Spring Seasons are hugely important to our retail customers as, outside of the usual everyday occasions, such as birthdays, births and weddings, they provide a national event which is celebrated on the same day by everyone.

“Shops use these occasions to decorate their windows and bring customers in, so it’s up to us designers to come up with tempting cards to support them!”

Certainly publishers are ready to spring into action for the 2025 events.

Above and left: Bexy Boo’s ranges offer hand-finished and printed.

Above left: Hearts are big for Caroline Gardner.

Left: Winning ways from Rosie Made A Thing. Below: Ling and GBCC have a full offer with Nicely Said.

THE SHIPPING FORECAST

Piracy, conflict, bad weather, a shortage of containers and greedy shipping companies’ sky-high cost increases have combined for a perfect storm of difficulties for publishers bringing greeting cards, calendars, crackers, wrap and giftbags into the UK from the Far East.

PG checked in with some publishers to find out how they are mitigating against the choppy waters of shipping issues, not helped by the longer diverted route round the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the attacks in the Suez Canal.

We all hoped that the shipping crisis during the pandemic would be a thing of the past, but sadly not. Since pirates and the Israel-Hamas conflict have made the Suez Canal route from the Far East too dangerous, container ships –which are all controlled by just four shipping lines – have been forced to divert around southern Africa. So a round trip from Asia which previously took around eight weeks, is now lasting 12 weeks, resulting in a third less capacity in both shipping and container availability for products coming from China.

“We’re currently seeing rates approaching $10,000 (£7,900) per container on a take-itor-leave-it basis from the shipping lines,” said David Byk, ceo of Swan Mill Group which owns Ling Design, GBCC and Penny Kennedy.

“Contrast this with container rates of under $2,000 (£1,582) at the beginning of the year. It’s a massive increase. And we understand

that even the largest worldwide customers who have fixed contracts are having those reneged upon by the shipping lines.”

As David elaborated, the sudden and surprise spike in ocean freight rates has been exacerbated by importers filling sea transport with Chinese-made electric vehicles and solar panels in a frantic bid to beat the EU’s threatened import tariffs of up to 38% expected to start this month, on top of the existing 10% tariff.

And it is not just the costs which are problematic. “As is so often the case, dates and amounts aren’t clear, so everyone is

importing madly. For an industry that is heavily dependent on China for Christmas card boxes and gift packaging plus gifts and stationery this puts a heavy strain on many of us, not only on costs but also on time availability.”

At Danilo, md Daniel Prince has seen its shipping prices rise on average $500 (£395) a week over the past three months to the current $10,000 (£7,900), with some shipping lines moving larger vessels from the European routes to US routes, further tightening the space availability to this side of the globe, as well as changing other routes.

“It’s shipping companies’ pure greed - a perfect storm created,” Daniel stressed. “We had to agree prices with retailers by March, so it’s us the publishers who are suffering now with these unavoidable cost increases and extra time.”

Finding ways to deal with the shipping container capacity crunch is key. While UK

Inset: The shipping issues mean transporting goods from the Far East is not plain sailing for publishers.

Above: The shipping issues mean transporting goods from the Far East is not plain sailing for publishers.

Right: Piracy has effectively closed the Red Sea shipping route.

Below left: An intricate Cardology card.

Below: Ling’s David Byk (left) and Cardology’s David Falkner, their smiles belie their views on the container and shipping crisis.

Greetings has reshored a lot of its production to the UK there are still products that it is manufacturing in the Far East. As the company’s operations director Richard Wilkinson explained: “We are monitoring the situation closely but, with it being at the

the UK, the ships will just divert to more lucrative markets, just exacerbating the problem.

David suggested one answer might be to use the freeports here now that the UK is outside the EU to better incentivise exports

Statement of facts

Statement from Hallmark on the matter: “In line with many businesses, Hallmark will feel the impact of the rising shipping costs. We are working hard internally and with our supply chain to mitigate the impact of these costs. Variability in shipping rates is a known risk when importing. It’s based on global supply and demand and is difficult to predict with any certainty. It’s impossible to mitigate all of the risk and we’re unable to pass this risk on to our customers and consumers so, where we see longer-term changes, we adjust our supply chain accordingly.”

beginning of peak shipping season, coupled with the longer transits to avoid the Suez Canal and bad weather in Asia, it has hit the flow of trade on key routes.”

Richard also highlighted how some ocean carriers are skipping ports or decreasing their time at port, and not picking up empty containers in an effort to keep vessels on track for delivery.

“We are forecasting our sea freight costs to increase significantly during the coming months. We will continue to absorb rising costs as much as possible, while continuing to find ways to mitigate the unplanned financial headwinds,” he assured.

Cardology ships less than a container load in quantity, but as co-owner David Falkner explained: “While our shipping volumes are far smaller than the big industry players, the proportional impact on the bottom line of a smaller business can be even greater.

When shipping agents are reintroducing pandemic policies in 2024, it’s reasonable to conclude the market alone isn’t working and the natural bottlenecks – how quickly can you build a ship? – mean someone’s out there making supernormal profit, which it’s not always possible for us to just absorb, as hard as we try.”

He said there’s a Catch 22 situation that, if left unchecked, inflation is fuelled as the prices increase but if shipping is too tightly regulated here in

“with the added bonus that, if these incentives work, they would naturally offer additional capacity on boats coming into the UK, further decreasing CPI inflationary pressures”.

“Never again!”

At giftwrapping business Deva Designs, the impact of the current shipping issues is far less than it was during Covid because co-owners Andrew Maddock and Ann Rogers changed their business model. “Wind the clock back to the middle of Covid times,” Andrew recalled, “Ann and I sat alone in the office, knowing we needed seven containers to bring the stock over for our Christmas orders. Our freight forwarder had to go into a bidding process to try to secure containers for us. We were bidding £18k for each one only to be told the following morning that we’d lost out to a higher bidder.

There was no way we would let our customers down and we just had to keep pushing upwards until we finally secured all the containers we needed. It was crippling at the time and we just looked at each other and said ‘never again’!”

So with a combination of approaches, from working with its key customers’ own forwarders to re-sourcing from Europe where possible, this year Deva only has one container needed for Christmas.

Also looking positively, David Byk is hoping the EV factor “will disappear” leading the four huge global shipping companies to “stop behaving as a consortium and break ranks as they did post-Covid,” and he added: “Prior to the Houthi and EV factors, global shipping was at low pricing due to the worldwide cost-of-living crises impacting global demand for product.

In reality all these enormous container boats are controlled by only four shipping lines and the seemingly cartel-like behaviours do appear to break when they have to chase capacity as nobody wants a partially-empty ship.”

David is also glad he took action early for his brands. “We brought some Christmas product into the UK at the beginning of the year which is something we haven’t done before” having anticipated the problems when the Houthis started to disrupt shipping.

“We increased stock levels of our everyday product and we also made sure all our Christmas product was ready to be ordered as per our revised critical path and were hard on closing dates for orders – I’m pleased to say all our Christmas stock is either in our warehouse or on the water. This should mean we hit customer dates despite the longer shipping route and lack of availability of both containers and boats.”

However, David expects it to cost the company at least $200,000 (£158,200) more than budgeted, which Swan Mill has to bear – and that will only increase if the issues carry on into the fourth quarter.

As David highlights: “The longer this goes on the worse it will be for all of us but at least we can be pretty confident that we can deliver Christmas on time and are doing everything we can to mitigate the requirement for a price increase on our branded products to support our customers.”

Ship ahoy!

Above: Deva Designs’ Andrew Maddock and Ann Rogers took action after Covid.

Above: Container costs spiked dramatically during the pandemic, but the current price hikes are equally unwelcome.

Right: Just some of the Christmas boxes which are produced by Ling Design in the Far East.

Just a taster of some of the delights that will be on show at Harrogate Home and Gift (July 21-24 July)

A Capital Idea

A trip to London inspired Stephanie Davies to create her new Iconic range. The designs bring the trends in bright and bold fruits to the fore with imagery collaged with detailed ditsy prints and patterns, all finished with a signature glitter effect, eco-friendly foil. There are 30 designs in this range. In addition, Stephanie will also be showing her new Christmas Heritage range.

Stephanie Davies 07982182703

www.stephaniedavies.co.uk

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Collective Thinking

Dandelion’s summer release, Wildheart is inspired by the great outdoors, adventure and the ever-changing wonders of nature. This photo collage series intertwines natural elements with innovative tech patterns. Finished with shimmering golds and creative foil, these cards come supplied with sunny warm yellow envelopes. All designed and printed in the UK on luxury sustainable board, the 155mm square cards are available packaged in cello-wrappers or plastic-free.

Dandelion Stationery

01332 504940

www.dandeliontationery.co.uk

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Sassy Style

Caroline Gardner’s new AW24 collection exudes sass and style with its new home range which encompasses cards, stationery, boxed egg cups, hand-blown glasses, make-up bags, candlesticks, bowls and pots with lids.

Paired with relaxed metallics and the signature heart design, the Showstopper story has a warm but playful palette while leopard lovers will be pleased to see the popular print also plays a big part in the AW24 collection.

Caroline Gardner 020 8288 9696

www.carolinegardner.com

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Well Handled

Seeding of Ideas

With sustainability very much at its heart, Little Green Paper Shop has expanded its product range of greeting cards, stationery and gifts which use seeded paper. The range now includes a pen and pencil set, notebook and pen set, greeting card set, notes and cards set, pocket hug, and place cards in six design collections; Bees and Blossoms, Bug Bonanza, Summer Meadow, Eucalyptus Embrace, Gardening Glee and Woodland Wonders.

Little Green Paper Shop

hello@littlegreenpapershop.com www.littlegreengifts.com

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Shiny Touches

After launching a host of new cards at PG Live, Grace Jackson Design is now eager to showcase them in Harrogate. The new collection includes bold birthday milestones, delicate illustrations, and foiled Christmas cards featuring labradors and bauble designs, all printed on premium FSC-certified board with the publisher’s signature hot foil technique, that is compostable and recyclable.

Grace Jackson Design 07902 875014

www.gracejacksondesign.co.uk

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Ohh Deer has dived back into the world of mugs, featuring six of its new Fun Thoughts greeting cards designs in the inaugural collection. The mugs feature metallic ink to mirror the cards, while also being dishwasher safe. They are available to ship from the start of October in time for Christmas.

Ohh Deer 01509 975701

www.ohhdeerwholesale.com

Home & Gift Stand DP1-D15

Equilibrium Eternal Bow

Creative Crochet Kits

Madd Capp Jigsaw Puzzles

Silver Plated Celebration Frames

Moggy Mates

Feeling Fruity?

Mango is a brand new collection from Rush Design, which comprises 53 cards featuring colourful, contemporary illustration and simple captions. The collection covers male and female birthdays, ages, plus a selection of occasions. The cards are printed on a quality FSC board, matched with a eco kraft envelope and wrapped in eco cellobags. Spinner deals are available.

Rush Design 01788 521745

www.rushdesign.co.uk

Happy Shiny People

www.earlybirddesigns.co.uk A selection of lovely new products that are fresh out of the blocks!

Stormy Knight 0117 9098684

www.stormyknight.co.uk

Art Of The Matter

It’s summer so that means the latest ArtPress Publishing’s Royal Academy Collection is ready. The new additions include colourful contemporary designs, such as Nancy Cadogan’s wallet evoking the simple pleasures of tea and a good book, to the monochromatic 1930’s wood engravings by Eric Ravilious.  There are six new wallet designs (each wallet contains six cards of two designs and white envelopes) and six new single cards, each accompanied by a white envelope.

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

Stormy Knight has expanded its Shiny Things collection with 20 new designs spanning birthdays and occasions. The cards feature quirky and fun illustrations with swathes of bright hot foils in different colours. Available naked or with klasps/cello bags, each card is paired with a GF Smith callisto pearl envelope.

Festive Feelings

Lottie Murphy has expanded its Merry & Bright Christmas range by adding 10 new designs as well as welcoming a new Christmas range, Festive Spirit, which includes 10 hand-illustrated designs. Inspired by festive traditions, the new collection features everything from a Christmas pudding to cats and dogs. Each 125mm square card is printed on luxury FSC-certified board and includes a recycled kraft envelope and compostable bag.

Lottie Murphy 07716 304741

www.lottie-murphy.com

Busy Bees

The busy bees at Earlybird have introduced some new female birthday relations designs as well as some birthday designs into Honey, its art range. The designs feature wonderful floral artwork by talented Scottish fabric artist Linsey Kelly. The cards are printed onto 100% recycled textured board and come with a kraft fleck envelope.

Earlybird Designs

01227765372

Child’s Play

Spanning ages 1-5, some party-ready animals are hitting the helter-skelter, bouncy castle, carousel, bumper cars and the ferris wheel in the designs from Ricicle Cards’ new Funfair children’s birthday range. Opting for a gender-neutral colour palette, the eight designs cover ages 1-5 as well as some general birthday ones.

Ricicle Cards 07850757676

www.riciclecards.com

On The Tiles

Inspired by the timeless allure of terrazzo tiles, KDee Designs’ Terrazzo range features a delicate pastel palette, reminiscent of spring blooms and sunny skies with the publisher’s signature wooden icons adorning some of the cards. The range covers birthdays, occasions and general sends. Each card is 150mm square, is printed on FSC board, and comes with a recycled Kraft envelope.

KDee Designs

02380 892888 www.kdeedesigns.co.uk

Raving Glad

It’s A Sign

Signify is a brand new range of 26 greeting cards from Lucilla Lavender. Designed by Lucilla herself, the cards combine delicate signature-style text, subtle embossing and flashes of celebratory colour to match summery vibes. There are 14 everyday/birthday and 12 occasions designs (130mm x 180mm) in the range.

Lucilla Lavender 0203 405 1410 www.lucillalavender.com

A Gift From The Gods has joined forces with Urban Mythology to launch Rave On, a 12 card collection featuring licensed photos from Tony Davis of club culture from the 1990s overlapped with neon techno graphics and dance music mottos to create a visually engaging heritage range. The 150mm square blank cards are printed on 300gsm FSC board and come with neon coloured envelopes packaged in a compostable polybag. A Gift From The Gods 07966 229485 www.agiftfromthegods.com

Royal Standards

In Full Bloom

The Chic Vases range by Jessie Maeve Studio is inspired by the latest fashion and interiors trends. The cards combine a fashionable colour palette, hand lettering and pretty florals. There are 12 designs in the range, covering everyday and occasions. The cards are A6 in size, printed onto textured Tintoretto Gesso board and come with a kraft envelope.

Jessie Maeve Studio 07941 393861 www.jessiemaeve.com

Wrap Artist

Libra Fine Arts has launched a collection of luxury gift wrap to coordinate with its greeting cards.

Created by company co-founder Skip Khangurra, all the designs are rendered in charcoal and graphite.

The wrap range covers a variety of subjects, including cars, planes, animals and botanical motifs all printed on 100 gsm uncoated paper.

Libra Fine Arts 07595 336062 www.librafinearts.co.uk

Combining a card and gift in one, Crumble and Core has launched a new range of Queen ceramic keepsake cards which celebrates those unofficial queens of all manner of things. This new strand further bolsters the company’s portfolio of its ceramic keepsake cards which now spans over 60 designs covering a huge array of life events. In each case the ceramic decoration is attached to the A6 card by a satin ribbon. All come with a kraft envelope. Crumble & Core 01825 841412 www.crumbleandcore.com

Nor Way

Back in 2017 Serge Sumerling proudly stepped onto the stage at The Retas greeting card retailer awards to collect the trophy for Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer –London for his bijou little card and gift shop in West Norwood. Serge now has good reason to feel doubly proud as he reclaimed that title in the recent Retas awards, in recognition of his second Nor shop, which opened last June, after a six month labour of love for the plucky indie.

The locations of the two shops could not be more different. Serge’s original shop is wedged between a very busy road and a main thoroughfare to a railway station. The new retailing sibling, although only a few miles away, is within a delightful parkland, home to a lake, ancient woodlands and various listed buildings dating back to the 17th century.

“I live close to the park and like so many

others really love it. It is a very special place, with a wonderful swimming lake as well as lots of green space,” said Serge. As it was originally an estate, owned by a wealthy timber merchant, in addition to having an impressive mansion it also had some workers’ cottages.

Being an award-winning independent retailer is not a ‘walk in the park’, but in the case of Serge Sumerling, owner of indie Nor, it was a perambulation around his local Beckenham Place Park in South London that resulted in his ambitious restoration project, transforming a derelict 17th century workman’s cottage into fabulous card and gift shop. PG headed to the park for a chat with The Retas 2024 winner of the Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – London.

It was during a walk in the park that Serge spotted that a derelict worker’s cottage in the courtyard entrance to the park, adjacent to a well-used café and education centre, was going out to tender. He immediately spotted its retailing potential.

“I had to submit a pitch and was up against some stiff competition, but the fact that I had won The Retas award in 2017 and that I lived locally worked in my favour,” explained Serge.

And then the hard work started on the twofloor property, with Serge undertaking a lot of the physical work himself for a compete restoration, culminating in the shop opening last June.

“In keeping with the historic feel, I was determined to find some interesting furniture to display the products, keen to recreate a ‘pigeon hole’ approach that was inspired by a trip to Paris,” he added.

Being four times the size of the original Nor, when it came to the product selection Serge was excited that he would not only be

Above: Serge Sumerling in the doorway of his Beckenham Place Park shop.

Above right: Greeting cards are the “bread and butter” of Nor’s sales says Serge.

Left: Beckenham Park is well used and much loved by dogwalkers, families and those swimming and paddle-boarding in or on the lake.

able to go to town on the displays, but diversify into new areas, including clothing (including Dryrobes and One Hundred Stars), footwear (Saltwater sandals and Blundstone boots), design-led homewares, outdoor play items and more accessories, such as a range of Ghanian woven FraFra baskets, that are displayed on the stairwell.

One thing he was certain about though was that greeting cards would continue to be at the heart of the offer, dominating the space as customers enter the shop. In addition to two walls of full facing cards, there are several spinners of art cards, plus a dedicated area for 3D/Pop-up cards.

“Greeting cards are my bread and butter, in both shops,” says Serge, who buys from well over 40 different publishers, including some he sources from the States to add further differentiation to the selection.

“We do very well for example with Red Cap that I buy from the States, despite them retailing at £4.20,” reveals Serge. “You not only need to offer a wide choice of cards, but to refresh your selection to reflect the seasons, especially in art cards,” believes Serge.

With footfall being key in retailing, was Serge worried about moving away from a high street location for his second shop?

“The way people spend their day to day lives has changed and this feeds through into retailing. I like to think that our shop in Beckenham Place Park is part of the future of retailing. People are still working from home a lot, there are more dogs to be walked than ever before, there is a greater appreciation of outdoor space and unique locations,” believes Serge. “What better way to start your day with

Back to basics

Taking on a new shop unit is a big undertaking for any retailer, whether indie or multiple, but when you decide to do all the refurbishment work yourself, and it is an old property, that increases the workload considerably.

Balancing running his existing store with turning a two floor cottage, with central stairway into a workable retailing space, Serge got his hands dirty.

“Other than the plastering and electrics I did most of the work myself. The building had been empty for years, but still had some of the original features that I wanted to retain,” revealed Serge, who took up the floors, scraped back the walls and sanded the stairway.

a swim in a lake or walking your dog in a beautiful park, having a coffee and buying your cards and gifts?!”

The other growing programme of activities in the park, including the yoga classes that take

place upstairs at Nor, live music and pizza evenings and other festivities mean that Nor’s customer base is set to grow with A boards positioned near the car park as well as in the courtyard area to highlight the shop’s presence.

“We already have lots of customers who come to the till with a handful of cards and other items saying: “I only came for a walk/swim!” If people are relaxed, they are more likely to buy more and enjoy the experience,” adds Serge.

He does however admit to one downside of his new retailing emporium’s idyllic setting. “I have had to get used to the sound of dogs barking, but there are worse things in life!”

So, with another Retas trophy to add to his collection, will Serge be scouring the parks of London to seek out any more potential shop sites?

“No more on the horizon, I am perfectly happy with the balance of the two shops, so my walks in the park are solely for my own enjoyment!”

Above: You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs!

Left: The central stairway that leads up to space used for yoga classes and other activities, such as wreath making classes, is also used to display products.

Right: A beautiful antique cabinet lends itself to displaying jewellery.

Below: Inspired by a visit to Paris Serge spent months sourcing some furniture which would allow him to display different products in ‘pigeon-holes’.

Below right: Nor’s shop in nearby Norwood is a quarter of the size of the new one.

Below far right: Serge spent his Sunshine Ticket at PG Live on an order placed with Eleanor Bowmer. Having won The Retas 2024, he will have a Golden Ticket to spend at next year’s show.

POSITIVE HERITAGE

recent PG Live show for two significant collections, each with a different kind of heritage at their heart. Camden Signature is a fresh new take on its longstanding brand while Age Friendly Vibes is a positive spin on how our own ageing features on greeting cards. PG was there to lap up the positive vibes.

Age is just a number – but according to The Centre For Ageing Better, ageism is considered to be the widest form of discrimination in Britain, with half of people aged over 50 in England saying they have experienced age discrimination in the last year – and greeting cards have played a part in that with so-called humorous quips or sometimes ill-thought through editorial leaving the recipient feeling somewhat emotionally bruised by references to their ageing. Given a prominent position on UK Greetings’ stand at PG Live was the first showing of its Age Friendly Vibes card collection, the culmination of a collaboration with pro-age advocate Jan Golden to create a statement collection of greeting cards which celebrates the positive aspects of ageing.

As Sandi Parisi, UKG’s creative director and newly appointed D&I sponsor,

Above: The UK Greetings stand at the recent PG Live at which Age Friendly Vibes and Camden Signature were officially launched.

Below left: One of the age positive designs from the Age Friendly Vibes range.

Below right: In something of a two-way street Dave Martin and Hannah McDowall worked with UKG to gain a better understanding of greeting cards from the publisher and in turn to explain about the ageism issue.

explained: “In our extensive research to find pro-age creative voices, we kept coming back to the brilliant Jan Golden and Age Friendly Vibes. She has managed to champion and celebrate getting

Having been inspired three years ago at the age of 60 to create a line of age-positive cards, Jan is thrilled to be working with UKG, “It was a pleasure to work with Sandi and her team on this collaboration! I’m excited to see this range of clever, inspiring, and thought-provoking cards that celebrate age distributed in the UK.”

The UKG collection, which is published under the Kindred brand is part of a wider D&I journey the publisher has embarked on to ensure its ranges are reflect modern values and remain relevant to the consumer.

It was Canopy director Dr Hannah McDowall and Dave Martin, from the Centre For Policy On Ageing who first raised the alarm bells with PG and the GCA with their concerns of how ageing has been/is reflected on greeting cards.

Dovetailing into UKG’s extensive consumer insights, Canopy also shared its own research which claimed that 70% of older people wanted cards that celebrated getting older with positive messages, and the same number wanted designs that were funny or clever about ageing, but not negative or stereotypical. While 50% of those asked said they dislike

cards depicting negative age stereotypes, one admitted: “They do sometimes make me laugh, actually,” adding, “laughing at things that are difficult is one way of dealing with them, but I don’t want to be defined by other people’s stereotypes of ageing.”

Looking holistically, UKG’s insight manager Lois Holcroft also stressed that the UK has an ageing population, making it all the more crucial that the publisher’s greeting cards meet this growing demographic sector’s expectations and sensibilities. “The 2021 Census revealed there were 10.4million people over 65 in England alone, a 52% increase on the numbers from 20 years earlier. This means that older people are a powerful and growing voice,” elaborated Lois.

However, interesting Lois points out that calling out age discrimination and bias also resonates with Gen Zs: “There is a kindness about speech and communication that is coming through the younger generations –they don’t find it as funny to poke fun at

others in that way. They’re much more likely to compliment and speak quite simply about how much they love their grandmas rather than take the mickey out of older people in their lives.”

And this signalled that the Age Friendly Vibes range – the 25 designs spanning life’s events, love and family sends as well as adult ages - is likely to have a broader appeal.

Back to Camden’s roots

“So, although the collection is targeting

the over 50s, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if younger people really loved this range as well to send perhaps to older people in their lives.”

This all goes to prove the adage that you are never too old to learn something new!

PG Live also saw UK Greetings go back to the roots of its Camden Graphics brand with the significant launch of a new Camden Signature premium sub-brand just a hop, skip and a jump away from where it all began.

Literally over the road from Camden Passage, where the brand started way back in the 1970s, the show at Islington’s Business Design Centre marked the official launch of 63 designs across 12 collections under the new heading. Providing the continuity, all the collections, though different share a pared back sophisticated feel, enhanced with beautiful finishes on a quality board, with a signature branded paper clasp clinching the look.

Since becoming part of the UK Greetings ‘family’, Camden Graphics brand has built on its reputation as the home of contemporary designs, though with a commercial appeal. The development of the new Camden Signature strand very much amplifies this, perfectly complementing the existing offer with a premium look and feel.

The development of Camden Signature has been an intensive 12 month project, headed up by creative managers Olivia Mitchell and Lecia Pilak-Dakin, involving several different artists. The collections that form the inaugural Camden Signature offering comprise…

• White Lotus - Silver holographic foil and bevelled gold detailing elevate tranquil, natureinspired imagery to evoke a calm elegance.

• Bordeaux - Capturing the style of vintage poster art, Bordeaux showcases the finer luxuries in life.

• Astrid – Astronomy collides with art to create a cosmic fusion of gold brushstrokes and intricate constellations.

• Hello Lovely – Sweet and special with a punch of colour, celebrating all the best things birthdays bring.

• The Good Life – Inspired by the great outdoors, The Good Life captures well loved pastimes and adventures.

• The Edit – Distinctive, classy and understated….

• Lillie – Sophisticated blacks and golds, a delicate illustration style and fine foil detailing combine to give this look an understated elegance.

• Blueberry blossom – Bursting with ditsy florals in summery shades gives an uplifting, energising vibe.

Other ranges include Wild Valley, The Wanderer, Summer Haze (captions only) and Love The Little Things (captions only).

Above left: Jan Golden collaborated with UKG on the Age Friendly Vibes range.

Above: UKG’s Lois Holcroft with the new range at PG Live.

Top: Pared back sophistication is the feel of Camden Signature.

Above: Where Camden Graphics started in Camden Passage. The building is still owned by the original owner, Bob Borzello who uses it to share his varied artefacts.

Above right: UKG’s Karen Skipper (left) and Lorna Connor introducing Camden Signature on the PG Live stand.

Right: The artwork, board, finishes and branded card clasp all add to the appeal of these Lillie designs from the collection.

Art Source

Boulder Hopping

Based in Boulder in Colorado, American artist Abby Jacobs has recently joined the Jehane stable to further broaden the reach of her wonderfully varied work. Here she shares her life, loves and aspirations.

“Some of my earliest memories involve art materials. The smell of the tempera paint and paper in kindergarten. The satisfaction of putting crayons to paper and getting lost in the worlds I created goes back years.

Growing up we moved around a lot! From Colorado to Texas to California to Missouri – and that was all before 3rd grade. However most of my childhood memories are from our time in California, living near San Francisco.

I was always happiest in the art room; it was my oasis in elementary right through to graduate school.

I received my Bachelor’s degree in Human Services/Psychology at Friends University in Kansas, then went on to receive my Master’s degree in Art Therapy at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.

Soon after, my two children were born and I turned back to my own personal creative journey which is when I discovered art licensing. It has been a wonderful calling in life and brings with it so much satisfaction – in the work itself and the people I have met along the way.

Art is where I turn when I feel inspired, when I’m struggling, when I don’t know what else to do or when I have so much to do my head is spinning. It is my home and my therapy – I am so lucky to be able to do this as ‘work’.

I think my style is ever evolving. The more I work, the more I see it emerge. I do think that I have a different style when I paint traditionally versus when I paint digitally. When I paint for painting’s sake, my style is super loose and free however when I am focused, my work is more detailed and reined in, but I really enjoy creating in both styles.

WANT TO BE FEATURED?

I create colour palettes as the first step. I love how the colours set the mood before the paint even touches the paper.

As for coming up with new ideas, I’m an inspiration fanatic! My

current favourite topics include nutrition, longevity, philosophy and anything written by Jonathan Haidt. I also love unexplained mysteries, phenomena, coincidences and miracles that happen in everyday life.

I am always looking around for new ideas. Right now my garden is blooming and the photo roll on my phone is filled with beautiful flowers.

I also love creating from mood boards (thank you, Jehane!) and gathering all kinds of ideas from them. It’s one of my favourite parts of the process.

Pairing a floral pattern with a geometric pattern makes my heart sing. I also love creating scenes with tons of details – these keep me inspired for weeks thinking about what more to add. I realise I have an infinite passion for tiny things!

I was asked recently about what makes me ‘tick’? I am on a never-ending quest for knowledge. I love to learn! I’d probably be a perpetual student if it wasn’t so expensive.

But I also am driven by wanting to see my work on more products and develop a brand that is recognisable and sought after.”

l Abby Jacobs is represented by Jehane for licensing and commissions.

Left: Abby Jacobs has had a connection with art all her life.

Right: Abby loves the variety of working on bold imagery as well as intricate details.

Below: Typography can easily be woven into Abby’s artwork.

Below right: Abby has gone for jewel colours on this moths design.

Above: Abby loves creating colour palettes. Left: Abby is equally at home creating tiny details, such as the wallpaper pattern on this piece, as she is with a looser style.

Below: A taste of the Orient from Abby.

Bottom: Living in Boulder, the mountains are inspiration on tap for Abby.

ASKED A GROUP OF RETAILERS FOR THEIR BEST SELLERS

At The Pug and the Pussycat in Aldeburgh, owner Martyn Howard has clocked up 10 years at the store on the seaside town’s High Street that’s named after his pets Nancy and Maisie.

Category

Relations & Occasions

Gift Wrappings Gifts

Name of Publisher

Woodmansterne

Belly Button Designs

Emotional Rescue with Paper Salad

James Ellis

Museums & Galleries

Green Pebble

Raspberry Blossom

Alljoy Design

Glick

Peace Of Mind (POM) Best Years Emma Bridgewater

Is It Friday Yet?

International Focus

“Great brand tie-up.”

“Bestseller!!!”

“All of them.”

“What great designs!”

“Amazing art cards that sell very well all year.”

“A very talented publisher.”

Message in A Bottle

General Knitted toys

“They created a bespoke Alderburgh card for us that just flies out!”

“Covers all needs.”

“Great for ladies.”

“These are lovely for children.” Category

“A top seller.”

Ohh Deer

UKG Gibson

UKG Kindred brand

Carte Blanche Greetings UKG

Widdop And Co

Joe Davis

Wheeler Katie Loxton

Grove

“Selling very well.”

“All the ranges are great for us, open range Benny is proving great too.”

“A new range that’s doing very well.”

“We have a limited choice of cute ranges to be honest, these sell best for us.”

“We have extensive ranges with both, especially their baby and wedding selections. Joe Davies’ Equilibrium junior range we recently purchased and is selling very well.”

“All these non-Cardgains ranges sell very well for us – Alice Wheeler is incredible, a bestseller, and Jellycat is a top seller too.”

Right: CBG’s classic cute with a blue nose.

Stephanie Johnson is in the middle of celebrations marking 25 years of running The Gift Box in Peebles, a county town in the Scottish Borders

Right: The children’s cards from James Ellis are a hit.

Right: Jenny Hancock’s Autumn Pheasants design by Green Pebble.

Right: Second Nature’s Do Something Amazing Today sells well.

Middle: Age Friendly Vibes is new from UKG Kindred.

Right: Alljoy’s bespoke 3D card flies out

Matt Simpson admits he went a bit “buying crazy” at PG Live in June, but the owner of The Letter Arty, run from a shipping container in Manchester’s Ancoats is happy that he’s been kept busy with “lots of the new stuff has been going down well with customers”.

Category Name of Publisher

Everyday Adult Ages

Cute

Stormy Knight

Product/Name Range Comments

Marylou Die Cut

Kinshipped Ricicle Cards

Cath Tate Cards

Penguin Ink

Abstract

“These have been going down a storm (pun intended!) since I finally placed my first order at PG Live. They look fantastic stood up on a sunny shelf in the shop, and have attracted some great comments.”

“With simple foiled typography and abstract painterly designs in gorgeous neutral contemporary tones, it's bang on trend and sits well in contemporary interiors.”

Milestone Ages

Birthday Blocks

Molly And Maud Party Hats

“It's great to see such imaginative use of die cutting in adult cards, proving that shaped cards aren't just for kids.”

“They don't come much cuter than these gorgeous letterpress-printed animal cards and Cuddle Time Cats card continues to fly out the door, along with the latest addition to their Party Hats range - the guinea pig!”

“It’s been selling really well, I love the foiling and the glorious designs and colour palettes.”

Category Name of Publisher Product/Name Range Comments

Woodmansterne

Five Dollar Shake

Belly Button Designs

UK Greetings

Bewilderbeest

Berni Parker Designs

Heyyy Cards

Bexy Boo

The Art File

IC&G

Woodmansterne

Alljoy Design

Gift Wrappings

Gifts

Mambo

Crystal & Curiosities

Meadow

RHS

General

Ladies Who Love Life

Mini Milestones

Because…

Natural Phenomenon

Big Little Love

Loose Leashes and Catitude

Message In A Bottle

Glick

Jellycat

“A good male range.”

“Stunning hand-painted cards for that special occasion.”

“Colourful, pretty designs, a good range for us.”

Stephanie Dyment

General

“High coded traditional designs, very strong.”

“Quirky humour that our customers love.”

“This is a fun range of juvenile cards with a difference.”

“Simply the best quirky, fun humour.”

“Classy contemporary art.”

“A cute card with sentiment, ideal for all sending situations.”

“Good dog and cat ranges.”

“Good cards for male but the florals are also selling well.”

“Many of the ranges sell well for us.”

“The range is going from strength to strength.”

Family-run retailer Smart Ideas has grown since it was established in 1978 in Droitwich and now has six stores across the West Midlands plus one in Banbury. Director Jonathan Smart looks at what’s selling well across the indie group.

“Fantastic humour for all sending situations.”

Right: Kinshipped’s Abstract range is on trend.

Right: Bewilderbeest’s quirkiness is appealing.

Below: Mini marvels from Heyyy Cards.

Above: Jellycat’s going from strength to strength.

Right: Foil is popular from Ricicle Cards.

Right: Penguin Ink’s cute cats.

PRODUCT DIRECTORY l PRODUCT DIRECTORY l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

One of the UK’s leading publishers of Charity Greeting Cards. Impress offers a wide collection of images, including fine art, graphic, photographic and cute. We also offer a bespoke design service for bulk orders and/or mail order fulfilment.

PRODUCT DIRECTORY l PRODUCT DIRECTORY l PRODUCT DIRECTORY

i ww info w. o@ pas @pas ell sel pu lpu blis ublis hin shin g. ng com com m info@passel ublisshinng..com

THE GREATEST COLLECTION OF GREETING CARDS IN THE WORLD

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

& an extensive range of superior quality, design-led Greeting Cards for all occasions, Spring Seasons & Christmas.

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