In conversation with…Raspberry Blossom

from Progressive Greetings June 2022

by Max Publishing: Print, Digital Media + Events (London)

Focus on Cute

Juicy fruits

Setting up your own business is a dream for many a graphic designer, and with an ingrained love of greeting cards Rebecca Green knew it was what she always wanted. After eight years of heading up Raspberry Blossom, she tells PG how it all happened and where it’s going - especially at PG Live 2022.

A little piece of art is how Rebecca Green sees greeting cards, and her love of the format led her to buy the Raspberry Blossom domain name when the idea of being a publisher was just a dream.

Now head of creative design of her own company, with husband Mark and a team of five backing the business, that dream has very much become a reality, with years of marketing agency work, a wedding, two babies and a pair of relocations behind them, plus the fillip of a 2020 Henries Award and no less than three, PaperAwards to their name.

Looking to the next big date in the diary, the PG Live location of the Business Design Centre in London’s Angel, Islington, is particularly familiar and special to Rebecca and Mark as it’s where they had their first flat together - and she designed the first Raspberry Blossom cards at the kitchen table just a minute’s walk from the BDC.

Back for their third outing at the UK’s only dedicated greeting card trade show, Rebecca is in reflective mood as she looks back to the company launch in at Spring Fair 2014.

“Everyone thought we were crazy launching at one of the biggest trade fairs,” Rebecca said, “but I’m from Birmingham and my dad ran a jewellery business for over 30 years and exhibited at the NEC. As a child I’d go to the NEC to see my dad’s stand and always loved looking through the greetings and gift halls, so it felt familiar and not too daunting. “I went to a Ladder Club talk and also met with paper consultant Mark Jessett from G.F Smith to gain knowledge and insight into the industry - and then designed eight collections, with a total of 80 cards. “I’ve always loved paper and stationery items, especially greeting cards. I love how they are a little piece of art, where as a designer you can be so creative and use so many mediums too. Something as simple as a folded piece of card can bring a smile to people’s faces, create memories and moments in someone’s life and bring so much joy. I’ve always treasured receiving a card and have a little memory box of special ones that mean a lot to me.

“After studying graphic design at university I bought the Raspberry Blossom domain name knowing I’d one day love to set

Top: Rebecca and Mark Green approve Raspberry Blossom artwork. Above right: Rebecca in the new warehouse. Above: The awards shelf still has room for more. Inset: Colourful designs.

up my own paper company,” recalls Rebecca. Fast forward eight years of working in London in marketing agencies and turning 30 Rebecca decided to follow that dream!

“Our first order was at Spring Fair - I remember how incredible it felt and how Mark and I squealed with excitement when the lovely Sharon from Beau’s Boutique in Kings Langley left our stand. Our palette back then was more pastel and they ordered lots of our Golden Glamour collection which was printed on G.F Smith Colorplan papers with luxe gold foil. They were so lovely and complementary about everything, even on our stand colours, wanting to know what the paint references were. It definitely put us at ease for the rest of the show, and both Mark and myself will always remember that first order,” recalled Rebecca.

For Rebecca, every design starts with a quick doodle in the notebook that’s her

constant companion - sometimes it’s a sentiment, or a pattern, or even a whole illustration that just pops into her head, then she pulls together mood boards for each collection, with selecting the colour palette one of her favourite parts of the process.

Currently influenced by their kids Ophelia and Reuben, Raspberry Blossom’s recent Great Outdoors children’s collection was hand painted with all her daughter’s favourite bugs and insects, and fashion and interiors are also huge inspirations for Rebecca and illustrator Mia Dunton who now works with her and designed their Golden Moments collection that won the Emotive Design PaperAwards category at Top Drawer in February.

Just a year ago the company moved into its first warehouse in Leamington Spa. Rebecca and Mark are helped by right hand woman Kelly who runs the warehouse, supported by Jess. Nicol keeps the office organised and processes all orders, bubbly Liz is on customer relations, and Mia is a whizz with a paintbrush.

Rebecca added: “It’s been so great to have someone else in the design team, especially with the juggle of two kids and the business. Mia is very used to receiving voice notes or meetings on Zoom while I’m pushing two noisy kids to the park! Mark is very creative and we bounce off each other really well. He’ll often joke some of our best-sellers were his idea - before kids, we’d regularly head to the pub with a sketch pad and get a bottle of wine, now it’s often on the sofa late at night instead!” As Rebecca accepts she and Mark do tend to “like to push the boundaries with paper engineering and print finishes but still manufacture everything in the UK so, with all of our designs. I make sure the finish is really considered, each card should feel tactile and luxe.”

As Rebecca elaborates: “We have a lot of die-cut cards as well as our 3D fold-out collection Treasures which uses a novel way to stand, creates massive impact and is still at a price our customers love. I’m super excited to launch another 3D collection at PG Live called Keepsakes that has seven everyday occasions from a 3D church where the door actually opens, to a ring box with pop-up diamond ring! We wanted to create a collection the end recipient would cherish and display around the home as a reminder of the special event.”

Along with a very special announcement that Rebecca can’t wait to share, all the Raspberry Blossom newness will be showcased at PG Live, with the 25 new

Christmas designs, ranging from a 3D angel to a concertina fold-out nutcracker adventure, through to beautiful festive florals and a big, luxurious Christmas feast, plus there’s a new stationery line, including food planner pads with tear-off shopping lists, luxury daily planners with fully-printed colourful inside pages, and products focused on family life, as it’s challenging to keep everything running smoothly when you have children. Enthusing about PG Live, Rebecca said: “Not only is the location one of our faves in London, it’s also such a fun show. Being just dedicated to cards is great, in other shows sometimes cards can be the last product buyers look at with it being located often after the gifts etc. People are there for just cards so it means they’re ready to buy and can focus all their attention on this one category.”