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Regional Accents
Left: Going local down in Royston Vasey – the local shop for local people TV mantra has really taken off. Below: Humour and locality go down very well for Jo Barber at Number 14, Ampthill as sales of designs from Dandelion (left) and Brainbox (right) prove. Bottom: The publishing collaboration with local artist Hannah Lawson has worked well for Sean Austin of Austin & Co, Malvern.
Keeping it
local
As indie retailer Sean Austin, owner of Austin & Co, Malvern, said of about working with local artist Hannah Lawson: “I originally met Hannah while she had a stall on the local arts market displaying her prints of the Malvern hills, I started selling the prints and a couple of months before Christmas I asked if she was interested in going down the cards route - lots of artists worry because people will buy the cards instead of their prints so she did three cards of Malvern that she hadn’t done as prints and they sold out. She’s just done six images of Malvern as cards with ColCards who are based here too.” Austin & Co also does well with designs from renowned photograoher Jan Sedlacek. “Customers really love his images of Malvern. He did a range of cards for us for Christmas last year and they went really well,” says Sean. Meanwhile in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, Jo Barber, owner of Number 14 card and gift store, stocks bespoke localised designs from Dandelion Stationery and Brainbox Candy. “Both sell well as customers like cards
Amplifying the UK-wide Shop Local movement, greeting cards are playing their part in reminding people where they are, where they’re from and rejoicing in their community. PG tracks the rise in popularity and broader availability of localised greeting cards and how this has put retailers and publishers on the map. With more folk choosing to work from home even as the world opens up again, the “local shops for local people” mantra courtesy of TV’s Royston Vasey and The League of Gentlemen - has really taken off across the UK. While the black comedy of the TV series harked back to the 1950s, it’s actually a saying very much of the moment, as many organisations are supporting the Shop Local push, from the Government and Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), through British Independent Retailers’ Association (BIRA), to Small Business Saturday and the Just A Card Campaign. Indie greeting and gift stores have been at the forefront of the Shop Local movement, finding different ways to operate, not only in a bid to keep their 48
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
businesses afloat but also as a show of support to their respective communities. And it’s cards that are now shouting loudly to remind people of their sense of place, with the rise in popularity and availability of local cards from many different publishers growing by the day.
relating to ‘New Home in Ampthill’, or ‘the most beautiful baby in Bedfordshire’, it shows they’ve gone out of their way to source the perfect card,” believes Jo. Up in Scotland, Gullane’s BlackHouse store has taken the local theme to new heights with owner Lynne McCallum Barr using DTP Southfield to design and produce specific items as well as buying from local artists. Lynne says: “Southfield provides excellent service for all my business needs, from personalised cards, jute bags, cotton tea towels and ceramic mugs. The company’s customer service is fantastic, whether it’s over the phone or by email they are always super helpful, and turnaround times are excellent.”
