Greetings Today January February 2024

January/February 2024 Issue 1 Volume 25

published by PEPPA PIG and all related trademarks and characters TM & © 2003 Astley Baker Davies Ltd and/or Entertainment One UK Limited. HASBRO and all related logos and trademarks TM & © 2024 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.

B'$1,/2 $'9(57B*7 3HSSD WK &RYHU LQGG

www.danilo.com

The finest cards, all in one Collection.

NEC Spring Fair, Hall 3, Stand 3L30-M31 museumsgalleries.co.uk E: sales@mgml.co.uk 01373 462165

January/February 2024

contents the team 60

REGULARS

Editor Naomi MacKay naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk Advertising Manager Marian McNamara marian@lemapublishing.co.uk

06 Leader

01442 289940

Looking forward to the spring show season

Managing Director Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk

08 News

What’s occurring in the industry

12 Spotlight

Production Director Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk

58 Diary of an agent

Design Rick Vickers rick@lemapublishing.co.uk

Latest new products for your shelves and spinners...

Richard Pass on making the most of trade shows

62 GCA News

Creative Talent and new free toolpacks

52

Chairman Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

FEATURES

Circulation Manager Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

14 Cover Story:

Keep in touch follow us:

Danilo

16 Focus on:

@greetingstoday

Holy Mackerel

18 Show preview

What’s in store for Spring Fair visitors, plus a guide to what greetings suppliers will have on display

56

30 Focus on:

www.facebook.com/ greetingstodaymag greetingstoday

Raspberry Blossom

36 Focus on:

Earlybird Designs

40 Focus on: Louise Tiler

42 Focus on: Enesco

44 Artist Focus:

Jit at The Seed Card Co

47 Focus on: Netherton’s

47 Focus on: The Paintbox

48

48 Product Launcher:

greetings-today

A host of new product for 2024

52 Christmas

Looking ahead to 2024’s festive season

55 Gifts for Card Shops 56 Notebooks and stationery 59 Retail Interview: With Anna Bolton, at Charlton Cards in Tenby, Wales

60 Retail Interview:

With Sarah-Jane Porter at online giant Moonpig.com

63 Trends:

Fabulous foils

Lema Media Ltd 1 Church Gates, Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930 www.greetingstoday.media

14 12

leader Editor Naomi MacKay

T

he 2024 show season is underway - as I write this, London’s Top Drawer S/S24 exhibition is about to start. It’s a busy time for suppliers and retailers, because no sooner is Top Drawer over, then we will be looking ahead to Spring Fair.

This event, held at Birmingham’s NEC from February 4-7, is a chance for publishers to share their latest designs and product with buyers, who are eager to plan the year ahead. And there’s a lot to see! As you’ll read in our show preview, publishers have hundreds of new designs - whether it’s totally new ranges or expansions of existing ranges.

Our cover star Danilo will be at Spring Fair with a host of new card designs, calendars and stationery, with movie, sporting licences and more. Check out our Cover Story to find out what the Danilo team has in store for you.

Trade shows offer a great opportunity to get

a feel for what’s out there, and connect with people who you may only email or chat to on the phone during the rest of the year. As Heidi Early at Earlybird Designs says: ‘’Chatting face-to-face really helps that connection with customers. People buy from people, so a chance to have a casual conversation can really make a difference to sales and longevity of relationships.

‘‘If you are a greeting card retailer who would like to share your story in our retail section - or a publisher who would like to recommend your favourite customer - do get in touch’’ ‘’It’s also a great opportunity to see our international customers as they all tend to visit Spring Fair, and hopefully introduce ourselves to new ones too.’’

It may seem a bit early, but this is also the time of year to start looking at your options for Christmas 2024. As Judy Evans, owner of Williams of Audlem in Cheshire tells us, she is already keen to look at festive ranges when she visits Spring Fair. She notes: ‘’I’m already starting to plan the next Christmas shop windows by this stage!’’

With this in mind, you’ll find a sneak peek at the Christmas 2024 ranges inside this issue as well, along with some ideas for gift ranges that sit well within a card retailer’s offering.

Increasing basket spend can never be a bad thing, so if you want to add something else to your offering, take a look at our focus on stationery after all who can resist a beautiful notebook? I know I can’t!

Not every publisher will be at Spring Fair - take Holy Mackerel, which has seized the opportunity to do something a bit different this year - you can find details of its Not at the Trade Show offer in its company profile.

As always, we love to focus on greeting card

19

6 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

Send your views and submissions for the magazine to naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk

retailers - and in this issue we have two very different subjects for our retail interviews. Anna Bolton, who runs Charlton Cards in Tenby, Wales (a shop with a sea view), and Sarah-Jane Porter, global director of design and licensing at online retailer Moonpig.com.

If you are a greeting card retailer who would like to share your story in our retail section - or a publisher who would like to recommend your favourite customer - do get in touch.

We also have industry news and the latest from the Greeting Card Association.

I’m happy to hear from anyone who has news or views, or who would like to take part in our features, retail interviews, shop talk, and more. Contact me at naomi@ lemapublishing.co.uk, or on LinkedIn. The Greetings Today team will be at Spring Fair - do stop and say hello if you see us walking the aisles!

IN THE NEWS

GOTY shortlist

unveiled

The shortlist for the prestigious Gift of the Year Awards 2024 has been revealed. This annual event celebrates innovation, creativity, and excellence in the home and giftware sector, recognising outstanding products and ranges that have captured the hearts of our judges made up of retailers and buyers.

The Cards, Wraps & Stationery category includes: ‘One Step At A Time’ Greeting Card Range ‘Thank You for..’ Twenty Minute Candle Range Braille Christmas Cards Choccy Cards Create Your Own Giant Animal Origami Eco-friendly gift wrap Fuzzy Feelings Handmade Wool Felt Animals In A Matchbox Jaipur Mini Pyramid Box Meadow boxed Card Notebooks Paper Theatre Pop up Card Pigeon The Bookish Collection Wildlife botanical Hardback Journal notebook

Fox Under The Moon Cotton & Grey Dotty About Braille Rosie Made A Thing Clockwork Soldier Rumi London Marvling Bros Decorasion Belly Button Designs Wendy Jones-Blackett Alljoy Design Pigeon Loft Two for Joy Lola Design

The shortlisted products will be judged for the second time round in person, where they will be on display at Spring Fair for the judges to fully review the brands. View all categories at www.giftoftheyear.co.uk/2024-categorie

Farewell to

flitter Following the launch of Cherry Orchard’s eco-friendly range Nature’s Diary and the publisher’s affiliation with 9trees, the company has made the conscious decision to stop using flitter on its new designs and has redesigned its older designs to also reflect this. Cherry Orchard Publishing has always been renowned for its eyecatching designs and finishes but this won’t change as the design team has started adding textured finishes and creative techniques using just foil. Folico, the foil that they use, is fully recyclable so no foil needs to go to landfill, and the cards are printed on FSC board so they can be fully recycled.

8 www.greetingstoday.media

House of Marbles appoints new agent House of Marbles has recruited a new agent, covering the northwest of England.

Jamie Longman has seven and a half years of experience as an agent in the gift trade. He originally started with WoodWick Candles and Baylis & Harding, and now represents Powder UK and Lily-Flame in addition to House of Marbles.

He said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to become part of the House of Marbles team. I‘m looking forward to bringing such unique and timeless products to retailers in my area!”

Jamie will be joining House of Marbles on its stand at Spring Fair.

His contact details are 07712567598 and longman.jamie@outlook.com.

In the News

GBCP welcomes new publishing partners

Lip-smacking deal

for Joe Davies Joe Davies has been appointed by Amber House as exclusive distributor for the Read My Lips brand of licensed Lip Balms across independent retail.

The full collection of Read My Lips, featuring bestselling licensed brands such as Pepsi, Jelly Belly, Hershey’s, Reese’s, Fruit-tella and Mentos will be available from the Manchester-based importer in February. The range consists of single lip balms, multi-packs and tear & share packs; all with flavours and packaging coordinated to each brand.

John Kingham, managing director at Amber House, commented: “Read My Lips is hugely popular and successful in the UK, and we have been looking for some time for the right distributor to take the brand forward into independent retail. With their reputation for award-winning customer service and their ‘little & often’ order system Joe Davies are the perfect fit for us.”

Paul Hooker, managing director at Joe Davies, added: “We are very excited to be working with Amber House, and our customers will love the fun Read My Lips collection, it’s a great impulse purchase line, perfect for children and adults alike.”

Read My Lips will launch on the Joe Davies stand at NEC Spring Fair, Hall 4, Stand C10-D11.

www.joedavies.co.uk

Fashion icon takes to

Spring Fair stage

Visitors to Spring Fair will have the chance to hear a British fashion icon speak on the Inspiring Retail Stage.

British fashion and textile designer and pioneer Dame Zandra Rhodes will take to the Inspiring Retail Stage for a fireside chat with retail analyst Natalie Berg, exploring her remarkable journey in design, leadership, and innovation.

The Fabric of Success: Dame Zandra Rhodes on Reinventing Fashion and Retail Leadership will take place at 12.30pm on Wednesday February 7 in Hall 2 within Moda, Spring Fair’s fashion destination.

Delving into her origin story, the evolution of British fashion, and her pioneering role in home furnishings, discover how her unique style and daring collaborations shaped her brand, drove innovation and legacy. This session is a must-watch for those interested in the intersection of retail creativity, industry advocacy and the cultivation of female leadership in retail.

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The Great British Card Partnership (GBCP) is the brokerage arm of GBCC and offers a unique solution to retailers who want to have a curated range from one source which cuts down on time and stock levels and, importantly, is proven to increase sales.

The division, part of The Great British Card Company (GBBC), which is known for its long-standing heritage in premium greetings, supplies brokerage and planning solution to retailers throughout the UK has announced three exciting new GBCC CEO David Byk publishing partners who are joining (left) with author and the scheme from January 2024: comedian David Walliams Brighton-based greetings and stationery designer, Louise Mulgrew, known for beautiful illustrative designs and love of animals and the environment, is set to be a great addition to the GBCP offering.

Award-winning humour publisher Redback will also be launched in 2024. Funny, clever and super cool, GBCP says the Redback collection will ignite birthday laughs this year.

Designed in Derbyshire, Dandelion is the go-to publisher of heartfelt words and sentiments, with a good measure of humour.

David Byk, CEO of GBCC, said: ‘’We reviewed our publishing partners and also looked at other publishers who we believe both offer us something different from what we have already and are also doing a fantastic job in the market and we narrowed our ‘targets’ down to these three companies. We were absolutely delighted when all three wanted to come on board. This is on top of Stop the Clock and Raspberry Blossom who joined the scheme in the last quarter of 2023.’’

It will also be launching its newest Paper Salad gift stationery collaboration in January - see it at the stand at the NEC. It also expects its biggest and best humour launch for many years including additions to the well known Humour Factor’ range and a new friendship range called Two Old Friends, plus licensed cards from David Walliams and Bewilderbeest.

Deva deal for Lola Lola Design has announced an exciting creative licensing partnership with Deva Designs.

The collaboration encompasses a beautiful range of gift bags, roll wraps, double-sided wrapping paper, and tissue, all infused with Lola’s captivating signature style - an enchanting blend of botanical animals and intricate designs.

Having garnered attention in prestigious publications such as Hello Magazine, Good Homes, House Beautiful and most recently, Harper’s Bazaar, Lola’s signature style, previously showcased on wallpapers and stationery items, has now been crafted into stunning gift wraps and bags. These designs offer an opportunity to adorn and encase your gifts in something truly magical.

Amanda and Frank from Lola Design shared their enthusiasm about the move: “We are truly excited about this licensing collaboration with Deva. They embody the perfect partnership, and their values resonate seamlessly with ours. Our connection with Andrew and Ann from Deva was instant, like a match made in design heaven!”

Birthday treat Debuting at the Spring shows (Spring Fair stand: 3P34), Cath Tate Cards is launching its new children’s number card range: Birthday Blocks. Made up of nine die-cut number cards - ages one to nine - the coloured patterns and blocks are bright and fun, and enhanced by a spot gloss, which creates an emboss effect on the shapes within the design. Printed on high-quality textured board, the cards are A6 and come with a kraft envelope. Produced in the UK on 100% recycled paper.

Cath Tate Cards

0208 671 2166 | orders@cathtatecards.com www.cathtatecards.com

spotlight light Going wild

Abacus has secured two new licences for 2024 - the hugely popular series BBC Wild Isles and Hornby, which includes both the Airfix and Hornby model brands.

Wild Isles is a new photographic range that showcases dramatic and beautiful landscapes and wildlife shots from across the UK, inspired by the hugely popular, groundbreaking, primetime BBC series presented by David Attenborough. The documentary conveys a story of hope in a time of crisis for UK nature. The documentary and subsequent Wild Isles book help to celebrate the UK’s majestic mountains, freshwaters, grasslands, forest, coastal and marine habitats.

The Wild Isles collection of greeting cards emulates the brilliance and drama of nature in a series of stunning and spectacular photographs. The designs feature immense flocks of wading birds, remarkable wetlands, dazzling sunsets, beautiful wild meadow flowers, striking coastlines and breathtaking marine shots.

Abacus has partnered with Hornby Hobbies, one of Britain’s best-loved model-making companies, to develop a vintage-inspired collection of aviation-themed greeting cards, encompassing classic aircraft through to modern jets. The imagery featured on the cards depicts popular aviation designs used within the packaging of Airfix branded models; the designs have all been created by the renowned artist Adam Tooby.

Hornby is an iconic model railway brand whose history spans 100 years. Its high-quality models have delighted many generations of model railway enthusiasts. The cards feature side profiles of classic Hornby model steam engines and high-speed locomotives as well as imagery depicted from real life Hornby model sets.

Abacus Cards

01638 569050 | info@abacuscards.co.uk www.abacuscards.co.uk 12 www.greetingstoday.media

Clever collage

Hodge Podge is a new, 16-strong range of greeting cards brought to you by Cinnamon Aitch. Featuring collaged artwork including flowers, cats, dogs, balloons and the occasional giraffe to name but a few, each design is hand finished with an eclectic mix of buttons, beads and gems. But it doesn’t stop there... each card has a die cut aperture, which is innovatively embellished with a single thread drawn across it, enhancing the illustrated artwork.

Images of little packages, stars and flowers give the illusion of being suspended on the thread while balloons are strung from cats’ tails and sausage dogs.

Perfect for anyone searching for a point of difference or a little uniqueness in their greeting card offering.

140mm square, and sold in sixes. All cards and gifts are beautifully designed, environmentally kind and proudly made in the UK with love.

See the loveliness at Spring Fair Hall 3, Stand P44.

Cinnamon Aitch

0121 773 6833 hello@cinnamonaitch.co.uk www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk

Getting frutti!

A little bit country M&G has announced a new gift packaging and giftware licence with lauded British artist and printmaker Angela Harding.

The initial release includes an Angela Harding tote bag, large zipped pouch, and a crystal domed paperweight, together with everyday and Christmas gift wraps, gift bags, and gift tissue packs. Products are available immediately, and all will be on show at M&G’s Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand L30-M31.

Angela Harding was introduced to printmaking while studying art at Leicester Polytechnic between 1979 and 1982. During her student years she was mainly an etcher but since 2008 has worked in lino/vinyl and silkscreen.

The recurring inspiration for Angela’s work is the flora and fauna of the British countryside. Her studio looks out over the farmland landscape of Rutland. Fields of sheep and the soft greens, greys and blues of this land form the backdrop for her paintings and prints.

Angela does not strive for a literal portrait but attempts to capture the mood and atmosphere of her surroundings. There is an allegorical aspect which references British painting of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s and artists such as Eric Ravillious, David Jones, and Winifred Nicholson.

Working primarily as an artist and printmaker, Angela has forged a storied career in publishing, with hundreds of iconic book covers to her credit, as well as merchandise licensing.

Eddie Clarke, licensing manager at Museums & Galleries, says: “Myself and Ben Dorney our creative director are longtime admirers of Angela’s oeuvre, and it is absolutely thrilling and a huge privilege for M&G to finally add some of her magic to our collection. ‘‘The new pieces are very distinctive and special, redolent of that absolutely iconic Angela Harding style. Some bespoke pieces are already exclusively in Waterstones, and we are very excited to release the new range generally in 2024, with more to come.”

Museums & Galleries

01373 462165 sales@mgml.co.uk www.museumsgalleries.co.uk

Tutti Frutti, the fun and vibrant range from Cherry Orchard Publishing, has just got bigger!

This eye-catching range now includes 12 Relations and Occasions such as Bon Voyage, Belated Birthday, Sorry you’re leaving and Retirement.

These Code 60 designs all come with bright envelopes to ensure they really stand out.

The metallic cold foil finish highlights the design and textured finish.

Meanwhile, the wonderful and whacky brand Camilla and Rose moved from Peartree Heybridge to its new home at Cherry Orchard Publishing. The 93 designs (with more to come) are now printed on a bright white quality board and come with a poppy red envelope. Your customers won’t want to leave your shop when they start reading the captions on award-winning artist Sarah Boddy’s range, which will have them laughing out loud!

Cherry Orchard Publishing has just launched a spinner offer, which is great if you are short of space.

Finally, back by popular demand, Cherry Orchard has relaunched its Male Month They Were Born Cards, which have had a revamp. The designs feature gold foil detailing and interesting dates and facts of the month. These are available to order now and can either be ordered individually or as a package.

Cherry Orchard

01684 295500 | info@cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk www.cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk

Totally awesome!

Jolly Awesome celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2023, and is revealing its biggest launch of newness to date for 2024, featuring more than 400 new designs from founder Matt Nguyen and also publishing 15 other artists.

These include: Bearly Getting By - More than 120 designs created by Matt Nguyen. Bear is a new character but feels like an old friend. Funny and relatable, there are designs to suit almost any occasion. Cards come with green envelopes.

Darcie Olley - More than 100 new designs have been added to this popular range from published children’s book illustrator, Darcie Olley. Her designs are charming and ponderful. Featuring special finishes such as foiling and coloured envelopes to complement this bright and fun range.

Snelse & Twonks - Snelse is a comedy writer who creates irreverent illustrations and comics. He has written for TV productions including Mock The Week and his designs have gone viral several times, with 1-2 million likes each on social media! Look out for 56 new designs; cards come with a red or blue envelope.

Izzy Barlett - Izzy’s illustrations are sophisticated, clever and witty, done in her quirky classic illustration style. Cards are square and come with orange envelopes.

Jolly Awesome is exhibiting at Spring Fair for the first time, at Hall 3, Stand Q40.

Jolly Awesome

sales@jollyawesome.com www.greetingstoday.co.uk 13

COVER STORY DANILO

It’s showtime for Danilo!

Danilo has a host of calendars, diaries and greeting cards ready to show off to Spring Fair visitors - from revamps of familiar characters to new licences, there’s something for everyone

A

s we welcome in 2024, renowned publisher Danilo is excited for the year ahead. In particular, for the Spring Fair trade show in February, where the NEC in Birmingham opens its doors to tens of thousands of visitors.

Danilo will be attending with its main stand (3L01) showcasing its range of official calendars and diaries, but you will also see the publisher on the Cardgains stand (3M10-N11), where it will be exhibiting an array of greetings cards.

‘‘Another new addition to the 2025 range is Steven Rhodes. Presenting nostalgia with a twist of darkness, this amazing brand focuses on a retro feel and is definitely one to keep an eye out for’’ On display will be some of Danilo’s most popular calendar titles, including highly-viewed TV shows such as Wednesday. With the second series on its way, there will be a new Wednesday calendar created for 2025. This will sit alongside prevalent and recent TV show calendars such as Bridgerton and Yellowstone as well as the classics including Strictly Come Dancing, Peaky Blinders, Doctor Who, Only Fools and Horses and Mrs Brown’s Boys, to name a few.

14 www.greetingstoday.media

‘‘With the UEFA European Championship taking place in June, Danilo will once again be publishing the England men’s and women’s calendar and card range in addition to the Premier League teams’’ Movies

This year also sees some much-anticipated new movies. For fantasy fans, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is shaping up to be an epic animated journey, which is set in the same universe as the other Lord of the Rings films and books. Disney’s Mufasa is another key film, where Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored. The latest in the franchise, Despicable Me 4, is one highlighted on the calendar, and Danilo will be updating its calendar and card collection, creating bright eye-catching new designs targeting kids aged six to 10 and upwards. Beetlejuice 2 is set for release in September, as the follow-up to the original 1988 comedy. Danilo will be publishing 2025 calendars for all these great movies and many more.

Sports

For sports fans, Danilo will be publishing a great range of team’s calendars including the England, Scottish and Welsh Rugby Union teams. Danilo will also be adding Manchester City to the range this year. The Tour de France takes place in June and there will be an official 2025 calendar which will showcase imagery and routes from the event. The T20 and the Ashes also return for another year, and so will the England cricket team calendar.

Anniversaries

2024 is also a great year for anniversaries. From the 15th anniversary year of Minecraft, The Gruffalo’s 25th anniversary, Guess How Much I Love You’s 30th anniversary, through to the 40th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the 20th anniversary of popular children’s character Peppa Pig. Danilo will be looking to update select calendar, greeting cards and gift wrap ranges in line with these key milestones.

Pop along to see the full scope of Danilo’s collection and say hi to the team at Spring Fair on Danilo’s stand 3L01 and Cardgains stand 3M10-N11 01992 702 900 | sales@danilo.com | www.danilo.com www.greetingstoday.media 15

FOCUS ON...

HOLY MACKEREL

Make some

Holy orders…

Holy Mackerel is making a splash with a host of new goodies for you to choose from - and a very special ‘not at the show’ offer…

T

he Holy Mackerel team is starting 2024 with a spring in their step and a new take on their trade show strategy, and for the first time in many years (gasp!) they won’t be exhibiting at Spring Fair.

“The whole Connect furore gave us a great opportunity to take a step back and look at new ways of working with our customers and we’re feeling really reinvigorated by it!’’ says Sarah Hopkins. ‘’We’re sad not to see all our lovely customers of course, but we have a cracking Not at the Trade Show offer running until February 11, with 10% off our trade prices or 15% off for anyone paying up front. You can ring us, place an order through one of our friendly agents, or just buy from our website using the voucher codes NATS10 or NATS15.’’

‘’We have a cracking Not at the Trade Show offer running until February 11, with 10% off our trade prices or 15% off for anyone paying up front’’ What else is new for 2024? The Holy Mackerel brochure is overflowing with new goodies, starting with a fabulous range of birthday and occasions cards from Scottish artist Ailsa Black. “Our customers love Ailsa’s art cards, and as A family business - Sarah, Wyn and Katie in the Holy Mackerel warehouse

well as adding to her Fields & Fathoms range we very much wanted to extend into occasions, and Ailsa has really done us proud with her vibrant new We Two range, featuring beautiful bunnies, fabulous foxes and a very wise owl!” says Sarah.

Another major new launch for this year are 40 same-sex numbered anniversary cards from pen and watercolour artist Rosie Brooks. Sarah says: ‘‘Our numbered anniversary cards are an absolute cornerstone of our range, always popular, and last year we started to get requests for LGBTQ+ equivalents, so commissioned Rosie to create us new designs from paper to gold, including every year from 1st anniversary to 15th! We love her warm and witty artwork and we’re really excited to see what our customers think of them!”

You won’t be disappointed if you’re a fan of the Alternative Image range of retro black and white cards, with 32 new designs launched in January. There’s Hollywood glamour, Parisian chic and of course the usual Holy Mackerel touch of silliness too. On the team it’s Katie who seeks out new designs every year. “It can be hugely frustrating when you find the perfect picture but it’s not sharp or won’t crop well, but when you hit on an image that just works as a card it’s a joy. Sometimes there’s quite a bit of image cleaning to do before it’s card-ready, but that’s a process that can be really rewarding. It’s very hard to pick out a favourite from the new launches, but I must admit I do have a soft spot for the baby racing!” she says.

Mini cards have been a big hit for the Holy Mackerel team, and there are lots of cute new 10cm cards in the Small Fry range, including designs from Ailsa Black, new photographic cards, and lots of new Thank You cards too. “Our mini cards are a great little impulse buy, and an easy way to say thank you, and we love the new designs.’’ says Sarah.

And finally of course it wouldn’t be a new season without a whole host of new Erica Sturla clay characters. “Erica is just a star, she is so skilful and her designs are so intricate and full of movement as well as gentle humour,’’ Sarah explains. Holy Mackerel’s One Lump or Two range has expanded to more than 550 designs now covering birthdays, occasions, relations cards, numbered anniversaries and age cards, as well as regional and Welsh language designs.

In 2024 watch out for birthday cards for crown green bowlers, vinyl fans, darts players, salsa sensations and those of us growing older disgracefully.

Holy Mackerel 01395 578571 www.holy-mackerel.co.uk

46 www.greetingstoday.media

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SHOW PREVIEW SPRING FAIR

The art of discovery

at Spring Fair

Discover greeting, stationery and gift wrap brands old and new at this year’s show…

S

pring Fair, dubbed the UK’s most popular, diverse, and trend led marketplace for home, gift, fashion and everyday, and retail’s definitive wholesale shopping destination, returns this February giving retailers unparalleled cross-buying opportunities to find their next bestsellers from a star-studded line-up including the best of the best in the greeting cards, stationery & wrapping sector.

Inspiring retail’s creators and curators, Spring Fair has revealed a thrilling snapshot of what buyers can discover at the show. The variety of products from big brands through to artisan makers at Spring Fair is unmatched. From gifts and greeting cards, socks and stationery to furniture and textiles and cookware and candles, as well as an enormous array of licensed products, Spring Fair is the launchpad for new collections offering endless opportunities for sourcing the newest, most innovative products and retail’s next bestsellers for 2024 and beyond.

Say hello to a vibrant collection of cards, gift wrap and beautifully designed stationery in Greetings, Stationery & Wrapping. Offering buyers the ultimate joyful assortment of every kind of greeting card, Spring Fair brings together the most creative, fun and colourful greeting cards, wrapping papers, stationery and paper decorations. This sector puts pen to paper and delivers fresh inspiration for the season ahead! Be sure to schedule in time to explore the vast range of themed calendars, diaries, and notecards.

Make a beeline for The Gifted Stationery Company’s stand, one of the fastestgrowing businesses in the stationery sector. With more than 500 new products every year including bestselling ranges across gift stationery, calendars and diaries, buyers will also discover the newly launched brand Hey Hugo.

Showing exclusively at Spring Fair, the Cardgains Village will be at the heart of the Greetings section. Many of its members, including Cherry Orchard, IC & G, Jacksons, Rainbow Designs, Saraunds, UK Greetings, Words ‘n’ Wishes and Woodmansterne will all have pods on this year’s stand showcasing the latest range of new designs, greeting cards and gifts.

Museums & Galleries showcases quality art cards and design-led gift stationery.

The collection is home to some of the most highly regarded heritage and arts brands in Britain and beyond, as well as contemporary independent artists and emerging creative talent.

Don’t miss M!NT, a refreshingly different publisher of (mostly funny) birthday,

18 www.greetingstoday.media

blank and captioned greetings cards. Unique licences, artists and designs stand out and raise a smile.

A host of new brands join the show including Stop the Clock, an award-winning British design studio that prides itself in creating distinctive, quirky, design-led cards and stationery with a modern edge.

Also new this year are 2 to Tango, Kiriori Gmbh, Pickmotion, Churchill Collection and Filofax. For up-and-coming designers head to the GCA Debut area, and don’t miss FiveDollarShake, Rosie Made a Thing, Ling Designs, Brainbox Candy, Louise Tiler, Nicole Elders, The Seed Card Company, Dream Daisy, Ginger Betty, Moongazer, Ohh Deer and many more who will be presenting their latest ranges. Apple and Clover, publishers of beautiful cards that make people smile while being kind to people and the planet, attend for the first time.

Spring Fair supports the GCA’s #Cardmitment campaign to encourage the writing and sending of cards. Stop by the show’s special #Cardmitment seating area to discover more about the campaign and rest your feet at the same time. Spring Fair will also be hosting the live judging of the Gift Of The Year Awards and the Finalists Showcase for a fast-track view of next year’s hottest products Spring Fair has brought the industry together for over 70 years and it looks set to continue to be an inspirational, product-led experience with the 2024 show dedicated to the magic of discovery. Buyers will see, touch and experience thousands of the latest products across four key destinations - Home, Gift, Moda, and Everyday - and 13 definitive sectors. An efficient show layout designed around buyers’ needs will mean less time spent finding suppliers and products and more time experiencing them.

Buyers will encounter a vibrant and bustling showcase of new and returning exhibitors offering the opportunity to source from British, international, sustainable, and licensed brands. A host of new onsite features and What: Spring Fair experiences with curated Where: NEC Birmingham displays and trend-led showcases will be designed When: February 4–7 to inspire and assist the Web: www.springfair.com buying journey.

Judy Evans

Owner Williams of Audlem Audlem, Cheshire What do you enjoy about the show?

Primarily, discovering all the new ranges from our existing suppliers, and looking for new, exciting suppliers. I really enjoy attending the various stage-based speaker events at the shows. However, it would be great if there could be more demonstration/ practical stage events - especially in areas such as store merchandising as opportunities for learning/improving these sorts of skills are generally very limited elsewhere. It’s great just to soak up the atmosphere too, with all the anticipation in the air for the new season.

What product/brand are you most looking forward to seeing ‘in the flesh’ at Spring Fair?

Believe it or not, the Christmas displays as I’m already starting to plan the next Christmas shop windows by this stage !

Which other stands will be on your must-see list this year – and why?

They are all on my radar ! I prefer not to pre-judge what I’m going to see, and exactly where I’m going. I much prefer a more organic approach, and an open mind.

What has been your favourite Spring Fair ‘discovery’ - a brand or product that you didn’t know you needed until you visited ?

‘’There’s nothing like mixing work, with pleasure, if done in the correct ratio - one glass of wine to 10 new range brochures, we find is just about right!’’

Tatty & Co and also Sarah Kelleher greeting cards, display stands from Originals International, and bespoke mugs from Moorland Pottery.

Anything else you are looking forward to at this year’s Spring Fair?

I like to turn our visit into a mini-break from routine shop work. My husband usually takes time off from his work too, and we book a nice hotel (even though we are only an hour away) so we can totally get absorbed into the task in hand. There’s nothing like mixing work, with pleasure, if done in the correct ratio - one glass of wine to 10 new range brochures, we find is just about right!

Heidi Early, of Earlybird Designs, talks to Greetings Today about Spring Fair What do you enjoy about the show?

We love seeing all our customers in person and showing off the new launches.

Nothing beats showing all the collections together, it really gives the customer a good feel for a range, much better than online or even in our catalogue. And chatting face to face really helps that connection with customers; people buy from people so having a chance to have a casual chat can really make a difference to sales and longevity of relationships.

It’s also a great opportunity to see our international customers as they all tend to visit that show, and hopefully introduce ourselves to new ones too.

The show is always well attended and there is a good vibe from customers as they are looking for new, fresh designs.

Any tips for newbie visitors?

Do your homework beforehand, know the halls you want to visit (there’s way too many halls to wander aimlessly, and you’ll get overwhelmed) and note down any specific companies and their stand number so you don’t miss them.

Then walk the aisles, start at one end of a hall and work your way across.

Make sure you know where the food places and toilets are, take a refillable water bottle and wear trainers. And make sure you factor in sit-down breaks; it’s exhausting so you need plenty - plus you never know who you’ll sit next to and get chatting to - we’ve met some of our best customers queuing for a cuppa!

What’s your most memorable story/experience from previous shows?

I think it was a few years ago when the wonderful Japanese store ITO-YA visited our stand. Their buyers left with a catalogue, which I was happy with, but then they came back the next day to choose their designs - we were absolutely delighted! It is such a brilliant design-led store. The product choice is so carefully curated and their displays are so good, we are very proud to be stocked by them.

Any show offers we can tell our readers about?

We offer no minimum order at the shows. We have found that it brings us new customers who might not want to spend too much, we can direct them to our bestsellers and it just takes the risk out of trying something new. We now have some longstanding relationships from doing this because once our designs are in store the customer sees how well they sell and repeat orders regularly.

What one product or range should greeting cards shops check out at the show?

Well we are launching a lot of new designs for this show but it has to be our new range called Capy and Co, designed by our founder and co-owner and general snack king Dom Early.

Dom has created a fantastic new range that combines characters full of humour, colour, cuteness, and sarcasm.

And, of course, in our true Earlybird style, the cards pop with neon colours and boast an emboss spot UV finish, so they really stand out. We are also very proud to be printing onto eco-friendly 100% recycled 320gsm board.

www.greetingstoday.media 19

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show preview Spring Fair

Shop Talk

Retailers tell us what they love about the show…

Owner Planet Sal Honiton, Devon

The thing I love most about the show is the excitement of finding something new. I always look for something different, I don’t want to stock the same as the shop round the corner.

After a long period of thinking, talking, panicking, and dreaming about Christmas stock, it’s great to start the new season buying at Spring Fair. It’s a time to share what’s working and what isn’t with other lovely retailers, and catch up with valued suppliers.

Spring Fair is the big launch for new products and I have an added interest this year, as I’m massively honoured to have been chosen as a Gift Of The Year Awards judge.

What product/brand are you most looking forward to seeing ‘in the flesh’ at Spring Fair – and why?

My first stop is always at Joe Davies. They may sell the same or similar things to other companies but are always the most competitive on price. By seeing what new products they have, it sets the scene for what to expect from other suppliers, what is trending etc. That may sound like a contradiction on the previous paragraph but it is important to be aware of what is happening in the retail sector.

Anything else you are looking forward to at Spring Fair?

Which other stands will be on your must-see list this year – and why?

A change of scene away from the shop is always good, and I love to meet up with past colleagues and customers from my repping days. But my judging role is going to be the very best part this year - although I know it will be a very tough task.

I always make a visit to Widdop for similar reasons to Joe Davies, and POM is another must along with NV Bags. My favourite jewellery companies are Arran Bay and Cavendish French.

After visiting all the essential companies I have a good look at all the other gift and jewellery stands and also the new designer areas.

“My judging role is going to be the very best part this year - although I know it will be a very tough task’’

What do you enjoy about the show?

“The Gift of the Year Awards area is always of great interest”

I love to see my suppliers showcasing their existing and new ranges of products, and see a whole host of new suppliers exhibiting products that may catch my eye, to hopefully build new business relationships and diversify our gift offering.

I can see firsthand the upcoming trends, and it’s good to see my reps en masse, as sometimes the show is the only time I get to meet them in person.

What are you keen to see?

I’m looking forward to visiting The Country Candle Co. stand. I stock Stoneglow Candles and Best Kept Secrets and have been looking for a while to stock a range to run alongside.

Jellycat is always a fabulous stand and we’ve been lucky enough to have recently opened an account with them. We have an introductory range, so I can’t wait to see more of their quirky and innovative soft toys. I just missed out on being able to stock Christmas toys for 2023, so I’m looking forward to having them for 2024.

Which other stands are on your must-visit list?

The Gift of the Year Awards area is always of great interest. It showcases the shortlisted products that have been entered, and therefore raises the profile for

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Denby Dale West Yorkshire

What do you enjoy about the show?

What do you enjoy about the show?

Giftware and Seasonal Purchasing Manager Woodlands Garden Centre Sevenoaks, Kent

Thinking of You

“I always look for something different, I don’t want to stock the same as the shop round the corner’’

Sally Wilde

Karen Carter

Melinda Cooper

hundreds of businesses throughout the industry. It will be especially interesting this year as I’m a judge!

The New Product showcase allows you to see products from across all sectors before they hit the stores, which is great when thinking ahead for new in-store launches, displays and promos.

Anything else you are looking forward to at Spring Fair?

The Trend Talks are always worth a visit.

A helping hand from the experts is always appreciated. You can discover the latest trends from retail forecasters. And of course I will be visiting the Retail Inspiration Stage to celebrate the announcement of some regional and overall winners of the GTN’s Greatest Christmas Awards. We’ve won Bronze and Gold awards for the past couple of years, so fingers crossed for this year too!

show preview Spring Fair

A passion for fashion

M

changed the face of 21st century fashion, inspiring useums & Galleries is delighted to announce high fashion and high street designers alike. a multi-year licensing agreement with iconic “Print can be as definite as a cut or a drape and fashion designer Mary Katrantzou for greeting allows a woman to filter the beauty of food in design. cards, gift packaging, social stationery and gifts.

Our collections create a symbiosis between the world The licence launches in January 2024 with a range of of digital technology and traditional craftsmanship, 17 greeting cards and a suite of sheet gift wraps, gift opening up a huge spectrum for possibility. I can create tissue, and gift bags, with social stationery, journals and possibility out of impossibility, surrealism out of realism notebooks, and gifts to follow later in the year. and vice versa,” says Mary.

Born in Athens, Mary Katrantzou studied In her designs, architecture at Rhode Katrantzou plays with Island School of Design clashing aesthetics, mixes (US) and graduated with technology and artisanship a BA in Textile designs and explores innovative and MA in Fashion embellishments. Mary from Central St Martins Katrantzou’s world is (London). feminine, innovative, bold Her graduation show and artistic. in 2008, which featured Museums & Galleries trompe l’oeil prints of explored Mary’s design oversized jewellery on archives to create the jersey-bonded dresses, launch collection of cards, took the industry by comprising Mary’s unique storm, immediately way of imaginatively securing a number of combining natural motifs prestigious stockists, like florals, animals and notably Browns, Joyce, birds with innovative, and Colette. After her bold geometrics in graduation show, Mary glorious colour. The cards Katranzou established her Ben Dorney, creative director are set off by a bespoke namesake brand. She now Museums & Galleries branded envelope. The boasts more than 100 wraps showcase Mary’s sensational versatility in high-end stockists ranging from Selfridges to Browns, approach, with a vibrant butterfly repeat against Matchesfashion.com, Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman. a cobalt blue background, a green jungle with Mary Katranzou is dubbed ‘The Queen of Print’ by parrots, a stunning seahorse striped design, and a the press, a moniker that recognises the enormous foiled Mirror Marble design. The Butterflies design influence of her work in the medium. Katrantzou’s work

‘‘Mary’s prints and patterns are fantastic. It was immediately clear to us that elements and crops would work as standalone fashionled artworks for greeting cards, and that the prints are also perfectly suited to our increasingly physical range of home, gift, textile and stationery products’’

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is available in gift tissue and gift bags options.

The Mary Katrantzou range is available immediately and will be displayed in full at Spring Fair on M&G’s stand in Hall 3, Stand 3L30-M3.

Ben Dorney, creative director, Museums & Galleries, says: “The opportunity to work with Mary Katrantzou is a real coup for Museums & Galleries, and we’re thrilled to bring her work to the greetings and gifts market. The brand has built a reputation for wrapping original prints onto dresses and the human form, but Mary’s prints and patterns are fantastic – and often enormous – artworks in their own right. It was immediately clear to us that elements and crops would work as standalone fashionled artworks for greeting cards, and that the prints are also perfectly suited to our increasingly physical range of home, gift, textile and stationery products. ‘’Mary’s muses are varied, with themes and styles changing from season-to-season, so there is a wealth of material and inspiration to consider for the future.

Somehow, despite the variety, it all retains its unique brand identity. We have loved working with the Mary Katrantzou team to channel their brand into the packaging for the range, which looks fantastic. The result is a really bold, original launch range, which feels at home – yet completely new – in the Museums & Galleries collection.”

Museums & Galleries 01373 462165 sales@mgml.co.uk Www.marykatrantzou.com www.museumsgalleries.co.uk

Hall 3, Stand 3L30-M31

SHOW PREVIEW SPRING FAIR

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An enchanted … world…

in leading retailers from John Lewis and Harrods to Fortnum & Mason, and is now licensed as far afield as Australia.

Imaginarium launches with a suite of 12 fine art everyday greeting cards featuring high-keyed images of wildlife, birds and nature with a distinctly mystical atmosphere. A rich palette glows against sombre backgrounds illuminated by flashes of gold foil. The textured board cards are set off by white envelopes.

Imaginarium also features four Christmas designs available in packs of five. Iconic Christmas beasts rule a world of seasonal enchantment. On textured board with gold foil.

Emma says: ‘’I am thrilled to officially announce my collaboration with Museums & Galleries, with my debut collection Imaginarium. The process of creating these designs has brought me immense joy and I am excited to finally share them with the world.’’

Ben Dorney, Museums & Galleries’ creative director, says: “Emma Frances Grant is a remarkable talent and a very exciting brand launch for Museums & Galleries in 2024. As soon as we were presented with Emma’s work for Imaginarium we felt we were onto something very special. It creates a look and mood that is quite unlike anything else in our Museums & Galleries (M&G) announces a new licence with award-winning traditional children’s range – and in cards generally. In an already bursting collection of brands book illustrator Chris Dunn. and artists, a new licence really has to create its own unique space, and An initial capsule everyday range will be presented under M&G’s hugely successful and longImaginarium does just that! It’s been an absolute delight to collaborate running The Illustrators umbrella, with an additional Christmas range offering single four-design with Emma, and we can’t wait to share the Everyday and Christmas packs and a selection box of all four designs. M&G will also produce a licensed calendar of Chris launch ranges with customers. We also look forward to developing her Dunn’s work for 2025. work on our wider product range in the future.”

Chris’s big break arrived with a large commission from Galerie Daniel Maghen, Paris, to paint a series of watercolours based on The Wind in the Willows universe. Thus began his love Museums & Galleries affair with all things Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad. Chris says: “I found Kenneth Grahame’s masterpiece a rich seam to mine illustrating an imaginary (alas) world of woodland animals 01373 462165 interacting at home, in the trees, city, sea coast, school and even in the air. The paintings sales@mgml.co.uk successfully exhibited in Paris mid 2016, followed by another Galerie DM series commission; www.marykatrantzou.com this time to illustrate Willows properly and I finally became a full-time artist specialising in traditional children’s book watercolour illustration.” www.museumsgalleries.co.uk M&G is hugely excited to publish Chris’s amazingly detailed, super realistic watercolours of these beloved fictional characters.

The range is available immediately and will be on show on M&G’s stand at Spring Fair. eyond the trees and hidden among the lush foliage of jungles and woodland lie the creatures of the enchanted world of Imaginarium. Under a moonlit backdrop, gold highlights and dream-like colours delight the senses and transport us to another time and fantastical world.

Museums & Galleries announces the launch of Imaginarium by Emma Frances Grant - a truly extraordinary new greeting card range by one of Britain’s most exciting young illustrators, a three-times Henries award finalist whose work has been sold

A Dunn deal

Hall 3, Stand 3L30-M31

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Village Pottery Garden Houses

Papillon Message Collection

Bridgewater Pen Company - Wedding & Anniversary

Equilibrium Mother’s Day Jewellery

Tel: 0161 975 6300 *UHHWLQJV 7RGD\ )3 LQGG

Email: sales@joedavies.co.uk

Sandy Bay

www.joedavies.co.uk $0

SHOW PREVIEW SPRING FAIR

Adding to

the fun!

Cherry Orchard will be exhibiting in the Cardgains Village in Hall 3. There you’ll find the well-loved and in-demand range Grace and Grayson, the updated Down Memory Lane, eco-friendly range Nature’s Diary and the team are very excited to be showcasing two new fun ranges - Camilla and Rose and Tutti Frutti.

The humour range Camilla and Rose from award-winning artist Sarah Boddy became part of the Cherry Orchard family in November and is a great addition with 93 designs to choose from.

Tutti Frutti, which is also going to be showcased at Spring Fair, is a fun, eye-catching range, which is available in ages one to 17, open birthday, relations and occasions. The designs are printed on FSC board and finished with a stunning shimmering cold foil finish.

Cherry Orchard will be joining Cardgains, which is celebrating 35 years by offering an exclusive Spring Fair offer. When you spend £500 net you will receive a gift voucher to treat yourself! There will also be lots of samples and POS that will be given away over the duration of the fair.

Follow Cherry Orchard Publishing on instagram for updates @cherryorchardpublishing

Show offer

Cherry Orchard will be joining Cardgains, which is celebrating 35 years by offering an exclusive Spring Fair offer. When you spend £500 net you will receive a gift voucher to treat yourself!

Cherry Orchard

01684 295500 info@cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk www.cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk

Stand: Hall 3, Cardgains Village 26 www.greetingstoday.media

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show preview Spring Fair

Happy new gifts!

J

oe Davies will showcase its new ranges to all customers old and new on its extensive stand at Spring Fair – Hall 4, Stand C10-D11. There really is something for everyone with ranges for occasions, celebrations, home décor, jewellery, fashion accessories and much, much more, enabling customers to achieve a ‘one-stop shop’ incorporating old tried-and-tested favourites, together with exciting new gifts.

For some time now the Village Pottery collection has stood out as one of Joe Davies’ top-selling collections, consistently capturing the admiration of retailers and customers alike. Each piece exudes a distinctively handcrafted aesthetic, adding a delightful charm to the entire range. Get ready for an exclusive Village Pottery showcase at Spring Fair on the Joe Davies stand, where all your favourites and bestsellers will be featured, accompanied by an array of new and innovative designs, many of which have been designed in-house and are exclusive to Joe Davies. The new Pretty houses boast a myriad of delightful colours and are adorned with charming bunting and flowers… the perfect way to create an attractive and captivating display. You can explore the expanded collection of quaint Garden houses featuring unique roof styles, adorable picket fences and decorated with shrubbery; an irresistible choice for those looking to maximise sales during the Spring/Summer season. Other exciting additions to the collection include beautiful Brick style houses, stunning village stores and character-filled Croft houses, complete with the odd sheep or two!

Why is it that hedgehogs are one of Britain’s most well-loved mammals? With their unique prickly, charismatic appearance and harmless perception as quite a vulnerable creature, hedgehogs are regularly chosen as our favourite mammal in polls. Introducing Country Hedgehogs from Joe Davies, this delightful little collection has been designed to bring a smile to your face. These charming figurines are not only

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adorable but also make perfect decorative additions to any home. The inclusion of traditional red and white toadstools helps to further enhance their charm, while adding a splash of colour that adds to their appeal.

Explore the perfect gift solution for any occasion with the latest Timeless Posy collection. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, Mother’s Day, saying Thank you or simply letting someone know you’re thinking of them, this collection has something for you! From posies featuring roses that have been carefully picked and preserved to last indefinitely, to more traditional posies crafted from naturally dried flowers, there’s a variety of choices to suit your preferences. Each posy in the collection is elegantly presented in a gift box and comes with a thoughtful gift tag for your personal message. For a charming little thank you gift you could consider the mini dried hanging posy… perfect as a little thank you gesture. The natural dried flowers in each posy vary, contributing to their unique and individual charm.

The Equilibrium collection from Joe Davies continues to be one of the UK’s hottest jewellery and fashion accessory brands. This highly successful range is a huge draw at the show with numerous new and exciting collections showcasing, including Stackable Rings. Indulge in the latest trend of stackable jewellery with the new exquisite range of stackable, one-size-fits-all, elasticated silver plated rings. Following the tremendous success of the Equilibrium gift boxed sets of stackable rings, this new range comes complete with an attractive acrylic counter display unit and allows customers to create their own ‘stack’ by selecting and combining their favourite styles and designs. The collection boasts a variety of designs, including hearts, bees, butterflies and many more, some with dangly charms. Designed with the latest fashion trend in mind, these stackable rings are not just beautiful but also affordable.

The Equilibrium Ceramic jewellery collection will

also debut at Spring Fair. Craft style jewellery has made a huge comeback on the catwalks for Spring/ Summer 2024 and this elegant collection taps into the homespun look. Pretty blue and pink floral ceramic beads give this range a really cool, fresh look, which can be worn with almost anything and is just perfect for those long-awaited summer holidays. You heard it here first…this is a trend not to be missed!

Celebrate the beauty of lasting memories with the exquisite new range of Celebration photo frames from Joe Davies. Beyond being practical gifts, these photo frames are a timeless and elegant way to showcase your most cherished moments. The photo frames are available in a number of captions, catering for anniversaries, christening, new baby, wedding and many more. Each frame encapsulates the essence of these lifetime events, providing a fitting display for the moments that matter most.

For a warm and inviting experience and hospitality that is second to none be sure to visit the Joe Davies stand at Spring Fair, Hall 4, Stand C10-D11. Your buying experience will be made easy and enjoyable thanks to its little and often ordering quantities and minimum order value of just £100 for a carriage paid order.

Joe Davies 0161 975 6300 sales@joedavies.co.uk www.joedavies.co.uk

Hall 4, Stand C10-D11

SHOW PREVIEW SPRING FAIR

An eye for colour

Raspberry Blossom’s Rebecca Green talks to Greetings Today as she celebrates 10 years of greeting card creation…

Tell us a little about the background of Raspberry Blossom.

This year we are turning 10! That is 3,652 days of Raspberry Blossom! We can’t quite believe we have hit this milestone.

Inspired by my parents who ran their own jewellery design and manufacturing business when I was growing up, I always wanted to run a design-led business. I have had a keen interest in fashion and colour and, coupled with my love of stationery and greeting cards, I took the plunge following a career in London marketing agencies, when I was about to turn 30 and settling down with my now-husband Mark.

We launched at Spring Fair in 2014 with nine collections and a total of 90 cards. We now offer more than 600 products, have six full-time staff and work from our own warehouse in Leamington Spa. We have a team of freelance staff who pack our products. To be honest it is a real pinchme moment when you think about where we began.

Describe your style.

It has definitely evolved over the past 10 years but the one thing that has always been consistent is the use of colour in a way that is trend focused. I have always had a keen eye for colour and love how a great colour combination can evoke memories, or change your mood.

Colour is very powerful.

Everything I create is hand drawn or painted, I love creating type lock ups and playing with patterns. With all of our products I also try to push the boundary of paper engineering and finishes. When Raspberry Blossom launched in 2014 we had a collection that used GFSmith Colorplan paper stock and had hot foil finishes (against the advice of experienced heads telling me it would be too risky!) and I remember just simply disregarding the advice as I wanted something that felt luxe and stood out from the crowd. That philosophy for innovation has continued throughout our 10 years of existence as well as making sure that

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our products are great quality. We use wonderful print finishes and create designs that are quirky and playful and stand out on our customers’ shelves.

What about new ranges?

For 2024 we have more than 100 new greeting card additions across five new exciting everyday collections; Modern Life, Nurture, Sunshine, Bow-Wows & MeowsWows, and Little Joys.

Modern Life is a collection that stylishly finds the funny side of very relatable moments in present-day living, designed with contemporary hand-painted character, bold colour palette and foil finish. Nurture was created during reflection on our favourite collections from our 10 years of design. I love drawing flowers and wanted to introduce a collection with more subtle finishes. The Sunshine collection was inspired by our young nephew Oti, who reached remission following his battle with cancer. It is full of uplifting and supportive sentiments along with a bright colour palette.

Bow-Wows & Meow-Wows is a result of our Pawsome collection having a litter of their own! Cute, characterful and mini, these new designs are certainly going to be raising smiles. Little Joys takes our colourful and everyday inspiring designs and ramps up the adorable factor by 1,000%. The designs pack a lot in given their mini size as they feature a creative mix of special finishes, including shiny Spot-UV, emboss and die-cut shapes.

To complement the new Penny Kennedy licensing collaboration we have also launched six colourful flat wraps that are full of vibrancy and bold patterns.

What are your bestselling ranges/products?

Ooh we definitely have bestsellers throughout all of our collections, however I feel like the fastest-selling collections since launching in 2023 are Happiness and Big Love. Though our award-winning Pawsome collection is in most orders (I mean who doesn’t love a cute dog or fluffy cat!). We make sure that all of our collections can merchandise really well together so whether you choose something from our Say What? collection to our Canvas Creations, they look great together in store while appealing to different design tastes.

How do you support your retailers?

Over our 10 years we have always made sure that it is a partnership; our five core beliefs are quality, positivity, innovation, growth and togetherness. We listen to our retail partnerships, conduct surveys and always call to get feedback and as a result are able to create an offering and service that gives our customers what they want.

This year we are launching our super duper point of sale to ensure stores look wonderful and the customers are attracted to browse and purchase the products.

There is definitely no boring black spinner but so much joy and colour to match our products. We have really thought about what the customer wants and what will really make our products ping in store!

Will you be at Spring Fair?

Yes - we are also hosting cake and bubbles to celebrate our big 10-year anniversary at 3pm on Sunday 4 and Monday 5 February at Stand 3S25.

Raspberry Blossom wholesale@raspberryblossom.com

Hall 3, Stand S25

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show preview Spring Fair

Secrets that sparkle Best Kept Secrets, the British home fragrance brand, celebrates its 28th year as it prepares to welcome customers old and new at Spring Fair. Renowned for its vibrant fragrances, colourful wax, and signature sparkle, Best Kept Secrets is a nationwide favourite, emanating joy in every product.

Every candle and diffuser crafted by Best Kept Secrets is lovingly handmade or hand-poured in its Morpeth workshop, embracing the essence of local craftsmanship. While proudly rooted in its local community, Best Kept Secrets has a global ambition, recognising its role in creating products that not only captivate hearts but also prioritise the planet’s well-being.

At the core of Best Kept Secrets’ success lies an unwavering commitment to three pillars: quality, affordability, and sustainability. These principles have defined the brand and continue to be the driving force behind its growth.

New for Spring 2024

Best Kept Secrets is set to unveil an exciting array of new products and fragrances at Spring Fair. With the introduction of four new fragrances and an entirely new collection, the brand promises a fantastic retail solution and on-trend products for consumer success in 2024.

A standout feature of Best Kept Secrets’ Spring/Summer 2024 collections is the debut of a new vessel design. The new home fragrance range is housed in stunning decorative glass containers, boasting a captivating ombre effect. These vessels add a touch of luxury to any space, all without the premium price tag.

Best Kept Secrets sales@bestkeptsecrets.co.uk www.bestkeptsecrets.co.uk

Hall 4, Stand B36 32 www.greetingstoday.media

Eco-friendly art The Eco-friendly Card Co will be launching its new 2024 Art Cards brochure at Spring Fair. Featuring ranges created by 16 different artists, the new collections include blank art cards, occasion cards, calendars, Christmas card packs and popular notecard stationery designs. All of the cards published by The Eco-friendly Card Co are printed on 100% recycled FSC board, carbon-balanced with The World Land Trust and printed using vegetable based ink and alcoholfree print technology, powered by green energy.

Envelopes are also recycled, and cards come either packed in a compostable bag or ‘naked’ with a cardclasp label. The Eco-friendly Card Co offers more than 500 diverse blank art cards designs and has been supplying independent retailers across the UK for more than 30 years.

New releases include designs from quirky character artist, Nikky Corker, who marks 18 years with the publisher this year. Nikky says: “My inspiration comes from life itself and the little things that make us happy. Memories of carefree childhood holidays and the quirky The Eco-friendly Card Co humour that can be found in almost any situation. My motto is ‘crack a smile and pass it on’, and I am thrilled to watch the www.ecofriendly.cards response of people when they look at my paintings. What 01626 369269 better motivation is there than that?’’

Hall 3, Stand M52

Listening with Love

L

etterbox Love is excited to show you new collections at this year’s Spring Fair - you can find them in Hall 3 Stand R46.

The husband and wife duo have been listening to your feedback over the past 12 months and have created multiple new collections including

a Seeded Range and a dazzling new glitzy range in collaboration with a talented illustrator.

Pop over to the very pink stand at Spring Fair and see what they have been up to!

And contact them to request a free trade catalogue.

Letterbox Love 01773 475760 info@letterbox-love.co.uk

Hall 3, Stand R46

Village people

S

pring Fair is just around the corner and UK Greetings will be exhibiting once again as part of the Cardgains Village.

Having won the award for Best Words & Sentiment range at the Henries earlier this year, UK Greetings is previewing beautiful, editorially-led cards across all key captions as part of the display.

UK Greetings understands the importance of having the right words to strengthen connections of precious relationships.

In addition, UK Greetings will present some exciting new designs to its gift dressings line for 2024 - joining the Eco family are two beautiful new ranges, Bountiful Floral and Eco Botanical. They feature paper and die-cut handles, with the latter including a plant bag that perfectly fits with the foliage design.

Also, some fabulous male and female designs with bold collections such as Lux Animal Print and Blue Painterly Dash dazzling with their gold foil finishes, and gorgeous RHS, which continues to UK Greetings charm consumers. salesandservice@ukgreetings.co.uk For the first time in a long while, UK Greetings will be showcasing a fabulous new Christmas Charity boxed card range! The range includes popular UKG brands, Camden, Kindred and Boofle. There’s a wide choice of new designs available, including beautiful keepsake boxes.

Hall 3, Stand M10/N11 www.greetingstoday.media 33

SHOW PREVIEW SPRING FAIR

Hundreds of

new lines

‘’I got a little carried away!’’ says Kingfisher Cards managing director Paul Urban when reviewing this year’s Spring Fair offering. ‘’I decided that it was time for a bit of a refresh; even though designs were still selling well I was getting bored with them and thought we could do better.’’

The result is more than 200 new lines at Spring Fair for 2024 and a new Everyday catalogue that is 120 pages thick.Kingfisher has extended its most popular ranges including the Henries-winning Pixels range, has a fantastic new set of designs in the children’s Funfair range and a lovely new range of Relations and Open Birthday designed by Innis Styles.

‘I’ve been coming to this show for over 30 years now and I still get a buzz out of seeing returning customers and new prospects,’’ Paul tells us. ‘’My advice for all buyers is to remember it’s not a race and you are better to have a good look at some parts of the show that interest you rather than try to get around the whole thing.’’

The two things on the stand worth the visit? Definitely the Blast From the Past year cards and the new Decade cards.

Kingfisher Cards Ltd 01803 431515 sales@kingfishercards.co.uk www.kingfishercards.co.uk

Hall 3, Stand N35

Jonny be good Jonny Javelin will be showing off its 2024 Christmas collection, this year with the addition of two fabulous new ranges in Xmas Twilights and Poppets as well as adding new designs to the ever-popular Xmas Velvet, Signature, Fudge and Twingles collections.

Prices across all ranges and sizes have been maintained by Jonny Javelin for 2024 with the introduction of more titles in a code 65 size plus many more three-card packs for the second tier titles.

Also launching at the show and hot off the press are two new everyday ranges. These are Day Dreams (code 65/55) and Blossom month of the year birthdays, code 60. Stunning new sporty titles have also been added to the everyday Velvet range featuring male and female popular sports to suit everyone. Finally, don’t miss the gorgeous new baby selection in Signature, with many different styles, images and price codes to suit all baby and christening greetings and price points.

The Jonny Javelin Card Company 01423 563740 www.jonnyjavelin.co.uk 34 www.greetingstoday.media

Hall 3, Stand N40

SHOW PREVIEW SPRING FAIR

Three’s a charm…

E

arlybird Designs brings three new introductions to visitors to Spring Fair…

Embark on a journey of artistic elegance with Earlybird’s latest collection, which made its grand debut at Top Drawer and will appear at Spring Fair. Earlybird’s collaboration with the talented artist Nadia Taylor flourishes once again, unveiling six captivating new cards and two enchanting gift wraps to elevate her renowned collection.

Creative director Dom Early reflects on the partnership, stating: ‘’Having been part of Nadia’s creative journey from her first freelance gig, we take immense pride in the longevity of our collaboration. The addition of six new animal designs and two stunning gift wraps is a testament to the continued brilliance of her work.’’

Her work is a menagerie of artistic wonders - from charming pink octopi to the industrious buzz of bees, to the beautiful colour palette of the dragonflies. Each piece is a celebration of Nadia’s distinctive style, breathing new life into the beloved art range.

Printed on 100% recycled board textured board paired with a craft fleck envelope.

Also unveiled at the show is the expansion of Earlybird’s Buddy and Betty collection, with six delightful new card designs that promise to captivate hearts and spread joy.

36 www.greetingstoday.media

Immerse yourself in a world where adorable Funky Monkeys swing from branches, dapper dogs steal the spotlight, and capybaras exude their irresistible charm. Artist Emma Jayne Designs brings her signature touch to each creation, ensuring a perfect blend of artistry and kitsch quirkiness.

The Buddy and Betty range also now includes delightful thank you packs and is complemented by stunning gift wrap featuring the collection’s vibrant designs.

Earlybird is also embracing sustainability and is printing the collection on 100% recycled textured board.

Designer and co-founder, Dom Early, shares his excitement about the collaboration: ‘’Emma is always doing new designs, making it very easy to add fresh and exciting elements to this range. Thank you packs and wrap were always going to be a good idea. Also, we’re now printing on recycled textured board, and the results are great.’’

Earlybird Designs 01227765372 dom@earlybirddesigns.co.uk www.earlybirddesigns.co.uk

Hall 3, Stand Q35

Adorable capybara

Finally, introducing Capy and Co, the latest vibrant card collection by Earlybird, designed by owner and artist Dom Early.

Capy, featuring the charming capybara, was born out of a special request from one of Earlybird’s agents, who also happens to be a capybara enthusiast. Dom says: ‘’Caryn asked for a card, so I turned it into an entire range! It’s been an absolute joy bringing these new characters to life.’’

The use of neon inks, coupled with a spot UV and emboss finish, adds an extra touch of flair to the range, which is also printed on 100% recycled board.

The cards blend humour, vivid colours, adorable characters, and a hint of sarcasm, which means they are nestled seamlessly within the Earlybird portfolio.

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SHOW PREVIEW SPRING FAIR

New kids on

the Blocks

T

he Cath Tate Team is excited and ready for their 24th Spring Fair! A bumper crop of newness awaits, including a new children’s number card range: Birthday Blocks. This bright and joyful range is made up of nine A6 die-cut number cards - ages one to nine. The fun, colourful patterned numbers are enhanced with a spot gloss.

Teaming up with designer Betiobca, whose wry sense of humour is a perfect match for Cath Tate, they have produced 12 new quirky designs using playful typography and bold colours. And following on from the popular Lost Plots range launched last year, Cath Tate has paired up with Lost Plots artist Lisa Robson to create some fabulous new notebooks. Six

“Be sure to visit the stand as Cath Tate and the team will have a lucky dip to win various prizes including a number of winning tickets for money off orders”

bright and bold, brilliantly illustrated matte laminated, 192-page notebooks. A5 high quality perfect bound, 100gsm, lined paper.

Adding a literary touch to the offering is a new range of hand-illustrated designs by artist Lucy Stephens. Each design features quotes from beloved classic works of fiction, framed by beautiful illustrations relating to the stories.

And that’s not all! Cath Tate will be launching lots of new designs in its bestselling ranges.

Last but not least; there will be PRIZES! Be sure to visit the stand as Cath Tate and the team will have a lucky dip to win various prizes including a number of winning tickets for money off orders.

Cath Tate Cards

0208 671 2166 orders@cathtatecards.com www.cathtatecards.com

Hall 3, Stand P34

Handmade with love

F

ollowing a great Spring Fair last year, Cinnamon Aitch is back exhibiting on home ground with a show of delights for 2024. The company is very excited to launch two new card ranges, each focusing on handmade elements; Hodge Podge, and Monty & Pip. Hodge Podge is a 16-strong range featuring collaged artwork hand finished with an eclectic mix of buttons, beads and gems. Making this range completely unique is the die cut aperture on each design, which is embellished with a single thread across the cutout window, enhancing the illustrated artwork.

Perfect for anyone searching for a point of difference or a little uniqueness in their greeting card offering.

Monty & Pip is a colourful riot of a range with hand-cut lettered artwork joyfully spanning across die cut tags. Each tag is then individually attached by hand with an eyelet. Some designs are then beautifully finished with a gorgeous, bespoke little wooden component. Each made with love, care and attention, entirely in the UK. All the cards are printed on luxury FSC board, and supplied with a coordinating envelope in a recyclable cello.

The show will also see many new additions to favourite card ranges including

38 www.greetingstoday.media

popular Margo, with more mischievous animal antics with colourful pattern and design, Primrose Hill, which now sees beautiful wedding and baby titles alongside milestone age cards, and colourful Gypsy with its gorgeous artwork, foil, emboss and stunning shaped edges.

There are also new additions to the Cinnamon Aitch stationery ranges with new contemporary skinny notebooks and packs of little cards. There is also newness to the popular eco soaps, which have been extended providing perfectly coordinated handmade gifts.

All cards and gifts are beautifully Cinnamon Aitch designed, environmentally kind and 0121 773 6833 proudly made in the UK with love. This hello@cinnamonaitch.co.uk continues the Cinnamon Aitch story www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk demonstrating the strong signature of contemporary design alongside its enviable reputation for fine quality and friendly efficient service.

Hall 3, Stand P44

Perfect for

every occasion

T

he Art File is launching its stunning Everyday and Christmas collections at Spring Fair. This will feature more than 420 new designs across cards, gift packaging, stationery and gift products. There’s so much to see from these two collections, which showcase designs perfect for every occasion of the year.

Spring Fair will be the first time to see and experience The Art File’s new Christmas collection. This contains a showstopping series of cards and gift packaging offering design-rich, festive products. From award-winning Luxury Boxed cards to Charity packs, this launch contains more than 170 sparkling new designs and brings back favourite and bestselling ranges.

Retailers can expect to see new designs in every part of The Art File Christmas collection. Featuring bold new contemporary ranges such as Kitschmas alongside classical designs such as Green Sleeves, and a new Storybook Christmas card collection; this launch is a must-see for Spring Fair.

The new Art File Everyday collection will launch more than 250 designs at Spring Fair. This collection includes a gorgeous series of cards and gift packaging, alongside new stationery and gift products.

The Everyday collection features a variety of stunning new

card series such as Colourburst, Tiny But Mighty and Howdy, from the talented in-house design team, alongside beautiful new licensed ranges, a new charity card collection and many new gift wrap designs.

This new collection will also launch stationery and gift products that have already been a huge hit with Art File customers. These new collections feature striking designs and thoughtful added touches, which further elevate the design and add a higher-quality finish.

Retailers can expect to see a series of Tote Bags, A5 Notebooks, Magnetic List Pads and much more as part of The Art File’s stationery and gift collections.

Spring Fair will be the first time to view and experience all of these gorgeous products. Visit The Art File at Hall 3, Stand P11 to experience the full collections in person for the first time. If you’d like to browse The Art File collections sooner, head to The Art File website to request a trade brochure in advance of the show.

Come see The Art File at Spring Fair at Hall 3, Stand P11, visit the website at www.theartfiletrade.com or contact The Art File at sales@theartfile.com

The Art File sales@theartfile.com www.theartfiletrade.com

Hall 3, Stand P11 www.greetingstoday.media 39

PROFILE...

LOUISE TILER DESIGNS

Magic behind the

scenes…

Hall 3, Stand S11

Louise Tiler Designs is celebrating its 10th anniversary, with magical new children’s cards, birthday designs, and extensions to its existing popular ranges…

B

ehind the scenes in the Louise Tiler Designs studio there has been a buzz of creativity in the air as the design fairies set up magical wonderland scenes to photograph the new children’s ranges ready for releasing in the January catalogue.

Following the great success launching children’s ranges last year, Louise Tiler Designs has extended its offering of cards for 2024, featuring vibrant colours, intricate illustrations and gold foil finishes. The Kids Tiny Sparkles range is suitable for young children with a love of whimsical fairy tales, animals, robots, and funky monsters. Each of the new children’s cards comes with a bespoke Louise Tiler printed envelope and measures 170mm by 120mm.

hand-painted designs to packing the cards, in-house in the warehouse adjacent to the studio so Louise and the team can follow the fulfilment of their product from production to its delivery.

The business and studio is proud to be a family affair and Louise aims to run a creative business full of happiness and positivity! 2024 marks 10 years of

“After 10 years I am so grateful to have a design business that I love, that supports my dreams and family, and which wouldn’t be possible without every single customer who places an order with us and those who we have worked with so far, including agents, our licensing partnerships and our team here. I will be forever grateful and would like to say thank you to everyone!”

Louise Tiler Louise Tiler first opening its doors to the greeting card world, distributing cards throughout the UK and to more than 21 countries. During this time Louise has been named New Designer of the Year, and has since gone on to be named Most Promising Young designer 2017 at the prestigious Henries Awards, as well as receiving global recognition and awarded an international award at the ‘Louies’ in 2018, a US programme honouring the best cards in the industry.

To mark the company’s 10th year, Louise will be launching a new website showcasing an array of new cards and collections.

In line with the establishment of the publishing business, this year will also mark 10 years since its first trade show at PG Live followed shortly after by Spring Fair where as always Louise will be launching new collections and showcasing her hand-drawn, colourful cards.

Louise’s design studio in the centre of West Yorkshire is where all the greeting card collections are hand-painted with gouache and manipulated on the computer to create the detailed and unique illustrations that form Louise Tiler’s signature design style. Every care is taken from the creation of the

40 www.greetingstoday.media

Louise Tiler Designs 01535 957878 contact@louisetiler.co.uk www.louisetiler.com

Family biz!

Owners Louise and Gavin have been together 20 years. They joined forces when Louise Tiler Designs started to take off Gavin stepped in to help run the business to allow Louise’s creativity to flow!

Dots & Dashes Along with the new children’s ranges, Louise Tiler Designs is launching a vibrant and contemporary everyday birthday card range - Dots & Dashes with eye-catching birthday icons, polka dot patterns and luxurious gold foil finishes. There are 20 new designs in the range and these new colourful cards will be available on the Louise Tiler website from January onwards.

Mini Paws After winning ‘Best Cute Range’ at the Henries, Louise has continued to focus on creating very cute and endearing animal greeting card designs.

The Mini Paws collection is just one of the charming ranges that heavily feature animals, including a collection of cards for birthdays and expanding into seasonal captions for Valentine’s Day and Christmas. These hand-painted illustrations feature fluffy doggies inspired by their own studio dogs in the offices and design studio, bringing a real ‘aww’ factor to the range! The everyday doggie range is finished with gold foil, is super cute and colourful, and perfect for all dog lovers.

show preview Spring Fair

Celebrating

20 years “Would you believe this will be our 20th year in business! CRIKEY,’’ say Laura and Ross at Laura Darrington. “From a small start-up thrown together with a Prince’s Trust loan, to celebrating a second decade in the greeting card game - we are very proud to be still here.’’

In line with the brand’s 20th year celebrations, it will be launching the following new collections at this year’s Spring Fair: Honcho Collection (Male Birthday) Bloom Collection (Female Everyday) As well as new additions to the following: Spectrum Collection (Blank everyday) Artbox (Juvenile Birthday) Aurora (Square Everyday) They ask that stockists/agents/friends past and present, come and find them in Hall 3, Stand S31 and help celebrate this 20th year in operation.

Laura Darrington www.lauradarrington.com

Hall 3, Stand S31

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show preview Spring Fair

30th anniversary

collection

A

fter months of planning, the team at Enesco will be showcasing their impressive portfolio to the world of giftware at Spring Fair. 2024 is extra special as they present their newly designed stand and start the celebrations for the gift specialist’s 30th anniversary.

Enesco prides itself on compelling storytelling and a rich heritage of craftsmanship and innovation, through global brands such as Disney, Harry Potter, Beatrix Potter and Willow Tree.

In 1994 Enesco acquired the renowned British miniature collectibles brand Lilliput Lane, known for its intricate handcrafted cottages and Border Fine Arts, an esteemed company located in the Scottish Borders, known for its exceptional handcrafted sculptures and figurines. Success stories such as Cherished Teddies, one of the leading collectables of its time, Walt Disney Art Classics, and premier soft toy company GUND were to follow, plus all the recognised brands of today .

Enesco is all about branded giftware. Everything included in its offering is exclusive to Enesco, with the majority being licensed, and a number include unique artist collaborations.

A great example is award-winning artist Jim Shore, the artist behind Heartwood Creek, Disney Traditions, Looney Tunes, Willy Wonka and The Elf and The Grinch – a showcase of new introductions will be exhibited at Spring Fair.

For over 30 years Enesco, following on from Border Fine Arts, has been a Beatrix Potter licensee. The awardwinning brand boasts a breadth of product including Gift, Baby, Home , Soft Toys and Souvenir. The highlight of the 2024 collection is the reimagined Ladies Accessories range, now adorned with the all-new English Garden pattern design. This intricate and picturesque pattern graces a variety of products including a cushion, sofa/bed throw, umbrella, compact mirror, wash bag, tote bag, glasses case, scarf, vase, keepsake box, and a selection of mugs.

For 2024 Enesco has a new distribution partnership adding the enchanting world of Le Petit Prince to its portfolio of licensed giftware, offering a selection of products that

42 www.greetingstoday.media

include beloved characters and stories from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic masterpiece. Le Petit Prince, known for its timeless and heartwarming tales, has captured the imagination of readers worldwide since 1943. Now, through this partnership, Enesco will be a distributor of Le Petit Prince products, bringing a touch of literary magic to many households. From the endearing Little Prince to the wise fox, retailers can now showcase an array of crafted merchandise inspired by the playful world of Le Petit Prince. The initial product range will include a selection of stationery items, figurines, water bottles, pin badges, key rings, mugs, tote bags, and badges.

Since March 2023 Enesco has been in a distribution agreement with Newell Brands distributing Yankee Candle. WoodWick and Chesapeake Bay to the UK and Eire markets.

Combined with Enesco’s Home Fragrance ranges from Ireland - Eau Lovely, Irish Botanicals, Herb Dublin and Wild Fern - Enesco has become a major supplier in the home fragrance category. With much anticipation Spring Fair will see the launch of Autumn/ Winter 2024 collection from Yankee Candle and WoodWick as well as showcasing the Spring/Summer 2024 collections.

Kloche is Enesco’s first eco-friendly collection. With a timeless design, produced with a glass dome and from sustainable sourced wood, this world of miniature now includes the birthday milestone offering , fitting perfectly with Enesco’s 30th anniversary.

From the same design team in the UK as Kloche, Wild & Wood is new from Enesco for 2024 and is set to put a smile on the face of those lucky enough to receive one.

These wooden flower 3D figurine cards can be delivered in person or through a letterbox!​

Enesco 01228 404022 uksales@enesco.co.uk www.enesco.co.uk

Hall 4, Stand B60 - C61 & C60 – D61

TM

Spring Fair 4 th - 7 th February Celebrating our 10 th anniversary of inspiring everyday moments of joy with our colourful products.

2024 will see Raspberry Blossom bring more colour, more joy and more success to your retail offering: - Over 100 new greeting cards launched this January

STAND 3S25

- New retail display units filled with colour and perfect for merchandising our products - New gift and homeware with Widdop & Co. and New gift packaging with Penny Kennedy Come and see us at Spring Fair Stand 3S25 or contact us for a new catalogue.

raspberryblossom.com • wholesale@raspberryblossom.com • +44 (0)1926 257757 *UHHWLQJV 7RGD\ -DQXDU\ $GYHUW LQGG

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ARTIST FOCUS JIT PATEL, THE SEED CARD COMPANY

A seed of an idea..

Jit Patel, artist at The Seed Card Company, talks about his art and his influences…

Tell us a little about the story behind you becoming an artist.

What do you do if you have a creative block?

Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve always been creative. Doodling, drawing and mainly playing instruments. This led me down the path of studying music at university. Designing to a professional standard started in 2009 after quitting my day job, travelling the world for eight months and setting up our first business, Intricate Creations, which provides high-end wedding and event stationery for discerning clientele and companies. This company allowed my creativity to flow as our clients allowed true creative freedom. Then in 2020 we set up The Seed Card Company, which was my first true foray into the greeting cards world.

Taking the dog for a walk or playing the piano usually does the trick, or alternatively taking a break and going out with friends; a ‘few’ drinks usually kickstart things again!

What inspires you?

This is a hard question but as most artists will most likely answer, inspiration can come at any time and take any form. This could be a piece of music I listen to or play, a trip abroad, a walk with my dog or (and this is true), waking up at 3am having a dream about a design style and getting to work on it in the morning.

Do you have any artist ‘heroes’ that inspire your work - and why?

This is a strange one as my heroes are musicians such as Hanz Zimmer and Audio Machine who create such inspiring epic music. When listening to them, the creativity sky rockets and I get lost in the process of designing.

What was your very first card design?

Our All the Dots collection was my very first greeting card collection inspired by my son (who was 18 months at the time) who loved to say the word ‘alllllll’. So I took that and made a collection with literally ALLLLLLL the dots!

What do you like about working in the greeting card industry?

The people! I have worked in many industries over my varied career and never have I come across such an open, honest and welcoming group of people who are never too busy to impart some wisdom, advise us or just have a good old chin wag.

What do you do in your spare time?

Having two businesses and a five-year-old, the very little down time I do get is usually spent doing almost nothing. I find solitude in doing very little after being go go go for most of the day. Playing the piano, watching a movie, a good box set or even reviving my inner child and having a go on the PS5 are usually top of my list.

Is there a famous person or celebrity who you would love to design a card for - or send one of your existing cards to - and why?

Fortunately, I have already had this dream fulfilled as I was fortunate enough to design something for the late Queen Elizabeth II, which was presented to her. I don’t think it gets better than that, but if I had to choose someone else it would have to be David Attenborough just because the man is a living legend and shares my love for animals.

‘’Floral work and super detailed patterns are my favourite. Working in weddings and events for so many years I suppose this style almost chose me’’ Talk us through how the process works when you design a card.

It usually starts with a team meeting, we go through ideas and what everyone has as a vision for our next collections. We go through the pros and cons of each and decide on the heavy hitter ideas. Next it is over to me to sketch or roughly design ideas, typefaces and colour palettes. Once the rest of the team approves (which can take a fair few rounds!), I am let loose and left to my own devices to bring the collection to life. This involves my computer and ridiculous sized screens, some headphones, chocolate and no interruptions. The process can take a day, or months depending on how creative I am feeling.

What’s your favourite subject to draw/design and why?

Floral work and super detailed patterns are my favourite. Working in weddings and events for so many years I suppose this style almost chose me.

44 www.greetingstoday.media

The Seed Card Company 020 7183 5334 trade@theseedcardcompany.com www.theseedcardcompany.com Hall 3, Stand P15

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show preview Spring Fair

Alljoy Design

Alljoy Design will be highlighting new designs in its award-winning ranges, with new Message in a Bottle card designs and 24 new Miniature World 3D Square cards. With 31 new Message in a Bottle designs available now, the collection has nearly 200 designs to choose from.

In addition the team is bringing new designs to the Wobbly Heads range. These fun cards actually wobble their heads and are fun for all age groups. There are 11 cute new animals featured in this range plus ages one to eight.

The laser cut Blossom range is increasing with another 22 designs, including New Baby, Happy Anniversary and general birthday cards. There are now more than 60 designs, including ages from 18 to 100.

Also launching at Spring Fair will be the new Mixed Format spinner, bringing together the Message in a Bottle cards along with the 3D square ranges. There are two offers for this spinner, which provides the perfect solution to display these cards. The spinner will be at the show, with deliveries for February available.

Finally there’s a Secret Show Promotion; pop on Alljoy Design to the stand, or ask your sales agent for details. info@alljoydesign.com The Alljoy team is looking forward to seeing you at the show; any questions email info@alljoydesign. com or speak to one of its fabulous sales agents.

Hall 3, Stand L25

Winning designs Ling Design is one of the longest-established publishers of premium greeting cards, supplying 27 countries worldwide.

Each design in the Ling Design collection is created by a talented team of inhouse artists, illustrators and designers. They love to explore new design trends to complement the signature artist’s style, providing customers with a complete offering including Everyday, Occasion and Relations, and Christmas. Recently awarded Winner of Best Christmas Box or Pack at the Henries Awards 2023.

Visit the Ling Design stand and discover more than 600 new Christmas 2024 designs including boxes, wallets, singles, charity packs and advent calendars.

Ling Design 01892 838574 | hello@lingdesign.co.uk

Hall 3, Stand L10-M11

Garden art

Cotswolds-based artist Georgina Fairhurst has produced a delightful new range of garden and countryside designs for Clanna Cards.

The Georgina’s Garden range focuses on formal garden scenes including the National Trust’s beautiful Hidcote Gardens in the Cotswolds. Cottage gardens and coastal landscapes are also depicted and all feature a vibrant selection Clanna Cards of flowers.

01242 575754 The cards are clannacards@hotmail.com all 7x5in and come unwrapped www.clannacardsandvisoni.com with bands or cello wrapped.

Hall 3, Stand M51

46 www.greetingstoday.media

Meet Lola!

At the heart of Lola Design’s offerings are enchanting greeting cards, personally conceptualised and designed by Lola herself. Reflecting her artistic vision and meticulous attention to detail, each card is printed on 100% recycled premium-quality paper sourced from FSCcertified suppliers, and stationery is printed using environmentally friendly vegetable inks.

Lola Design prioritises high production standards, sustainability, and welfare, ensuring that every product meets stringent quality benchmarks.

With a huge array of new products being launched at Spring Fair, Lola Design invites visitors to explore the latest offerings, including the new Full Bloom & Wonder World cards, packs of notecards, and botanical Lola Design stationery collections.

01904 900141 Additionally, a thrilling sales@loladesigntd.com licensing collaboration will be announced www.loladesignltd.com soon and launched at Spring Fair!

Hall 3, Stand S24

FOCUS ON...

NETHERTON’S

A business with heart

Cornwall-based Netherton’s welcomes a new addition to its business family - artist Jess Harrington

01872 496078 | info@nethertons.com | www.nethertons.com Netherton’s has been in business since 2011 and changed hands from its original owners Robin and Shirley Netherton to its current owner Nikki in April 2020.

Nikki was working with the company for 18 months before Robin and Shirley decided to retire.

Like so many of its customers, Netherton’s remains small and family run and places every business at its very heart. The primary focus is to work as a support to all its accounts, which in recent years has become more important than ever.

This year, Netherton’s has welcomed new artist Jess Harrington from Wild Blue Hare studios. Working from picturesque Cornwall, Jess creates both prints and clothing out of her studio, keeping planet wholeness at the forefront of her work. She uses earthfriendly, vegan inks, recycled materials (where possible), uses UK suppliers and is a plastic-free trader. Jess’s exquisite lino cut prints, deeply rooted in the scenic beauty of Cornwall, arrive just in time for spring and the busy tourist season ahead.

Jess joins Netherton’s diverse and talented family of artists and her unique style adds to the eclectic mix, ensuring a perfect card for every customer.

FOCUS ON...

THE PAINTBOX

In a significant development, 2023 saw Netherton’s merge its Christian card business into the Netherton’s family. This expansion brings an even broader range of cards under one roof. A valuable step towards greater inclusivity and variety, it makes the collection more accessible to everyone. This range is constantly evolving, focusing on the trends within the Christian family with the help and input of the community itself.

Not only focused on aesthetics, the company’s commitment to the planet holds strong. Netherton’s takes pride in being environmentally conscious, using sustainably sourced materials for all its cards, believing in making a difference, one card at a time.

Although Netherton’s will not be at this year’s Spring Fair, join in celebrating the joy of giving with a card by ordering online at www.nethertons.com.

Art cards are 150 x 150mm or 107 x 217mm (panoramic), Christian cards are a mix of 150 x 150mm and 120 x 170mm, biodegradable cello wrapped or ‘naked’.

All printed here in the UK and on FSC board. Cards are sold in packs of six.

The wonder of Woolies Introducing The Woolies from The Paintbox, an award-winning publisher of Welsh language cards and gifts. The publisher has adapted one of its bestselling ranges of sheep and farm animal cards for the whole UK market.

Emma Caresimo says: ‘’There are more than 24 million sheep in the UK, and I guess growing up in Wales I have been surrounded by sheep all my life. So I created a range for these super cute animals - The Woolies.’’

These cute and quirky sheep can be found in 32 everyday captions, birthday, baby, graduation, thanks, thinking of you, anniversary, wedding, and many more. They can be seen playing football and rugby and there are four designs that are hugely popular with rugby fans, as there are Irish , Scottish , Welsh and English playing sheep with their home kits on. There’s a great selection of Christmas cards available too. ‘’These cards are perfect for rural areas as they are always in a green outdoor setting with rolling hills and can be found on tractors and partying with cows and horses ,’’ adds Emma. ‘’There’s also a sheepdog to keep an eye on the flock.

They are great for farm shops too. As we are a small publisher we are also able to offer a bespoke service where we can personalise any of these cards to your shop in low quantities.’’

The Welsh Woolies have been such a success in Wales that The Paintbox has developed its designs into gifts such as calendars, stationery, Christmas tree decorations, notebooks and soon a plush.

All cards are printed in the UK on 350gsm forestry approved board and are fully recyclable. They come in packs of six and there is no minimum order quantity.

07740 111153 emma@the-paintbox.com www.welshgreetingcards.com 46 www.greetingstoday.media

www.greetingstoday.media 47

FEATURE

PRODUCT LAUNCHER

And now for the news…

A new year means it’s time for new products. Here’s a selection of what we have to look forward to in 2024…

The Art File

In 2024, The Art File will launch more than 230 beautiful new card designs, four new wrap and bag stories, new stationery including notebooks, desk calendars and magnetic list pads, and for the first time, reusable tote bags made from recycled cotton.

Key new card ranges include The Bigger Picture, an environmental charity card collection, which brings light to the importance of fighting climate change and protecting our planet. The Bigger Picture contains 21 stunning photographic cards, each containing a unique animal or landscape from around the world. These breathtaking cards are framed in white, come with a white envelope and display the iconic global warming stripes on the back. These cards are sustainably sourced, fully recyclable and printed with vegetable inks. Furthermore, 10% of the revenue from the sale of this card range will be donated to Cool Earth Action (Cool Earth). Cool Earth champions the relationship between people, rainforest, and climate.

The Art File is also publishing several other new must-see ranges including Colourburst, Tiny But Mighty, and Little Gestures, all of which are sure to turn heads and capture the imagination of shoppers all over the country.

Colourburst truly is as colourful as it is captivating, featuring vibrant illustrations of garden fruits, flowers, and vegetables.

Created by The Art File’s in-house designer, Claire Mayes, every illustration is hand-drawn before being digitally At Spring Fair, British home fragrance brand Best Kept Secrets will be launching its new enhanced and perfected. Each designed with a bold colour Luminescent Collection, which is set to be a highlight of the Spring/Summer 2024 collection. palette, these cards look great by themselves but even better This on-trend candle range features a new vessel design - a new decorative glass with a as a complete collection. stylish ombre effect. The Luminescence Collection offers a touch of luxury without the Little Gestures is an exciting new range from now householdpremium price tag. The collection also features four new fragrances, which will appeal yearname designer, Sara Miller London. This stunning new collection round to retail. As with all Best Kept Secrets products, the new Luminescence Collection comes from Sara Miller is perfect for every occasion. It contains 16 with a number of retail solutions to suit retailers of all sizes. sparkling new cards, each designed for card-givers everywhere.

Best Kept Secrets also remains committed to providing exceptional quality, affordable prices, These beautiful cards feature textured gold foil and come witha and sustainable practices, and this new home fragrance collections from the brand remains luxury ivory envelope for a high-quality finish. under £10.

Tiny But Mighty celebrates every occasion of life with its

Best Kept Secrets

thoughtful and minimalistic designs.

This beautiful collection was designed by talented in-house designer, Claire, and is printed on a lovely textured board. Every design is tastefully finished with cold foil, embossing and debossing, and comes with a luxury ivory envelope.

On top of these, The Art File is also launching seven other new card ranges, as well as range extensions for popular collections including Storybook, Natural Phenomenon, Bear, Sara Miller London, Toby The Dog, Ink & Shadow and much more!

sales@theartfile.com www.theartfiletrade.com 48 www.greetingstoday.media

sales@bestkeptsecrets.co.uk | www.bestkeptsecrets.co.uk

Eco-friendly Card Co

Hot off the press from the Eco-friendly Card Co is a new collection of art cards from artist Julia Crossland. Inspired by the British coast and countryside, Julia creates illustrative mixed media paintings from her riverside studio in Yorkshire. She enjoys going out with her sketchbook for walks, observing the birds and wildlife, the colours and textures of the landscape and the change of seasons. She uses all these influences to create collections of work that convey a sense of story that is reflected in this new card collection. Cards are printed on a 100% recycled textured FSC certified board, carbon-balanced with The World Land Trust. 153mm square, the cards are supplied either with a compostable bag or ‘naked’ with a card clasp label and white textured 100% recycled envelopes. Christmas card packs featuring Julia’s designs are also available.

01626 369269 | hello@ecofriendly.cards | www.ecofriendly.cards

Jonny Javelin 01423 563740 www.jonnyjavelin.co.uk The Jonny Javelin design team has created a super, totally new look in their brand new range - Day Dreams, launched this January. The Day Dreams designs are exquisite and contemporary with a dreamy and airy feel. Initially they have launched with two price points – both in a slim size enhanced with stunning finishes with embossing and gorgeous gold satin foiling. There are 17 relation birthdays and open anniversaries in Code 65, with a leaf insert and short meaningful message continued from the greeting on the front. In Code 55 there are seven open birthdays – male and female with the same quality finishes but full colour print on the reverse.

Joe Davies An explosion of flowers that heralds the arrival of spring brings itself into the stylish new Equilibrium Floral Accents Collection from Joe Davies (Hall 4, Stand C10-D11). Combining delicate Mother of Pearl flowers, genuine freshwater pearls and soft pastel beads gives this pretty collection a graceful, yet innovative feel. For ladies who want to embrace their femininity these soft pastel necklaces, earrings and bracelets really have been designed with you in mind. All plated with real silver and gold, this pretty pastel range is set to be one of the most popular ewellery picks of the season.

Eternally popular, coastal style sets most of us dreaming of seaside getaways but with this charming new Sandy Bay collection it’s easy to bring the beachy look home! The range encompasses plaques, photo frames, key hooks and decorative houses all incorporating natural textures like rope, soft colours with a ‘pop’ of red, anchors, lighthouses, boats and tactile weathered wood… perfect home accessories or gifts to remember special days at the beach!

0161 975 6300 | sales@joedavies.co.uk www.joedavies.co.uk .49

FEATURE

PRODUCT LAUNCHER

Kingfisher Cards

Blast From the Past. Kingfisher Cards’ fantastically popular year cards are back and now cover 12 milestone ages in their bright, fun tri-fold format. With an astonishingly great value code 75 price point these are a real proven winner. Alongside these are the new code 60, also tri-fold Decade cards that offer an alternative for people whose birthday is not a milestone age.

A great new range of designs from the brush of Innis Styles adds a classic traditional touch to the Kingfisher Cards mix. With 18 Code 75 Male and Female relations and 12 Code 50 square Open Birthday this will be a range that hits the mark. The artwork is beautifully traditional yet at the same time bright and vibrant. A must see!

The Henries-winning Pixels range expands with lovely new Open Birthday and more than 30 new relations, ages and occasions. The eye-catching foil work, which helped the range become Kingfisher Cards’ second Henries success in the last three years, is once again the focal point of the new range. The combination of pastel colours and pixelated foil really does catch the eye and is a great addition to any greeting card display.

01803 431515 sales@kingfishercards.co.uk www.kingfishercards.co.uk

Laura Darrington

Brand new for 2024, Laura Darrington launches its newest masculine range: The Honcho Collection.

Brim-full of contemporary designs with a retro palette, these are perfect for any Head Honcho.

Comprising 24 marvellous male manifestations, printed with a luxurious silver foil and finished off with a bespoke pinstriped envelope.

To see them in all their glory, pop along to Hall 3, Stand S31 at Spring Fair.

www.lauradarrington.com 50 www.greetingstoday.media

UK Greetings Christmas may have been and gone but it’s never too early to start thinking about this year’s cards!

And like all the best selection boxes, UK Greetings has something for every taste with a variety of festive treats on offer.

Whether customers are searching for a traditional One I Love card with a stunning scene and heartfelt words, a stylish Wife design finished with gold foil, or simply want a dog wearing antlers, UKG’s Christmas line continues to expand on best-selling and beloved ranges alongside new and exciting innovations.

Appealing animated plasticine characters and heart-warming humour make Crackers a festive family favourite. The Mum & Dad design is perfect to send to parents who really do make Christmas special.

Ho-ho-hope you like them!

salesandservice@ukgreetings.co.uk

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Feature...

Christmas

Yuletide greetings You may have barely finished the last mince pies and Christmas cake, but now is the time to think about orders for the 2024 festive season. Here’s some inspiration…

Dominic Early from Earlybird Designs talks about Christmas orders…

Christmas is only just be over - why should retailers start ordering now?

Christmas is fresh in their minds! They know what sold, what was popular, and what customers asked for but they didn’t have, so it’s actually the perfect time to order Christmas. Plus it helps everyone with planning and budgeting for the year. I always feel like it starts the year as you mean to go on, organised and excited for what’s ahead.

Are there any trends in this sector that we can look out for?

We have launched new relations because we have seen that it is a growing sector. If the card has an embellishment like foil or emboss but it is still fully recyclable then customers really like that. Also our new Christmas range has a fun and cheeky element which is definitely a good vibe at Christmas.

What ranges are you especially excited about?

We know that our new Christmas has sold well for our retail store in 2023 so it is great to show them off to our trade customers.

Knowing the bestsellers gives us fantastic confidence when directing our customers so we really feel it is the best Christmas launch we have ever done.

52 www.greetingstoday.media

“It often seems strange to be asking retailers to place Christmas orders so early when we have just got over last Christmas. But for publishers trying to ensure they have enough stock to cover all orders (and hopefully the top-up orders that come later) it means that the early buying gives them a better chance to gaze into the crystal ball and get the stock numbers right” Paul Urban, MD, Kingfisher Cards

Earlybird Designs 01227765372 dom@earlybirddesigns.co.uk www.earlybirddesigns.co.uk

Hot foiled Christmas cards will be debuted by Earlybird at Spring Fair at Hall 3, Stand Q35. ‘’Heidi, my wife and business partner, asked me to design some new relation cards for our shop for 2023. We knew if they were a success we’d take them to trade in 2024,’’ says chief designer Dom Early.

He explains: ‘’As soon as they hit our shelves in November we were delighted with how well they sold. We now have so much confidence launching them at Spring Fair.’’

From Farting sprouts for brother to a Claussome Uncle, the designs are fun and colourful, with the added bonus of being printed on 100% recycled board with a gold foil finish. ‘‘Our shop is a great barometer for sales and as we have now got through Christmas we can pass on the feedback to our wholesale customers,’’ says Dom. ‘’I am happy to report sales were really strong - with the farting sprouts being the strongest!’’

The Art File sales@theartfile.com www.theartfiletrade.com

The Art File is launching its 2024 Christmas collection at Spring Fair.

This collection contains a showstopping series of cards and gift packaging that offer designrich, festive collections celebrating the most magical time of year.

The launch includes more than 170 sparkling new designs and brings back bestselling and favourite ranges across cards and gift packaging. From new Luxury Boxed Cards and Charity Packs to bestselling gift wrap and bags, there is so much to see in this stunning Christmas collection.

Retailers can expect to see seven new designs in The Art File’s award-winning Luxury Boxed Cards, alongside new charity packs, Christmas singles, relations cards and much more.

Some of The Art File’s notable new collections include bold new contemporary looks such as Kitschmas, classical designs such as Green Sleeves, and a new Storybook Christmas cards collection. This collection will also bring back beloved Christmas favourites in cards and gift wrap such as Countryside Christmas, St. Nicholas Street and many more.

There are five gorgeous new gift packaging designs, which include roll wrap, a variety of gift bags and matching accessories, alongside 18 new roll wrap and flat wrap festive designs.

Spring Fair will be the first time to view and experience all of these gorgeous products. Visit The Art File at Hall 3, Stand P11 to experience the full collection in person for the first time. If you’d like to browse The Art File collection sooner, head to The Art File website to request a trade brochure in advance of the show.

Cherry Orchard 01684 295500 info@cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk www.cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk

The Cherry Orchard team is thrilled with their Christmas 2024 collection and they have launched their Christmas brochure, with copies available now. The collection caters for all - from popular titles to those hard-to-find but well loved titles. There’s a great variety of traditional, cute, modern and the popular Grace designs, giving plenty of choice to customers. Getting Christmas stock on display earlier has proved to be a great success for retailers, so plan ahead to be ready for the Christmas rush.

www.greetingstoday.media 53

Feature...

Christmas

The Eco-friendly Card Co 01626 369269 www.ecofriendly.cards

If you’re looking for Christmas cards made from 100% recycled paper then The Eco-friendly Card Co has a lovely selection of art and photographic packs to choose from. The art-card Christmas collection includes designs from 12 different artists covering a variety of creative mediums including collage, traditional watercolours, fabric art and paper craft. Often with themes from the natural world, these packs contain 10 cards (five each of two designs) and are 120mm square.

Photographic packs featuring images of British wildlife are also available in support of the Wildlife Trusts. Available in two sizes (153mm square and 120mm square) the packs include a 55p or 45p donation in support of the charity. All Christmas cards are printed on 100% recycled FSC board, carbon-balanced with The World Land Trust, and supplied with 100% recycled envelopes.

Jonny Javelin

01423 563740 | www.jonnyjavelin.co.uk Xmas Poppets is the new cute range for 2024. Delightful, quaint figures with a nostalgic and whimsical feel that will no doubt elicit the ‘aahhh factor’. All finished beautifully with silver foil, red flitter and lovely embossing – the backgrounds include a deep midnight blue and a soft pale grey with lots of snowballs and cute pet friends (even more aaahh factor). There are two sizes – code 75 and code 60 – both with a colour printed leaf insert.

Xmas Twilights is a new look from Jonny Javelin for Xmas 2024. Enchanting and frosty landscape illustrations with appealing, elegant figures set on an atmospheric winter’s eve. Delicately finished with opulent, gold satin fluted foil, red flitter and embossing. There are two sizes – code 75 and code 65 – both with a colour printed leaf insert.

Xmas Velvet is consistently Jonny Javelin’s bestselling Christmas range. Velvet fans will not be disappointed with the wonderful additions to this ever-popular Christmas classic. Brand new designs that sit in all the traditional top selling categories will continue to appeal.

The design team has created new and enhanced stylised images set on a mix of coloured backgrounds to give the Signature Seasons range a younger and trendier look, complementing the more traditional Christmas ranges.

A fresh and cool blue background with the usual bright and glittery finishes has been incorporated in the new Christmas Twingles designs, which are for the more juvenile market.

Finally, a fresh new look with pale minty green backdrops for the ‘dependable doggy’ range Fudge & Friends has been added.

Kingfisher Cards

01803 431515 | sales@kingfishercards.co.uk | www.kingfishercards.co.uk Great new designs sit alongside the top sellers in a great mix of product for 2024 Xmas. With a blend of styles from Traditional to Wordy to Contemporary plus a good selection of cute for the kids, this is a well-balanced, well priced commercial range.

54 www.greetingstoday.media

As usual, all product is produced on lovely Fedrigoni 300gsm board, designed and printed in the UK and offers great quality and value for money.

Catalogues for Xmas 2024 are available at the Kingfisher Cards Spring Fair stand - Hall 3, Stand N35.

All present

FOCUS ON...

GIFTS FOR CARD SHOPS

and correct Looking for the perfect gifts to complement your greeting card offering? Look no further!

Enesco

Best Kept

Secrets Created to give you the perfect gift for any occasion, the bestselling Just Because Collection of scented candles, gorgeous gift boxes and tea lights from Best Kept Secrets, features its signature colourful and sparkly home fragrances, and comes in a vessel containing meaningful or fun messages for every occasion. The rebrand and expansion of this stunning home fragrance range reflects the brand’s commitment to provide pricesensitive retail and consumer choice, an ethos that has seen the brand grow year on year.

This collection has proved particularly popular for greeting card retailers looking for the perfect, cost-effective gift to accompany their card collections. What all of Best Kept Secrets’ home fragrance products offer card shops is an opportunity for their customers to purchase quality, meaningful, and sentimental gifts under £10. Best Kept Secrets remains steadfast in its commitment to providing exceptional quality, affordable prices, and sustainable practices. Find Best Kept Secrets in Hall 4, Stand B36 at Spring Fair.

sales@bestkeptsecrets.co.uk | www.bestkeptsecrets.co.uk

Rainbow

Designs Rainbow Designs will showcase many of its beautiful licensed character ranges of high-quality forever toys and gifts at Spring Fair (Hall 3, Stand M10-N11). Bestselling nursery gift ranges on display will include: Peter Rabbit Once Upon a Time and Deluxe Signature Peter Rabbit collections, Classic Paddington and Paddington for Baby, and Disney’s Winnie the Pooh Hundred Acre Wood and Always and Forever ranges, alongside the luxury Mickey Mouse Memories collection.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Disney’s The Lion King, in February Rainbow will welcome the new Disney Baby Lion King range. There will also be a new addition to the award-winning Bedtime Cuddles Nightlights range, with Winnie the Pooh available for autumn/winter.

Rainbow will also be celebrating the 30th anniversary of Guess How Much I Love You, 35th anniversary of Elmer, the 55th birthday of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the 90th anniversary of Disney’s Donald Duck next year, with new product releases!

2024 is set to be a huge year for Paddington, with the highly anticipated release of a new movie. Joining the renowned Classic Paddington collection will be Paddington in Boots presented in a classic Phone Box-style packaging.

01329 277300 | www.rainbowdesigns.co.uk

Enesco, a global leader in giftware, introduces its newest brand, Wild & Wood. Under the Wild & Wood label, Enesco presents an exciting product: 3D Letterbox Flowers, which combine the beauty of wooden flowers with the convenience of letterbox-friendly packaging.

The 3D Wooden Letterbox Flowers from Enesco are handcrafted with utmost precision and care, using premium-quality wood, resulting in exquisite pieces of art. Each flower is designed in the UK, capturing the essence of nature’s beauty in intricate detail.

One of the standout features of these beautiful flowers is their convenient letterbox-friendly packaging. This means that distant loved ones can receive the gift effortlessly, without having to be home for delivery. The packaging is not only practical but also adds an element of surprise and delight when opened, making it an ideal choice for celebrations, special occasions, or simply to brighten someone’s day.

These floral arrangements can be easily assembled in just a couple of simple steps, ensuring a stress-free experience for the recipient.

With clear instructions included, anyone can enjoy the pleasure of assembling their own stunning bouquet, creating a sense of accomplishment and personal touch.

Birthday 3D Wooden Letterbox Flower is already predicted to be the bestseller in this collection, alongside seven other designs covering all key occasions, including‘Get well soon, Thinking of you and New Home.

01228 404022 | uksales@enesco.co.uk www.enesco.co.uk

Raspberry Blossom After two years in the making the Rasberry Blossom team is over the moon to launch its everyday collection with Widdop & Co. There are more than 20 different smileinducing products to choose from. From vibrant vases and flower-shaped cake stands to tufted textured cushions that will fill your home with a pop of colour and a little bit of joy.

wholesale@raspberryblossom.co.uk sales@widdop.co.uk www.greetingstoday.media 55

FEATURE STATIONERY AND NOTEBOOKS

Write on…

The Art File

Who can resist beautiful stationery? Perfect for add-on sales and gifting…

Museums &

Galleries

Inspired by its growing expertise with organic cotton, M&G’s design and production and marketing teams decided to marry textiles with stationery to create a new premium range of cloth-bound journals.

Around A5 in size, the journals’ hardback covers are wrapped in printed organic cotton, have rounded corners and ribbon bookmarks, and contain a substantial block of 240 lined pages. The bindings are smith sewn, allowing the journals to lie flat without bending the spine. Colour or foil paper edging completes the luxurious look and feel.

There are eight titles in the initial launch: three from the V&A with one each from Matthew Williamson, the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, Catherine Rowe, and Helen Ahpornsiri for Wild Press. All hero designs proven across M&G’s portfolio.

You can see the new journals on M&G’s stand at Spring Fair, along with refreshes of the existing journals and notebook ranges.

Due to popular demand, The Art File is introducing four gorgeous, new stationery collections for 2024, including tote bags, A5 hardback notebooks, magnetic list pads, and guest books - all of which feature designs that go hand-in-hand with new and existing cards, gift bags and gift wrap collections.

All new products have been crafted and curated by The Art File’s multi-awardwinning in-house design team, and contain key additional finishes that elevate design and add to the overall quality and usability of the items.

Notebooks - There are 12 striking designs in this new collection. Every notebook has 180 lined pages, comes with a paper pocket, two ribbon page markers, a pen holder, rounded corners and an elastic fastener. The Art File also teamed up with stationery experts from around the industry to ensure they included every desired feature in a new high-quality notebook.

Guest Books - The Art File is excited to introduce new guest books to its stationery collections for the first time ever. Featuring a wedding guest book and a condolence book, each contains 100 pages, two index ribbons and is finished with gold foil for a premium look.

Tote Bags - Another new item, The Art File is introducing seven high-quality tote bags to the 2024 selection. Featuring a combination of new and existing designs, these bags are created from recycled cotton, feature an internal pocket, comfortable straps and are truly built to last.

Magnetic List Pads - This lovely stationery collection features six designled magnetic list pads. Featuring a magnetic back and easy-tear pages, these pads are perfect to place on fridges, to jot down notes or create handy shopping lists. Each pad is sustainably sourced, recyclable and comes with 80 lined, tear-off sheets.

sales@theartfile.com | www.theartfiletrade.com

01373 462165 | sales@mgml.co.uk www.museumsgalleries.co.uk

Cath Tate Cards Cath Tate Cards has added a selection of new notebooks to its spring offering. These six bright and bold notebooks are designed by artist Lisa Robson who is behind the popular Lost Plots greeting cards range. They are the perfect notebooks for planning and scheming, with the covers featuring vibrant illustrations and captions such as Evil Plans, and The Collective Works of Meetings that Should Have Been Emails! These high-quality, matte laminated, 192-page notebooks are perfect bound, with 100gsm, lined paper.

0208 671 2166 orders@cathtatecards.com www.cathtatecards.com 56 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

FEATURE

STATIONERY AND NOTEBOOKS

Joe Davies The Ecofriendly Card Co

The Eco-friendly Card Co offers two popular formats of notecard stationery, which make beautiful gifts, or a treat for yourself!

Notecard wallets contain eight cards 120mm square, two each of four designs, in an attractive folding box, with each design including interesting information about the featured artist.

Mini-notecards contain eight cards, 108mm x 80mm, four each of two designs. These sweet little ‘push-up’ boxes are about the size of a pack of cards and also include details of the contributing artist. All notecard stationery is printed on 100% recycled FSC board, carbon-balanced with The World Land Trust and are supplied with 100% recycled envelopes.

New designs for 2024 include packs from enameller Janine Partington, mixed media artist Adam James Severn, and favourite floral artist, Claire Henley.

Bridgewater Pen Company from Joe Davies (Spring Fair, Hall 4, Stand C10-D11) is a range of classic and modern boxed pens, which make the perfect gift for students, professionals and for anyone that appreciates a nice pen. Each pen comes with its own gift box and all pens have a lifetime guarantee. The range consists of ball pens, roller balls and mechanical pencils.

New for Spring/Summer are the addition of occasion pens, which cover all those special times in life such as birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, wedding, and retirement.

There really is something for everyone.

Joe Davies makes the ordering process effortless with its distinctive ‘little and often’ ordering system, with a low minimum order value of just £100 for carriage paid orders.

0161 975 6300 | sales@joedavies.co.uk www.joedavies.co.uk

01626 369269 www.ecofriendly.cards

Raspberry

Blossom

Raspberry Blossom’s Happiness stationery is one of its most detailed products with months of work going into the concept, design and testing page layouts to make sure the products are both beautiful and functional. They are packed with colourful pages to help keep you organised in all aspects of life. Creative director Rebecca Green says: ‘’When my mind is stressed and life feels a bit chaotic there is nothing better than putting pen to paper and getting everything written down in a planner.’’

wholesale@raspberryblossom.com

www.greetingstoday.co.uk 57

RETAIL OPINION

Two Little Monkeys

Diary of a

sales agent Richard Pass ponders on the opportunities for change that await both retailers and suppliers when they attend Spring Fair and other trade shows…

I

f things don’t change, they stay the same.

Now that might be an obvious statement and if your business is doing well then that might be what you want. However, if business is struggling or cash flow is tight then you definitely want things to change.

Regardless, things always change but when business is struggling it might not seem so.

Retailers, especially those in the greeting card and gift sector, have opportunities to make changes, especially in January and February.

Essentially a retailer is an empty box, with space to fill with whatever goodies they want. They are in the perfect position to change what they do. And the trade shows at the start of the year are a very good place to do this.

Spring Fair, possibly the most attended trade show, offers a multitude of opportunities for the retailer. They can visit their existing suppliers plus find new suppliers, products and even change the direction of their shop. A quote from Lao Tzu comes to mind: “To see things in the seed, that is genius”.

Spring Fair provides that opportunity.

For the publisher, the principles are exactly the same; change can re-invigorate the business, new ideas and designs can help to find new markets, new customers or simply new space with existing customers.

Spring Fair, and to a different extent all trade shows, offers an opportunity to be seized. Not just from a business perspective but also in renewing acquaintances, catching up with friends plus time away from the day-to-day of your business.

To be honest, Spring Fair is a very expensive place to exhibit, with the stand costs, staff, hotels etc. It can easily run into the thousands and not every publisher can afford the money or the time. For some of the large companies, they have adapted their strategy and found other ways to generate new business. Retailers also have costs,

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especially with fuel prices etc. So while the trade shows are an opportunity we also have to recognise there are other ways to change our business.

''Spring Fair, and to a different extent all trade shows, offers an opportunity to be seized.

Not just from a business perspective but also in renewing acquaintances, catching up with friends plus time away from the day-to-day of your business'' The companies that I represent are very good at changing direction, offering new products, adding new designs to existing ranges or adapting how they do business with the retailers.

Two Little Monkeys has regularly launched new ranges and designs, many of which are a new direction from their bestselling ranges; the new Spectrum range is a case in point.

Redback cards is always looking at new ideas, and its new range Hebe Studio is a change in direction, with lots of new designs in its award-winning ranges coming too.

Dandelion Stationery, meanwhile, is introducing its new Kaboom range, along with a stack of new notebooks, Words of Wisdom cards and so on.

Ginger Betty has new products plus a range of fabulous spring cards; Lucilla Lavender is launching

Redback Cards new designs; Natural Partners has new artists in its collection, and Ohh Deer (never a company to do anything by half) is really pushing the boat out with 400-plus new designs and products! Finally, Alljoy Design is launching lots of new designs and a very special promotion of newness at Spring Fair.

So changes are happening, hopefully all for the better. To end I will leave you with my favourite Lao Tzu quote “Let go of who you are, and become what you might be”.

Dandelion Stationery

RETAIL INTERVIEW CHARLTON CARDS

Anna Bolton (right) with her mum Susanne

The shop with a sea view Anna Bolton, at Charlton Cards in Tenby, Wales, decided to ‘go for it’ when she was made redundant from her greeting card retail job - now she runs her own shop!

Can you tell us a little about your background before you owned the shop?

We have owned our shop for the past nine years; before that I worked in a card shop for another person for seven years. We were made redundant overnight, and just thought why not, let’s go for it!

And can you tell us a little about the shop?

We are very lucky to have an amazing sea view from our shop, which sits at the top of the high street in Tenby. We get a lot of passing trade due to people stopping to view the harbour. We are also the only independent card shop in the town.

How do you source products?

We have lovely reps who make sure we always know when the new products are being launched and we also keep an eye on online sites. We also have people popping in to look at their products. The Top Drawer show is always on our to-do list each year.

What is your selection criteria?

We always look at quality of the card, cost, and if it will go with the other products in the shop.

How is trading for you at the moment?

It’s not bad, and in the summer season it gets busy.

However, we are seeing fewer people than the past two years when the British Holiday was huge but we also knew that boom would not last. It is back to pre-Covid footfall.

What’s your demographic like?

We have a wide range of customers, locals and

Top 5 bestsellers Grace/Grayson - Cherry Orchard Oh, what a year - ICG Flower Press - Nigel Quiney Mimosa - Paperlink Message in a Bottle - Alljoy

tourists. We have tourists that have been popping in to see us every year since we opened and to see what new Tenby products we have.

We have locals who we couldn’t do without and some from further out in the county that save a list and do a big stock-up every couple of months.

don’t see that many of these days.

People seem to like the layout of the shop; all our cards are on flat, forward-facing slatwalling. We will not use spinners as they get in the way of the access for those with wheelchairs, prams and mobility scooters; we have always made sure everyone can access the shop.

“We are very lucky to have an amazing sea view from our shop, which sits at the top Do customers ask for eco-friendly product? Is this of the high street in something you try to stock?

We try to always get recyclable wrapping paper and Tenby. We get a lot of paper bags for customers when purchasing goods. challenges have you faced over the past passing trade due to What few months and how have you dealt with How are you feeling about the next few people stopping to view them. months and the longer term?

We have had to get used to the idea that the the harbour” How do you get word out there about your shop and stock?

We do use a bit of social media but we have lovely customers, so word of mouth is key.

Do you sell both in the shop and online?

We only sell in the bricks-and-mortar shop but we have posted off bits and bobs to customers when requested.

Have you seen the average cost of your products go up - and if so how have you dealt with it?

The cost of everything has gone up over the past year but we have managed to only need a slight increase in our cards; fingers crossed we can keep it that way.

Congrats on your Retas 2023 finalist achievement (Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – Wales) - what do you think makes your shops stand out?

Thank you, we were very surprised to be nominated.

We are an independent card and gift shop, which you

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summer holiday period is not as busy as the past two years but we knew that people would change their holidays back abroad once they could. We are also aware that people don’t have so much spare money this year so we have sourced smaller, lower-cost gift pickup lines.

If you could choose the cards people sent you - which would you choose to receive for Christmas or birthday or other special occasion?

I like a nice blank card.

RETAIL INTERVIEW MOONPIG

‘Always looking to

expand’

Sarah-Jane Porter, global director of design and licensing at Moonpig.com, talks to Greetings Today about the online operation and how it keeps on top of the latest trends Can you tell us a little bit about your background before you worked at Moonpig?

I started my working life in the north of England (Sheffield and Leeds) working in below-the-line design agencies, initially designing signage for the drinks industry, running signage installation programmes and account managing clients as well as my first experience of working in licensing.

I then worked at Hallmark for 13 years initially as a product manager on cards, starting their Tigerprint (M&S) licensing business and working across cards, stationery, toys as well as developing a brand licensing programme with Tigerprint character brands in M&S. I then moved out of cards for a while into kidswear at Watermelon, managing M&S licensed kidswear.

I joined Moonpig as the head of licensing in 2013, moved into a head of cards role in 2019 and then global design and licence director in 2022, where I head up the design and licence function across the UK and NL servicing all territories.

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How many card suppliers do you work with and how does that work?

We work with more than 250 publishers across the group including both the small independent designers/publishers though to the bigger publishers like Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers.

We have a whole team dedicated to building new relationships and sourcing new suppliers and are always looking to expand our offering wherever possible to ensure we have the widest and most relevant range of cards for our customers.

How do you source products? What is your selection criteria We know the core capabilities of our in-house design team so when we’re looking to source new designs, we’re searching for publishers that can fill in the design gaps and offer us something that’s new and different to what we are able to design in-house.

We get a lot of new talent and publishers contacting us through our hellodesign@moonpig. com submissions and we also attend industry

‘‘We have a whole team dedicated to building new relationships and sourcing new suppliers and are always looking to expand our offering wherever possible to ensure we have the widest and most relevant range of cards for our customers’’

events such as the GCA’s Dragons Speed Dating event as well as attending Top Drawer, PG Live and Spring Fair Describe your demographic.

Our demographic is broad in age range and interest and as you can imagine is constantly evolving, responding to cultural trends. For instance, in more recent years and in a post-lockdown world we’ve noticed an increase in sales of cards for or from the pet. This insight has shown us how our customer base is very pet-focused when it comes to celebrating occasions including Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, and pet birthdays.

What brands/cards have been particularly popular with your customers?

As pioneers in the industry of photo-upload cards, this is naturally one of our most popular designs since it first launched 23 years ago. Ever since we have been working hard to develop this offering by creating new personalised features on our cards. For instance, not only can you add a photo to the front of the card, but there’s now also the opportunity to add images inside every design alongside stickers, so customers can express their creativity even more.

We then took our sticker feature one step further by giving customers the chance to apply these digital stickers to the front of our photo template cards, which has been very well received.

How do you keep on top of trends so quickly?

Each season, we develop our in-house trends, which inform our design direction across seasonal and everyday ranges, as well as also tying into some of the bigger lifestyle trends such as co-creation.

In more recent years we’ve noticed customers being more creative with card design, which we’ve encouraged by adding new features such as stickers and photos inside the card, and the ability to add a video or voice message or even add an experience gift into the card to make the card feel even more like a gift.

We’ve also built a fast-track, speed to market approach for developing topical or trending cards, which has the purpose of responding to viral moments in pop culture that we know our customers are engaging with. This system allows us to be

‘‘Just in time for Christmas we also launched our new ‘Smart Text’ tool, which is an AI powered feature that helps craft authentic and heartfelt messages for those customers who find it hard to know what to write’’ able to respond and create a card specifically about these viral topics within 24 - 48 hours so that our customers have the opportunity to send a card that’s relevant and of the moment.

Is there anything you haven’t been able to source that you would like to find?

As a business we’re very data driven so we’re always in tune with what our customers are searching for and engaging with. From there we use this information as a springboard to fill in the gaps and respond to customer demand .

Any exciting developments that you can share with us?

We recently launched a large number of new and innovative features, including digital stickers - like our new range of licensed ‘Elf’ stickers. As well as the ability to add a photo and flexible text inside the card which allows the customers to reconfigure the layout inside. These features enable the customer to be more creative and take personalising your card to the next level.

Just in time for Christmas we also launched our new ‘Smart Text’ tool, which is an AI powered feature that helps craft authentic and heartfelt messages for those customers who find it hard to know what to write. We’re particularly proud of this feature as it’s the first of its kind from any major online card retailer, and gives people the chance to type in a short prompt providing details about the recipient, occasion and even inside jokes or specific interests to contribute to generating a more personalised and meaningful message. Then all that’s left to do is sit back and watch as Smart Text generates a thoughtful, witty message that you can use as-is or customise to your heart’s content!

If you could choose the cards people sent you - which would you choose to receive for Christmas or birthday or other special occasion?

For Christmas, my choice would be to receive any kind of photo upload card as it’s a great time of year to look back, reminisce and then preserve those memories in a card, which makes it mean more. This year I’ve particularly enjoyed personalising our newly launched range of festive ‘face in hole’ cards to send to my nearest and dearest, and I hope it brings a smile to their face in the same way it did for me when creating them.

For those friends and family who I might not see as often, if selecting a card from our ‘Across the Miles’ range, I would also always appreciate a card that utilises our new audio or video message features, as it’s such a great way to elevate your card and make it feel truly personal to the recipient.

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GCA NEWS Creative talent for hire…

The GCA has been working with universities and students to encourage recent and upcoming graduates to join the greetings industry. Led by Geoff Sanders, interest in the scheme is growing, and Geoff is now sharing the ‘calling cards’ of a group of graduates he has been mentoring.

The calling cards are designed by the students, and give them an opportunity to share examples of their work and a little information about them, their style, interest and recent experience.

Geoff says his aim is ‘’helping people into work and bringing new talent into the greeting card market first before they go anywhere else. It’s such a good way of starting a career.’’

And the scheme is beneficial to publishers too, as Geoff explains: ‘’You’re getting two or three things people who have got a unique point of view and their own ‘handwriting’. It’s such a subtle thing that makes a new style - walking through your door is that instinct that you could spend hours or days looking for. It’s like a vat of instant inspiration. ‘’They also have raw ideas - they’re not really raw talent - they are experts in systems and technology that many in the existing industry aren’t. They could be good photographers, skilled in setting up social media, graphic design and so on - you’re going to get more than just a greeting card illustrator. ‘’For smaller studios it’s a chance for you to develop good all-round people - it can be cost saving, because you’re consolidating types of work you’d give to other people or freelancers.’’

And what has impressed Geoff about his mentees? ‘’There’s a real passion for greeting cards broadly re-emerging among young people. They really are a valued product - these kids already buy cards, which we know from statistics. Quite a lot of them have quite in-depth knowledge of certain ranges.’’

He added: “It has been a joy to work with this group on a few projects I have set already; all have great talent, potential and come highly recommended. Please feel free to check out their work, contact directly or if you prefer connect via me – geoffsanderson@mac.com.’’

Full details at www.gca.cards/post-graduate-showcase-bridging-the-gap-into-industry

Book a speedy space with the Dragons!

If you haven’t already, publishers should book a space at the popular Dragons Speed Dating event. Taking place on March 7 at the Business Design Centre, London N1, the event gives publishers a chance to get their product in front of retailers. This year, retailers already confirmed include buyers from John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Postmark, House of Cards, Austin & Co, Red Card, Stationery Supplies and Cardfactory.

Book your space at www.gca.cards/dragons-speed-dating-2024 - tickets are selling fast, so book soon!

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#Cardmitment continues In the run-up to Christmas, the GCA’s #Cardmitment campaign, which aims to remind consumers of the joy of card sending, attracted plenty of media attention.

National press included a piece in The Times, titled Glad tidings we bring: the Christmas card has not had its day, which spoke about positive trends within the industry and how younger generations are engaging in card sending. The theme of younger people sending cards continued in an iNews story. The GCA also appeared in stories in the Sunday Times and The Guardian, which focused on the postal service. The Guardian also highlighted the joy of cards under the headline A very British thing; UK gets creative to keep Christmas Card Tradition. Vice News talked about the joy of opening the front door to a pile of Christmas cards, while The Mirror talked about how special it was to receive a card through the post.

The GCA’s Caring at Christmas initiative also garnered local press coverage across the country, as publishers teamed up with care homes to help the elderly send Christmas cards.

Free for all!

You don’t get much for free these days, but the GCA toolkits for all spring seasons are available for nothing. These POS kits for retailers are free of charge and there are kits for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter, to brighten up your retail spaces and encourage shoppers to buy! The toolkits also include templates for special media posts so you can give your online marketing a boost too.

Head online for your downloads:

www.gca.cards/valentines-day-toolkit www.gca.cards/mothers-day-toolkit www.gca.cards/easter-toolkit

Cinnamon Aitch

Cinnamon Aitch has added a further 20 designs to its popular, colourpopping, cold foiled range Gypsy. Featuring beautifully collaged artwork inspired by nature, the range includes die cut edges and is also finished with emboss and areas of cold foil. Balancing so many finishes to enhance the on-trend designs without overdoing the effect has become a signature feature of the range. Current, of-the-moment artwork featuring mushrooms, a venus flytrap and tropical birds and animals leap from the colourful backgrounds, embossed and die cut areas. The range is carefully engineered to be under the threshold of foiled area required to ensure that the cards remain fully recyclable. Printed on heavyweight FSC board and supplied in a recyclable cello, all are made entirely in the UK with care for the environment at the forefront.

0121 773 6833 hello@cinnamonaitch.co.uk www.cinnamon.co.uk

Trends: Foils

Cherry Orchard

Cherry Orchard Publishing has just launched fun and vibrant juvenile ages range Tutti Frutti, which has a bright cold foil finish and each of the square 159mm x 159mm Code 55 designs comes with a coloured envelope. The cold foil finish is a creative print process that enables metallic colours, making the designs really pop!

Tutti Frutti comes in both Male and Female ages one to 17 plus two Open Birthday cards.

Foils add a finishing flourish to a card design. Here’s a selection…

Rachel Ellen Designs

Unmistakably Rachel Ellen - Cookie Cutters milestone ages are a new range of female birthday cards. Each card is die-cut into the shape of the age and features eye-catching geometric patterns combining bright neon inks and luxurious gold foil. Size 170mm x 120mm, they are supplied with colour coordinated envelopes.

01684 295500 | info@cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk www.cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk

0115 970 0321 sales@rachelellen.co.uk www.rachelellen.co.uk

Stormy Knight

Louise Tiler Foils are always a key feature on Louise Tiler cards. The eye-catching holographic foil and patterned silver foil in the Twilight and Moonlit range highlight the illustrations and help to lift the designs from the paper. These cards are 170mm by 120mm and are supplied with pattern and grey envelopes.

01535 957878 contact@louisetiler.co.uk | www.louisetiler.com

Stormy Knight’s Shiny Things collection embraces the hot foils trend in all its glory. With swathes of satin foils in various colours from rose gold to turquoise and hot pink, the 12 designs will add a dazzling array of colours to your card shelves!

“This collection is one of the most fun ranges that I have worked on,’’ says Sarah Jackson, director of Stormy Knight and the illustrator behind this range. “I’m a magpie when it comes to foils and special finishes and I love to find ways that I can use these effects to make our designs really stand out. There’s a lot of gold and silver foil on the market but you see less of the different coloured foils so it’s fun to have something a little different.’’

Bestsellers in the range include the Shrimply the Best and Fave Fun guy designs.

Each card comes with a GF Smith callisto pearl envelope and can be packed naked, in cellos or with kard klasps.

0117 9098684 | hello@stormyknight.co.uk | www.stormyknight.co.uk

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