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Editor Tracey Bearton

T’S A goodbye and hello moment this month.

So, enough about me, I’ve been boring you since 2012, it’s time to introduce Rachel, who is Australian and settled in the UK a couple of years ago after her Goodbye from me as I’m English hubby and now near-three-year-old twin girls stepping down as Greetings Today prompted the move. editor after 7½ years, and hello to She has 12 years’ experience in the publishing the fabulous Rachel King who’s taking over. game back in Oz, working across inflight and Yes, you’re finally seeing the back of me and can entertainment, home and lifestyle, and craft magazines. rest your eyes from my slightly odd fashion sense, “I love stationery and greetings,” Rachel said, with the jangling bracelets, Dr Martens, studs and “and send many a card back across the miles, although cartoon-print dresses galore. postage is a killer so I’m always looking for the I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my foray into the world standard letter class. of trade magazines and especially the greetings card “I don’t really have time for hobbies – I have industry which is so friendly and interesting – many toddlers! Movies are a big passion but with the twins I’ve people have said how on earth do you fill a mag every only been to the cinema about twice in the past two years. month with info on pieces of card folded in half, but “However, I am up with all the littlies’ fads and it’s surprising how much is going on all the time. licences with Paw Patrol and I’m very sad to go but, having Peppa Pig the big thing in our been a journalist since I was 15 l Editors at household along with The (yep, I am that old) when your dawn – the Wiggles who are massive in financial guy says you don’t need handover Australia but we’re struggling to to work full-time anymore, who went well! find licensed product here – am I to argue! hmm, I hear maybe this month’s And I’m looking forward to cover stars Danilo could help!” spending more time with my wee With plenty of time to bed grandson Haydn who’s just started in before the spring shows pre-school as well taking our kick off the new year, Rachel lovely lurchers Collin and Falco is already working on the out, which saves me £75 a week in October issue of Greetings dog-walking fees alone.

Today and is very interested There’s also the house move, in the naked argument that she’s been hearing and getting to grips with all the dress-making and craft projects I’ve not had time for – so much about, so the upcoming Greeting Card Association AGM with its environmental theme will you never, know, maybe I’ll be back at the trade be a very good place to start making everyone’s shows on the other side. acquaintance.

Fingers crossed it’s not a complete break as I shall Do get in touch via rachel@lemapublishing.co.uk miss you lovely people, publishers, suppliers and as there are plans for a Greetings Today special feature, retailers alike, it was fab being able to see so many at and for advertising contact the very lovely ad manager Autumn Fair and Top Drawer although I couldn’t let anyone know the news as Is and Ts were still being Simon (who’s pleased he’s now taller than his editor) dotted and crossed. on simon@lemapublishing.co.uk, 01442 289940.

I’ll be helping out at GT’s owners Lema Publishing That’s all folks, hope to see you around so it’s au on a freelance basis as required and if anyone wants revoir rather than goodbye, and please do make anything journalistic done – writing, editing, PR, Rachel as welcome as you’ve made me – by the way, whatever – please do get in touch, very reasonable rates. her favourite tipple is sauvignon blanc!

contents REGULARS 04 06 12 24 26 35 36 37 38 40 41 42

News Spotlight John Ryan Retail Advice Talk Of The Town On The Shop Front Four Corners It’s All About Sales Ward’s Words Meet The Newbies On The Line Step Back In Time

ONLINE

the team Old Editor Tracey Bearton tracey@lemapublishing.co.uk New Editor Rachel King rachel@lemapublishing.co.uk 01442 289955 (direct)

Advertisement Manager Simon Davis simon@lemapublishing.co.uk 01442 289940 (direct)

Managing Director Mark Naish mark@lemapublishing.co.uk Production Director Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk Chairman Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk Circulation Manager Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

Keep in touch - follow us: @greetingstoday https://www.facebook.com/ greetingstodaymag greetingstoday

Want to appear in

FEATURES

14 Insights-X Preview 16 Cover Story 18 L icensed Cards & Associated Products 23 Brand Licensing Europe Preview 28 Autumn Fair Review 30 Animal Cards 39 Top Drawer A/W19 Review

Go to our website – www.greetingstoday.co.uk – for all the up-to-date news and new product information plus our Facebook and Instagram pages carry more photos from shows and events.

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OCTOBER FEATURES: EXTRA ON NAKED CARDS Feminine-Themed & Mother’s Day Verse, Sentiment & Sympathy Cards EXTENDED OCTOBER COPY DATE – OCTOBER 4

NOV/DEC FEATURES:

Children’s Cards & Wrap Male & Father’s Day Services To The Greetings Industry

EXTENDED NOV/DEC COPY DATE – NOVEMBER 1

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MEDIA

At the heart of retail Greetings Today has a circulation of 6,076 Subscription per annum: UK £60 (free for people in the greetings industry), Europe £80, ROTW £100

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newsinbrief Grab a grand

A GRAND is up for grabs at the British Independent Retailers Association where one lucky member will win the cash prize to spend on anything they wish. Current BIRA members, and any who join before December 2019, just need to provide their insurance details to BIRA’s Cost & Cover Comparison service run by insurance partners Towergate, and one £1,000 winner will be drawn out. Anyone who sends their details in September will get three entries into the draw, with two for people who take part in October and one for November entries. Full Ts&Cs and entry details at bira. co.uk/services/bira-insurance/1000-competition.

I like…glasses!

I LIKE Birds are seeing a new licensing partner in the shape of ready-reading glasses company Opticaid UK. They have collaborated with the greetings card brand and co-founder and designer Stuart Cox to create a range of eight premium readyreading glasses with matching cases featuring his colourful bird illustrations, with aluminium credit card wallets to follow shortly.

John Lewis post first loss

JOHN Lewis Partnership have posted a £25.9million loss in their half-year report and warned a no-deal Brexit could lead to “significant” effects they cannot offset. The “Focus on long-term investment and success despite short-term profit pressures” report saw JLP reveal the underlying pre-tax loss – their first ever – compared to profits of £800,000 a year ago.

Overall half-year revenue also fell by 1.4 per cent year on year to £4.78billion.

2020 Louie Awards open

MAKE your mark in the States by entering the Louie Awards – and join the likes of 2019 winners Laura Sherratt to show off the best of British. The 31st Louie Awards are now open, run by the US Greeting Card Association, with new categories for 2020 and early bird entry fees before November 15. There were 18 Brits among the 167 finalists for the 55 categories this year, with Laura Sherratt, Think Of Me, Ohh Deer, Sally Scaffardi and Lagom Design coming out winners. To find out more go to www.greetingcard.org/louie-awards/.

Order yourself a Paris trip

FANCY a trip to Paris? Then get yourself in the Nigel Quiney and Glick prize draw celebrating Cardgains’ 30th anniversary! Any Cardgains retail member who places a £150 everyday card order with Nigel Quiney as well as a £150 everyday wrap and bags order with Glick for immediate delivery from now until October 25 will be entered in the draw to win one Virgin Experience two-night Paris break for two people by Eurostar. The winner will be randomly selected by an authorised Nigel Quiney representative after the competition closes on October 25 and they’ll be notified by November 8. Full Ts&Cs available from Nigel Quiney.

Card Factory 1,000th store

THE 1,000th Card Factory store has just opened as the value retailers saw their sales for the first half of the year rise 5.5 per cent with like-for-like sales up 1.5 per cent in a performance described as “robust in a challenging consumer environment”. Waldon in Essex was the venue for the opening on August 16, which came after they set up 26 new stores in the six months to July 31. In their latest financial report, the gift and cards retailers said they now expect to meet full-year profit expectations.

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inthenews GBCC join Swan Mill Group SWAN Mill Group have acquired of the goodwill and assets of The Great British Card Company in a deal which unites two of the UK’s largest independent greetings card publishers.

Since the deal was announced on August 30, the parent company of Ling Design have been re-establishing connections with the publishers who work with GBCC’s Waterwells brokerage operation, and ensured all 130 staff whose jobs had been saved were paid.

Negotiations took a week after GBCC appointed BDO Stoy Hayward as administrative receivers after the failure of several attempts to save the business, with Swan Mill understood to have paid a consideration of £1.4million for the firm whose creditors’ report shows they went down owing £4m.

Swan Mill said: “The deal will result in these two complementary publishers continuing to offer the best in UK greetings card design with each company providing individual and unique looks and licensing partnerships, supplying different categories and strengths.

“In addition, GBCC’s Waterwells brokerage customers can look forward to the GBCC fixtures being consistently filled and merchandised with exceptional designs, with additional breadth and variety added from the Ling Design studio in Bath as and when required.

“As this news comes at a crucial time of year when Christmas orders are due with customers, the group are confident GBCC’s boxed cards are now ready to be directly shipped and this will restart in the next few days with singles very close behind.”

Swan Mill, who trade as Swantex, also own luxury gift packaging brand Penny Kennedy and will now have a group turnover of more than £70m specialising in ink on paper products. GBCC’s creditors’ report details how they were supplying more than 50m cards a year to multiples and around 1,500 independents, with turnover for the 18 months to December 31, 2017, at £22m.

David Byk (pictured), CEO of Swan Mill, said: “This

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acquisition, four years after Swan Mill acquired Ling Design, is a momentous and very exciting step for us. It brings together two great UK companies which will open up huge possibilities for all the UK regional, national and charity customers as well as our strong export channel.

“Our salesforce have been asking us ever since we took over Ling Design to look at brokerage and this gives us a vehicle to meet this desire. We also have exciting plans to work with new publishers to further diversify our offer.

“We are very pleased to be able to give the loyal employees of GBCC the surety of the backing of the group and our commitment to their fantastic brands such as Paperhouse, Avanti, Medici and Almanac.

“We are very confident that, through our new shared expertise, we will be able to stabilise, grow and strengthen GBCC and continue to deliver first-rate greetings cards to all of our customers. It’s very early days and further announcements will follow but rest assured our first priorities are to reassure the team, get Christmas out of the door and get our merchandisers into all customer accounts.”

T: 01892 838574 www.lingdesign.co.uk

Moonpig moves

Firing up sales

MOONPIG have appointed former William Hill chief marketing officer Kristof Fahy to the same post less than a month after taking on ex-WHSmith CEO as chairman.

Calling Moonpig “a truly iconic British brand”, Kristof joins the online personalised cards, gifting and flowers retailers following a series of high-profile positions, most recently as interim CMO at www. checkatrade.com and chief customer officer at Hostelworld and previously at Ladbrokes/Coral, who he joined from the Telegraph Media Group after five years at William Hill.

After a 10-year tenure in which she revived the 227-year-old retailers WHS, Kate recently stepped down as CEO at transport catering group SSP, and was announced as Moonpig chairman at the end of August as their sales hit £100million.

Widely considered one of the leading operators in the British retail sector, Kate will add the Moonpig role to her increasing non-executive portfolio – she recently took on the chairmanship of the Independent Vetcare veterinary chain.

FLAME aannounced a major new addition to their senior team with the appointment of Jordi Nolla as sales director.

Jordi, who previously worked at Carlton Books and Quarto Group, will work closely with the calendars, greetings cards, stationery and book publishers’ founder Nick Wells and MD Frances Bodiam to develop new markets and consolidate their position in existing markets in the UK and worldwide.

Frances said: “Our last financial year saw a further surge in worldwide sales to £6.3million. Jordi’s arrival will help us structure our business for the future as we explore new categories and new opportunities.” l LUCY Heath has been appointed as retail sales director for sustainable stationery brand Vent For Change, who support children’s education projects. Lucy comes with a wealth of experience in the retail sector, most recently as sales director at Gemma International where she worked for 11 years, and previously with Santoro and Russ Berrie alongside both British and French retailers.

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inthenews Clintons sale on the cards

Tree-mendous project REDUCING environmental impact is key at Wraptious and they’ve taken their commitment to the planet one step further, now planting three trees for every online order received.

Working with partners Trees For The Future, the Stockport-based publishers and online retailers who champion artists have already had 10,000 trees planted this year and they’re aiming to hit the 100,000 mark as soon as possible.

Founder Simon Wadsworth said: “I've always been keen to try to reduce our environmental impact – recycling in the office, donating old stock to charity, cycling to work and using energy-efficient bulbs, or printing our cards on FSC-sustainable card.

“We've now also began partnering with a wonderful not-for-profit organisation called Trees For The Future, who are working to end hunger and poverty while empowering communities and women.

“They help small farmers by revitalising degraded lands, this is done through strategic tree planting, which creates sustainable food sources, livestock feed, products to sell, wood for fuel and the farmers see a 400 per cent increase in their annual income in four years.

“So far they have planted a whopping 160million trees around the planet. We've decided to plant three trees for every order a customer places online – even if it's just a single greetings card. We hope our customers will feel like they’re making a difference too, not just in supporting independent artists, but to offset their purchase.”

There’s more about the project on their website about.wraptious.com/trees.

T: 0161 430 2310 trade.wraptious.com

CLINTONS’ American owners the Weiss family have called in advisors as they weigh up a potential sale of the business they bought out of administration seven years ago.

It’s understood the family, who used to control UK Greetings’ parent company American Greetings, have drafted in professional services firm KPMG to oversee a review of strategic options, raising the possibility of new owners for Clintons.

A Clintons spokesman said: “Every well-managed company undertakes a periodic and orderly review of strategic options, and this is no different. All Clintons staff are aware of the process and our focus is on the Christmas season and beyond.”

Sources at Sky News said a firm decision to run an auction of the company had yet to be taken but looks the most likely outcome, and prospective bidders have been contacted by KPMG, who declined to comment.

The UK’s second biggest standalone greetings retailers after Card Factory, Clintons have a 334-store portfolio with 2,500 employees and recently relocated

their head office to above their store in Loughton, Essex, as well as opening a creative centre in Corby, Northants, to support the development, manufacture and management of their private label programmes across cards, wrap, gifting and stationery.

The Weiss family took control of the British chain in 2012 from the founding Lewin family when they bought their bank debt from lenders and immediately forced the company into administration.

They now wholly own the retailers following a transaction last year which saw Clayton Dubilier & Rice, the buyout firm, buy a 60 per cent stake in American Greetings with the Weiss family retaining the remaining share.

Under the leadership of Eddie Shepherd since 2017, Clintons' financial performance has seen something of an improvement with the accounts to be filed at Companies House next month expected to show the business made a significantly smaller loss than the £14m they recorded in the year to February 2018.

Cash for influence row PUBLISHERS and greetings retailers have been targeted by The Parliamentary Review trying to persuade them to part with £3,500 each to be featured in their controversial publications.

With hours of one publisher posting privately on Facebook that they had been contacted, five others and a number of independent retailers responded saying they had also received invitations worded such that it appears to be connected to the Government.

The publisher, who doesn’t want to be named, called the contact only to discover they were expected to pay the large fee to provide their own 1,000-word report about “the challenges you have faced, how you have responded to them and your hopes for the future”.

Posting the letter on Facebook as a warning to others, the publisher said: “This company is using parliamentary contacts to look like a great opportunity but the whole thing stinks – at a cost of £3,500 it’s not illegal but using influence to pull in vast amounts of cash.

“Despite being ‘one of only 10-15 companies

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selected’ it turns out failing school heads and hospitals have also paid into this company. We won’t be taking part. This type of thing needs calling out.”

The Review is a series of independent publications set up in 2012 by then 23-year-old graduate Daniel Yossman, with the aim of “sharing best practice among policy makers and business leaders” – but only if the firms involved are prepared to pay for the privilege and, with a significant number of each report going to the contributing businesses, the distribution, reach and effect of the papers is unknown.

And the letter (pictured), signed by chairman and former Conservative Communities Secretary Lord Pickles with the mention of his co-chairman Lord Blunkett, the ex-Labour Home Secretary, contains typos and grammatical errors.

Although the invitation states: “Despite having forewords from senior cabinet figures, the Review is fiercely independent”, there is no reference to its pay-to-publish nature or that for-profit owners Westminster Publications are unaffiliated with Parliament or the UK Government.

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spotlight SIMON ELVIN

BE SURE to look out for the autumn collections from Simon Elvin, which just seem to go from strength to strength.

There’s everything from birthdays to weddings and all occasions in between, including 20 more of the ever-popular Isabel’s Garden designs.

T: 01628 526711 www.simionelvin.com

ENVECO

Enveco now stock Nativia biodegradable bags in their most popular sizes. Nativia film is made from renewable resources with the PLA bio-based resin sourced from corn or other plants such as sugar beet and potatoes.

The film is fully compostable and will break down under the right conditions. Please contact Enveco for more information or samples.

T: 01908 378866 www.enveco.co.uk

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A selection of the latest greetings, gift and industry services releases

LEONARD SMITH

WARM and inviting candlelight, rich red berries, and characterful robins, fluffed and plumped to ward off the cold – there are more than 30 designs to choose from in the Leonard Smith Christmas collection. There’s something for everyone, including their sensitively considered Thinking Of You At Christmas designs, and two cards that feature the Holy Family. The newest is a classic stained-glass window image taken

by Leonard in Stratford St Mary in the Dedham Vale on the Essex/ Suffolk border.

Each Christmas pack contains five cards of the same design and cost £1.50 trade, SRP £3.60. They also offer a marvellous Christmas package for £115, a saving of 15 per cent on 90 packs of 30 designs in threes and supplied with a smart black counter display unit. Leonard Smith also recently released new Classic 5x7in Thinking Of You, Sympathy and Get Well cards. Known for publishing Leonard’s beautiful photography together with meaningful sentiment, these designs will be well received into the market this autumn. From restful garden scenes, a Northumbrian sunrise and a wonderful image of Macely Cove in south Devon, these thoughtful cards are perfect for such sending occasions. And the Classic range also has fresh Wedding, New Baby, and New Home designs.

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T: 01376 562727 www.leonardsmith.co.uk

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spotlight DANDELION STATIONERY

PERFECT for the autumn, Dandelion’s niche cards feature seasonal colours and festive feels, covering Halloween, Thanksgiving, Diwali and Rosh Hashanah and available to order now. With no minimum order, these are available in multiples of three cards per design, which are either handfinished or foiled, at 114x162mm. RRP £2.75. And their The Art Of Brilliance Christmas Collection contains 23 contemporary designs, featuring a gold foil finish. Printed on luxury 300gsm board, the Christmas cards are supplied with red and white star-printed envelopes, and autumn designs are supplied with recycled kraft envelopes.

T. 01332 695359 www.dandelionstationery.co.uk

FLYING TEASPOONS

FEATURING a different Christmas song on each design, Flying Teaspoon’s Christmas Range for 2019 isn’t just quirky – they’re nostalgic, charming and will be sure to make you smile. The detailed fine liner illustration combined with collaged magazine cuttings creates a distinctive look across the whole range which is bound to create an attractive effect on your card display. And, this year, you can enjoy a price drop of 5p per card across the entire Christmas range! For a closer look at all of the designs, head over to the website or email hello@flyingteaspoons.com for the online catalogue.

T: 07975 940194 www.flyingteaspoons.com

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A selection of the latest greetings, gift and industry services releases

England

CHERISHED is a stunning new sentiment range from Cherry Orchard with 24 beautiful designs and each card has an eight-page insert, giving six pages of contemporary sentimental verse. The artwork is finished with a luxurious fluted foil for a lovely keepsake quality. Retailing at a price code 150 (RRP £3.99), this is a card for those customers looking for something extraspecial with style in the designs and finish and a substantial insert of emotional verse.

25. – 28. 1. 2020 Frankfurt am Main

The visionary office.

DU: 28.08.2019

T: 01684 295500 www.cherryorchardpublishing.co.uk

The stationery trends.

Take part in a future-oriented dialogue with the entire industry ART BY JANICE

THERE are new designs in Art By Janice’s Inky Creatures Collection with wording and phrases to celebrate birthdays and special events. The 12 cards feature many of the Inky Creatures and Inky Wings illustrations already popular with customers. And they also have 16 fresh designs in the already yummy Crazy Cakes collection. There’s something for all tastes celebrating mouthwatering special events from wedding and anniversaries to birth and birthdays, as well as other significant events such as Passing Driving Test, Graduation, New Home and Retirement – any excuse to eat cake! Janice has a special spinner deal with all 28 designs, check out the website or call for details.

T: 07860 633490 www.artbyjanice.co.uk

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Paperworld presents all the latest products, provides a meeting place for a who’s who of the industry and also offers a huge wealth of inspiration and knowledge.

Gain access to the trends and product assortments of tomorrow – at the leading international trade fair for the entire range of stationery, office supplies and writing materials for the home and commercial sectors. Book your ticket now! paperworld.messefrankfurt.com info@uk.messefrankfurt.com Tel. +44 (0) 14 83 48 39 83

70112-018_PW_Allgemein_Greetings_Today_100x285 • FOGRA 39 • CMYK • es: 18.07.2019

CHERRY ORCHARD

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spotlight

CAROLINE GARDNER

ABACUS CARDS

WITH autumn approaching Abacus have a welcome refreshment to their occasions offering with stunning new Azalea designs, as well as a brand-new children’s range to be launched in October. Spanning a host of popular captions, Azalea has sensational colours over 10 new designs as well as a fresh title to celebrate multiple births. The images have been lovingly created by teaming beautiful watercolour images with applique details, gems and sequins for a luxurious, timeless collection finished with intricate hot foil and emboss details as well as beautiful iridescent hand applied gems. Printed on art board, the designs are accompanied by metallic gold envelopes. Jelly Bean should be a roaring success with birthday boys and girls as it includes both age and general birthday designs for younger ones, There’s a host of quirky, engaging, animal characters all created by talented illustrator Sue Reeves in her signature style. The designs span girls and boys ages one to five and the stars include a patchwork lion, fabulous flamingo, gorgeous giraffe, fun llama, delightful dinosaur and cheeky monkey.

Formatted to a standard 5x7in, the cards are printed on smooth board with eye-catching holographic hot foil details, simple birthday messages on page three and white cartridge envelopes.

T: 01638 569050 www.abacuscards.co.uk

FORGET about the silver lining, every occasion has a Gold Lining – well, it does with one of Caroline Gardner’s five new A/W19 ranges. Designed in their classic style, Gold Lining is built on what the publishers do best with sumptuous design, luxurious gold foiling and thoughtful sentiments.

And you can Be Bold with their latest unisex collection juxtaposing bold penmanship with simple motifs, finished with gold foiling. With the new Overprint cards there’s an overarching sentiment in eye-catching pink neon litho – look a little closer to reveal a longer meaningful phrase, with sentiments for every occasion. Age milestones aren’t just for grown-ups. Help little ones celebrate and make their birthdays pop with colour with the new NeoPop! children’s age cards featuring beautifully-illustrated animals adorned with bright neon. And bright colours and striking illustrations form the basis of Caroline Gardner’s intricate new 12-strong die-cut Cut-Out collection that builds on the success of their Lunette range.

T: 020 8288 9696 www.carolinegardner.com

MIDDLE MOUSE

AFTER a successful launch at Top Drawer Autumn 2019, Middle Mouse are back with brand-new Cardlets, this time for big birthdays! With all the major numbers covered, plus a Follow Your Dreams and This Is Your Year general versions, each Cardlet contains a bucket list, future planner, map of the world and everything you need to give someone their best year yet! Cardlets are more than a greetings card, they’re packed with extra content for your loved one to enjoy. Contact Bec for a free sample and catalogue.

T: 07855 959176 www.middlemouse.co.uk

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A selection of the latest greetings, gift and industry services releases

LESSER & PAVEY

NEW ranges in Lesser & Pavey’s William Morris collection of quality tabletop were revealed at Autumn Fair. These highly popular William Morris designs continue with Bird Song in the fashionable new colourway of teal across items such as wash bag, glasses case, shopper bag, passport holder, bamboo travel mug and lunchbox. And Lesser & Pavey have also launched their Graffiti Art collection.

This captures the colour, abstract word and art of the graffiti theme made into very attractive, vibrant lifestyle studies of Bulldog, French Bulldog, and Dachshunds with pieces measuring 8in to 15in in length.

T: 01322 279225 www.leonardo.co.uk

ART NOUVOCATIVE

ART Nouvocative have collaborated with artist Janice Daughters to produce some new designs, under licence, especially for men.

Known for their stylish and glamorous theme, these art decoinspired designs fit in with the company’s portfolio and are a different direction for Janice, who publishes her own ranges under her Art By Janice and Scruffo Bear brands.These new cards are a taster for the many more vintage-inspired designs in the pipeline from the partnership, suitable for any occasion.

T: 07961 992836 www.artnouvocative.com

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JOHN RYAN

RETAIL ENVIRONMENT

Trumpeting a profit

● Destiny dates – Dean Morris Cards take no political prisoners

You’re on to a winner when your dog knows what you should stock – love-hate figures are grist to the mill for the greetings industry. John Ryan suggests the usual suspects as well as expanding your offer to cater for more tastes.

O

K, SO I’ll admit I’m no great fan of Trump or Johnson and neither is my dog.

How do I know the latter fact?

Simple, I bought a stuffed dog toy fashioned to look like Boris (paunchy and with a yellow mop) and, as soon as I produced it, he began to tear it apart.

Sometimes dogs really do understand more than you might think.

But, errant Westies notwithstanding, the current global political scene really does present opportunities to make a fast buck, something that would certainly get the thumbs up from The Donald.

At any given moment there will always be a handful of figures suitable for lampoonery, satire or suchlike and there are always those prepared to pander to this particular market.

But with Boris, Donald and, until recently, Teresa cards and associated merchandise filling the shops, there’s a rich vein some are profitably mining.

And, before you think this is a radical-left treatise, I’ll point out there’s just as big a potential market, although possibly not in Islington where your correspondent lives, in parody Jeremys as in any other area of the political spectrum.

The challenge is knowing which to stock and having a keen awareness of when the winds of change will mean remaindered Teresas will fill the shelves.

As things stand, it seems a pretty good bet anything Trump-related will find a ready audience until the late autumn of 2020 and, allowing for the

‘

current Westminster machinations, dogs like Nessa from Malvern’s Austin & Co will probably be laying in to Johnson for the rest of this year (no certainty beyond this I’m afraid).

The other point is, will cards, gifts and toys bearing images of the current bêtes noires outsell some of the more traditional categories whose place they will take?

Get it right and the answer, for a strictly time-limited period, will be yes. But, like all fads – and politicians are as much fads as anything else – it’s knowing when to stop buying.

The old adage that it’s better to be crying out for stock than crying over it, comes in to play.

At the risk therefore of being proved very, very wrong, here are a few guesses about what you should be looking for when it comes to the right edgy cards and toys to have in your shops.

Assuming the usual suspects have been taken care of – step forward Dean Morris Cards, Really Wild Cards, Turnaround Gifts and Pet Hates Toy – how about a President Macron or Mrs Merkel? It’s a fair bet that before the year is out the duo will have quite a lot to say about Brexit and, whatever your views on the matter, they will be either loved or despised.

Then there’s Jacob Rees-Mogg. There’s quite a bit of him around already and when October 31 (Halloween, HalloBrexit!) comes into view,

There will always be a handful of figures suitable for lampoonery

’

John Ryan is Stores Editor of Retail Week, a position he has held for more than two decades, and managing director of Newstores, a daily information service on what’s new in retail across the world. @newstores / www.newstores.co.uk +44 7710 429926

12 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

● Nessa knows – the boss at Malvern’s Austin & Co has broad political tastes

● Sounding off – Really Wild Cards give their subjects a voice

he’ll come into even greater prominence as the unacceptable face of leaving the EU. Good news really, you’ll sell a few more products but, be careful, by late November his moment in the sun may have passed.

And finally, how about Italy’s Berlusconi? He’s been absent without leave for longer than might have been expected, so a welcome return could be staged in 2020 with a few bunga bunga parties to be enjoyed.

If there’s anybody of whom you have a jaded opinion, it might be the most appropriate card or toy to seek out.

We live in uncertain times – we keep being told this. But with uncertainty comes a single fixed point for those in the business of shifting greetings cards and gifts. Love/hate figures mean cash in the till and I can’t think of a point in my lifetime when there have been more.

And, by the way, if you want a Johnson or a Trump, they’re on offer in almost every card retail outlet.

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info@dandelionstationery.co.uk dandelionstationery.co.uk

+44 (0) 1332 695 359 73 derby road, Melbourne, Derbyshire, de73 8fe

INSIGHTS-XPREVIEW

Inspired insights Now in its fifth year, German stationery expo Insights-X has an inspiring and different international product offer, with the added extra of talks by industry experts in a new programme simultaneously translated into English, and there’s also an app available to make visiting the four-day show easier.

I

NSPIRATION for product ranges, striking in-store presentations and successful sales conversations – these are some of the topics retailers and buyers can learn about at the fifth Insights-X. The stationery expo runs in Nuremburg from over October 9 to 12 and, as part of the new InsightsTalks, experts will be shedding light on current trade-related topics on the first three days from 11.30am to 1pm.

Set in the pleasant atmosphere of the InsightsArena’s Atelier in Hall 3C, the free talks are open to all visitors, do not require prior booking, and will be simultaneously interpreted into English.

On the opening day, the topic of product presentations and creating in-store experiences will take centre stage at the InsightsTalks.

At a time when online trade is on the rise, it’s important to create personal in-store shopping experiences and visual marketing expert, Sabine Gauditz provides regular consultations for retailers and will explain how to bring out the best in the products and capture the imagination of shoppers.

Then, as part of a best practice talk, Eyk Nölte, owner of two stationery stores, shines a light on how he uses events to enhance customer loyalty.

For the Friday, the presentations will be entirely under the Back To School banner – with the market for school supplies in a constant state of flux, it’s important to have a clear insight into the latest developments when putting together a product range. Stefan Meyer, of retail trade consultancy Handelsberatung Steffens, will reveal what’s is on-trend for 2020 while highlighting the themes retailers can focus on to raise their profile.

Tying in with this topic Constantin Hatz, MD of family-run retail operation PapierFischer, will focus on school backpacks, talking about sales consultation

ʻ

iNSIGHTS-X

Halls 1, 2, & 3C Exhibition Center Nuremberg, Germany Wednesday, October 9 – 9am-6pm Thursday, October 10 – 9am-6pm Friday, October 11 – 9am-6pm Saturday, October 12 – 9am-5pm and how his business prepares for this season including holding events such as Family Days.

Tips for boosting sales is Saturday’s theme as rapidly-changing consumer behaviour requires retailers to venture down new paths.

Coach Jörg Winter, who also holds sales training courses, has been guiding companies into new territory for 30 years. Using concrete examples of successful retailers, his talk looks at practical tips for stimulating sales while highlighting major no-nos at the point of sale to guide retailers in the right direction.

The use of social media has become indispensable in the retail landscape with different platforms offering diverse opportunities for strengthening links with existing customers and forging relationships with new ones.

As a result, this important topic is featured on all three days of the InsightsTalks with Nico Wutschijewitsch, CEO of digital marketing agency Effektiv, using his decade of experience in the stationery sector to provide key insights as well as hands-on tips and approaches to social media, and ways to build bridges to e-commerce.

Insights-X is run by Spielwarenmesse at the showgrounds in Nuremberg, Germany, and more information on the programme and speakers can be found at www.insights-x.com/en/insightstalks.

It’s important to create personal in-store shopping experiences

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Keep app to date THE Insights-X app is not just a useful guide that helps you to make the most of your time at the expo.

It’s also the place where you’ll find interesting articles and features, including the calendar, exhibitor directory and insider tips on Nuremberg and the stationery expo, all year round.

With the Insights-X app, you always have the best free planning tool for the trade fair at your fingertips so can organise your visit conveniently using your smartphone or tablet on Apple iOS and Google Android devices.

There’s a complete directory of exhibitors and products, hall and floor plans, an event calendar, and even tips on visiting the trade fair city of Nuremberg – from sights and shopping to restaurants and bars.

App users can organise meetings with exhibitors and private appointments using the calendar, create their own QR code under the contact function to share data with people like a business cards, and share events on social media or via email.

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INSIGHTS-XPREVIEW

A & F – Hall 1-C46 Italy Acme United – 3C-E11 Germany Acron – 1-A51 Slovenia Amar Industries – 1-A29 India Ambar – 1-E29, D36 Portugal AMC Global Notes – 1-B43 Germany Ancor António – 1-E19 Portugal Antalis – 2-C28 Germany AP Group – 3C-E42 China Apli Paper – 1-C34 Spain Aquarel – 3C-E25 Croatia Arbos – 3C-E27 Italy Arc Çanta Ve Kalemlik – 1-B21 Turkey Ars Lamina – 1-E01 Macedonia Arte Regal Import – 3C-C28 Spain Artsparx – 3C-B20 USA Astra – 1-E11 Poland Avec Studio – 1-B37 The Netherlands Azzar Group – 1-A18/B13 Spain Bartl – 2-C30 Germany Peter Bausch – 1-A09 Germany Beckmann AS – 1-E20 Norway Beifa Group – 3C-A48, B49 China BHU Ewald Humer – 3C-C31 Germany Brevillier Urban & Sachs – 1-B10/C15 Austria Brunnen, Baier & Schneider – 3C-D38 Germany BsBobpacher – 1-B38 Germany Büroring – Germany Buntpapierfabrik – 1-A28 Germany Busquets Gruart – 1-B12/C17 Spain CyP Brands Evolution – 1-A04 Spain Calego International – 1-D02 Canada Canenco – 1-C21 The Netherlands Carioca – 1-E23 Italy Centrum Europa – 2-E24 Latvia Chestnyi Chek – 3C-E24 Russia Cixi Changcheng Pens – 3C-E55 China Cleo Schreibgeräte – 1-C22/D17 Germany Cloudline by S Jokuzys – 3C-E13 Lithuania CoLibrì System – 1-B30/C37 Germany Collall – 3C-C21 The Netherlands Colop Stempelwaren – 3C-C39 Germany Company Fresh – 1-D01 Ukraine Coocazoo – 2-B10/B14 Germany Craft Sensations – 3C-C22 The Netherlands Creativ Company – 3C-C18, D19 Germany Creative Concepts – 1-C48, D37 Greece Creative Mark – 3C-D13 Germany Cryptalloy Kryptronic – 3C-E21 Germany Cubbi by Play Distribution – 3C-C49 Singpore DKT – 1-C10, D07 Portugal

INSIGHTS-X EXHIBITOR LIST

DP Factory – 1-E08 The Netherlands Da Vinci – 2-B01 Germany Daaly – 1-C31 Germany Dan Import – 3C-C25 Germany Davidts – 1-E15 Belgium Derform Deregowscy – 1-D29 Poland Designmanufaktur Berlin Fourman – 3C-C15 Germany Diakakis Imports – 1-C29 Greece DNC UK – 1-A02 Great Britain Dobell – 1-B36 Italy Dogan Zarf – 2-E08 Turkey Dugros/Beagles Originals – 1-D14 The Netherlands Duo Schreib & Spiel – 2-C09 Germany Durable Hunke & Jochheim – 1-D35 Germany Dynamic Cassette – 2-E20 Great Britain Eagle Kreativ – 2-C06 Germany EBP Group – 3C-A01 Great Britain Ecobra Schreib Und Zeichengeräte – 3C-D27 Germany Wdding International – 3C-D30 Germany Effektiv OnlinEMarketing – 2-E01 Germany Elasto Form – 1-D25 Germany Elco – 2-D20 Switzerland Elisa Print – 1-D19 Slovenia Enfant Terrible – 1-E14 Belgium Erich Krause – 1-C36/D31 Finland Especially Selected– 3C-E15 Germany EuroTrade – 1-B41 Poland Eurocom – 1-A06 Slovenia ExaClair – 2-C22/C25 Germany Eberhard Faber – 1-B08/C09 Germany Faber-Castell – 3C-D40/E41 Germany Fatih Kalem – 1-E25 Turkey Feida Pen – 1-A49 China Feuchtmann Spielwaren – 3C-C21 Germany Filofax – 3C-C30 Germany First Kid International – 1-A05 The Netherlands FLSK Products – 1-D21 Germany FolderSys – 3C-E19 Germany Foliasee Max Bringmann – 3C-E39 Germany Formart, Zeit Für Schönes! – 3C-E12 Germany Foshan Evercreative – 3C-B48 China Franco Cosimo Panini Editore – 3C-A20, B21 Italy Fuda Culture & Education Things – 3C-E48 China Fujian Hanwei Import & Export – 2-C27 China Funny Products – 1-E18 The Netherlands FurnArt Easel – 3C-C37 Turkey G&G Ninestar-Seine – 1-C04/D03 The

It’s showtime!

ALL visitors and exhibitors can ring out the first day together with the AfterHour event.

With musical entertainment and tasty snacks guaranteed, the doors for the Insights-X gathering will open at 6pm at the end of the show on Wednesday, October 9, in Entrance Mitte.

You can enjoy fine delicacies, tasty drinks and relaxing music in a casual atmosphere as you ponder your ideas, intensify your contacts or simply end a successful day at the fair.

This year the venue includes the newly-built hall that’s set to make Insights-X a more attractive show to walk round as Hall 3C directly connects to Halls 1 and 2 so making the distances shorter.

Boasting a 3,000m² glass facade, the modern hall will accommodate the InsightsArena and Atelier as well as the PartnerLounge and Food Court.

Across the three halls the six product groups – Writing Utensils & Equipment, Paper & Filing, Artistic & Creative, Desktop, Bags & Accessories, and Stationery & Gift Articles as well as a particular focus on the Back To School segment – reflect the full spectrum and diversity of the stationery sector.

A highlight for visitors to the fifth edition of the growing international trade fair in Nuremburg will be the new special area known as #Inspiration, devoted to the presentation of trend-setting and inspiring products from the stationery field.

Conveniently located in the passageway between Halls 1 and 3C, it will give retailers and buyers a compact overview of the innovations on show and tangible added value that can be implemented in-store.

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Netherlands Gataric – 3C-A40/B41 Bosnia-Herzegovina Gerd Koch Konzept & Handels 1-A24 Germany Giovas – 1-E03 Greece Gipta Packaging & Stationery – 1-B27 Turkey Goldbuch Georg Brückner – 1-C47 Germany Goldkim Boya Kimya Training Tools – 3C-B22 Turkey Gong – 1-A42 Croatia GraffitiI – 1-C30/D23 Greece Grupo Erik Editores 1-E02 Spain Häfft-Verlag 2-E02 Germany Hama & Co 2-B10 / 2-B14 Germany Hamelin 1-D34 Germany Hamilton Writing Instruments 1-C38 India Han-Bürogeräte – 2-C21 Germany Hartis – 3C-B30 Slovenia Havo – 1-B26 The Netherlands Haw Chian Fa Plastic 3C-C44 Taiwan Heavy Stonepaper Notebooks by Eilers – 3C-E14 The Netherlands Willy Heckmann – 3C-C40, D41 Germany Hergo Creation – 1-B16 Germany Herma – 2-D08/E05 Germany Heyda, Baier & Schneider – 3C-D38 Germany Hindustan Pencils – 3C-A36 India History & Heraldry – 3C-A30/B31 Germany HJP Kleinlederwaren – 1-B40 Germany Iden Logistikcenter – 2-B08 Germany Ilijanum – 1-B02 Serbia Incall – 1-B09 Italy Indeutsch Industries – 3C-D23 India J World Sports – 1-A27 USA Jacob Company – 1-B04 Belgium Janboots Sports – 1-D32 China Joumma Bags – 1-D12/E07 Spain JPC Creations/Safetool – 2-D24/E25 France Karactermania 1-A14 Spain Karton P+P – 1-A11 Czech Republic Kaweco H&M Gutberlet – 1-B01 Germany Keskin Color Kartpostalcilik – 1-B24 Turkey Kim Kranholdt – 3C-C31 Germany King Jim – 3C-E23 Japan Kisabi 1-E13 Germany Knorr Prandell, Baier & Schneider – 3C-D38 Germany Kolma – 2-E21 Switzerland Kores – 2-E21 Germany Lässig – 1-E09 Germany Lannoo Graphics – 1-D33 Belgium Lastva – 2-B02 Serbia Laurel Klammern – 1-A17 Germany Lego – 3C-A38 Germany Lego Bags – 1-E06 Denmark Leniar – 2-D26 Poland Leykam Alpina – 1-D20 Austria Linc Pen And Plastics – 2-D04 India Lizzy Card Papír – 2-E14 Hungary Loer & Schäfer – 1-D26 Germany Loick Biowertstoff – 3C-C21 Germany Luxor International – 2-E22 India Lyc Sac – 1-A03 Greece MC 1-D04 Italy Make Notes Design – 1-C18, D13 Portugal Maped Helix – 2-A08/B05 Germany Marabu – 3C-C20 Germany Jakob Maul – 3C-C38 Germany Max Bringmann – 3C-E39 Germany Mayer-Network – 1-C43 Germany Mellis – 1-E04 Belgium Metzger & Mendle – 1-D18 Germany Mintra – 1-A40 Egypt MIiquelrius – 1-C34 Spain Möbius + Ruppert – 1-D35 Germany Monbijou by Helmut Lingen 3C-E17 Germany Montana Colors – 3C-D29 Spain Morocolor – Italy NEDA 2-C05 Turkey Neoxx Undercover – 1-C06/B06/C03 Germany Nestler Feinkartonagen – 1-C02 Germany Newell Brands – Germany Niefenver – 2-C04 Spain Nitro Snowboards Handels – 3C-D49 Germany NostalgiCArt Merchandising – 1-E26 Germany Novus Dahle – 3C-C10/D11 Germany NPA Nordiskt Papper – 3C-B28 Sweden Online Schreibgeräte – 2-C18/D11 Germany Optimum – 1-D08 Serbia Pagna – 1-D35 Germany Panatack Enterprises – 1-A35 Taiwan Paperblanks – 2-B09 Ireland Papicolor – 3C-B39 The Netherlands Pappnoptikum – 3C-B26 Germany Paso Polska Spolka – 1-A50 Poland Paul TV Tim Mühlhoff & Holger Bister – 3C-E18 Germany PBS-Factory – 1-D22 Germany Pelikan – 2-D16, E17 Germany Penac 3C-B37 Germany Pentel 3C-D31 Germany Perleberg 1-B38 Germany Pidilite Industries 3C-C35 India Pilot Pen – 2-C10, D07 Germany Plassy – 3C-B38 Bulgaria Platinum Pen – 1-E05 Japan Playbox – 1-A46 Sweden PlayMais – 3C-C21 Germany Polar Gear – 1-A02 Great Britain Polo – 2-A04/B03 Greece Powell Creative Products 3C-B18 Great Britain Pracht Creatives Hobby 2-D01 Germany

PRP Solutions 2-D25 Germany PSM Bestpoint 1-A08 Austria Pulse Office 1-A15 Serbia Pyramid Europe 1-E27 Germany Qingdao Aton Stationery 3C-D52 China Qingdao Changlong Stationery 3C-C48 China Quanzhou Tengkai – 1-A41 China RI Plast – 3C-C32 Italy Rico Design – 1-C16/D11 Germany RNK Reimer Nachf Kuhn Stiftung – 2-B12 Germany Rössler Papier – 1-D28 Germany Roth – 1-B14/C19 Germany Royal Talens – 3C-B40 The Netherlands Roylco – 3C-C21 Canada RS-Segelken – 1-A10 Germany Rumold – 3C-D27 Germany Sadipal Arconvert – 2-D02 Spain Safta – 1-B15 Spain Sales – 3C-C19 Italy Sambro International – 1-A38 Great Britain Santoro – 1-B20 Great Britain Schnaud – 3C-D25 Germany Schneider Novus – 3C-C10/D11 Germany Schneider Schreibgeräte – 3C-C10/D11 Germany Schneiders Vienna 1-A01 Austria School-Mood – 1-C01 Germany Scooli Undercover – 1-C06/B06/C03 Germany Seven – 1-B29 Italy Shachihata – 1-C08 Great Britain Shanghai Energy – 3C-C47 China Sheepworld 2-A10 Germany Shenzhen Sino-Harvest 1-A33 China Heinrich Sieber Fabrizio World Of Bags 1-C49 Germany Sima Europe – 1-C33 The Netherlands Skag – 1-C23 Greece JSC Smiltainis – 1-D24 Lithuania Smily Kiddos Stationery 3C-B34 India Softreflector – 1-E21 Estonia Spectrum Noir Crafters Companion – 3C-C29 Great Britain Speelgoedland – 1-E12 The Netherlands St-Majewski Spólka Akcyjna – 1-E22 Poland Stabilo – 2-B06/C07 Germany Staedtler Mars – 1-B03 Germany Standardgraph-Zeichentechnik – 3C-D39 Germany Stanger Produktions – 3C-D33 Germany Stationery Team Europe – 1-C24 The Netherlands StatovaCkomerc – 1-B23 Serbia Staufen Premium – 3C-B10/C11 Germany Georg A Steinmann – 1-B39 Germany Step by Stepsee Hama – 2-B10/B14 Germany Stewo - Baier & Schneider – 3C-D38 Germany Stylex Schreibwaren – 3C-A10/B11 Germany Syro – 3C-C41 Germany Sunware – 2-A02 The Netherlands Taneks Kagit Sanayi – 2-A01 Turkey TM Essentials – 1-E18 The Netherlands Etablissementen Tobias – 2-C04 Belgium Total Juggling – 1-A37 Italy Totumsee TM Essentials – 1-E18 The Netherlands Trendhaus Handelsgesellschaft – 1-B31 Germany Trodat – 2-D21 Germany Trötsch – 2-A05 Germany TSI Schreibwaren – 1-A26 Germany Tung Yung – 1-A39 Hong Kong Ty – 2-C20 Great Britain UHU – 3C-D32 Germany Umur Krtasiye – 3C-B29 Turkey Undercover – 1-C06/B06/C03 Germany Uni-Ball Mitsubishi Pencil Co – 3C-D45 Germany United Labels 1-B11 Germany Univerzal – 1-C20, D15 Serbia Vadobag – 1-E18 The Netherlands Veloflex Carsten Thormählen – 2-C16/D09 Germany Viquel – 2-C01 France Viva Decor 3C-C16 Germany Vivat Trading – 1-A25 Ukraine Volf Office Supplies – 2-B04 Czech Republic W&O Products – 1-B25 The Netherlands Wearable Intelligent German/Swissdigital – 2-B16 Germany Weicht Verpackung – 3C-D21 Germany Wenzhou Kaiwen Stationery & Sports – 1-A43 China Wenzhou Tenfon Stationery – 3C-E53 China Wenzhou Tianjiao Pen Industrial – 3C-E40 China Wenzhou Zhongrui Stationery – 3C-E44 China Werner Dorsch – 3C-D37 Germany Wonday – 2-D24/E25 France Wondercandle – 2-E18 Germany Woodcardz – 3C-E16 Germany Yaka – 3C-E22 Belgium YM Sketcj – 3C-E20 Egypt Zarfsan Zarf – 2-C26 Turkey Zettler Kalender – 2-D10/E09 Germany Zhejiang Dongmeng Printing – 3C-E51 China Zhejiang Hongxing Stationery – 3C-D50 China

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COVERSTORY

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COVERSTORY

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LICENSEDCARDS&ASSOCIATEDPRODUCTS SPRING SEASON PRODUCTS ● The Art File

Smart moves

● Danilo ● Danilo

It’s a very smart move to get into licensing, both on the licensees and licensors front because designers and brand owners and utilise the expertise of the manufacturers, publishers and producers to get their images and characters in front of the fans who love them.

F

ROM Baby Shark to Manchester United, the list of licensed cards and products runs right across the spectrum and there are particular companies who specialise.

Since Beatrix Potter kickstarted the whole licensed product industry with her first hand-sewn Peter Rabbit toy back in 1903, and Laurence Prince was smart enough to move it on with his Elvis Presley calendar scoop in 1978, the whole thing has exploded beyond all expectations.

Laurence’s company Danilo are at the forefront with their licensed calendars, diaries and greetings cards, and have a deserved reputation for being able to spot the next big thing from the plethora of films, TV show, toys, and internet sensations.

With a whole portfolio of licences, from classics such as Only Fools & Horses, Doctor Who and VW Camper Vans, through Star Wars and Star Trek to modern brands such as Love Island, Rick And Morty and L.O.L. Surprise! via football clubs, Baby Shark, Paw Patrol, Harry Potter, Jo Jo Siwa and Marvel, Danilo are always up to date.

Pyramid ensure these licences find their way into many other aspects of our lives, with their now-iconic doormats, mugs, notebooks, mirrors and gifting

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SHOP TALK

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“This cool new baby shark singing card from Danilo is very popular. We posted a little video to Facebook – yes, really, sing it with us... Baby Shark doo doo doo, Baby Shark!”

Julia Keeling, Wishes Of Cudworth, Cudworth, South Yorkshire “We do the UK Greetings Disney ranges, all the young age cards and we have a lot of Toy Story at the moment and Disney Princesses. We’re selling quite a few Pokémon which came from Gemma, although they’re no longer around. We’re always getting asked for different things but it’s a very difficult one because you can guarantee that whatever you get in, it’s not right. Someone will ask for Star Wars cards but if you only get asked a couple of times, it’s not worth getting a whole range in.”

Gill Dalliday, Mackies, Downham Market, Norfolk “We have a few licensed cards from Words ’n’ Wishes, from their Danilo portfolio. The Manchester United and Manchester City designs are always popular.”

Natalie Marshall, Card Cabin, Denton, Gtr Manchester

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● Pyramid

catering for movie and TV fans who love Friends, Stranger Things, and Star Wars, among many others.

Of course, licensing isn’t only about the blockbusters – patterns, illustrations and even messages can be licensed for use on greetings cards and other products, and there are many designers who have found it a lucrative source of income.

I Like Birds’ co-founder Stuart Cox set out to find licensees to put his colourful images on homewares and stationery – he’s now working with Quadrille Publishing, My Gifts Trade, BrownTrout Publishing and Opticaid – and gave up publishing his own cards in favour of licensing to The Art File, whose portfolio includes ranges from Emily Brooks, Ben Rothery and Sara Miller London.

Both Abacus Cards and The Eco-Friendly Card Co find inspiration in nature with the former known for their BBC Countryfile, Springwatch and Autumnwatch collections, while the latter work with the Wildlife Trusts and The Lost Gardens Of Heligan, both producing glorious photographic licensed collections.

And Museums & Galleries work with many institutions such as the V&A, Tate, Zandra Rhodes, British Library, BBC Earth and the Natural History Museum, to bring beautiful artworks to a much wider audience in the easily digestible form of cards, stationery, and gifting.

Licensing isn’t only about the blockbusters

● Museums & Galleries

Licensed to win

UK GREETINGS and Pyramid International were among the big winners at the Licensing Awards, picking up their gongs from TV personality Vernon Kay.

Around 1,300 retailers, licensors, licensees and industry executives were at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London for the presentation ceremony on September 10, backed by headline sponsors Brand Licensing Europe 2019 and trade body Licensing International.

In the Best Licensed Paper Products Or Stationery Range, the Disney Face Collection from UK Greetings beat off stiff competition to take the honours from

fellow finalists I Like Birds Collection from Quadrille Publishing, Hallmark UK’s Disney Reversible Keepsake Range, IG Design’s Elf Collection, the Love Island Collection from Danilo Promotions, Marvel: Avengers Illustration Collection from Moonpig and Pyramid International’s Stranger Things Collection.

And it was Pyramid who stepped into the spotlight as winners of the Best Licensed Home Décor, Tableware Or Housewares Range with their Friends Homewares collection.

Meanwhile, in the Best Licensed Written, Listening Or Learning Range, the Toy Story Personalised Collection from Signature Gifts came out tops.

On the retailer side, Primark were flying high, taking no less than three awards with wins for Best Retailer Of Kids’ Licensed Products (Age Group 5-16), Best Retailer Of Adult Licensed Products, and the Top Retailer Award to boot.

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The home of the finest arts brands

From world renowned arts and character brands to the cutting edge of fashion, the Museums & Galleries collection has everything a smart retailer needs to stand out from the crowd. Please contact your agent or request a brochure for more information.

Tel: 01373 462165 *UHHWLQJVB7RGD\B)3DJHB$GB2FW LQGG

www.museumsgalleries.co.uk

Email: sales@mgml.co.uk

LICENSEDCARDS&ASSOCIATEDPRODUCTS PYRAMID INTERNATIONAL

PYRAMID’S ranges for IT Chapter Two and The Joker are scheduled to land early in autumn/ winter season in time for the release of these two exciting movies. For IT: Chapter Two this will include Pyramid’s now-iconic doormat, as well as their UKproduced coloured-inner mugs, posters, collectable art prints and badges. For the Joker, they’ve gone retro and focused on the iconic comic book look with a range that will include a gift set, perfect for the gifting season, UK-made coloured-inner mugs, badges and, of course, posters. Pyramid have also introduced their hugely popular metal travel mug to the range as well, as these collections will be available for Batman’s 80th anniversary. On top of this, they are also gearing up their ranges for Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker and the eagerlyanticipated Frozen 2. Both will include beautiful products across their portfolio, including posters, drinkware, stationery, merchandise and more.

Characters including Olaf, Anna, BB8 and Kylo Ren are sure to be some of the most sought-after this Christmas. With so many exciting things on offer for Q4 and beyond, be sure to contact the Pyramid team today!

T: 0116 284 3640 www.pyramidinternational.com

ECO-FRIENDLY CARD CO

THERE’S a natural partnership between the Eco-Friendly Card Co, Glebe Cottage, and the Wildlife Trusts with the publishing of everyday cards, Christmas cards, notecards and calendars in support of the charity. This collection, which has been created with the guidance of the Royal Society Of Wildlife Trusts, celebrates the very best of British wildlife. Cards are printed on 100 per cent recycled boards, using 100 per cent recycled envelopes and compostable bags. And the publishers have just launched a new photographic cards brochure featuring lots of new designs for 2019/2020.

There are 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom which, between them, look after around 2,300 nature reserves covering more than 98,000 hectares. This is just one of the licences held by Eco-Friendly Card Co, whose portfolio includes The Lost Gardens Of Heligan.

T: 01626 369269 www.eco-friendly.cards www.glebe-cottage.co.uk

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LICENSEDCARDS&ASSOCIATEDPRODUCTS

MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

IT’S A return to their traditional roots this festive season for Museums & Galleries as they have curated a bespoke collection of Christmas Masterpieces from leading museum collections around the world. Medieval manuscripts and Renaissance oil paintings glow with rich festive colour as angels, Madonnas, babies, wise men and shepherds tell the Christmas story. There are 26 designs in the range, across three different sizes, and in packs of five or eight cards with envelopes. Suggested retail prices vary from £4.50 to £5.35.

T: 01373 461455 www.museumsgalleries.co.uk

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LICENSEDCARDS&ASSOCIATEDPRODUCTS SPRING SEASON PRODUCTS

PIGMENT PRODUCTIONS

THE Happy News by Emily Coxhead licensed range from Pigment has had a makeover!

With all-new colour and all-new art, the new open and integrated designs are bursting with Emily’s signature style of free-spirited, scribbled quotes and kindness. All new designs are available now. And there’s more wit and wisdom in fresh new colours from classic British brand Alice Scott. The cards have beautiful words and contemporary design – it’s sometimes silly, sometimes serious but always elegant.

T: 01423 520098 www.pigmentproductions.com

CINNAMON AITCH

ARDEA PICTURE LIBRARY

A NEW range of images is now available to licence from Ardea – developing their successful range of themed animal images, for their latest offering the wildlife and pet image library have taken some of their favourite greetings card pictures and created designs and patterns perfect for giftwrap. To see a full selection, simply search for the word “giftwrap” on their website or, if you have a favourite image, give them a call to see if they can come up with a giftwrap design using their free bespoke design service.

TT: 020 8318 1401 www.ardea.com

18 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

THEY’RE very upbeat at Cinnamon Aitch with new licences and additions to existing ranges. Aurora by the talented Emily Hauck is an uplifting little collection of 12 beautiful small cards focused on positive sentiments. Small in size and big on style, the designs are finished in gorgeous antique gold foil against a creamy parchment background at 83p each, RRP £1.99. There are new age titles from the wonderfully-illustrated Claire Picard range, the milestone birthdays 18 to 80 are hand-finished with sparkly gems, custom made flowers and buttons and a dash of Cinnamon Aitch magic. There are also new additions to the stunning Este Macleod collection. The eight colourful birthdays and blank designs are a welcome extension to this whimsical and flamboyant range.

The hand-finished ranges are £1.25 each, RRP £2.99.

T: 0121 773 6833 www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk

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BRANDLICENSINGEUROPEPREVIEW

Just gr-eight!

Showing off your new brand at BLE is fantastic exposure for the eight finalists is the annual License This! competition at the only panEuropean event dedicated to licensing and brand extension, bringing together 280-plus leading brand owners with more than 7,500 retailers, licensees and manufacturers looking to discover and secure deals with the hottest brands, characters and images available for licensing.

E

IGHT exciting entrepreneurs have been shortlisted for this year’s Brand Licensing Europe License This! final following a record number of entries.

filter for genuine new licensing talent not just from the UK but with a great international dimension.

“We have responded by now offering two categories – Character & Animation and Brand & Design – which, in turn, has boosted entry numbers and quality. With past winners and finalists now having launched successful An intense judging day saw the panel, including licensing programmes, License This! really is the place to Danilo licensing director Dan Grant and I Like Birds go if you’re looking for your start.” founder and former License This! finalist Stuart Cox, pick This year’s License This! winners will receive a free five brands for the Character & Animation category, with exhibition stand at BLE 2020, one year’s Licensing three going forward for the Brand & Design award.

International membership, PR support and advice from a The final will take place on the last day of the show, panel of industry experts, and all finalists will receive legal organised by Global Licensing Group from Tuesday consultation from competition sponsor Wynne-Jones. to Thursday, October 1-3, Previous entrants – both at the new venue of ExCeL BRAND LICENSING EUROPE winners and finalists – have also signed lucrative agent and London, with everyone invited ExCeL London licensing deals off the back to the License Global Theatre of the competition, with I Like at 1pm to hear the finalists’ Tuesday, October 1 – 9am-5pm Birds designs now found across presentations from which the Wednesday, October 2 – 9am-5pm calendars with BrownTrout, judges will choose one winner Thursday, October 3 – 9am-4pm greetings cards with The Art in each category.

File, stationery with Quadrille The Character & Animation Publishing, homewares from My Gifts finalists are Adorabubbles, Carrot & Toast, Trade and reading glasses with Optiaid UK, My Little Opera, Noodoll, and Slime Fury while Danilo signed May The Thoughts Be from Argentina, with Italy’s Minu Tiny Little With You for calendars and cards.

Wonders, Orange & Lilly from Hungary, Last year’s winners, Zara Picken’s and Owlasanas making the cut in Brand & Oddcats! and Animals! From Sarah Design.

Burman Designs – are both exhibitors at “Having been part of the judging panel BLE 2019 and can be found in the Art, for the past three years, it was really Design & Image zone. pleasing to see some new and varied Giftware Association CEO Sarah Ward proposals,” said Dan Grant, “we had a is joining the judging panel for the first great selection of properties to judge this time, along with Wynne-Jones partner year from all around the world, which Victor Caddy, while Dan will be judging shows how much exposure this event is the Character & Entertainment side with Sambro licensing now receiving. director Nikki Samuels, Larkshead Media director Clare “From the long list of entries, we have been able to Piggott, and Julia Redman, head of buying at M&Co, and nominate properties for the final that all have something in the Brand & Design category Stuart is joining by Vicki different and exciting to offer. It’s now down to the finalists Thomas Associates owner Vicki Thomas, This Is Iris owner to convince the panel why their property should win the Sarah Lawrence, Jehane founder Jehane Boden Spiers, prize and I’m really looking forward to judging the final.” and The Point 1888 MD Will Stewart.

Panel chairman and Licensing International UK MD Kelvyn Gardner added: “The contest has evolved as a www.brandlicensing.eu

ʻ

It was really pleasing to see some new and varied proposals

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46 www.greetingstoday.co.uk www.facebook.com/greetingstodaymag @greetingstoday

ART & DESIGN EXHIBITORS’ LIST Alchemy England – B430 Animaru – C465 Art Ask Agency – B431 Art By Lis Goncalves – D488 ArtShine – C462 Arty Globe – D460 Asiana Licensing – B260 Assaf Frank Photography – C466 The Blue Beat Label – D225 Bulldog Licensing A282 Bulls Licensing – B201 Claire Louise – C480 Coolabi – C222 Deafmetal – E301 Design For Licensing DXL – B112 DIC 2 – A260 Euro Lizenzen – C320 European & Global Licensing – F220 Evolution – B341 Ferly – F260 Genichi Watanabe – C463 Haley Art & Design – B461 HCA Creation – C472 Howard Robinson – C470 JELC – B446 Jewel Branding & Licensing – B364 Kate Mawedsley – D473 Kream Helsinki – E301 Lady Geraldine Designs – D326 Larkshead Media – A280 Lemon Ribbon – D470 Lisle Licensing – F282 LoCoco Licensing – F262 Luverly Baby – C464 Maarit Kontiainen Art – E301 Metrostar – B435 MGL Licensing- C460 New Beat – E310 Nicoletta Costa – C105 Oddcats! – B466 Pink Key Licensing – D380 The Point 1888 – C380 RiNo Tokyo – C461 Riverside Brands – E244 Santoro – A220 Sarah Boddy – D471 Sarah Burman Design – B465 Sarah Lovell Art – C482 Spain Licensing Pavilion – B320/E251 Vicki Thomas Associates – B413 Zolan Licensing Agency – C443

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23

RETAIL ADVICE WITH HENRI DAVIS

Every little helps I

Adding something extra is a good way of differentiating your product and Henri Davis is excited by the inventiveness and innovation shown by publsihers this year CAN remember sitting in a planning meeting at WHSmith debating the impact of increasing the retail price on cards to over £1.

accounts while allowing her to introduce festive cards for specific relations too. Shops have felt the idea is unique and fun and she’s looking forward to creating new artwork for them for next year.

New publishers are bringing innovative ideas to This year we have seen the RRP on a lot of card the market too, Middlemouse’s Cardlets combine ranges top the £3 price point, previously the beautiful designs with domain of heavily-detailed or hand-finished cards “innovative additions, like Form from The Art File or Second Nature’s recipes and gardening tips, Pop-Ups. or useful little things that We know differentiating your product is critical make the card you send to for both publishers and retailers to drive sales so your loved one that bit adding that little something extra is going to make more special”. What all the difference and this will help to justify an could be nicer than increased price point if necessary, as a certain sending a Christmas supermarket say, every little helps. card with a few carols ● Middle Publishers are becoming more inventive with the mouse to sing included? It’s use of print, foil and embossing, often combining the sort of card a child would love. this with other really interesting elements.

Long-term favourites for me are the sound cards I’ve found the cross-section of cards on show at from Really Wild Cards. When I was the card the trade fairs this year very exciting – it highlights buyer at the National Trust their bird song and just what fantastic shape our farmyard cards were bestsellers. Owner John industry is in and how Wignall continues to develop innovative the designers and the publishers are. collection I first noticed Bexy with topical Boo at Harrogate a subjects few years ago when I and the spotted her Scrabbley ● Bexy Boo range has range but, at PG Live been this year, she took it to updated another level for me with when she launched her some s d r a Forkies collection using ild C well-known ally W ● Re takeaway forks with really political characters which funny captions. I love them are great fun and proving very but can’t imagine what makes popular – whether you agree with their politics is you look at a piece of another matter! odd-shaped wood and think Cards come in all shapes and sizes and, while it’s a great basis for a new card range! one of the ways publishers are keeping their ● Jessic Jessica Hogarth is well known for a Hogart products below the £3 price point is h her distinctive seaside illustrations to reduce them in size, Coulson and London scenes which have been Macleod do the hugely successful for her. opposite by offering This year she decided to do stunning concertina something quite different when she cards. introduced Christmas baubles for a One of their newest brilliant new range which she says ranges is the Not A has definitely helped open up new Typical… striking

‘

black and grey fold-out greetings cards with straight-to-the-point yet heart-warmingly funny, touching and thoughtful messages which are really original and look great on a mantelpiece or shelf.

Buying cards with a little extra something works particularly well when you’re buying for an occasion, Hello Geronimo do this really well and I love their new baby card with the little felt feet, they’re so cute. They have a wide ● Hello Ger onimo selection of add-ons which make their ranges really different so they are well worth checking out ● EastWes t if you want something a bit different.

Adding these special touches often means a card has to be handmade or hand-finished. I remember my children learning to quill when they were younger, it’s a stunning way of adding images to a card.

EastWest have a fabulous range of quilling designs and, because they’re all handmade, retailers can have bespoke images.

Thinking about the time it must take to do some of these designs is mind blowing.

These extra elements do make all the difference to your offer but they take time, effort and passion to design and produce and, of course, it’s this that makes them really special.

The cards from Dayo are no exception.

Described as Where Paper Meets Fashion, Dayo’s handmade and hand-finished cards vary to reflect individuality and they are renowned for being “beautiful ethnic cards with a mixed media Coulson Mac approach”. leod As keeping in touch with family and friends and sending cards to mark an occasion becomes more important to us, sending cards with a little something extra will make the recipient feel very special indeed.

These extra elements do make all the difference to your offer

Henri Davis is an independent retail advisor to businesses in the cards, gifts, stationery and heritage industries, with 35 years of retail experience. She has worked for Habitat, Next, WHSmith and the National Trust and now advises small and medium-sized businesses, including retailers, visitor attractions, manufacturers and suppliers. She is the first retailer deputy chairman of the Giftware Association and the recipient of this year’s Greats Honorary Achievement Award. For more information visit www.henridavis.co.uk.

24 28 www.greetingstoday.co.uk www.greetingstoday.co.uk

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TALKOFTHETOWN

Talk of the town The voice of the people who matter, greetings retailers tell it like it is.

Plastic fantastic idea WITH naked cards a hot topic, one greetings and gift shop have taken the concept to the max in the fight against single-use plastics.

At Gifted, in Thaxted, Essex, they now offer a refill service for customers wanting to buy washing up liquid, shampoo, and soaps using containers they’ve brought from home, or the reusuable glass bottles available to buy in store.

And Gifted’s Kathy Starr, who also runs Dilly & Pink publishers from the store which specialises in fairtrade and handmade goods, said: “We’ve had a fantastic response already with customers spreading the word on social media and visiting regularly to fill up.

“There is clearly a need and desire for this type of service. I think particularly since David Attenborough and Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall have raised the urgency of environmental concerns, people are taking action by making these kinds of choices.

“We now have a full range of household products, hair care, body care available for refilling.

“We’re on a learning curve here at Gifted with our Refill station. We’ve learned there are lots of different criteria for people wishing to

26 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

make an informed eco-friendly choice.

“For some banishing single-use plastic is top of the list, for others non-toxic products is key and for some specific ingredients raise a red flag. To that end I have started to compile a spreadsheet detailing all our refill products and their eco credentials. We are not chemists or experts, but to the best of our knowledge this info, gathered from the manufacturers, is true.’

The 20litre bottles in which the goods are delivered to the store are also made from recycled plastic and are recyclable so Gifted are offering them free to people who can make use of them.

Kathy added: “At the moment it’s not viable for us to return them to be refilled – the suppliers do refill stockists who are on their own electric van delivery route but we’re not at the moment.

“We can also courier them back and they will be recycled, however, ours have already been made into a wormery and water containers so repurposing seems like a good option. As refilling becomes more popular I’m sure better options will be viable.”

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TALKOFTHETOWN

Gill & Peter Dalliday, Mackies, Downham Market, Norfolk

‘

What’s the story behind your store?

It’s not Mr & Mrs Mackie any more, they started the business in the 60s, but it’s always been known as Mackies and we never saw any reason to change it. We’ve had the business now 23 years, we’re Cardgains members and it’s a partnership of me and my husband Paul. He used to work in a garage forecourt shop and then went into wholesale and had always wanted his own shop. One day we decided to go round the local estate agents to see if any businesses were for sale and this one was. We came to have a look and decided we’d go for it, and here we are!

What’s in your window at the moment?

We do colour-themed windows and at the moment we have pink.

There are greetings cards, plush, stationery, pens, diaries, an address book, quite a mix – oh and an Alex Clark scarf.

How do trade mags like Greetings Today help you?x

We do get Greetings Today, we have a look through and sometimes pick up snippets and things that help us. It’s nice to look through to see what’s going on and how other people are doing.

What’s your biggest trend at the moment – llamas, sloths and unicorns are all generally popular, how about for you?

I’d say llamas and unicorns are still quite popular, they seem to be selling well. Unicorns are on both cards and gifts, we do Pots Of Dreams and actually have a unicorn-shaped money pot.

Ravensberger jigsaws always do well What’s the most surprising product, card or gift, that you sell – and what’s your favourite item in store?

We do the Swing cards from Santoro, and 3D cards from Deluxebase, they’re probably our most unusual cards and always go very well. We haven’t really got anything unusual in gifts although we have done really well with the Alex Clark scarves. We do have the handpainted glasses from Xpressions, I have had some myself and they are lovely.

They’re probably my favourite thing in the shop at the moment.

Of all the publishers you stock, which card would you like to receive for your birthday?

Oh you can’t ask me that! I’d say Jonny Javelin, and I like Nigel Quiney’s Pizazz, and they’ve just brought out a new Peanut range with a lovely little pup who’s adorable.

’

Natalie Marshall, Card Cabin, Denton, Gtr Manchester What’s the story behind your store?

Card Cabin is a card and gift shop that has been trading in Denton for over 50 years. I’ve been in the shop for 17 years – my entire working life! I’m the fourth owner, having bought the business in 2007 off my boss at the time, he’d had the shop for 21 years. I never intended to buy it, it just happened. I’ve had many happy years here, but it’s now time for me to move on, due to my young family and relocation. I have advertised the business for sale and am hopeful to find someone to continue what has been a pleasure for me to be part of. Retail is definitely challenging, but can be great fun! I’ve knocked walls down to make the shop the best it size it could be and try to offer the best product available to keep our customers returning again and again.

We’re Cardgains members and on the card side we sell Piccadilly Greetings, Words ’n’ Wishes, and Second Nature, among many others – of course, I don’t have any orders in place for next year due to the shop being advertised for sale.

‘

What’s in your window at the moment?

We’ve been doing really well in recent months with handbags and scarves and so our window is displaying a good selection of current stock we have available. With the weather changing our scarves are really popular!

How do trade mags like Greetings Today help you?

They definitely provide us with inspiration. The retail world can sometimes be quite daunting and trade mags keep us in the know.

What’s your biggest trend at the moment – llamas, sloths and unicorns are all generally popular, how about for you?

We’ve done well with a variety of unicorn gifting, but one of our best gift sellers is Joma Jewellery. A great price point, great packaging and great sentiment.

What’s the most surprising product, card or gift, that you sell – and what’s your favourite item in store?

We sell a design from Jamie Bags, that’s a small purse that’s like a handbag. We retail them at just £8.99 and have sold hundreds! We have customers that have bought them in numerous colours as, of course, you can never have too many handbags. My favourite item currently, is probably the beautiful autumn scarves, again you can never have too many, though I think my husband would disagree!

Of all the publishers you stock, which card would you like to receive for your birthday?

We’ve always sold Second Nature cards, we also do really well with their DIY numbers – a great add-on sale. Any of their cards would be happily received! They have some beautiful pop-up designs, which are just that bit extraspecial.

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www.greetingstoday.co.uk 27

AUTUMNFAIRREVIEW l Big name – Blue Eyed Sun’s Jeremy Corner grabs a selfie with Mary Portas

Vibrant vibes

Vibrancy and excitement were the reactions from Julie Driscoll, regional director for Spring & Autumn Fair, after the season’s biggest greetings and gift show finished at Birmingham’s NEC.

A

UTUMN Fair’s re-edit and relocation have been declared a success following the end of ITE Group’s four-day show at Birmingham’s NEC.

, Stacey Lee and r ve lo G cy Lu enault, Chiarina R Enveco s have “The ladie of t u o t le been We the office! a g were havin k o lo d o go yself around, m came and Stacey it’s ut last year b me the first ti ad h a n ri Chia y been to an . She exhibition she ut liked it – b look to t an w did er th o e at all th gs lovely thin e card outside th !” o to hall

28 www.greetingstoday.co.uk www.greetingstoday

Crowds flocked to hear Queen Of Shops Mary Portas discuss her latest book, Work Like A Woman, and explain her belief the sector needs to embrace and value soft skills, heralding a comeback for more traditional attributes such as empathy, instinct, kindness and trust.

Julie Driscoll, UK regional director for Spring & Autumn Fair, said: “The show’s new look-and-feel has injected a new sense of vibrancy and excitement this year, and we’re delighted with how well our exhibitors have welcomed the show re-edit.”

The season’s largest home, greetings and giftware marketplace, Autumn Fair was reedited for 2019 and kicked off in a new location within the NEC, the Atrium, hosting revamped and refreshed show sectors and stages over September 1-4.

Lucy Howard, sales manager at Emma Ball Ltd

said: “Sunday was our best-ever trading day for orders in 18 years of business. The show’s been getting better every year. Value of orders also seems to be higher.”

During his session on the Inspiring Retail Stage entrepreneur Theo Paphitis spoke about the current challenges facing retailers, as well as offering practical solutions and expert advice.

And through the fair’s Power Of One campaign, visitors were encouraged to pledge one small and achievable lifestyle or business change to reduce their environmental footprint and boost their sustainability credentials.

Event director Jessica Dawnay said: “When it comes to trends for 2019/20, many of our visitors are looking for ways they can be 100 per cent sustainable within the next two years. For 2020 we’re even going to have dedicated trend showcases featuring only the most sustainable products for buyers to look at.”

Sue Dorling, Georgia Dorling & Jody Hatto n, The Alphabet Gift Shop, Burton-On-Trent, Sta ffs “We come every yea r, we’ve generally do ne Christmas by now bu t there’s always a litt le bit of topping up. Now go Sally White, Gift Horse, Market Rasen, Lincs ing in to the autumn-winter , season and then spr with Mark Lewis, Handcrafted Card Co ing we’ll order new things and we always look for things we can pe “I’ve attended for the past 25 years. The rsonalise as we’re a personalisa success tion shop. We’ve jus of my business depends on sourcing new t been to Theo Paphitis’ SB products S area looking at the and satisfying the requirements of existing Bottled Baking Co and we’ll and pro ba bly order. We’ve fi new customers, so attendance at the fairs ordered from someo is ne I’ve seen every yea nally essential. We try to offer a diverse range the past 10 years – r for of gifts Sting In The Tail. We and cards including those of The Handcrafte do a lot of greetings, we lov d e Stop The Clock, Da Card Co, the format has worked so far. We nd Stationery, and Cin had a namon Aitch, but it’s elion successful show, and liked the new layou not our focus here.” www.facebook.com/greetingstodaymag @greetingstoday t.”

AUTUMNFAIRREVIEW AUTUMN

ick, with actor Linda Fuller, Gl Sharon Dolan & Paddy Wallace y aka Jude from uffed to see Padd ch so re we e ely chap! We “W n Fair, what a lov our Kindle Corrie at Autum ing aw dr to him in managed to rope Garden Centre, ey are Laycocks prize winners. Th ornhill Post Office in Cardiff.”

Th well with Worcester, and went down very The competition off their favourite Glick ing m customers show luding Mojo fro selfie frame, inc in re ua Sq y products in the rr ; Vicki at Bluebe Cropredy, Oxon ed Glick’s Mike ne & Wear, decid is the tops for Jo Ty y, Ba ley Whit rs he at Fe ; Pizazz g was her favourite n, Devon; Karen, of Somethin rto le od Do w ne e at Jo Amor, Tive th idge, Kent, loves m Il Gusto Special, Edenbr nne and Janet, fro Ly d an , gs dog ba idges and rmingham Selfr Bi in d (online an Butterfly Trail zz za ) love the Pi xes.

Bluewater, Kent bo ment Confetti and Stephanie Dy

Jack Parker & Scribbler’s Andrew Webb with k Blac her Lant nda, Mira e Dominiqu s – and I am the “I do like Lanther Black’s card Twat In The Hat!”

Ann & Chris Jewels, Ann’s Gallery, Lostwithiel, Cornwall “We come every year, this is our third year for this one, but we’ve been to Spring Fair for 30-odd years.

We love this one because it’s a bit smaller. We’ve just dealt with Moongazer Cards and The DM Collection. We’re looking for new cards now as we’ve concentrated on gifts, we’ve found new handbags, scarves, and flat candles that are hand-painted.”

Maeve & Amy, Blarney Woollen Mill, Co Cork, Ireland “We come over twice a year, we’re looking for kids and new unique gifts for the tourist mark et as well as for the domestic market for Christmas. We have people that we always go to see and then find a coup le of new people.

We’re less branded goods and are hoping to look at Rachel Ellen Designs and Emma Ball Ltd.”

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Anne Barber, In Heaven At Home, Market Harborough, Lincs “We had a great day at Autumn Fair meeting our lovely suppliers and buying even more wonderful new things for the season ahead. Here’s our Dartmouth friend Simon Drew – believe it or not he is smiling! We have all his amusing new cards on the way along with new prints, aprons and tea towels. As Simon says ‘they are ideal for those who have a deranged sense of humour and an urgent need to make fun of the world’. Sounds like just what we need at the moment to me!”

Dean Morris, Dean Morris Cards “When you’re happily minding your own business and both Prowler UK (London and Brighton) and online store Joy turn up at once. Only one thing for it – double portrait!

And who doesn’t love a visit from Oklahoma in Manchester. I must have been supplying them pretty much since the beginning when I was making handmade glittery cards. I got quite a few new accounts, one from Bulgaria just as Brexit happens which is interesting. And I’ve just brought out Brexit Christmas cards.”

www.greetingstoday.co.uk 29

● Nigel Quiney

ANIMALCARDS SPRING SEASON PRODUCTS

● Pigment

● Mint Publishing ● Dandelion Stationery

● EcoFriendly Card Co

● Kali Stileman Publishing

● Redback Cards

Llama drama Greetings cards really do bring out the animal in us all as they’re one of the most popular design subjects which can be used to illustrate all manner of occasions in so many different styles – which do you like?

SHOP TALK

“We’ve had a range from Piccadilly Greetings, that have sold well – cute kittens and puppies are always a winner!

Natalie Marshall, Card Cabin, Denton, Gtr Manchester “I’m incredibly lucky to have a fantastic local animal photographer Mark Blake, who trades as Wild In Print, as my main source of photographic single animal cards. He spends hours taking the perfect shots, and I have to reassure customers his image of one little bird seemingly taking a photograph of the other is absolutely 100 per cent genuine and not Photoshopped. The BBC Springwatch, Countryfile and Gardener’s World social stationery from Abacus Cards are a staple product here. It’s often difficult to find packs of blank notelets suitable for the male market as they tend to be quite flowery, but these fit the bill perfectly. Lastly, I have the lovely Alex Clark for an illustrated take on the animal card.

Cute and fun, her cards are ideal for animal loving children as well as adults. It’s rare to find an artist or brand that customers who don’t work in the card and gift industry know simply by glancing at a product. But this happens repeatedly with Alex Clark. The rural country life images she depicts in all of her work, along with her gorgeous use of colour, makes her one of my top sellers.”

Ellie Laine Bartle, Tigerlillys, Littleover, Derbyshire “We sell all sorts of things in blanks and in birthdays, cats, dogs, meerkats, donkeys are quite surprisingly a big seller, I didn’t think they would be but they are, We do the RSPCA range, Ling Design, Bug Art and Country Cards – we sell a lot of Country Cards.”

Gill Dalliday, Mackies, Downham Market, Norfolk

30 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

W

HAT do you see yourself as? Are you a cute and cuddly puppy, a sleek and sophisticated cat, or maybe you’re the elephant who never forgets.

That’s the thing with animal cards, the creature on the front can be how you see yourself, or how the sender sees you.

With a whole host of animals in the Be A… licensed range from Mint Publishing, it gave the team there the perfect opportunity to pick out the one they see themselves as.

Based on the popular Be A… illustrated books by Sarah Ford and Anita Mangan, the cards feature the characters Unicorn, Flamingo, Sloth, Llama and Mermaid.

Sophie in marketing said she was the sparkling, positive Unicorn, Jess their fab warehouse supervisor is the standout-from-the-crowd Flamingo, and there’s never any drama with MD Alan Williams who thinks of himself as the cool and calm Llama.

Of course, another angle with animal cards is that the sender picks it simply because they know the recipient loves that particular furred or feathered friend so they’re always on to a winner sending a daft doggy card to someone with their own pampered pooch, or a cute cat to a feline fancier.

And animal antics are always sure to prompt a giggle, as Pigment’s classic range continuously proves.

Their Animal Antics collection covers a menagerie that ranges from dogs and kittens to pandas and the currently-trending sloths in sepia-toned images coupled with witty captions to keep everyone smiling.

At Nigel Quiney, they’ve had to increase their Tilly & Blue range, which now features 18 lovely painted portraits of pets with wonderful expressions.

Cartoonish creatures are also popular, particularly with youngsters where Kali Stileman Publishing have this genre wrapped up with cute and colourful pigs,

‘

bears, flamingos, tigers, lions, elephants and giraffes in their Party Animals and Tiddly number cards which are combined with young ages for a very happy birthday.

Over at Dandelion Stationery, their portfolio has various designs that are hand-finished with subtle sparkles and show how all different sorts of animals can used to illustrate the many and varied occasions both serious and fun that people want to mark.

From condolences on losing your pet, birthday greetings from the dog, cards for mums, designs for dads, get well, kind words for a friend, Dandelion have so much covered.

With animals so popular, publishers are always looking for a new twist and that’s exactly what Redback Cards have achieved with their Shine!

Collection where the reversible sequins give two designs in one – as well as a gift as the patches are peel-able and resuable.

Laura Clamp takes a different approach at Flying Teaspoons where her colourful and creative collage artworks bring all sorts of animals and birds to life.

Meanwhile at The Eco-Friendly Card Co they have both photographic and art cards with glorious images in their The Wildlife Trusts collection along with beautifully-illustrated designs from artists such as Manda Beeching.

All this choice just goes to show that when it comes to animals, there’s something out there for everyone and greetings cards buyers and recipients really do love the genre, so it’s not going away anytime soon.

As retailer Ellie Laine Bartle, of Littleover’s Tigerlillys, said: “Animal cards weren’t a major focal point for me during the first five years of my business.

“However, this past year has seen a sharp increase in customer requests for animal cards, resulting in me now having an entire card shelf dedicated entirely to them in my tiny shop. Their popularity has risen dramatically.”

Alan thinks of himself as the cool and calm Llama

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ANIMALCARDS

cards & stationery ECO-FRIENDLY CARD CO

ANIMAL designs, especially British wildlife, are a popular theme throughout The Eco-Friendly Card Co’s art collections. Manda Beeching’s striking designs are among the publishers’ bestsellers. The artist mixes her own colours using oil paints and her original prints are hand burnished with a pebble from a south Devon beach. The card collection reflects her love of colour, and patterns in nature.

T: 01626 369269 www.eco-friendly.cards

DANDELION STATIONERY

PRINTED on to luxury FSC board and lovingly hand-finished with subtle sparkles, Dandelion Stationery have various designs which fit with an animal theme and ciover various occasions. All supplied with rustic brown kraft envelopes, the 114x162mm cards are available to order in multiples of three, RRP £2.75.

T. 01332 695359 www.dandelionstationery.co.uk

CINNAMON AITCH

THE Quirky Bird range from Cinnamon Aitch features painted birds from penguins to parrots, owls to ostriches and ducks to dodos. The cheeky grumpy ostrich continues to fly off the shelves and has now spread its wings into Christmas and spring ranges. The quirky captions continue to raise a smile with a puffin who is huffin’ and a dodo stating not dead yet. Currently there are 30 in the range with eggs ready to hatch for January additions – watch these birdies!

T: 0121 773 6833 www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk

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Discover your inner spirit with this unique range of licensed cards and stationery

t: 0116 230 4197 f: 01536 401 031

i: @mint_publishing w: mint-publishing.co.uk

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ANIMALCARDS

MINT PUBLISHING

LLAMA drama is good – as the brilliant and exclusive Be A… animal character licenced collection from Mint demonstrates. The designs feature Unicorn, Mermaid, Llama, Flamingo and Sloth, in a fun style and bright colour palette, finished with a glossy spot UV varnish. With five blank cards relating to each character, and eight occasion cards including Like A Mum To Me, Good Luck, Congratulations, and To My Bestie.

Mint MD Alan Williams sees himself as the cool and calm Llama – which character suits you?

T: 01373 462165 www.mint-publishing.co.uk

30 www.greetingstoday.co.uk 32

FLYING TEASPOONS

GO WILD for Flying Teaspoons’ latest additions to their birthday range where not only will you find meerkats doing the floss dance, but also a sloth and a giraffe getting right into the party spirit. There’s just the right mix of quirkiness, wit and cleverly-created imagery to attract creature lovers everywhere! And there are more designs to be found on their website.

T: 07975 940194 www.flyingteaspoons.com

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ANIMALCARDS

PIGMENT PRODUCTIONS

BUFFOONERY and horseplay are at the heart of this classic Pigment collection, Animal Antics. Featuring a hilarious menagerie of humour fresh from the Pigment stable with sepia-tinted animal photography, this laugh-out-loud collection is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

T: 01423 520098 www.pigmentproductions.com

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ANIMALCARDS SPRING SEASON PRODUCTS REDBACK CARDS

EVERYONE’S going wild for Redback’s reversible sequin range, Shine! Given the fact that humans seem to have a soft spot for furry friends they have included more than 10 different animal designs. Hummingbirds, sloths, llamas, cats, peacocks and flamingos are just some of our furred and feathered friends brought to life. What’s also exciting is as the patches are peel-able and reusable the recipient can turn ordinary stationery, bags or clothing into something really quite exotic. Shine cards are 160x160mm, printed on a quality board and matched with a premium white envelope.

T: 01752 830482 www.redbackcards.com

NIGEL QUINEY PUBLICATIONS

TILLY & Blue has been increased in size and is now a collection of 18 beautifully-painted pet portraits, featuring the most popular breeds. Finished with a simple embossed panel, the 160x160mm designs are classic traditional fine art products and supplied with thick white envelopes at price code C50, RRP £1.90.

T: 01799 520200 www.nigelquiney.com

KALI STILEMAN PUBLISHING

CELEBRATING the littlest of people in both square and Tiddly size, Kali Stileman’s new number cards are printed on finely textured linen weave board in rustic pastels and sorbet brights. Party Animals squares and Tiddly number cards for smalls aged one to six feature classic favourite animals in a charming collection of cheerful characters with bold serif numbers for birthday boys and girls.

T: 01305 848899 www.kalistilemanpublishing.co.uk

34 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

ON THE SHOP F RONT VIEWPOINT FROM

AN INDEPENDENT

All smiles

J

UST about to celebrate our seventh birthday on September 17, it’s not all been plain sailing, but we’re very happy with where we are now.

At Present Surprise we’re in a very pretty and cool city with lots of history behind it.

The key tourist point here is the cathedral and we are very lucky to be positioned next to its gate, attracting lots of visitors.

In addition, we have a core local trade and many people know to come to us for something different.

We now have more than 90 brands of cards in store and well over 5,000 different designs – probably giving the widest choice in the area.

Chichester has a good number of tourists over the year and we do tend to sell a fair number of souvenirs both of the city and the UK itself – fridge magnets, postcards, mugs, thimbles, etc.

However, with J Salmon going at the end of 2017, we were unable to get hold of a Chichester calendar for 2019 and the range of city-themed postcards became somewhat limited.

We solved the issue ourselves as, with our own photographs and some taken by staff, we produced a Chichester calendar which has proved extremely popular so we’ve repeated the process for 2020 and expanded with a Chichester Cathedral calendar too.

With the help of Craig at Star Editions, we’ve produced something we’re proud to stock to fill the gap in the market. We also designed our own postcards – again through Star Editions – where we’re on our fourth reprint of the 10 different

designs, again something to be proud of.

Always in or around the shop keeping a paw on things is Edward, our boss – he’s got to earn his biscuits somehow.

People often recognise him in the street or in any of Chichester’s many watering holes! Always dressed in a different bandana, you can’t miss him and he features on some of our local greetings cards as well as one of our postcards.

Of course, we’re always looking at new suppliers to keep our offering fresh and ensure customers don’t just keep seeing the same thing when they visit.

‘

The shop is not large, but the choice is

’

Known for our humorous cards, Dean Morris Cards are our top sellers, and Rambling Mansions, Twizler and Brain Box Candy all feature heavily, but we also stock Quentin Blake and Simon Drew, and Tracks do an awesome Naughty

By Nature range featuring old people carrying out various activities (tastefully) naked – who wouldn’t smile at the thought of these?

We also carry everyday quality non-humour cards for the more serious shopper. Our cards have a wide price range and we try to ensure there is something for everyone and a reasonable choice for all occasions.

The shop is not large, but the choice is. We stock a good range of Woodmansterne, Whistlefish, Nigel

Each month an independent retailer takes up their pen (or taps away at their keyboard) as a guest columnist for Greetings Today. This month we hear from Dave Hockridge, who runs Present Surprise (www. present-surprise-chichester.co.uk) in Chichester, West Sussex. www.facebook.com/greetingstodaymag @greetingstoday

Putting a smile on everyone’s face is the aim at Present Surprise where owner Dave Hockridge and his team also make sure they come up with solutions to find the right stock.

Quiney, Bug Art, and Five Dollar Shake as well as lots of smaller companies. Lately, we’ve taken on a lot of new brands with Lola Designs and Rush Designs in particular proving very popular.

Deciding who to stock is one of the most interesting parts of the job and we do involve our part-time staff Charlie and Terry in these choices.

We also sell lots of branded gifts, with bestsellers being Sunny By Sue gin glasses, Terramundi pots and the timeless Jellycat collection – we’re well known for having a large range of Jellycat in stock all year round.

Other gifts include superhero and other film/TV memorabilia, football merchandise, mini guitars, Quail ceramics, Beatrix Potter, Pomme Pidou and a plethora of other ranges as we try to offer something for everyone.

We’re very much involved in the local community, among the charities we support is the local Cat & Rabbit Rescue Centre and many of our customers stick their small change in the collection pot rather than their purses.

But, as more people pay by debit card in shops, it will be interesting to see how these sorts of charities get on in the future. We’re also currently supporting Chichester Pride 2020 by selling t-shirts as fundraisers for the event being planned for next year.

Christmas is approaching fast and, like everyone, we hope to be hearing our tills jingling a good deal, so we’re in the process of stocking up as I write, with some festive gift ranges already in store and others on the way.

There are some great Twizler Christmas cards again this year and more stock to come in over the next month or so but, before we get there, we have to sell out of designs for Jewish New Year, Halloween, Thanksgiving and St Andrew’s Day as well as all those traditional advent calendars, It’s a busy time.

We do love to put a smile on our customers’ faces with our unique cards and gifts and if we can do that we can go home smiling ourselves – mind you, as everyone who works with the public knows, you can’t please everyone!

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Four corners North, south, east, west, wherever you go, retailers know their business the best. Four shop owners from the corners of the UK give their opinions on this month’s Greetings Today features.

N

NORTH – Denise Laird, Spirito, Glasgow

The new layout at Autumn Fair took a little bit of time to get used to – in fact when we arrived in the atrium early on day one and found all the halls around that area were closed we wondered if we’d come on the correct date until we figured out the new floor plan.

We were then pleased to note the greetings card section was handily situated next to gifts which made life a lot easier for us, and it was nice to see many of our regular suppliers as well as some less familiar faces.

Among the cards that caught our eye were the new Fresco and Kiddiwinks ranges from Megan Claire which were also a favourite of our store manager Katie who was attending her first NEC fair.

Blue Eyed Sun had their fabulous range of eco Bamboo Cups which are a great Christmas pick-up line and their MD Jeremy Corner, who combines running the company with his role as chairman of the Giftware Association, also delivered a thought-provoking seminar about how retailers can cut their consumption of single-use plastics.

Others publishers who took our fancy were Paper Salad with their Lilliput and Pixie collections featuring trademark embossed neon inks, Brainbox Candy with their Quotish and Different Strokes ranges, and Handcrafted Card Co with their fantastic portfolio including Christmas.

One of the show highlights was Mary Portas on the Inspiring Retail stage. The area was packed out for her chat with The Times retail editor Ashley Armstrong, and she didn’t hold back with her views on what’s wrong with retail today and what needs to change.

I think everybody left the session fired up and ready to put her ideas into practice.

WEST – Alison Allen, Conway Cards, Garstang, Lancs

W

Licensed products are something we’re reasonably carefully with, as trends can have a fairly limited lifespan.

We do stock licensed children’s age cards from UKG, with Spiderman and Toy Story always being firm favourites.

Their Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit range has done well for us this year too – son and grandson being the top sellers in cards and we also stock the rollwrap and gifts bags which sell equally well for boys and girls, and have been bought for baby showers, new babies and christenings!

We sell a lot of helium balloons here too and, again, Toy Story and Spider-Man have always been popular, along with Fireman Sam, Thomas The Tank Engine and My Little Pony. L.O.L Surprise! dolls, Supermario and Lego have all been good sellers over the summer.

As we’re in a large rural market town animal cards sell really well here. The Abacus photographic ranges of BBC Springwatch and Countryfile now have their own dedicated spinner! The cows, sheep and farm dogs are our bestsellers but owls, hedgehogs and birds come very closely behind.

We have a huge following of Alex Clark Art customers and know many of their cards get mounted and framed to use as pictures.

Wrendale Designs are our other big animal seller.

The new additions of birthday and occasion cards in the Party Animals range are just brilliant – featuring ever-popular sloths, rabbits, hamsters and dogs, Hannah Dale’s artwork is as appealing as ever.

36 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

SOUTH – Chris Dell, White Mint, Berkhamsted, Herts

Where has September gone? As I’m writing this, it seems like a blink of an eye since we were walking around Autumn Fair at the beginning of the month.

It was great catching up with old friends and seeing new faces to help complement our card ranges - suppliers such as Buddy Fernandez whose cards had even us blushing a bit!

Animal cards are a massive hit at the moment. Customers are loving the neon pop of our Papagrazi Life cards featuring a host of wild animals with that Papagrazi twist. From a flamingo to cheetah, the 12 animal designs are bright, colourful and feature interesting facts on the reverse.

A different style of card which is also proving a hit is Pickmotion’s Instagram-style cards, These feature beautiful Instagrammer shots, which are on a postcard that can be removed from the card. All the designs are modern and have a pop of colour – great with these grey days coming up.

New suppliers we found at Top Drawer are My World, we were drawn to their fun Pop Art range which featured a lot of iconic music and films which should be popular in store. We also enjoy the new ranges from Ohh Deer, including their Pin Pals and Twin Pines ranges which left us with smiles over our faces.

It’s now back to getting ready for dealing with the cold weather and pricing up the Christmas goodies!

S

EAST – Kathy Starr, Gifted, Thaxted, Essex

Soon be Christmas! We’re in full-on planning panic at the moment.

It always feels like we’ll never fit all the extra stock in at this time of year but then we always do of course.

Like most shops we’re constantly moving things and evolving – I’d love to see a time lapse of a year in the shop. Hmm… now there’s an idea for the to-do list.

Animal cards are always a safe bet for us. We try to seek out animals with a twist, or quirky style so these pets from Lorna Syson are perfect and we’ve almost sold through our first order of them.

We used to stay away from dogs on cards as it’s hard to have just the right breed for owners but, actually, if it’s a strong image we’ve discovered they sell well anyway.

We now have quite a few dogs, including this pug from Bird who, unsurprisingly, does a lot of bird cards along with numerous other animals too.

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E

IT’S ALL ABOUT SALES

Autumn and everything after W

E’D PROBABLY all agree 2019 has been a challenging year for retailing so far, and the card and gift industry is no exception.

Words my customers and suppliers have used to describe trading this year include tough, difficult, frustrating, and unpredictable.

Then one publisher said 2019 is their “best year ever”, which only reinforces what an unpredictable time it’s been.

As if it’s not been confusing enough, we all turned up to find Autumn Fair in Birmingham had been turned on its head with different halls and a new layout certainly keeping buyers and exhibitors on their toes.

Even though it had been publicised beforehand, several people I spoke to went on auto pilot, hitting the South or East car parks as they’ve always done, only to find they had to re-park in North or face a long walk.

If you managed to park in North like me then it was a very easy walk to the new halls and, once inside, most buyers reported easy navigation of the show with several said it felt more compact and manageable.

I think the new location and layout had a more contemporary feel to it along with being lighter and airier – hopefully organisers ITE Group keep this format for several years and we’ll all get used to it.

Since I was there for the full four days, it was a great opportunity to catch up with suppliers and get their take on autumn and everything after.

Becky Dobson from Glick told me: “I like the new layout. It feels bright and airy and I prefer the

‘

very open atrium that runs along these halls. It has a nice feel to it.

“We have had a good number of new accounts and, with most people coming to buy, we have ended up with our best show to date. Christmas has been selling well too.

“The bestseller at the show has been our new Tails & Whiskers range, and I’m looking for a good run up to Christmas sales-wise and hopefully a boost of customer confidence by 2020.”

Next, I spoke with Gavin at The Little Dog Laughed: “The new layout with wider aisles is very positive, especially for the buyers.

There are however some odd placements of product within the Greetings section, otherwise it’s a nice compact area to buy greetings and stationery. I’m sure the organisers will sort it for next year!

“We have a high percentage of customers returning after a few years’ absence including a multiple retailer. Most people walking on to the stand placed an order – all very positive stuff.

“Our star products at the show have been our new collection of leads and collars along with new tinned travel sweets and hand sanitisers.

“Moving on, I pray that we can have the country being run in a clear direction – any direction so we can get consumer confidence back again.”

Megan, at Megan Claire Design. said: “This is our first time at Autumn Fair, so we have nothing to compare it to as an exhibitor. It definitely has a contemporary feel to it like, say, Top Drawer.

“We’ve had lots of new customers ordering including plenty of Irish and a couple of export enquiries. The star of the show for us has been our

The new location and layout had a more contemporary feel to it

’

new Fresco embossed collection.

“So far as the rest of the year and on we’ll just take it as it comes and rise to the challenges of the potential unpredictability.”

I also caught up with Paper Salad’s Karen Wilson: “We like the new Autumn Fair hall, especially the wider aisles. It feels fresher and the entrances are fabulous.

“We’ve seen lots of independent gift shops who have given really positive feedback to our new product. The new Pixie range has gone down really well so we’re already planning to extend the captions.

“For the remainder of 2019, with our last trade show done and dusted, we’re looking forward to some quality time where we work through our product plan for 2020 without any distractions.”

And, of course, I had to get the thoughts of Lorraine from Rush Design – AKA Mrs Bradley: “This is my fourth Autumn Fair. I was really pleased with the new layout and had lots of positive comments on our new stand design.

“It was great to get orders from plenty of new customers including several that had been interested before but were yet to buy from us. The extended Blossom range has been a big hit with the addition of age-relation designs too.

“I’m looking forward to designing a new men’s range along with next year’s Christmas in time for Spring Fair 2020. Let’s hope it’s a more settled year.”

So, to sum up, Autumn Fair’s relocation went down very well with buyers and exhibitors alike.

There was a recurring theme from exhibitors that, although overall footfall felt lower, those visiting were definitely buying which resulted in a very positive show all round. Let’s see what the next 12 months brings us – I can’t promise a resolution to Brexit but I can guarantee suppliers in the card and gift industry will continue to produce great product for all the fabulous shops to sell.

– Ian Bradley

Ian Bradley (Midland Card Agencies, T: 07905 597498) is an experienced independent greetings industry sales agent in the Midlands, and shares experiences of life of the road bi-monthly with guest agents taking up their pen in between. www.facebook.com/greetingstodaymag @greetingstoday

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WARD’S WORDS

SARAH WARD

GIFTWARE ASSOCIATION

Go with the flow

In a constantly-changing environment, retailers need to monitor matters to keep their businesses running successfully, as the Giftware Association CEO Sarah Ward explains.

T

HE retail environment is constantly changing, it has done since the High Street became the shopping destination in the Victorian era.

But, with the unstableness of our political environment at the moment, these pressures are being felt like ripples throughout our industry and, whoever you speak to within the home, greetings and giftware world, a lot has changed just in this year alone.

Here at the Giftware Association we get the lowdown on what’s happening by speaking to members at the various trade shows from Spring Fair back in February through to the most recent fairs we’ve been attending, including Autumn Fair and Glee.

After such a tumultuous year, it’s no surprise that consumer spending overall is slowing, from 1.3 per cent down from 10.6 per cent and, according to EY Item Club, one of the UKs leading economic forecasting group, this has been the slowest year for six years.

While spending isn’t going down in the UK, it’s this change and slowdown in growth that’s putting pressure on retailers hoping to attract their share of the shrinking consumer wallet.

Retailers now face challenges and opportunities while still in a highly competitive market and, to succeed, they need to focus on a variety of

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issues pressuring the industry and their individual businesses, such as:

STAFF With employment rates at a record high, although unemployment has risen to 3.9 per cent in the first increase since the middle of last year, it’s about finding the right staff for your business and those you can trust to build your brand.

Alternatively, with an increase in technologies that help streamline manual processes, such as stocktaking, warehousing etc, these may hinder employment rates in the future. Retail businesses need to find the right balance of staff and technology to ensure that trust is retained in their brand and it isn’t damaging to the industry.

After a tumultuous year, it’s no surprise consumer spending overall is slowing

PROPERTY Bricks and mortar, online only or both, this is a massive decision for retailers in the home, greetings and gift industry as they find the best way to ensure they’re being seen by the spending public.

The High Street is changing day to day with more stores closing down in the first half of 2019 than opening, 2,870 shut with 1,634 setting up according to the latest research from PwC and The Local Data Company. But, despite the muchreported chain store woes, there has been a rise in smaller independent and lifestyle stores which has affected the geography of the High Street, and there

’

Sarah Ward is Chief Executive of the Giftware Association which is at the heart of the gift industry supporting members by offering invaluable advice and assistance. Coming originally from a retail background she then worked at Penny Kennedy gaining extensive knowledge in the card, wrap and stationery sector, and now utilises these skills across a broader environment.

T: 0121 236 2657 www.ga-uk.org

38 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

are also instances of stores such as Paperchase and Next sharing floorspace and, ultimately, custom.

Online-only comes with its own set of rules, and retailers need to use analytics and search engines such as Google to their advantage to make sure they are seen by the right people. Working with technology can sometimes be a minefield and put most businesses off, although there are huge opportunities to retailing online so it shouldn’t be discredited.

REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT Obviously it’s difficult these days to talk about the state of UK retail without mentioning Brexit.

Retailers are in a bit of regulatory flux as they don’t know how leaving the European Union will affect their businesses.

As most retailers, publishers and giftware suppliers export and import products, any rising costs will ultimately be passed on to the end consumer – there’s only so much the suppliers can absorb before becoming unprofitable. If the UK does leave Europe without a trade deal on October 31, it could be very damaging to business, but it also opens up opportunities to create new trade deals with different countries and markets.

BUYING BEHAVIOURS AND BRANDING With consumer spending slowing down, buyer behaviour has never been more scrutinised. Shops are making a more concerted effort to draw in consumers, whether through retail experience, customer service or the types of products that are on trend. Listening to and knowing your customers has never been so important. Reacting quickly to these changes is a surefire way to stay ahead of the game.

Retail always has and always will have a changing environment as new technologies and habits emerge and society and the political climate here in the UK ebb and flow.

It’s important for retailers to keep an eye on the market so they can go with the flow to keep their businesses running successfully.

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l Text From A Friend

l Stormy Knight

l Made By Shannon

PAPERAWARDS WINNERS A/W19

TOPDRAWERA/W19REVIEW

l Alphablots

Emotive Design Winner – Stormy Knight Runners Up – Artcadia, Deadpan er Co, Finalists – 1973, Cut&Make, Rifle Pap Old English Co Engaging Print Winner – Made By Shannon Make Runners Up – Wanderlust Paper Co, Cut& P UW lion, Pavi Ola, Finalists – 1973, Exciting Use of Colour Winner – Alphablots er Plane Runner Ups – Stormy Knight, Pap & Painter Poet Ola, , ivist Finalists – 1973, Arch Best Stationery Design Winner – Text From A Friend lishing Runners Up – Paper Plane, Rama Pub er Pap e Rifl ign, Des Finalists – Ola, Portico Co, UWP

Blaze Hu g London, gins, InSpitalfield w s, Spitalfi A Friend ith Sharon Cadd elds, ie, Text From “I’ll show these to my boss likes the m an Friend on too. I did see Tex d hope she t From A the list o so came f over to fi PaperAwards w inners nd them couple o . I’v fo Elena De thers I like too, P e seen a shmukh a p e r Plane a – her stu there are nd ff is o stock wh ther suppliers th lovely. And at we alr o have ne ea w come to Top Draw designs. We alw dy ays er.”

Happy news

There was plenty of happy news at Top Drawer A/W19 with The Happy Newspaper founder Emily Coxhead among the speakers at RetailFest, with the illustrator who licences her designs to Pigment for cards and Penny Kennedy for giftwrap on the panel of successful creative entrepreneurs, retailers and designers.

And the PaperAwards winners were all very happy too as the showcase of their work drew visitors to seek out their stands.

F

ROM beautiful prints and vibrant palettes to innovative design and originality, the A/W19 edition of the PaperAwards revealed the best in greetings and stationery as voted by the industry.

Sponsored by G.F Smith, the seventh edition of the awards at Top Drawer sees the winners of the each of the four categories receive a prize worth more than £1,000.

Stormy Knight took the Emotive Design category, with Alphablots winning Exciting Use Of Colour, Made By Shannon topped in Engaging Print, and Text From A Friend won the new Best Stationery Design category.

As well as the winners, the two runners-up in each category and remaining 16 finalists all had their work showcased in the Greetings & Stationery area at Top Drawer A/W19, which ran over September 8-10 at London’s Olympia.

Sean Austin, Austin & Co, Malvern, Worcs “In addition to a few new card ranges, we have new bandanas and bow ties for the dogs, and an exciting range of dog bowls and accessories from the USA. But the biggest purchase of the day goes to Kaweco Pens. I’ve been eyeing this range of fountain pens and mechanical pencils for years – well, I bit the bullet and then some!”

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All exhibitors at the show, where organisers Clarion Events incorporated Pulse for the first time, were eligible to put themselves forward for the awards, with the winners then picked through a public vote from the finalists.

And the entries this season impressed the prestigious list of judges – who included Henri Davis, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, The Design Museum, Waterstones, Paperchase, Heals, Oliver Bonas, Postmark and Notonthehighstreet – so much they increased the finalists from six to seven per category. The full list of winners, runners up and finalists is on the left..

Each winner received a prize worth more than £1,000, including £50 worth of free paper from G.F Smith on any order of £50 or over; marketing help with a two-month PressLoft free trial worth £750; HR resources worth £250, and a 25 per cent discount on print solutions with Century Studios.

www.topdrawer.co.uk

Rebecca Wrig ht, Middle M ouse “This is only my second sh did PG Live ow, I and have on ly been going a few months. It’s be really good, already bett en er than PG in terms of sales, I’m doing pretty good he from Wiscons re. I had an order in in Americ a, they were he re visiting so now I need to see how I can sh ip out there.”

Oliver Cooper, Jarrolds, Norfolk, with Luca Bridges & Simon Fisher, Caroline Gardner “I love the new cards from Caroline Gardner, especially the new animal cards, and they’ve some lovely new gifts in the Bottle Green range, and little tealights. There are a couple of new companies we’ve seen here too, we like Rifle Paper Co, a really nice new range of cards and wrap.”

www.greetingstoday.co.uk www. www.greetingstoday ww.greetingstoday greetingstoday.co.uk 39

meetthenewbies Imogen takes goose on journey IMOGEN Richards has a background in art and design, having studied illustration at Loughborough University before going on to design wedding stationery for an online retailer.

“I used to cram my evenings and days off work with painting, making and creating all sorts of projects for myself and others,” she said, “selling my own work seemed like a natural progression, so I started my small business Every Goose in January of this year.

“The name came about from constantly doodling ducks and geese and I have an ever-growing range of greetings cards as well as freelancing in illustration and design alongside this.

“The cards I design are playful and fun – I love to give the animals I draw personalities and human characteristics. The world of greetings cards so far has let me apply my illustrations to a product which is more accessible.

“It’s great to know the greetings card industry is going strong as we all still love to send a card on a special occasion, and I can play a small part in making someone smile.

“My cards are made from recycled paper stock, come with a recycled kraft envelope and are not wrapped in unnecessary

plastic.

“Etsy has been a great platform for me to sell my cards on while I build my collection. I have cards in a few local shops in Ramsbottom, where I grew up, and the next stage of the business is branching out into wholesale.

“The journey so far has been positive and exciting and I’ve loved it. I’m very eager to see where Every Goose goes in the next year!”

T: 07747 071246 www.everygoose.com

Inspired by folk elements – and the dog!

Sweet, cheeky – or spicy chilli THEY’RE fun, friendly and real people at Chilli Cards, on a mission to make the nation smile again.

Run by Trudy Swain with her daughter Chanel, these new publishers from Hertfordshire create unique greetings cards with hilarious, witty and sentimental poetry and even have a children’s range specially designed by younger daughter Siana, making it a true family-run business.

“We felt the essence of buying a greetings card had changed over the years,” Trudy said, “with the main focus being that of a good front cover, and that’s where we aim to be very different, giving our retailers a choice of sweet, cheeky or spicy chilli verse, with lovable characters that people can relate to.

“We all face many challenges in our lives but the way we deal with a difficult situation is to write it down in verse, and that’s what set us off on this incredible journey.

“We wanted to create cards that would be able to make people feel again. Whether secretly giggling to oneselfin the corner of a shop or sharing a full-on chuckle with a friend, that’s what we aim to do.

“We have more than 260 designs in over 20 ranges always giving plenty of choice, using everyday people in artwork and poetry to create characters we all come to love.

“Each card is designed with real people in mind. We all know a messy man or have a shopaholic friend, so we wish to spread the word far and wide.”

T: 07939 571417 www.chillicards.co

40 www.greetingstoday.co.uk greetingstoday.co.uk

ORIGINALLY from Germany, artist and illustrator Susanne Mason studied art education and modern foreign languages and now finds her best ideas come when she’s walking the dog.

She worked both as a teacher and an artist before moving to the UK in 2001, and is now living and working in Norfolk, where she produces artwork in a wide range of media – acrylics, gouache, watercolour as well as digital – and her greetings cards are either prints from her original still life paintings, or motivational designs.

Susanne said: “The idea to create greetings cards and home décor was born through my still life paintings. As the paintings are highly decorative, with bold colours and cheerful motifs, friends encouraged me to have them printed as cards.

“This opened new perspectives and opportunities and, little by little, I became hooked on extending my cards by designing motivational, inspiring artwork, mainly created digitally.

“I combine hand-drawn motifs and lettering with digital embellishment, aiming for a meaningful artwork. The hand-painted look is important to my style. ! draw my content from botanical and animal worlds – you’ll always find both flowers and plants, birds, butterflies or other creatures in my work.

“I love to make people dream and smile with my art. I want to create something which promotes positive feelings. The inspiration for much of my artwork comes from the local countryside and coast and the changing moods of nature and the seasons. I also love to integrate folk elements. The best ideas pop up when walking with the dog.”

T: 01263 721015 www.suemasondesign.com

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ON THE LINE

INTERNET INFORMATION

Money, money, money I

T’S SAID the best things in life are free.

But, I’m sorry, you can give them to the birds and bees. I want money, that’s what I want – that’s what I want!

Apologies for the rather aggressive and demanding opening (and thanks to The Beatles, Flying Lizards and all other versions of the fab Motown song), but it is true that our pounds, dinero, euro, bucks and yen make the world go round and it’s still a rich man’s (or woman’s) world.

The truth is we all need money be it cash in our pockets, the swipe of our contactless bank cards or silent bleeps of our bitcoins, it’s all about the Benjamins and there are plenty of songs about the subject.

Mind you, post-Brexit we may end up adopting a bartering system centred on potatoes as our new main currency – imagine having to carry a sack of potatoes to go shopping!

So, as we wait for the inevitable chip currency war, it’s worth thinking about how the internet and digital payment systems are impacting our High Streets, here are a few of the latest:

ʻ

for an ongoing payment you regularly receive a box full of wonderful goodies or complete tat. Papergang is publishers Ohh Deer’s stationery version, and you can even get one for your rabbits for just £40 a month.

Sorry Huckleberry and Willow but, unless you’re up for working in the shop, you’ll have to stick with your bogstandard hay from the local pet store. These subscription boxes recently hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when the popular Loot Crate geek- and gamingrelated merchandise operation filed for bankruptcy and laid off workers but, if done the right way, they can offer an extra revenue stream and are increasing popular with online buyers.

Imagine having to carry a sack of potatoes to go shopping

Crowdfunding Traditionally, crowdfunding is associated with charities and community projects like our very own Cudworth Remembrance Day Light campaign. However indie businesses are turning to online crowdsourcing as an alternative way of funding projects. I’ve seen crowdfunding used to set up new shops, for extensions and even new floors. The success stories tend to be tied into a good reward system such as exclusive artwork or merchandise. Crowdfunding can also be a great a way of gauging interest in a new product and raising the money to go into production upfront.

Subscription Boxes When I put together these articles I do a little research – no, really, I do. So, according to Wikipedia: “Subscription boxes are a recurring delivery of niche products as part of a marketing strategy and a method of product distribution.” Which basically means that

Cryptocurrency The cryptocurrency digital gold rush seems to be over with many saying it’s a now a bear market in which share prices are falling, encouraging selling. You’ll have to “bear” with me here – it’s impossible to talk about cryptocurrency in detail without going into mining, blockchain, timestamping and bitcoins and I never have the column space or willpower to do that. To be honest it’s too early to say how this new currency will affect small shops however, with Starbucks looking into accepting Bitcoin and Facebook recently announcing their own Libra coin cryptocurrency plan, the future may be not just cashless but bankless too.

’

Investors & COBs One of my favourite tasty beverages, BrewDog is currently funded by a successful series of crowdfunding campaigns under the banner of Equity For Punks. Rather than traditional rewards, the retail investors buy shares in the company.

Another emerging trend is community-owned businesses (COBs) which are financed and owned

collectively by local residents. There are now thousands of COBs in England which generate more than £1billion in income often having been set up to re-open important community services such as corner shops, pubs and even football clubs.

The internet connects the two, to draw in investors and build community links.

Online Order & Delivery Services The fast food and takeaway industries lead the way here with companies like Just Eat and Deliveroo acting as an intermediary between independent food outlets and customers. There are pros and cons – the positive is not only do the outlets get the chance to reach new customers online, they also benefit from increased digital marketing from their delivery partner but, negatively, some firms have highlighted issues with admin fees and delivery charges. In the greetings card and gift industry online marketplaces such as Down Your High Street and localised click-andcollect platforms are providing a similar service. Their mission is to give retailers more online exposure with a unique shop profile page where customers can contact them directly, view their social media channels and see their opening times etc. Again, there are fees to consider and many shops already have their own engaging Facebook page or website but there are only so many plates you can spin before something comes crashing down.

Of course, the above are just ideas as to how you could use technology and new ideas to expand your reach. For many small shops, it’s just about getting customers in through the door to ensure people shop locally and spend their hard-earned pounds on our High Streets.

But even if you think Mo Money means Mo Problems you can be sure we all Work Hard For The Money with many businesses singing from the same hymn sheet and adapting to the ever-changing ways our customers spend their not-so filthy lucre.

Chris Fox is the digital content manger for greetings card and gift shop Wishes of Cudworth owned and run by partner Julia Keeling as well as the giftshophub.co.uk online resource for independent shops, small businesses and artists. Having learned how to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the internet and social media, he aims to pass on the online tips he’s discovered so far to help independent retailers boost their bricks and mortar businesses in the digital age.

www.facebook.com/greetingstodaymag @greetingstoday

www.greetingstoday.co.uk 41

STEP BACK IN TIME

Celebrating more than 25 years of publishing Greetings and Greetings Today, here we step back in time each issue to five, 10, 15, and 20 years ago in the greetings card industry – Malcolm Naish

September 2014

● Card Factory report revenues up by 8.9 per cent with turnover at £149.4million for the six months to July 31. ● Hallmark Cards are launching their Neon Glo thanks to new technology. These are interactive cards that come to life with augmented reality. The range comprises 12 new designs combining funky bold fonts and fluorescent colours that are brought to 3D life.

● Mask-arade win an award for Homegrown Business Of The Year at the Nectar National Small Business Awards. Businesswoman Karren Brady presents the award to co-founder of the company Ray Duffy (pictured right). ● Talking Pictures and Hallmark have resolved an issue over the trademark of the More Than Words name. Both parties have reached a mutual agreement which concluded with Hallmark Cards changing their More Than Words card range to On A Sentimental Note.

● Jonny Javelin celebrate 15 years and we publish a double-page spread to celebrate Jonny and Mandy Spears’ achievements (right).

● The front cover sees Grass Roots International celebrating their 20th anniversary, such a shame Rob Brown’s company went under just before they made it to their 25th this year but at least all the trading names for this well-known verse and sentiment brand will live on with new owners Simon Elvin.

September 2009

● From time to time the Royal Mail worry the greetings card industry by telling us all that a strike might soon occur during the run-up to Christmas. Such was the case in the autumn of 2009. As if we didn’t have enough to contend with the damaging consequences of the bankers’ fiasco the previous year.

● Online card publishers Moonpig announce pre-tax profits that are more than double the previous year at £6.7m.

Sales hit almost £21m. Not surprising that the company was eventually sold for big bucks! ● Danilo’s licensing director Trevor Jones receives a Lifetime Achievement award at the Henries.

● Our columnist Terry Harvey headlined his page The Grumpy Git’s Guide To Retailing and sensibly tells retailers how to handle several annoying problems facing a card retailer that included chewing gum on the carpet – his solution is plumbers’ pipe-freeze spray.

September 2004

● Hallmark announce a £5m TV advertising campaign. Primarily in the north of England, the company will use this as a tester for future TV advertising. The campaign will be firmly targeted at women. ● Carte Blanche’s owner and founder Stephen Haines receives the Entrepreneur Of The Year award at Ernst & Young’s annual awards ceremony (left). Not bad for a lad who started his company with £5,000 from the proceeds of the sale of his motorbike – 2004 would see sales of around £60m. ● My great friends Cathy and Alan Steel celebrate the birth of their first son Thomas (right). The two were key players in the success of American exhibition company George Little who, among their many shows, organised the May National Stationery Show in the US. ● Loxleys celebrate 150 years of printing and were, at that time, the biggest independent printers of greeting cards in the UK.

September 1999

● Cartel International having the previous month confirmed that creditors had agreed a Company Voluntary Arrangement, then a few weeks later are placed in administrative receivership.

● Following Peter Osman’s decision to resign as MD of Gibsons to pursue a new challenge as marketing director at Clinton Cards, the company announce that their operations director Mike Sillence will take over at the helm (left). ● We highlight Scottish wholesalers DL Wholesale, who are a major card wholesaler in Scotland and the Borders. ● Hallmark’s chief executive resigns for personal reasons having only been in the job for barely a year – Mathew Sharp.

Keith Brown takes over the role.

– Malcolm Naish

42 www.greetingstoday.co.uk

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