10 minute read
Spotlight On... Stationery
Taking Note
With gift shops heading to the dedicated live London Stationery Show at the Business Design Centre on October 5-6, where exhibitors will be putting a spotlight on writing and paper products, PG&H takes a look at gift stationery to discover what’s trending for the coming season.
Below: Visitors to the London Stationery Show in 2019. Below left: Stationery from Rex London. Below middle: Two notebooks in the new Sucseed range from VENT for Change. Below right: Dream Odyssey Star Print notebook and pen boxed gift set from A Gift From the Gods. Bottom: Floral notecards from The Seed Card Company which are made from seed card.
Despite living in a world where smart phones and tablets rule, technology has, if anything, reinforced a love of trend-driven, tactile stationery that stylishly says something about the user. A lovely notebook, journal or notecard makes the experience of writing down thoughts and feelings that much more enjoyable, while for those looking for stationery for their desks - whether in the office or at home - a colourful notebook cover can help to inject a feeling of positivity into the day.
At Rex London, marketing and communications manager Anna Williams, points out: “For many organisations, some form of flexible working will become the new norm, even as we progress out of lockdown measures. The huge rise in home décor trends, particularly around home offices, increased massively during the pandemic - and with many people still working from home for at least one day a week, they will be looking for ways to refresh their space.”
Back to school too, evokes thoughts of notebooks, pens, pencils and rulers. “With a return to normality for the new academic year imminent in the UK, back to school is certainly on everyone’s mind,” continues Anna. “Stationery is a huge part of that annual ritual for parents, so standing out with fun yet functional products is key for us.”
For those looking for an eco-friendly stationery gift, Kay Patel, co-founder of The Seed Card Company adds: “Our notecard sets, made from seed card, have been popular sellers on our online shop, with customers buying them as gifts for others as well as for themselves. Floral, foliage and outdoor garden-inspired designs are especially popular. Over the last 18 months, people have been transforming their outdoor spaces small and large and more and more people, from all age groups, have made gardening a hobby. This has been reflected on the designs chosen for the notecard set, and it’s a trend we don’t see stopping anytime soon. It helps that our notecards also grow flowers,” adds Kay.
Sustainable stationery brand VENT for Change recently launched a new Sucseed range of sustainable notebooks. made using reclaimed coffee beans, lavender, cherry and kiwi husk, plus100% recycled paper. Each notebook features a page marker made from reclaimed corn pulp. “We’re loving the use of these new reclaimed and recycled materials to deliver a stunning tactile finish that reflects their origins,” states the company’s founder Evan Lewis.
With Christmas in mind, fashion lifestyle brand A Gift From The Gods has added to the company’s stationery ranges by introducing a gift boxed notebook and pen set for Autumn/Winter 2021, with one for each of the company’s design stories. “As proven best sellers and, often bought
together, it was a natural upgrade to bring the A5 notebook and pen together as a gift boxed set, with the quality of the production and box design adding value,” comments founder Jane Reucroft. “Stationery is still a popular gift option and people are always looking for gift wrapped or gift boxed items.”
One way or another, stationery has an important role to play in the lives of many people. From helping to plan and organise their lives to a personal space that allows them reflect and jot thoughts down, design-led stationery continues to makes an affordable, practical and much appreciated gift.
WHAT’S NEW
Sonic The Hedgehog Licensed Gifts In a year when Sonic the Hedgehog turns 30, Fizz Creations is delighted to announce the introduction of the character to its extensive collection of licensed gifts and lighting. The new line up features mug gift sets, puzzles, stress squeezers and a couple of outstanding lighting products, to name a few! The Sonic the Hedgehog Mood Light is the star of this range - at 13 cm tall this expertly designed light features the iconic blue Sonic head with amazing 3D spine detail. Fizz Creations
Where’s Wally Collection Fizz Creations is delighted to announce a brand-new collection with Where’s Wally? The range includes family fun games: Where’s Wally? Hide & Seek, Where’s Wally? Character Hunt and Where’s Wally? Mystery Puzzle. The range is completed by a series of day-to-day gifting products including a 500ml double-walled metal water bottle, a heat changing mug and a three-piece dinner set. Fizz Creations T: 01903 327006 E: sales@fizzcreations.com W:www.fizzcreations.com T: 01903 327006 E: sales@fizzcreations.com W:www.fizzcreations.com
Rainbow Ceramic Gifts Joe Davies is happy to launch its new Rainbow Graphique collection of ceramic gifts. These lovely ceramic gifts include a keepsake hanging heart, standing hearts that make great mantelpiece decorations, mugs and gorgeous tea light holders. The design is a brightly coloured rainbow design with heartfelt messages for Mum, Sister, Friends and many more best-selling captions. Joe Davies T: 0161 9756300 E: sales@joedavies.co.uk W:www.joedavies.co.uk Credit Card Size Fashion Purse Hot Tomato’s latest credit card purses are proving ever popular as we increasingly embrace a contactless society as it seems that the credit card is king! Featured here is their faux suede, metallic brickprint design with eleven, concertinaed pockets offering fantastic storage capacity. See the full collection in Hall 20 stand E20 at the Autumn Fair. Hot Tomato T: 01225 422188 E: sales@hot-tom.com W:www.hot-tom.com
New William Morris Design Brand new from Lesser & Pavey is a stylish new range of tableware featuring designs from William Morris adding to the existing collection. The new design is a grey and white pattern which is called Bachelor’s Button. The range features chinaware mugs, a jug, tea for one, a teapot, and a butter dish as well as coasters, placemats, trays, a cutting board and a lap tray. See more from Lesser & Pavey on stand 7E30-6A31 at Autumn Fair. Lesser & Pavey T: 01322 279225 E: sales@leonardo.co.uk W:www.leonardo.co.uk
WHAT’S NEW
Little Dogs Design Based on artwork painted by Classic Canes managing director Charlotte Gillan, this practical folding walking stick is height adjustable and makes an ideal present for a dog lover. The featured breeds are the West Highland White Terrier or Westie, Dachshund, Jack Russell, Cairn Terrier and Scottish Terrier or Scottie Dog, interspersed with pawprints on a grey background. This is one of 700 models stocked by the family firm, ensuring there is a stick for everyone. Classic Canes T: 01460 75686 E: nfo@classiccanes.co.uk W:www.classiccanes.co.uk Creatures Great and Small Creatures Great and Small is a fun presentation of three current Best Kept Secrets products - candles, wax melts and natural soaps. Developed with designer Tracey Russell, a farm and wild animal theme is created reminiscent of the great TV series All Creatures Great and Small. Wonderfully impressive designs of animals with amusing straplines results in a really novel set of products. Themes included in the range are: ‘Herd it’s Your Birthday’ – ‘Moooved House’ and ‘Thank You Pig Time’ Best Kept Secrets T: 01670 512222 E: sales@bestkeptsecrets.co.uk W:www.bestkeptsecrets.co.uk
Pusheen Licensed Gifts Alongside an extensive collection of other well-known licenses, Puckator will be showcasing its brand new collaboration with Pusheen at Autumn Fair 2021. Made up of products spanning areas including homeware, lunch accessories and beauty, you can find a Pusheen product for each room of the house. This range also includes some of Puckator's newest products - the fold-over cool bag and the stacked bento lunch box. Puckator T: 0800 0116969 E: customerservices@puckator.co.uk W:www.puckator.co.uk
Wedding Bracelets Life Charms is extremely excited to share its range of redesigned adjustable wedding bracelets. The range includes nine designs with new charms and new improved packaging. If you are looking for something modern and fast selling to add to your offer for 2021, the team would be delighted to discuss you becoming a stockist of Life Charms jewellery. Life Charms T: 0203 4882656 E: info@lifecharms.co.uk W:www.lifecharms-trade.co.uk Music & Greetings Card Merge Say it with Songs’ extensive range of ready-made greeting cards include key lyrics and a song preview, allowing customers to pick the perfect words and music to suit any occasion and express the intended message. On the front of each card is a key song lyric and on the reverse there is a scannable code that is activated with a smartphone that links through to the chosen song which can be played through Spotify, Amazon Prime or YouTube for instant streaming. Sat It With Songs T: 07793 845182 E: ellie@sayitwithsongs.com W:www.sayitwithsongs.com
WHAT’S NEW
Progressive Gifts & Home highlights some of the latest new products to be showcased this month
Retro-Inspired Christmas Spread festive cheer throughout the home with the retro-inspired 50s Christmas print and cute wooden Christmas decorations from Rex London. Part of its extensive product range available now for the upcoming festive season. Rex London T: 0208 7461700 E: info@rexlondon.com W:www.rexlondontrade.com
Bamboo Socks Bamboo is some kind of magic material, as it is cool in the Summer, while still managing to be warm in the Winter. It is also super soft and sustainable too. Sock Therapy then adds its own funky designs and bright colours. The result is a pair of socks you’ll never want to take off! Smiling Faces E: sales@smilingfaces.co.uk W:www.smilingfaces.co.uk
Stylish Storage A pretty and practical addition to any nursery or playroom, this set of three nesting cases is ideal for storing toys, stationery, crafts and more, and is available in eight other popular Rex London prints. A hugely popular product in 2020, the storage tin sets selection has been expanded to include new designs for 2021, still in keeping with the retro-inspired aesthetic to add a touch of vintage to any home. Rex London T: 0208 7461700 E: info@rexlondon.com W:www.rexlondontrade.com Vintage Design Pen & Brush Pots Coulson Macleod is excited to announce the launch of its Pen & Brush Pots in 57 new designs for its Vintage Words range. Each 10oz ceramic pot is printed and finished in-house, and supplied with a kraft packaging wrap. Celebrating all manner of interests and hobbies, each desk-tidy features wonderful quotes in a letterpress-style font on the reverse, and vintage 19th century steel-engraved illustrations to the front. Coulson Macleod T: 01536 419944 E: hello@coulsonmacleod.com W:www.coulsonmacleod.com
British By Design The English Tableware Company brand epitomises everything great about British Design. Inspiration can come from anywhere and it actively seeks new trends and ideas. It uses natural forms and illustrations to create gorgeous giftware and accessory collections for the home. The aim is to make every product special, paying particular attention to the detail and carefully sourcing each product for its quality and appeal. The English Tableware Company T: 01246 2605000 E: info@englishtablewarecompany.com W:www.englishtablewarecompany.com
