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The Henries 2021 Winner & Finalists
For the third year running Paper Salad’s Hoopla range was named the winner of The Henries 2021 Best Children’s Range category. PG spoke to the company’s co-founders, Claire Williams and Karen Wilson, as well as the other category finalists, to find out more about the ranges, where the inspiration came from, plus what gives children’s cards the X factor. Above: Paper Salad’s Karen Wilson (centre) and Claire Williams on stage at The Henries, having received the trophy from Tony Lorriman, md of Loxleys, the sponsor of this award category.
Finalist: Mouthies from Kali Stileman Publishing Kali Stileman, founder of her eponymous company Kali Stileman...
Winner: Hoopla from Paper Salad Claire Williams and Karen Wilson, co-founders and directors of Paper Salad... On winning: “We were delighted to win a Henries in the Best Children’s Range at this year’s awards. It completes a hat trick for us in this category, as we have won the award for the last three years in a row. In addition, for the past two years, we have also won Best Children’s Range at The Louies (the American greeting card awards) so we think it is safe to say we think we know what we are going when it comes to designing for kids!” About the range: “Certainly our use of colour helps. We pride ourselves on making all of our cards ‘pop’, and add to this beautiful embossing and foiling to complete the look. We also include a rainbow envelope designed especially for our Hoopla range.” Where does the inspiration comes from? “Animals feature in our latest additions, and always seem to have mass appeal to children of all ages. They do have to be fun and very cute though, and we have used them in different scenarios: all aboard, a boat, fire engine and ice cream van to name just a few!” What are the essentials? “Young ages sell very well for us, with ages one to five in both boy and girl adorned with cute little icons. From six to nine, the cards have a more generic feel. Stars, spots and stripes always work well on these ages.” Above: For the third consecutive year, Paper Salad’s Hoopla range won The Henries Best Children’s Range award.
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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
About the range: “Our Mouthies range is a series of delightfully quirky birthday cards featuring friendly animals and creatures with fun, laser-cut mouths.” Where did the inspiration come from? “The inspiration for the collection initially came from my illustrations for Make Believe Ideas, with a fab card range including a fluffy and formidable yeti, a delightful dinosaur and a growly tiger. Following the success of the first collection - we were up for Best Children’s Range at the Henries in 2020, too! - we brought out even more lasercut loveliness. This range celebrates the animal kingdom, to include a cheeky monkey, smiley polar bear and friendly giraffe.” What are the essentials? “In the Mouthies range, the toothy laser cut smiles make for lots of interaction for little fingers an essential element in designing a birthday card that children will love.” Above: Mouthies from Kali Stileman encourages interaction.