32-33_Geoff Sanderson.qxp_Grid 04/12/2024 11:18 Page 2
In Conversation with… Geoff Sanderson
JUNGLE DRUMS
Geoff Sanderson has an impressive CV, from his years at Tigerprint supplying cards into M&S, pioneering digital cards at Crown Greetings, being group design director of Hallmark and later Moonpig, plus stints in multiple retailing as well as being a successful developer of his own brands. Now though, Geoff has turned his attentions to facilitating youngsters’ creative careers into the greeting card world, heading up the GCA’s New Creative Talent initiative, as well as through the formation of Jungle Studio, a new talent spotting and nurturing service that he is running with his two daughters Maisy and Bibi. PG was all ears to hear all about it from this quietly spoken creative maestro. Championing the greeting card sector as a meaningful and rewarding avenue for creative graduates is nothing new for Geoff Sanderson, he’s being doing it for decades. It was during his Tigerprint/Hallmark days that he forged a sponsorship collaboration with the New Designers show that continues to this day. It was not just sponsorship of awards which recognise the talents of the youngsters that have given many a step-up in their respective careers, but also the paid work placements with the publisher, which served to give graduates a real taste of the industry and the potential fruits it offered. 32 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
If Geoff’s longstanding connection with New Designers was his first ‘degree’ in nurturing creative talent, his ‘masters’ has been the New Creative Talent project he instigated under the auspices of the GCA last year that is now gaining considerable ground, while the recent formation of Jungle Studio could be viewed as his ‘phd’.
It all stems from Geoff’s heartfelt belief that “there are so many talented young creatives in the UK that either don’t know anything about the greeting card industry or cannot see a way in.” He quite rightly points out that few art colleges and unis are in a position to offer mentoring about the card industry “with the result that so much of this talent either never sees the light of day or are diverted into other sectors,” said Geoff. Sharing the details on a dedicated blog on the GCA website entitled ‘Graduate Showcase 2024 and GCA progress in bridging the gap into industry’, on the back of the success of last year’s graduate project, Geoff first shouts loudly about ‘the class of 24’, a motivated group of six recent graduates who have each expressed an interest in working in the greeting card industry. “It has been such a joy to work with this group,” said Geoff who as well as explaining the rudiments of