Progressive Greetings Worldwide January 2017

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Forget Brexit and 2017 price increases...

At IC&G we are freezing our prices for the 6th year in a row! We are recognized as being number one for best customer service in the industry, as voted for by you!

IfAsthatʼs not of enough to beat your January a friend the independent retailer, weblues... want to support as many of you as possible, in any way we can.

If the price freeze isnʼt enough to beat your January blues, take a look at our brand new designs fresh for 2017...

E Z E E R F PRICE throughout all of 2017

We are exhibiting at Spring Fair 2017 In the Cardgains Village - Hall 3, Stand L10/M11 Stop by to see our new ranges & designs.

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an exclusive collection of over 200 exciting new designs, ALL AT FANTASTIC PRICE POINTS...

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A piece collection of all new designs. ’s are simply stunning...

to view o n lin e a nd ord er t o d ay!

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sales@hammondgower.co.uk www.hammondgower.co.uk 01949 839898

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Leader

On The Cards New year... new broom... a liberating clear out of the dead stock to make room for the new. Returns (hopefully miniscule) need to be processed, trade show visits organised and a plan of attack as to making the most of the first quarter of the year put in action.

Whatever the outcome of festive trading, there is always something to look forward to.

Much has been said about the Spring Seasons, how publishers struggle to make money from them due to the SOR arrangements and short selling period, but they are a vital part of our industry calendar and need to be nurtured by all concerned.

Last October, Cardgains approached the GCA on behalf of its retail associate members to highlight the paucity of PoS available to indies that is freely available. Managing director Chris Dyson’s view was that if the consumer was not reminded of the dates then these are card sending events that will just dwindle. Picking up the mantle, UK Greetings agreed to develop a whole suite of unbranded PoS items that retailers can download free of charge from the GCA website (irrespective of whether the retailer is a member of the trade association or buying group) and printed to any size. This kind of collective thinking - all parties working for the greater good - has to be applauded. It further reinforces the GCA’s current thrust to recruit more retail members (with Card Factory, Cardzone and another 15 indies joining in the last month alone).

It was interesting to hear the views from Paperchase’s Tish Bas and Hazel Walker at the recent Ladder Club seminar, who revealed the retailer’s sales patterns for the Spring Seasons. It was fascinating to learn how Valentine’s Day for the design-led retailer is no longer its top selling Spring event having recently been eclipsed by Mother’s Day (following the pattern of the majority of other retailers). However, it was their cry for a wider Easter card selection

Above: The past and the present. Former Hallmark md Harry Birtley (seated) met up with his current day counterpart Steve Wright (second left) at the GCA Past Presidents Annual Luncheon. Seen here with PG's Jakki Brown and Blue Eyed Sun's Jeremy Corner.

Right: In keeping with tradition, current GCA president Ged Mace of The Art File carved the turkey with a former president, Mike Belsten, previously of Second Generation at the Past Presidents Annual Luncheon. The GCA's Sharon Little ensured there was no 'fowl' play!

Below: Thanks to the generosity of those in the greeting card and licensing industry, The Light Fund charity reached its £1 million fundraising milestone.

The charity was co-founded by PG's Jakki Brown (centre) and co-director Ian Hyder (far right) and Trevor Jones of Danilo (second left) as its long serving chairman. This year the charity is funding 23 different charity projects.

from publishers that signaled there is greater potential for this age old events. Albeit from a low base, Easter could be a saviour. I recall last year how retailers, independent and multiple, fanfared unexpectedly good sales of Easter cards, some selling out days before the holiday weekend – just think what could be achieved with the new GCA PoS toolkit.

In the Chinese Zodiac 2017 is the Year of the Rooster – known for their ‘hardworking’, ‘courageous’, ‘confident’ and ‘frank and honest’ approach. We in the industry are well-known for all of these attributes, so here’s to fluffing up your feathers, pushing out your chest and shouting ‘cockadoodle do’ to 2017.

www.max-publishing.co.uk THE HOME OF MARKET LEADING TRADE MAGAZINES

THE HOME OF MARKET LEADING TRADE AWARDS

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Max Publishing Ltd, United House, North Road, London N7 9DP Tel: 020 7700 6740 Fax: 020 7607 6411 www.progressivegreetings.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Contents

What’s Inside 33

79

69 11-23

53-57

73-74

News

Trends Focus

Retailer Face To Face

Prosecco Time!

Paperchase Wrapsters

Why the Prosecco trend is ‘popping’ on card designs.

59-61

At the recent Ladder Club seminar the Paperchase buying team revealed how they ‘wrap-up’ the card offering of this design-led retailer.

In Conversation With… Paul Taylor Of Cardzone

77-79

A Taylor-ed Approach

Industry Issue

PG talks to Paul Taylor, founder of specialist card retail Cardzone, about his growing business.

Flattery Gets You Nowhere

25-26 Over The Counter

The Saints Go Marching On Independent card and gift retailer, Cathy Frost, owner of Loveone in Ipswich, relays how local independents joined forces to create a destination shopping area.

29-30 Cardsharp

Some Crystal Ball Gazing Cardsharp muses over topical events happening in the industry.

33-37 Viewpoints

Some Prudent Council-ing Members of the GCA Council highlight key happenings of the last year as well as industry predictions of 2017.

63-65 Jeremy’s Journal

81-83

Great Resolve

Art Source

Blue Eyed-Sun’s Jeremy Corner considers New Year’s resolutions.

85-87

What’s Hot?

67-71 Rising Stars

Bright Young Things Four 2016 Henries award winning card publishers who are reaching for the stars.

39-51

A trio of card publishers at The Ladder Club shared their thoughts on copying and plagiarising in the industry.

89-90 Lynn’s Lines

Fair Is Fair

Innovations

91-103

Some new launches from publishers exhibiting at Top Drawer Spring.

Classified

Progressive Greetings is a monthly business magazine.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: UK subscription: One year £50 Two year £85 Three year £110 Overseas subscription: One year £75 Jakki Brown

Warren Lomax

Gale Astley

Editor

Advertisement Director

Deputy Editor

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warren@max-publishing.co.uk

galea@max-publishing.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTIONS ENQUIRES: maxsubscriptions@marketingreinforcements.co.uk Tel: 020 8943 9541

PG is the official magazine for the Greeting Card Association GCA: Sharon Little 020 7619 0396 Email: gca@max-publishing.co.uk www.greetingcardassociation.org.uk Use your smartphone app to scan the QR code to visit our website.

Copyright© 2016. While every effort has been made to ensure the information in this magazine was correct at the time of publication, the publishers cannot accept legal liability for any errors or omissions, nor can they accept responsibility for the standing of advertisers nor any organisation mentioned in the text. Views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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DID YOU GET THE MESSAGE? The UK’s largest, newest and most spectacular collection of greeting cards, gifts, craft items, stationery (and all things paper) is at Spring Fair 2017. Come and explore!

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EXPLORE 14 SPECIALIST SHOW SECTORS – ALL UNDER ONE ROOF • Body & Bath • Children’s Gifts, Toys & Gadgets • Christmas Gifts, Floral & Seasonal Decorations • Contemporary Gift • DIY & Home Improvement • Fashion Jewellery, Accessories & Luggage • Gift • Greetings & Gift • Home • Kitchen, Dining & Housewares • Retail Solutions • The Party Show • The Summerhouse • Volume Gift & Home

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NEWS The PM's First Christmas Card

TOP STORY

Media Frenzy GCA Bangs The Christmas Card Drum Christmas sales may have started slow at retail this year, but the media coverage of Christmas cards could not have been better – and the majority of it was very positive.

Leading the charge to reinforce the importance of sending Christmas cards was GCA ceo Sharon Little. She appeared in the studio on BBC Breakfast TV, was filmed by ITV News, as well as for a Brazilian TV news station, was interviewed on Radio 4’s You and Yours programme, as well as a plethora of popular regional radio stations.

At the beginning of December, Sharon stood her ground when she was given a hard time by the presenters of BBC Breakfast TV, Naga Munchetty and John Kay, as to the increase in the number of people who prefer to send their festive greetings by text, email and Facebook.

Deflecting Naga’s urge to highlight how 10 million fewer Christmas cards are now being sent, Sharon stressed that we as a nation still send a billion Christmas cards.

Sharon also underlined the huge amount donated to charity as a result of Christmas card sales, as well as the feelgood factor that those cards generated. "Unlike a text, they can be put out on the mantlepiece,

Below: The GCA's Sharon Little on the BBC Breakfast TV sofa being interviewed by Naga Munchetty and John Kay with Liat Hughes Joshi on the screen.

and it's so nice to know that someone is thinking of you," emphasised Sharon.

The interview was prefaced with vox pops featuring varied public opinions as to whether people would or wouldn't be sending Christmas cards this year and to whom, as well as graphics of key facts supplied by the GCA - such as how Christmas cards raise £50m for good causes.

Sharon's opposite number on the programme was naysayer journalist Liat Hughes Joshi, who felt strongly that Christmas cards in today's digital age are a waste of time, with a text messages, meet ups and/or telling people all year round they are special is more important. "In a digital age, Christmas cards are becoming less important," she stated, but reluctantly admitted that she did in fact send cards to those who send them to her.

Over The Airways Interviewed by presenter James Churchfield on BBC Radio Cornwall, the GCA’s Sharon Little brushed away his concerns about the 'demise' of Christmas cards. She pointed out that the drop was a mere 0.01% and emphasised that while younger people tend not to be card senders, once they settle down and have families, "they want to re-connect with people through sending Christmas and other occasion cards," she assured him. "Receiving a handwritten Christmas Above: Sharon with Juliana Yonezawa being interviewed in Waterstones Piccadilly store for TV Globo Noticia Europa for a card, or any greeting card, creates a happy, emotional news programme broadcast on Christmas Day in Brazil. connection. Displaying the cards in our homes makes us feel happy and surrounded by our friends and family. It's why we're slow to take cards down."

At BBC Radio Surrey, presenter James Cannon warmed to Sharon’s reasons for sending Christmas cards and writing personal messages. "What makes a card emotionally powerful is what is written inside," she told him.

Interviewed by Winifred Robinson, respected presenter of Radio 4’s You and Yours, Sharon reinforced her message, underlining how special Thinking of You Week has become. "It has been scientifically proven that receiving a handwritten message through a greeting card is more emotionally powerful than receiving a text or an email," she underlined. "Women were actually wired up for the research, and it showed that there is no substitute for receiving a handwritten message in a card if you want to feel really special and cared about."

In a step away from traditional family style Christmas cards normally sent by politicians, PM Theresa May asked the children in her Maidenhead constituency to design a greeting card, based around a Christmas theme at 10 Downing Street. The cards were sent to politicians and dignitaries, with the competition an annual event for the PM. With a bumper entry of 600 designs, and as one of the competition's judges, the PM was so torn between three of them, that she decided to make them all winners.

More good news was that she invited the three young designers - Isabelle Milne, 5, Jade Winsor, 11, and Sophie Brazil, 11 - to enjoy a magical moment, helping her to turn on the Christmas lights at Downing Street.

Elsewhere in Westminster, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's Christmas card showed a white dove on a red background, with a subtle 2017 design, while Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, chose Scottish cartoon character Oor Wullie. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron's was drawn by a young constituent and featured a dog.

Above: One of the Christmas cards that captured Theresa May's heart.

Below: The Christmas card that was sent by Nicola Sturgeon.

Sir Henry's Christmas Card Comes To Life To celebrate Sir Henry Cole's legacy in realising Prince Albert's vision for the Royal Albert Hall, the theatre released a festive video at the beginning of December that re-imagined the first commercial Christmas card sent by Sir Henry in 1843, attracting strong pick up in the media.

London school children were dressed as leading names to include Sir Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmeline Pankhurst and Jimi Hendrix who are all connected to the theatre. The end of the video shows the group posing together in a recreated scene from Sir Henry's first card.

Below: A shot from the Royal Albert Hall video based on the Sir Henry Cole original Christmas card.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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NEWS TOP STORY

A Royal Mail Christmas Card Challenge

Festive Friday Flourishes Industry Embraces Early Card Sending The industry did its bit to kickstart Christmas card sending, embracing Festive Friday (which took place on November 25) with gusto. Now in its fourth year, the GCA-initiative centres on sending your Christmas cards early so that they arrive with the recipients at the very beginning of December.

"Festive Friday is getting bigger and better every year with more publishers and retailers taking part," confirmed the GCA's ceo Sharon Little.

UK Greetings spread its festive feelings wider this year.

Not only did the company pay for the postage for 8,693 Christmas cards that its staff wrote, but it also held a bake sale that raised £238 for St George's Crypt homeless charity. Plus, the company's donation boxes were filled with toiletries, clothing and chocolate goodies for the charity.

Greeting card printer Windles also got through a huge amount of Christmas card signings on the big day. "Printed signatures are not something for us. We

Below: UKG's thank you to staff.

Below left: Write on at Windles.

fully support the greeting card and the personal handwritten point of it," says the company's Michelle Mills. "We all suffered from wrist ache after signing over 400 cards!"

Adding to the excitement was that the Festive Friday word went global this year. Yasmin Tara Rahmatullah, founder of card publishing business YTR Design, launched the initiative in Dubai, where the company is based. As well as running YTR Design from Dubai, she has also teamed up with a friend to set up Pip & Bear, to distribute greeting cards and gifting items into shops and popular outdoor markets.

"We posted all the Festive Friday details on Facebook pages including, Christmas Madness UAE, and also British Mums Dubai, which has over 10,000 members. We had a great response," she confirmed.

Far left and left: The GCA held a local 'mixing the generations' Festive Friday event near its North London office. The event was open to local business as well as senior citizens from the Drover's Age UK centre.

In The Christmas Spirit The Radio 4's You And Yours programme also included an interview at Moonpig's HQ in central London with managing director James Sturrock. Challenged about people sending fewer cards, he was quick to point out that the online personalised greeting card company was bucking the trend. "Industry reports show a very small decline in volume of sales year-on-year, but an increase in spending shows that people are investing a bit more.

At Moonpig we are seeing double digit growth in our card sales," he confirmed, adding that Snapchat and other apps where people can filter photos mean that people can take great fun photos and upload them onto a card. "The tradition of sending a greeting Above: James Sturrock, managing card is really important in this digital age," he emphasised, "and I think there is plenty of room to grow. We worked with the GCA on Thinking of director of Moonpig You Week in September and saw really good growth in card sales, and we expect to see the same next year. It's just the sort of thing to encourage customers to send greeting cards, not just for big, special occasions but just to show people that someone is thinking about them."

Royal Mail comes in for plenty of criticism when post doesn't arrive on time, but when they were presented with a Christmas card addressed to 'somewhere near the sea in Suffolk' with a note on the envelope that said 'good luck with that postie' they were determined to deliver the card to its rightful recipient.

"It took four days to reach us which was very impressive," Antony Wren of Lowestoft told The Times. "There wasn't really much to go on either - there's 90 miles of coastline in Suffolk. Royal Mail did a brilliant job."

Below: Up for a delivery challenge, Royal Mail installed a special Santa Mail postbox in London, at Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, where children could post their letters to Santa.

Making Someone's Christmas Thanks to a new Tatty Teddy animation that launched in the run up to Christmas, Me to You set out to encourage people to make their loved ones’ Christmas extra special by sending a Christmas card.

It was distributed on the brand’s Facebook and Instagram pages and supported with 12 days worth of Tatty Teddy giveaways featuring a different Me to You product each day.

Created as part of Tatty Teddy’s 21st anniversary celebrations, the animation shows the importance of remembering those we love at Christmas through the simple act of sending a Christmas card.

“We had an opportunity to build upon our original story of Tatty Teddy this Christmas that not only focused on our key brand values of love and sentiment, but also reminds us to think of those special to us at Christmas time,” explains Me to You marketing manager Jason Pepperell.

The animation’s artwork was created

by Me to You artist Steve Mort-Hill, with the voice over recorded by fellow artist Michael Cooper. It was animated by Southampton based content marketing agency, Headstream.

Above: The Me To You Tatty Teddy Christmas animation that encouraged sending Christmas cards.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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NEWS TOP STORY

Price Rises Start To Kick In Sensitive Price Points Are Treated Carefully Everyone knows they are on the cards, but few like talking about them – trade price rises.

With board prices rising, and production costs increasing especially for publishers who manufacture in China, the industry is bracing itself for publishers putting up their prices up, if not in January then later in the year.

“We all have to be realistic,” accepts Paul Taylor, md of retail group Cardzone.

“The market can absorb some price increases, but I would be fearful of anything more than 5%, and avoiding some of the key price points altogether.”

Summing up the economic realities, Chris Bryan, general manager of Second Nature said: "As the majority of our cards are produced in the Far East, the rapid fall in the value of sterling against the US dollar hit us particularly hard. Within the space of a couple of days post Brexit our bills from the Far East had effectively risen by approximately 18%, based on prices negotiated a year previously.”

Echoing the point made by Paul Taylor, Second Nature is mindful that “certain retail price points (£2.99, £3.99 and £4.99) are very sensitive and would

Below left: Cardzone’s Paul Taylor.

potentially have an adverse impact on retail sales so we just looked at our pricing on a range by range basis to see what price codes were not sustainable.”

The net result is that Second Nature has only moved two price points - its KK went from £2.79 to £2.99 and its HI/HJ to £2.29, while “reluctantly” it moved the net cost price of its value Yours Truly handmade cards range from 41p to 46p. “The majority of our customers already retail them between £1.25 and £1.99 so they could still continue to make a great margin.”

While Chris added, that in common with other publishers, Second Nature has not completely ruled out further increases, but he said it was “still hoping for the £pound to rally to make things more comfortable but, in our world, it's all about supporting the independents as best as we can through the uncertainty."

Hallmark Disney Story One of the highlights of its upcoming series of roadshows Hallmark predicts will be the chance to see the publisher’s latest collection of Disney and Star Wars products.

Hallmark has recently extended its licensing agreement with Disney enabling the publisher to extend its product portfolio to include greeting cards and all gift packaging products featuring Disney franchises as well as Star Wars and Marvel Itty Bittys.

Alan Brook, Hallmark’s head of licensing, said that the recent extension of its licensing agreement was especially poignant, given the Above: One of the Princess Portrait friendship that existed between JC Hall (founder of Hallmark) and Walt Disney designs from Hallmark. himself going back nearly a century “when they were both ambitious young men trying to make a go of it in Kansas City. Disney was Hallmark’s very first licensing agreement, signed in 1932 and the two shared a common belief of never being afraid to dream big; values still hold true today.”

Hallmark will be launching its new Disney ranges at its roadshows (which kick off from January 10 and run to February 2) with exclusive designs for independents under its Handpicked brand.

Hallmark’s promotional calendar includes products based on new film releases, starting with Beauty & the Beast in March, as well as planned showcases in key retail partners.

Welcome To Weybridge

Above: Bluebell 33, Weybridge.

Card and gift company Bluebell 33 has opened its first retail outlet, based in Weybridge.

"It truly is an emporium of lovely things and we have had the most amazing reaction from our customers who gasped when we unveiled the window and have compared it to something from Harry Potter to a vintage store in New York!", enthuses co-owner Karen Brown. "Praise indeed and just how we wanted it," she states. "We love the old Bond Street style stores and the whole NY curiosity shop vibe. With the building being Edwardian it totally lent itself to this style, and we're chuffed to bits as we renovated the whole building from head to toe!”

The Future Of Paper Some 1,500 of the world's leading manufacturers and interesting start-ups will be showing us what the future has in store at Paperworld 2017, held from January 28 - 31 in Frankfurt. “The dynamics of the global economy and the changes in the world of work have long since been felt in the paper, office supplies and stationery sector, too," says Michael Reichhold, director of Paperworld. "At Paperworld, we see how outstandingly successful companies are being at responding to these changes with new products and solutions.”

Mary Portas Takes To The Stage TV presenter and Queen of Shops, Mary Portas (right), will be the keynote speaker at this year's Spring Fair, taking to the Fashion and Accessories catwalk at 1.45pm on Monday February 6. Mary, a familiar face on TV, is best known for looking at the mistakes retailers make and how to fix them.

Other seminar speakers at the show will include: Sophie Cornish, founder of Notonthehighstreet, Martin Holland of Martin Mark Design, winner of The Great Interior Design Challenge and PG's columnist Jeremy Corner, md of Blue Eyed Sun. Taking place from 5-9 February at the NEC, Birmingham, over 2,500 exhibitors will be showcasing products across 14 show sectors.

Visit: www.springfair.com

Wholesaler Balloon World Changes Hands Long-established party wholesaler Balloon World has been taken over by Richard Aylett, co-owner of The Card House and Balloon Room in Makerfield in Ashton. After learning that the business was in some financial difficulty, Richard teamed up with some like-minded business partners – Chris and Lee Dobson – to purchase the business.

“The first thing we did was change the trading hours to more customer-friendly opening times, including Saturday mornings,” said Richard.

Above: Richard Aylett has already set to updating The Balloon World website.

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NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF

TOP STORY

● It's been exciting times for Rachel Ellen, which has seen the company move office, broaden its product portfolio and appoint more licensees. In addition, Paul Roberts has been appointed as the company's commercial director.

Opening The Top Drawer PaperFest, PaperAwards And Spring Seasons Feature A ‘return to the '70s’ is among the six key trends that will be seen at the imminent Top Drawer show. In addition to ‘70's Remix’, visitors will spot Echoes of Deco, Happy, Honest Simplicity, The Blues and Tribe Vibes.

Top Drawer (which takes place January 15-17 at London's Olympia) will be divided into four curated sectors: Home, Gift, Fashion and Craft, with other show highlights featuring PaperFest, the place for talks, panels and clinics to highlight design, paper and print. In addition, the PaperAwards, sponsored by GF Smith, will recognise talent within the sector. (Among the finalist are: Lagom, Hannah Richards, Earlybird, Summer Will Be Back, Lizzie Chancellor, Katie Leamon, Nancy & Betty Studio, Rhombus & Pineapple, Paperboy London, Hotchpotch, Santoro, Pearl & Black, Rocket 68, Roger La Borde, Ohh Deer and Portico. Winners will be announced prior to the show).

The show will also incorporate a special display feature dedicated to promoting

Left: The '70s is back and will be a strong theme at Top Drawer. Product from KMI’s Orla Kiely range.

Spring Seasons cards, which is wholly funded by show organisers Clarion, but being created in conjunction with the GCA. “The feature will enable us to not only showcase the amazing Spring Seasons cards on offer, but also fanfare the new Spring Seasons Point of Sale kit that will be free for retailers to download from the GCA website,” commented Sharon Little, ceo of the GCA. Top Drawer will also include a Spotted area and will feature 40 upcoming exhibitors showing market ready designs.

Show trails include UK Debut, Men Only, Product GB and Eco. A seminar programme will also be taking place in Academy Live.

Visit: www.topdrawer.co.uk (See Innovations pages 39-51 for more product that will be on show).

New Branding For Hotchpotch Hotchpotch, part of CBG, will be unveiling its brand new branding at Top Drawer, but will also be launching its first ever stationery collection alongside its new card ranges.

The new branding includes a new signoff ‘Love from London’, reflecting its refreshed focus on “creating beautiful, trend-led greeting cards that are all printed and hand assembled here in the UK,” explains Hotchpotch designer Emma Pearce.

As part of this it has also switched to a luxurious heavy weight FSC stock for all its new greeting cards.

The new Flair card range features real enamel pins with rose-gold coloured plating, while Hello Neon is a neon-ink card, stationery and wrap collection.

As part of its commitment to its independent retail customers, Hotchpotch is initiating a social media campaign centred around Instagram and is due to launch a new website shortly.

Above: New from Hotchpotch is the Hello Neon stationery, card and wrap collection which features the new branding.

IG Design Survey IG Design Group polled 2,000 card and gift givers across the country and found that men put more effort than women into wrapping up Christmas presents and writing Christmas cards for their partner.

Plus, their findings highlighted that buying of Christmas cards, gift bags and wrapping paper, started an average of five and a half weeks before Christmas, with women starting their Christmas buying about two weeks earlier than men.

When it comes to Christmas cards, the survey revealed that over a quarter of women (27%) sign them on behalf of their partner without their knowledge, compared to just 15% of men.

And pets don’t get forgotten either, with a quarter of pet owners signing off their Christmas cards with their pet’s name included and 8% actually sending cards from their pet.

Above: The IG Christmas survey found that men put more effort into Christmas giftwrapping.

Left: IG Design Group's Christmas survey attracted national newspaper coverage to include the Daily Express.

Right: The team at Rachel Ellen have moved office.

● Retas winner Creased Cards, based in The Lanes, Brighton, recently marked the shop's third anniversary with the launch of a Loyalty Programme and a new look website. The Loyalty Programme will reward returning customers with 10% payback on everything they spend at Creased.

Right: Creased Cards.

● When Edinburgh-based Dynamic Colour (which ran SchoolCardShop, an online print service for schools), suddenly went bust, leaving school children without their Christmas cards, the media was quick to highlight the children's plight.

Southfield Printers in Midlothian and MarstanPress in Kent offered to help and get new designs printed in time for Christmas

The Force Is With UKG Coinciding with the debut on the big screen of the Star Wars’ Rogue One film, UK Greetings launched this month its Star Wars ‘premiere’ on the greeting cards front.

Although UK Greetings has published Disney and Marvel cards previously this is the first time that the publisher has produced a Star Wars collection.

Ceri Stirland, marketing director of UKG, says: “We are so proud of the innovation we injected into our Disney and Marvel collections – the feedback from retailers has been fantastic. We love the excitement that both brands generate, and to be given the opportunity to immerse ourselves in Star Wars as well is testament to the talent of the team. 2017 will be a year of fantastic product development across all three brands – the force will definitely be with us!”

Above: Two UKG Star Wars card from the new collection.

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NEWS PEOPLE

TOP STORY

Even More Awesome Paperboy Makes Its Debut At Top Drawer Jolly Awesome will be doubling its presence at Top Drawer this January, debuting a brand new separate sibling brand, Paperboy London, on a dedicated stand.

Describing Paperboy London as a “real passion project” that creator and company founder Matt Nguyen has had an urge to create since 2013, this luxe stationery, card and wrap brand has a very different focus on design, using different paper stocks, detailing and finishes to that of Jolly Awesome.

“The brand is very personal, inspired by places that Katie [Littlewood, Matt’s partner] and I have travelled to along with my interest in fashion and music."

Paperboy London debuts with four collections - NYC, Times Square, Marfa and Bushwick. The portfolio includes greeting cards with top quality envelopes, giftwrap and notebooks.

"It's been three years worth of work and vision, figuring out what the brand was and how to make it completely different to what's out in the luxury market," Matt explained. "We are treating it as a completely new and different brand. It's not a Jolly Awesome range, but a standalone publisher."

He confirmed that after the launch in London at Top Drawer, in March it will be showcased in the US, first at the Source British show in Los Angeles and then at the National Stationery Show in New York in May. “We will be seeking distributors who fit the brand, along with suitable agents," said Matt.

Above: Tish Bas moves onto buying stationery for Paperchase from the middle of January.

Reinforcing the differentiation between the two brands, Matt said: "I design everything in both Paperboy London and Jolly Awesome. In over 400 designs, we have only licensed and published eight that aren't in-house.

Therefore, although the brands will share a similar tone of voice they will showcase different sides to me." ● Meanwhile on the company’s largest ever Jolly Awesome stand at Top Drawer, Katie Littlewood, sales and operations director, reveals it will be showcasing over 100 new Spring/Summer designs.

“They include big updates to the ever popular Jolly Awesome Originals, Silly Sausage and Jolly Pawsome collections, along with a brand new range called Life Like, which plays on life’s relatable nuances - inspired by meme culture.”

(At Top Drawer, Paperboy London will be on Stand X50 Gift, while Jolly Awesome will be on Stand X49).

Top: Some of the products in the NYC collection from Paperboy London.

Above: A Jolly Awesome card design.

A Jolly Collaboration Gift company Half Moon Bay has become a Jolly Awesome licensee launching a humorous giftware range based on some of the brand best known for hip hop animal cards using on trend language and phrases.

"For the Half Moon Bay Jolly Awesome collaboration, we have come up with a range of humorous giftware products combining bright colours, fun illustrations and cheeky wording," says Half Moon Bay's ecommerce marketing manager Claire White. "The heat changing mug Above: So Hot Right Now: the Jolly Awesome mug from Half Moon Bay. sums up the range perfectly - So Hot Right Now.” The range will be unveiled at Spring Fair (Hall 6, Stand G22-H23). "The target audience of 12-25 year-olds love the humour, and the brand has a huge social media following," adds Claire.

Jolly Awesome joins the Half Moon Bay's licensing portfolio, which includes Harry Potter, DC Comics and Beauty and the Beast.

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● It is with a heavy heart that Tish Bas, senior card, wrap and celebrations buyer of Paperchase, is leaving the card buying team to head up the stationery buying for the company. “It makes me really sad as greeting cards have been such a big part of my life for the last nine years,” said Tish. Hazel Walker however will continue as card buyer, reporting into Frances Burkle, buying director.

● Well-loved and respected industry stalwart, Ian Bant, md of Ling Design and Penny Kennedy, has announced that he is to retire in June 2017.

Ian came into the industry in 1979 and has held senior positions with Andrew Brownsword, Gordon Fraser and Hallmark before joining Ling Above: Ian Bant has announced he is to and staying on as managing retire in June. director when it was acquired by Swan Mill in 2015.

Commenting, Ian said: “I will be 62 by the time I retire which feels like a good time to be going. It feels like the right time to start enjoying some of the rewards that our wonderful industry has provided me with but never allowed me the time to enjoy!”

The company is recruiting for a replacement. ● Following Patti Stracher's decision to step down after 25 years, Kelly Bristol (right) has been appointed show director of New York’s National Stationery Show, effective from January 1, 2017. Kelly has served as the group sales director of the National Stationery Show, and more recently SURTEX and has worked with the NSS for 18 years.

Sad Loss Derek Williamson, a true gent who spent 40 years working in the industry, sadly died recently after a short illness. Derek’s career in the industry included working for Valentine’s of Dundee, Image Arts and Fine Art Graphics in both sales and marketing.

Prior to retiring in 2000, Derek was responsible for launching Stewo giftwrap to the UK market. Derek’s passion for the industry lives on in his son Nigel, who is co-owner of the House of Cards retail group.

Commenting, Nigel said: “Dad will be greatly missed, but the kind words from friends and industry colleagues that have been spoken mean a lot to myself, Mum and the family at this sad time.”

Above: Derek Williamson (left) with his son Nigel at an industry golf event in 2007.

-INTRODUCING-

42 fabulously foiled cards for every occasion

Top Drawer | stand ZA41 Spring Fair | stand 3U41

progressive greetings awards

progressive greetings awards

GREETING CARDS & CONTEMPORARY GIFTS

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f: 01582 645945

info@redbackcards.com

www.redbackcards.com 13/12/2016 14:38

DISCOVER THE FULL RANGE AT WWW.HALFMOONBAY.CO.UK OR VISIT US AT SPRING FAIR

S TAND 6G22-H23 | BIRMINGHAM NEC | 5 TH —9 TH FEBRUARY SALES: 01225 473876 | EMAIL: SALES@HALFMOONBAY.CO.UK

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NEWS Exhibition Savvy

TOP STORY

PG Live 2017 Registration Has Gone Live Registration is now open for PG Live 2017, the UK's only trade show dedicated to the global greeting card industry, presenting the largest collection of greeting card publishers in the world.

The 2017 show is taking place at the slightly later dates of Tuesday 6 June and Wednesday 7 June.

“We are so excited to be bringing hundreds of talented card publishers,

suppliers and retailers together under one roof,” enthuses Warren Lomax, joint show director. “This year's offering is simply outstanding in terms of originality, imagination and quality, and there are some amazing new ranges that we know retail buyers will love. We enjoy working with so many enthusiastic people, and are looking forward to coming up with some exciting surprises for the 2017 show!”

Below: Busy aisles at last year's PG Live.

The online portal, www.progressivegreetingslive.com, reflects the fresh, modern approach that PG Live is well-known for. An easily accessible exhibitor zone allows over 250 publishers and trade suppliers to showcase their latest collections in advance of the show.

Meanwhile, the simple navigation and streamlined content makes it simple for visitors to plan everything - from which exhibitors they want to see to where they want to stay overnight.

“Our website makes planning for and attending PG Live even easier,” says Jacqui Parr, marketing manager. “The fresh, clean design allows buyers to browse all the exhibitors' exciting new ranges and designs in advance, making their time at the show as productive as possible, while the exhibitor zone allows publishers to make the most of their preview page on the website.”

Brimming with information about the show, as well as helpful links to local accommodation and entertainment, the website continues to be a valuable online resource while still keeping the friendly feel PG Live is famous for.

The show, organised by Max Exhibitions, will be held at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

Visit: www.progressivegreetings.live.com or email jacqui@progressivegreetingslive.com

A Decade Of FSC Commitment Congratulations to eco-friendly greeting card publisher Glebe Cottage which is celebrating 10 years of holding its own FSC chain of custody certification. Since November 2006 everything Glebe Cottage has published has been FSC certified, displaying the distinctive FSC ‘tick tree’ symbol.

“When we first took this step we said we wanted to enable consumers to make positive choices in favour of the environment, based on credible environmental claims," explains director Susanna Morrish. "Obtaining FSC certification was a big step forward for us and we haven’t looked back since!”

As well as the environmental benefits of using FSCcertified material, having its own 'chain of custody' has enabled Above: Glebe's founder Susanna Morrish with the company's FSC Certificate of Registration.

Glebe to be competitive and broaden its options for board. “We are fortunate to work with some fantastic paper mills and suppliers so we have been able to commission our own FSC recycled paper," Susanna continues.

Commenting, Rosie Teasdale, executive director, FSC UK said: “In the past 10 years, both the worldwide area of FSC certified forests and recognition of the logo in the UK have more than doubled - now 195m hectares and 48% respectively. Glebe Cottage’s decade-long commitment to FSC certification paved the way for others in the greeting card sector, ensuring that its cards not only show care for the recipient but also for the forests from which they’re sourced.”

Visit: www.glebecottage.co.uk

Ahead of the National Stationery Show (NSS), which takes place on May 21-24, 2017, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City show organiser Emerald Expositions is encouraging exhibitors to sign up for six free webinars designed to help them get the best results from their trade show experience.

The series began on December 15, 2016, and continues through to March 16, 2017. Topics include Marketing and Social Media; Copyright and IP Basics, Tradeshow Sales Success and Follow-Up and Visual Merchandising & Display.

Exhibitors can register online and participate live, or view the presentation on demand.

Visit: www.nationalstationeryshow.com

LaunchPad Competition Launches The London Stationery Show, taking place on 25 and 26 April at the Business Design Centre, is introducing LaunchPad, a competition open to new stationery suppliers looking to break into the design-led stationery market. The competition aims to find 12 winners to showcase at the show.

Entrants will be asked to complete an online entry form (visit: www.stationeryshow.co.uk) and to send a sample of their product, or supporting material about their service, for the judges to consider.

“This is an exciting and dynamic time for the stationery sector and I am pleased we are able to support up and coming designers and companies in this way," comments Tim Willoughby, exhibition director, and COO of new show owners Ocean Media Group. The competition is open to all types of participants, and we look forward to seeing entries from across the sector."

Adds Tim: "We want to attract talented individual designers or inventors with a mainstream stationery product or a complementary product to offer, and established companies from other sectors which have developed a new stationery product or range which it would like to test in the stationery sector.

We’re keen to make this a regular part of the London Stationery Show, to encourage and support new companies and products to come forward and showcase their ideas.”

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NEWS GCA’s Retail Members Gather Pace

TOP STORY

From Publishing To Retail Nothing ‘Ohh Deer’ About Its Brand Profile Greeting card publisher Ohh Deer has diversified into retailing to showcase the breadth of the brand’s offering. The store, located in Loughborough town centre, sells cards, quirky stationery and gifts. In addition, it forms part of the company's new head office.

While having a shop was not initially part of the business plan, due to space constraints many retail customers are not able to stock the whole range of Ohh Deer products, and as Jamie Mitchell, co-founder and creative director for Ohh Deer says, the shop provides “the opportunity to fully express what we're about.”

It came to fruition when the company was looking for new business premises and the opportunity presented itself for one which also accommodated retail space. “I love designing our trade show

Below: Ohh Deer's co-owners Jamie Mitchell and Mark Callaby outside their new shop.

stands, so with something more permanent this was great fun!”, says Jamie.

Commenting on the latest development, Mark Callaby, co-founder and managing director, added:“Having a shop brings a new dynamic to the business. Not only is it a new retail venture, but it gives our staff a sense of exactly what we're about and how our products fit into the market.”

Card Factory, Cardzone, as well as a clutch of 15 strong independents, have joined the GCA as retail members in the last month as part of the trade association’s push to galvanise all aspects of the greeting card industry.

These retailers join the existing retail members, which include Scribbler, Paperchase, WHSmith, Jarrold, Waterstones, Cardgains and several leading independents.

“We really want to be a united voice for the industry, having retailers on board enables us to do that,” commented Sharon Little, ceo of the GCA. As part of its promotional push, retailers can currently join for just £12 a year.

Commenting as to why he took the decision to join, Paul Taylor of Cardzone said: “I have been in this industry for over three decades and now, as never before, we all need to stand together to protect and promote card sending.

Paper Rose's Collaboration With GOSH PG Live 2016 was the springboard for a collaborative range between Paper Rose and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). The result is Inky Pots - 16 illustrated designs featuring a variety of messages.

"The meeting at PG Live was followed up by a presentation of ideas to Great Ormond Street, and then an emotional visit to the hospital by Reggie Pugh, our creative director, and Nigel Willcock, our sales and marketing director," explains Paper Rose's studio assistant Tilly Harries.

After hearing about the pioneering treatments needed so that they can continue to help thousands of children every day, Paper Rose was more motivated than ever to create an Above: A Paper Rose design from the Great Ormond Street Christmas packs. amazing range of cards for the charity.

As well as Inky Pots, Paper Rose is also producing Christmas and Easter packs in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital.

We Are The Champions Liverpool FC has jumped four places to take the No.1 spot in Danilo's premier calendar chart, making calendar history with over 3% more sales than runner-up Man U. This is the first time in Danilo’s 38 year sales history that two sports titles have been at the top of the chart.

Left: The Liverpool FC calendar, 1st Liverpool FC (5) published by Danilo.

2nd Manchester United (3) 3rd Pokémon (NE) 4th Justin Bieber (Top Male) (6) 5th Little Mix (NE top group) 6th Elvis (17) 7th Harry Potter (NE) 8th Star Wars (1) 9th Great British Bake Off (13) 10th Cliff (7) Danilo issues its annual calendar chart based on sales in HMV, Tesco, Calendar Club, Clintons and major stationery stores, together with online sales throughout the UK and Europe.

Above: There was a strong retail presence at the GCA AGM and Conference this year including (left-right) Paperchase’s Hazel Walker, Tish Bas and Frances Burkle; WHSmith’s Claire Castle; Moonpig’s Geoff Sanderson and Sasha Walker-Allen.

It’s great that the GCA is able to gain so much positive PR for the industry, such as on BBC Breakfast and Radio 4’s You and Yours. We as individual retailers would never be able to achieve that. The same with postal issues. I recall that it was the GCA that was able to avoid square cards and small cards from being penalised when the postal charges were being changed. It is unimaginable that this industry could have had its creativity in format curtailed. I am very happy and proud to be a member.”

Adding his endorsement, John Procter, co-founder of Scribbler said: “We as an industry need to pull together for the greater good. The GCA is in the ideal position to do this - to fight our corner with Royal Mail, the media, as well as promote cards to the younger generation through schools.

Us retailers are there at the coalface with the consumer. It is great that the GCA is able to do so much behind the scenes. It is also invaluable to us all that the GCA instigates the Market Report, providing a benchmark against which we can track our own performance.”

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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2017 Collection

Showing all new Gift Stationery and Greetings Cards at Spring Fair:

Stand P17, Hall 3

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

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Over The Counter

The Saint Go Marching On Independent retailer, Cathy Frost, owner of card and gift shop Loveone in Ipswich, shares her experience of local indies joining forces.

As the fake snow gets swept out of the window and the tinsel gets packed away, I am sad the festive season is over, but heartened by the sense of community and friendship that will endure into this New Year.

I have been part of a small local high street for eight years and like many other business communities we have faced many challenges over that time. The good news is that our high street, known as ‘the Saints’ (St Nicholas and St Peter's Streets), is now almost completely occupied by independent businesses and food outlets. Back in 2007 when my high street adventure started it was less than 50% full.

I may be telling my side of the story, but this is very much a tale of a small bunch of passionate and tenacious retailers who by pulling together have created a real destination that is now an integral part of our town, Ipswich.

Loveone opened its doors in November 2007, a time when high streets appeared to be holding their own against the rapidly increasing pressure from increased internet shopping/trade and out of town retail parks. I came from an interior design background and was excited about being able to create my own retail space, indulge and share my passion for design and homeware. Loveone started as an online store but I missed the face to face interaction I had had with clients so I was keen to find the right high street premises to grow my business. I was confident in my product selection and I had identified my shopping tribe, ‘the forever 40 woman’. I opened the door to my shop but I couldn’t believe what happened next.

Loveone had finally arrived on the high street, a high street that was about to change.

The recession kicked in: a familiar tale to many readers no doubt. It felt like someone had turned down the dimmer switch. It was

Above: Loveone’s beautifully bright Christmas window full of quirky cards.

my sink or swim moment, but for many their fate was sealed. We lost several businesses in our local high street over those years and I had to completely rethink my business plan. I had to address many issues, including falling footfall, reduced customer spending, cash flow and my own headspace.

I had been aware of the burgeoning market culture in many of our UK cities.

Artisan-led, these markets were spearheading a new wave of retail, a ‘make do and mend’ attitude, rediscovering the joy of the handmade and locally crafted. Through a mutual friend, I met and started working with

a local craft collective, I Make Fun Stuff. Jess and Chris, two thirds of the team back then, were running small indoor markets for local artisans. Many were small start -ups or artists testing their ideas and designs on the public and all were very passionate about their products. I joined the team and helped formulate our next step.

Together we launched the St Peter's Street Craft and Vintage markets in 2008.

These now run twice yearly, and I Make Fun Stuff became a social enterprise in 2012. These events have generated much needed footfall and a whole new customer base to the area. It was at this point that I became interested in the greeting card and gift market. Many of our artisans were producing fantastic original stationery and for me it was a light bulb moment. Greeting cards were an inexpensive item that seemed to be surviving the recession.

Although customers had less to spend on presents they would still purchase a greeting card, and possibly purchase a small gift. I began to source items from small stationery producers, and soon had an eclectic range of greeting cards and gifts. Some of those early artisans we worked with have now grown into much bigger, successful and even international businesses, such as the wellknown queen of puns, Gemma Correll. This was my new direction, seeking out the quirkier designer, many of which were starting out on their own careers. I was sourcing gifts to reflect that market. This has become one of my unique selling points. Since then my customer base has completely shifted, it is now less age or gender specific, whereas when I opened it was predominantly female.

By 2010/11 I had completely revised my product range, focusing on gifts and selling less homeware. I started to buy products and PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Over The Counter

cards for specific calendar events. The consumer also appeared to value the fact that I had met or visited the artist, and developed a broader knowledge of my products… the sharing of the back story.

I looked at price point more strategically, in response to what my customers were asking for. Stocking fillers, budget secret Santa gifts, teachers’ presents, hostess gifts, these were at lower price points but attracted more customers who were confident that they could find a quirky and original gift at an affordable price. Consumer confidence has grown and we have now added some slightly more expensive gifts, such as Italian leather accessories and bespoke jewellery to our range. Now we have emerged from the depths of the recession homeware is now back on the agenda for Loveone.

What had the biggest impact on me was the community spirit of the Saints traders. The delivery of our street markets meant that as a group of businesses we had to work together. This led to the creation of an informal Town Team, a group of traders who met regularly. This collaboration strengthened our voice and influence, and enabled us to form partnerships with our local authority, Ipswich Borough Council and Ipswich Central, the town's Business Improvement District (BID).

We got involved with the Mary Portas,’Future of our High Streets’ initiative, attracting funding from Central Government via our very supportive local MP, Ben Gummer.

This investment helped to secure our street markets and enabled us to develop a marketing plan for the Saints. This marketing strategy has been underpinned by the BID, helping us to broadcast a strong message

Above and right: In ‘the Saints’ location, St Peter's Street Craft and Vintage market runs twice a year, bringing local and visitor footfall to the area.

Left: Gemma Correll was one of the artisans Cathy sourced in the early days of Gemma’s career. Now she is internationally known and published on cards and gifts by Ohh Deer.

and supporting any initiatives that we suggest as a group. We now have strong links with our local media and we are starting to link all our businesses together through social media. We have a Facebook page and actively encourage cross promotion of all our businesses especially via Instagram and twitter, using hashtags such as #thesaintsipswich.

The Saints is now a recognised quarter of Ipswich, synonymous with independent shops and eateries and great artisan coffee. It’s an interesting urban environment, reflecting its heritage, great architecture, its ease of access and affordable parking. The development of the Saints is now playing a part in the wider debate on the future of Ipswich.

The Saints were shortlisted in the Great British High Street 2015 competition, in the top five for our category (local town centre).

Campaigns And Communities In recent years there has been an increase in targeted campaigns aimed at the independent sector.

These have included Small Business Saturday and the Great British High Street Competition. In addition, on a local level, our BID runs an annual Best Independent Business Award in Ipswich.

These campaigns are a great way for retailers and their business communities to engage with a wider customer base, most notably using the social networks that these campaigns generate, and there is often national and local press interest, which is great free publicity. According to SBS figures in 2015, 100,000 tweets were sent on Small Business Saturday that year. This had an estimated reach to in excess of 25 million people.

These campaigns give us as retailers a platform to share our stories and our passions for our products and communities, and it’s a great way to promote the ‘shop local’ message.

Left: A campaigner of shopping local and building business communities, Cathy was awarded Town Centre Champion last year.

Above: Small Business Saturday® is a movement founded by American Express to celebrate and support small businesses.

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This was a massive achievement and gave us a platform to further promote and encourage independent business in the town. It also provided some much-needed independent verification that as a group we were on the right track.

High streets exist now as areas that are defined by a lot more than just their retail spaces. Visitors need to have a good experience, combining great shopping, good customer service, plenty of food and drink opportunities and accessibility. The Saints have risen to this challenge and we currently have over 95% outlet occupation. We have a healthy and varied mix of daytime and evening economies, a developing but strong identity and we are well located to promote the area as a visitor destination, both to our local residents and also to the wider community.

The ‘shop local’ message has never been more important. As small business communities we must capitalise on our unique selling points. We really do have the butcher, baker and the candlestick (well almost] maker, the barista and barber and many more, oozing passion and knowledge, so let’s shout about it.

Did you know at least one in three adults in the UK have a tattoo?

In acknowledgement of this growing obsession Abacus Cards is proud to introduce “Touch of Ink”, a new, beautifully foiled range of birthday cards that feature illustrated, tattooed figures.

See the entire range of 14 designs, as well as a whole host of other new products, on the Abacus stand, P30 in Hall 3 – 3A, at this year’s Spring Fair.

For more information contact your local territory sales manager or give our sales admin team a call on 01638 569050

The Studio, Oaks Drive, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 7SX | Tel: 01638 569050 Web: www.abacuscards.co.uk | Email: info@abacuscards.co.uk

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15—17 January 2017 Olympia, London

S/S 17 EDITION

ADVENTURES IN

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CARDSHARP

Some

Crystal Ball Gazing

Cardsharp looks into his crystal ball and tries to get a clearer picture of what 2017 has to offer the greeting card industry, but he is finding it to be a little on the opaque side. Never has a year ahead been harder to call. The £1.7 billion card industry does not exist in a vacuum and it’s general health in 2017 will largely depend on how firstly the general economy performs, and secondly, how the overall retail economy performs. Predicting all this is confounding many a brain far sharper than Cardsharp’s.

Top: What will 2017 hold for the greetings industry?

Above: Economist JK Galbraith.

To Cardsharp’s mind, 2016, like 2015, was a bit of anaemic year for the UK greeting card industry. There were no major events, monumental acquisitions or even dramatic business failures that come to mind.

Greeting card sales seemed to be pretty healthy thankfully, while the glory days of the 1990’s, when there were different numerous events for Cardsharp to give his view on, have long gone.

It was the economist JK Galbraith who famously stated that the accuracy of economic forecasters gave huge credibility to the whole profession of astrologers. It was the recently deceased ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Dennis Healey, who said back in the 1970’s that “economic experts did for the profession of economic forecasting what the Boston Strangler did for the profession of door to door salesman”! So who is Cardsharp to give a definitive view on what is going to happen in 2017?

But certainly in the last six months, since the Brexit vote, the UK economy seems to have been bobbing along quite nicely with consumer spending holding up well, admittedly on the back of a marked increase in consumer borrowing.

While this worries some economists who think this pattern is unsustainable, others point out that the present levels of borrowing are not particularly high and are not a serious problem as long as interest rates remain low.

However, where this spending is going is subject to debate. Footfall and spending in bricks and mortar stores seems to be holding up (to a point), but the increase in spending does seem to be coming from online sales, and there is no reason to think this will change in 2017.

So, if bricks and retail sales remain stagnant next year, it stands to reason that retailers will come under real pressure with the increased costs coming from the minimum wage and statutory employers pension contribution. Then of course there is the up and coming business rates revaluation, which will certainly mean a substantial increase in cost for many retailers, in London and the Home Counties especially.

Cardsharp hates to say it, but he senses there may be some casualties. Many indies may simply give up the ghost when their lease expires or may even go bust.

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CARDSHARP Left: Ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Dennis Healey.

Below: Dean Hoyle.

Also Cardsharp expects we might to see a return to the kind of ‘retail financial restructuring’ that was so common a decade or so ago, when retail chains would go under writing off their debts, only to rise ‘phoenix-like’ from the ashes the very next day as if nothing had happened.

And then of course we will see the return of that old forgotten bogeyman, Mr Inflation. The drastic devaluation of the £pound against the $dollar and the euro will inevitably lead to higher prices, but by how much? Will the huge competiveness of the UK economy, and the retail sector in particular, mean that price rises will be small, and will the cost increases be fully passed on to the consumer?

Cardsharp’s column on greeting card pricing in last month’s PG seemed to generate a lot of discussion, with the sense that most publishers, although reluctant to broadcast it too strongly at present, will increase their prices around April. And also that most retailers will reluctantly accept some kind of increase. Some brave

publishers have increased their prices already and are not experiencing too much resistance, but they are being selective, especially when it comes to the sensitive pressure points.

The positive side of the £pound’s devaluation, Cardsharp predicts, should be an export boom for British greeting card publishers. Expect many a foreign distributor strolling the aisles of Spring Fair and PG Live next February and June looking for quality British designs.

Here is a long shot prediction from Cardsharp for 2017. The weakness of the £pound makes a lot of UK businesses look very cheap to overseas buyers. Back in the 1980’s when the £pound was similarly depressed, Hallmark went on a buying spree acquiring two major British owned publishers, Valentines of Dundee and WN Sharpe.

Cardsharp’s hunch is that there could be some similar activity in 2017, with cash rich overseas predators of some description getting involved in some retailer or publisher acquisitions. Admittedly, there are less obvious targets now than in the 1980’s or 1990’s, but with interest rates low and a lot of serious money swishing around the global economy who is to say some American multinational or some Chinese billionaire won’t go on a greeting card hunt!

Paperchase will also be an interesting one for 2017. Primary, its venture capital owners, failed in its attempt to sell the business in a competitive auction earlier last year. Then, it suggestively raised the possibility of a share flotation, which did not seem to garner a lot of excitement in the City of London. However, with

“The positive side of the £pound’s devaluation, Cardsharp predicts, should be an export boom for British greeting card publishers. Expect many a foreign distributor strolling the aisles of Spring Fair and PG Live next February and June looking for quality British designs.”

30

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Paperchase’s international profile growing with its overseas retail expansion programme, Cardsharp expects there to be more speculation over its ownership, especially as Primary, having bought the chain in 2010 for only £10 million, must be itching to get its profits out.

And then there is Card Factory.

Cardsharp suspects that our newest and most successful plc will reach a point around 1,000 stores where it sees a law of diminishing returns. It is on about 850 stores so far. Rather than acquiring Paperchase, which was mooted, Card Factory looked at the design-led chain last year but perhaps felt margins and profit would not be that attractive for such a successful plc.

Playing a wild card, Cardsharp considers another more attractive potential development. Card Factory’s founder and legend and still non-executive chairman, Dean Hoyle, owns a big stake in The Works, which has morphed from its value bookshop roots into a value varietal store. Who is not to say that Card Factory looks in The Works direction to keep those City investors, eager for dividend growth, very happy?

And who is to say any of Cardsharp’s rambling speculation will come to fruition?

2017 could be a tough year. It could be a great year? We really don’t know, but he suspects that after a couple of years of relative tranquility in the greetings industry there may be some major ructions in the year to come.

But as Cardsharp took off his Mystic Meg garb, he for one, could not think of any other industry he would rather be in.

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VIEWPOINTS

Some Prudent

Council-ing “It’s been quite a year for all of us and I’m sure we have all heard enough about Brexit... well at least for the time being,” commented Ged Mace, president of the GCA and managing director of The Art File, adding, “With all the change that is happening both here in the UK and around the globe it is reassuring to know that the greeting card sector remains dynamic in so many ways.”

PG asked other members of the GCA Council as to what they see as key industry happenings of the last year as well as their predictions of the likely challenges or opportunities that we as an industry will face in 2017 and beyond.

Above: The last year meant we had to say goodbye to some stars, such as David Bowie. The GCA Council might not have ‘all the young dudes’ of the industry, but their collective knowledge makes them well equipped to ensure that the sector remains as vibrant as possible.

Jeremy Corner, managing director of Blue Eyed Sun:

Ged Mace, president of the GCA and managing director of The Art File: Key Happenings: “The publication of the UK Greeting Card Market Report in the autumn provided everyone with reassuring evidence that the market is now worth an estimated £1.7 billion at retail. This is the highest it’s ever been and is proof that the British public still see greeting cards as central to celebrating a birthday or an occasion.”

Going Forward: “It is vital that our industry continues to draw on the brightest design talent and it is reassuring that new publishers join the industry every month, this needs to be encouraged. The GCA’s membership numbers are up and in addition we are welcoming more retailers of all sizes as associate retail members. This evolving trend is vital in our quest to promote the industry as a united body, supporting publishers, suppliers and retailers of greeting cards to the broader world. Greeting cards will continue to offer a strong profitable income source to retailers everywhere, especially during challenging times. This, combined with the constant stream of exciting new card styles available to the retailer, would suggest that our dynamic sector is set to achieve an even greater leap forward in the year ahead.”

Above: Ged Mace (far left) chairing a recent GCA Council meeting.

Left: Scribbler is among the GCA’s retail members.

Key Happenings: “The social disenfranchisement of so many globally (signified by Brexit, Trump and other desperate grasps for change around the world) has affected our industry in a variety of ways. Costs have increased for those importing, there’s uncertainty for consumers which affects spending, and uncertainty for staff members from other EU countries have affected morale. My hope is that in times of uncertainty people will bond closer to one another and that card and gift sending will have roles to play in this going forward.”

Going Forward: “The current weakness of the £pound against both the $dollar and the euro is a great opportunity for British exporters to expand sales internationally. Blue Eyed Sun is well positioned for this after our recent Queen’s Award for Export win as we enter the fifth year of our international expansion programme. We recently signed deals with new distributors in France and Italy, both of which are great improvements on previous sales in those countries. The challenges for us at home include not taking our eye of our local market and keeping prices competitive despite increased costs in our supply chain and increases in the national living wage and statuary pension contributions with auto enrollment.”

Top: Jeremy and Jo Corner outside Buckingham Palace prior to meeting the Queen who congratulated Blue Eyed Sun on the company’s Queen’s Award for Export.

Above: The drop in the value of £pound has helped exports for Blue Eyed Sun among others.

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VIEWPOINTS Paul Woodmansterne, md of Woodmansterne Publications:

Chris Bryan, general manager of Second Nature: Key Happenings: “Initially the first half of 2016 was going so well, with a lot of positive attitudes from both publishers and retailers despite the rise in the minimum wage. There was a growing sense of optimism that our economy was recovering from/responding to the austerity measures. Then Brexit happened and whatever the future holds (which will in all likelihood will take many years to establish) there was an immediate bombshell for all those publishers producing in the Far East as the fall in the value of sterling saw very sharp increases in the costs of goods purchased in US dollars, and bills rose overnight wiping out profit forecasts.

There was a happy flipside of this in that those products were now more appealing to export markets, but being able to capitalise quickly on this was never going to be easy. As for the UK retail side of things, there was a sharp intake of breath and optimism evaporated very quickly as people tried to work out what would happen next. This state of flux has continued for the last few months, but as I write this in early December, Christmas seems Above: Chris Bryan (left) at the to be kicking in now and so recent GCA AGM with House of Cards’ hopefully the year will end up with Nigel Williamson (centre) and Second Nature colleague Tim West. a tinsel lining!”

Above: A Second Nature card design Going Forward: “Obviously the that reflects Chris Bryan’s urge to stay positive. world of politics seems far removed from our world of sentiment, but with Brexit, the American presidential result and the latest results in Italy, the economic impact of political world changes has already and will continue to hit our industry. Inflation will happen and many publishers have already put up their prices ahead of the New Year, but this has perhaps, from an industry point of view, been long overdue. There may be tough times ahead in the coming year as uncertainty over when and if Article 50 will be invoked and what it will mean to the economy. That said, in times of economic hardship, people still feel driven to convey sentiment by sending cards so it’s important to stay positive, a gloomy outlook will never have a positive outcome or encourage anyone to open their purse/wallet!”

Going Forward: “First, the good news... card publishers, we are the lucky ones. Retailers need us. More than ever, they need us, because cards continue to pull in the punters. In contrast to almost every other product on the internet, online greeting cards are still frustrating, difficult to find and, indeed, more expensive.

Now, the not-so-good news... all retailers will surrender a larger percentage each year of their other sales to Amazon and the like. Even a small reduction in general turnover turns profit into loss. No retailer can survive on the sale of cards alone.

So, without profitable retailers, who then will be left to sell our cards?”

Above: Paul Woodmansterne (right) of Woodmansterne Publications with Ged Mace, GCA president and md of The Art File.

Left: Paul is deeply concerned by Amazon continuing to nibble away at bricks and mortar retail sales.

Steve Wright, managing director, and Alison Kildunne, head of brand and marketing, of Hallmark: Key Happenings: “Despite the unpredictability of world events and unexpected changes in the political world, from what we’ve seen, this has only strengthened our sense of family and staying close to the things (and the people) we love. It’s great to see this coming through the industry’s sales numbers and the success of events such as Thinking of You Week. A particular high for us has been the work with schools to raise the issue of child literacy, partnering with the World Literacy Foundation was a massive step forward.

Our downloadable schools pack, and the work of the GCA to donate cards for lessons, has laid the foundations for what could be an exciting 2017 for the industry to connect to younger audiences and reinvigorate the role played by greeting cards in our lives – at the same time as improving childhood literacy. Hallmark’s research found 90% of kids like sending cards (39% went as far as saying they ‘love’ sending them) and teachers loved the idea of a lesson centred around greeting cards – so watch this space in 2017.”

Going Forward: “Off the back of a great Christmas we feel optimistic about the year ahead - there are inevitably changes ahead but differentiation is key to making your product more distinctive, and helping you navigate the choppy seas of Brexit. Adversity and the unknown bring out the best in us and make us more creative in our thinking - there’s no better industry that ours to take this new challenge!“ Above: Hallmark’s Alison Kildunne (right) with GCA new member Suzy Magni of Spots and Stripes at the recent GCA AGM. Left: A teacher in full flow of a greeting card lesson as part of Hallmark’s World Literacy Foundation commitment.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Christmas 2017 Collection

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VIEWPOINTS Ceri Stirland, director of marketing of UK Greetings: Key Happenings: “Full tribute to the industry that the value of the market continued to grow £1.7 billion were spent on everyday cards by the British public, more than ever before.

Part of this has to be down to the constant stream of new product and innovation from all card publishers offering a wealth of design and sentiment styles, in different formats and sizes and a wealth of substrates.

At the recent GCA AGM, Dr Lynda Shaw commented when the car was invented they predicted bicycles would be dead, when TV launched radio would be dead, when PC was launched paper would be dead – I only need to at look at my desk to see the latter is not the case! Buying, writing and sending cards continues to be a pleasurable experience and it is great to see publishers continually investing in new product development to keep the industry alive and healthy.”

Going Forward: “I predict that 2017 will be a very bumpy ride for everyone. There’s Brexit, exchange rates, US President Trump, changes within Europe (such as the Italian election), which will impact on the UK landscape and affect our buying habits. Hey, like so many others in this industry, I like a challenge!”

Above: A paperless office is a far cry away for Ceri Stirland.

Left: Sentiment of all depths is on the rise, as evidenced on this selection of cards from UKG.

Mark Williams, co-founder of Brainbox Candy: Key Happenings: “The ceaseless and rather painful focus on Brexit has certainly been the major theme of 2016 and the immediate fallout, while not being anywhere near the levels the media had tried to stir up (no shock there!), has affected sentiment in the greeting industry marketplace. The hope is that the government are able to find a way of moving forward pragmatically so that businesses can start planning and investing with at least a degree of certainty.”

Going Forward: “The biggest challenge in the year ahead will certainly be the price rises that publishers and retailers alike will face, following the fall in the £pound. Irrespective of the fall, inflation has been rising at unrealistically low increments since 2008, and 2017 will be the beginning, in my view, of a significant upturn in inflation; that will catch many people wrongfooted. How publishers and retailers deal with this will be challenging to say the least.”

Above: Mark Williams (right) with fellow GCA council member, Bill Greeno of Paperlink.

Left: The government, headed up by PM Theresa May, needs to find a pragmatic path through the Brexit issue to minimise any further upheaval for businesses.

Raj Arora, managing director of Davora: Key Happenings: “Looking specifically at the greeting card industry, the Bollywood Henries Awards event in October was a captivating experience and a great example of how the industry embraces diversity. Our business thrives on diversity so it was great that we could help make this statement in the year of Brexit.

From a personal perspective, I have been involved with five Hindi schools, two Islamic schools and a Jewish school, all of whom have welcomed the idea of lesson plans that involve greeting cards. The more that the current greeting card industry makes links with all disciplines of schools the better. These youngsters will not be buying cards themselves for a decade, but we need to make sure that the links with the next generation of card senders are strengthened.”

Going Forward: “The GCA has championed the industry in a very positive way with Thinking Of You Week, Festive Friday and other initiatives throughout the year. By joining the GCA, we all have a collective opportunity to work together, not just to protect the market, but to grow it. The group can now get even stronger, representing a greater proportion of the supply chain - and this can only benefit everyone.”

Top: Raj Arora at The Henries Bollywood Ball with the GCA’s Sharon Little (right) and PG’s Jakki Brown.

Above: The home page of the new dedicated Thinking of You Week website.

Chris Houfe, sales director of The Great British Card Company: Key Happenings: “I was so inspired by Dr Lynda Shaw, hearing her talk at the recent GCA conference as well as one a few years ago. Her studies on the emotional effect of sending and receiving a handwritten card or letter was a timely reminder of the true value of our industry. To help spread this message further, Dr Lynda Shaw is attending our Christmas conference in December and will be imparting her knowledge to the team at GBCC.” Going Forward: “Business is tough and there are no simple solutions. At GBCC we’ve adopted the Dave Brailsford’s (general manager of Team Sky Cycling) approach of ‘marginal gains’, therefore looking at small improvements over all areas of the business.

Going forward into 2017, the devil really will be in the detail, both at publisher and retailer levels.

We are reassured by the progressive attitude among some retailers who understand it’s not a ‘one fit all’ solution. It will be ever more important for publishers to work closely with retailers to create fabulous retail development solutions tailored to each retailer’s customer profile, therefore maximising sales for all parties.”

Above: Chris Houfe (right) with UKG’s Ceri Stirland and Simon Elvin at the recent GCA Past Presidents’ Annual Luncheon.

Left: New retail concepts, such as this brand new Zo & Co store in Knutsford, highlight how progressive attitudes to card retailing is good news for the sector going forward.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Innovations

Top Drawer A showcase of products on display at Top Drawer, 15-17 January 2017, Olympia, London.

Gone Fishing

Style Icons Debuting in the Spotted area at Top Drawer, Cats & Roses is launching new ranges showcasing the stylised artwork of Catherine Phelps. Inspired by the folk traditions of canal barge decoration, Canal Joli is a beautiful occasions range of 12 designs, all homely and joyful with a folksy feel. Presented in a landscape format, the cards are sized 127mm by 178mm and come wrapped with pale yellow envelopes.

Cats & Roses 01225 426296 www.catsandroses.co.uk Stand SP39

Fishy Business is the latest range from Coulson MacLeod - all featuring Mark’s Coulson’s rather daft sense of humour. Each bright yellow card has a black vintage illustration of a fish in conversation - usually with another fish, sometimes a seahorse, even a whole school of fish. There’s even one doing a yoga pose - quite bonkers, very funny! There are 15 150mm square designs in the range supplied wrapped with a white envelope.

Coulson MacLeod 01536 419944 www.coulsonmacleod.com Stand O41

Young women’s lifestyle brand A Gift From The Gods is now branching into stationery with the launch of A5 and A6 notebooks across four designs. The classic A Gift From The Gods Dots range is in goddess white with silver foil print, the Calligraphy Heart Definition in pretty pale and hot pink with gold foil, the Dream Odyssey in sand and fresh aqua with gold foil, and the fun Get Your Goddess On in rich blue, understated grey and vibrant white with gold foil.

A Gift From The Gods 020 7987 3844 www.agiftfromthegods.com Stand M70

open here

Idiot Proof

Mad As Hatters

God’s Gift

how to confuse an idiot on their birthday

Another load of Cheeseballs! Frankie Whistle is adding to this hugely popular quirky humour range, bringing you more off the wall designs about alcohol, coffee and other important stuff. Printed on high quality textured board, and lovingly packed with a brown eco kraft envelope, this range is sophistication with a smile…

Frankie Whistle 07816 286885 frankiewhistle.com Stand Z50

Some more hilarious Cats In Hats are joining Jo Clark's ever-expanding range of cute and funny kitty cards with attached accessories. These are the perfect blank cards for any occasion – with Jo’s hand-illustrated designs created into a beautiful range of eighteen cards. All the cards are sized 150mm square and sold wrapped in a cornstarch bag with a recycled envelope.

Jo Clark Design 07886 193734 www.joclarkdesign.co.uk Stand X38

From On High Schnucki Images is extending its popular handmade Nepalese giftwrap range by adding new wrap designs, gift bags, small notebooks, mini notecard sets, felt and paper garlands. This beautiful natural product is eco-friendly and tree free, made from the bark of the Lokta plant in the heart of the Himalayas by Nepalese artisans in a traditional process of ancient papermaking.

Schnucki Images 07711 563155 www.schnuckiimages.co.uk Stand U53 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

39

15—17 January 2017 Olympia, London

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Innovations

Top Drawer A showcase of products on display at Top Drawer, 15-17 January 2017, Olympia, London.

Keep Talking Happy Talk, the Typecast Gallery’s latest release, features cheerful vintage inspired illustrations in a strong graphic style. The cards showcase playful typography with witty and endearing straplines. There are 30 122mm x 167mm designs in the range covering a wide range of occasions, printed on fine textured board and sold wrapped with brown fleck envelopes.

The Typecast Gallery 01202 849566 www.thetypecastgallery.co.uk Stand ZA57

Card Of Many Colours

Cat Of All Trades ArtPress will be dancing in the Top Drawer aisles with all the new ranges to be launched this season. One of the newest collections is called The Dancing Cat, featuring characterful felines from superhero moggies to cats that just want to par-tee! The collection comprises an everyday and a birthday range, each with eight card designs, sized 170mm x 120mm, and sold wrapped with an accompanying china white envelope. There are also several designs that pop up in the occasions category... purrrfect!

ArtPress Publishing 020 7231 2923 www.art-press.co.uk Stand V35

Jessica Hogarth’s new Kaleidoscope range is fun and bright, combining bold block colour with hand rendered patterns, making for a contemporary and quirky send. The range is female focused and includes short, uplifting and positive sentiments. There are 12 120mm by 170mm cards in the range, supplied wrapped with recycled brown ribbed envelopes.

Jessica Hogarth Designs 07786906648 www.jessicahogarth.com/trade Stand Y46

Lonesome Pine Nine new designs are being added to the popular Lucky Pine Forest range by Hole In My Pocket, with general birthday titles as well as Valentine’s, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day designs. The new cards are sold wrapped with recycled envelopes – and mugs and prints are also on offer as part of this range.

Hole In My Pocket 079676869 www.holeinmypocket.com/shop Stand ZA49

Taking A Shine

Sweet As…

Taking centre stage on the Bonnie Blackbird stand at Top Drawer will be 10 super shiny Solana gold foiled cards. With watercolour brush strokes and flashes of gold polka dot and neon stripe patterns these are designed to catch the eye. Measuring 105mm x 150mm, these cards are supplied wrapped with complementing envelopes.

Bonnie Blackbird 07799 280584 www.bonnieblackbird.com Stand ZB50

Top Drawer will see the launch of the new Candi range from Always Sparkle, featuring candy colours and gorgeous metallic silver foiling.

Comprising 24 titles covering birthdays and special occasions, these colourful cards are perfect for spring. The cards are size 150mm x 105mm and come with metallic silver envelopes to complement the silver foil on the card.

Always Sparkle 07940726842 www.alwayssparkle.co.uk Stand Z42 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Innovations

Top Drawer A showcase of products on display at Top Drawer, 15-17 January 2017, Olympia, London.

Just My Type This January Kate Guest is launching the Typewriter Range, a collection with classic imagery, an on-trend colour palette and classic font. There are 36 designs available, in both French and English, sized 162mm x 114mm, covering Spring Seasons, occasions, birthdays and blanks.

Kate Guest 01279 214304 www.kateguest.com Stand ZA54

Fingy Weddings!

Little Fingy is launching unique new finger puppet wedding and anniversary cards, which can be chosen to match real life brides and grooms. A perfect card and gift combined the puppets are hand knitted in superb detail with different hair and skin colours and facial features to match any couple. All the cards are sized C5 and come in a high quality presentation box.

Little Fingy 0113 2047644 www.littlefingy.com Stand T43

Ben’s Birds The Art File is launching no fewer than 10 new everyday collections at Top Drawer, including Natural History, a gorgeous 12 card collection of British birds by Ben Rothery. Each beautifully detailed card is sized 120mm x 170mm, printed on an Italian textured board and sold wrapped with complementing envelopes.

The Art File 0115 8507490 www.theartfile.com Stand U46

Eye For Detail Launching at Top Drawer and inspired by the enduring trend for mid-century style furnishings, the brand new Potted Range from Sally Scaffardi comprises eight designs featuring plants in pots with a touch of retro pattern. The cards are sized 150mm square, printed on heavyweight board and supplied wrapped with white envelopes.

Sally Scaffardi Design 07747 032505 www.sallyscaffardidesign.co.uk Stand ZB55

Animal Magic Catherine Kleeli’s popular Stick and Stitch range continues to grow with 12 new designs launching at Top Drawer Spring. Derived from Catherine’s beautifully hand-crafted and stitched collages, the designs beautifully capture the character and essence of each animal. This range is sized 177mm x 127mm and supplied wrapped with a brown ribbed envelope.

Catherine Kleeli Cards 07814 293155 www.catherinekleeli.co.uk Stand Z56

Everyone’s A Winner Wraptious is launching new designs into its range of cards by artist Liz Chaderton. Since winning Wraptious’s art competition last year, Liz’s watercolour designs have become best sellers – so this range is now expanding to 30 beautifully painted animals in its popular 150mm square format.

Wraptious 0161 221 0109 www.wraptious.com Stand P69 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Innovations

Top Drawer A showcase of products on display at Top Drawer, 15-17 January 2017, Olympia, London.

Truly Truby Introducing the new Watercolour range from Laura Truby – 20 cards all beautiful and bright and full of colour. Using a mixture of Laura's hand-painted artwork and typography, this range covers birthday as well as lots of occasions, and will brighten up anyone's day. All the cards are 7” x 5” and are sold wrapped with brightly coloured envelopes.

Laura Truby Designs 07738 168968 Stand ZB33

In French Style

Age Of Elegance Cinnamon Aitch is extending its Piccadilly range of beautiful hand drawn illustrations. Elegant black and white ink drawings have hints of pretty colour from photographic floral details, these are all hand finished with sparkly gems, tiny black satin bows and silver foiled lettering for a touch of luxury. There are 14 new birthdays and occasions titles sized at 130mm square and four new money wallet designs sized at 180mm x 100mm, all sold wrapped with beautiful silver envelopes.

Cinnamon Aitch 0121 773 6833 www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk Stand X46

Earlybird have collaborated with artist Eloise Renouf to produce a stunning art range for Top Drawer 2017. This mix of occasions and blank cards shows off Eloise's unique and wonderful prints featuring trees, birds, flowers and printed leaves in her unique eye-catching style. There are 18 170mm x 129mm designs in the range, sold wrapped with white envelopes.

Earlybird Designs 01227 765372 www.earlybirddesigns.co.uk Stand Y44

Turning Japanese Inspired by traditional Japanese art and pattern, the Kimono range will be launching on the Caroline Gardner stand at Top Drawer. There are 10 luxurious cards adorned with lavish botanical prints, exciting bird motifs and dripping in gold foil. All the cards are sized 146mm x 140mm and sold wrapped with coordinating envelopes.

Caroline Gardner 020 8288 9696, www.carolinegardner.com Stand L49

Animals With Attitude A contemporary and sassy new art range by acclaimed artist and printmaker Jane Bristowe is being launched by Dry Red Press. There are 12 cards in this punchy new range of all single colour linocuts of animals with big personalities!

All the cards are 150mm square and wrapped with smart grey envelopes.

Dry Red Press 01273 241210 www.dryredpress.com Stand ZB47

Money No Object Bold colour and typography are the order of the day in the expanding My Favourite range on show at Top Drawer from Objectables. Cheeky and straight forward, this range covers most relative and friendship titles across 10 designs all sized 160mm x 115mm.

Objectables 07838112076 www.objectables.co.uk Stand ZB46a PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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CREME DE LA CREME CREME DE LA CREME

A new collection of 16 cards from The Art File A new collection of 16 cards from The Art File See it first at Top Drawer London 15 - 17 January 2017 - stand U4 7 See it first at Top Trade DrawerFair London 15 -January 17 January 2017 - stand and Scotland's 22 - 24 2017 - stand H4U47 6 and Scotland's Trade Fair 22 - 24 January 2017 - stand H4 6

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Innovations

Top Drawer A showcase of products on display at Top Drawer, 15-17 January 2017, Olympia, London.

Flying High Alice Jane Hutton’s new Love Me Do collection of loving occasions cards oozes vintage style and creativity. Very lovingly brought to life in Norfolk, Alice uses traditional letterpress techniques and digital technology to send love in lots of different ways. All of the 15 cards are sized 150mm square and come wrapped with red envelopes.

Maurice and Maude 01379 652242 www.mauriceandmaude.co.uk Stand Z47a

Let’s Celebrate Marina B is very excited to announce the launch of her super new The Daisy Chain Range. This range features 12 cute illustrations drawn in an appropriate shape to celebrate various occasions as well as some specific events for very special people, including this Special Friend card. All the cards come wrapped with a luxury French Grey envelope.

Marina B Designs 01858 434462 www.marinab.co.uk Stand T38

Sauce On the Side Cath Tate is bringing saucy seaside postcards into the 21st century with its latest release, Salt and Vinegar. There are 18 adapted classically cheeky cartons by the infamous Donald McGill who was prosecuted for obscenity in his time!

All the cards are sized 175mm x 130mm and sold wrapped with recycled white envelopes.

Cath Tate Cards 020 8671 2166 www.trade.cathtatecards.com Stand U33

Fun Fauna Card Nest is set to launch 12 new collections of cards at Top Drawer. Of these Go Wild! is a characterful mini range of birthday cards featuring charming animals all ready to celebrate. Created by artist Lydia Nichols, there are initially three C6 cards in the range all paired with a coloured envelope.

Card Nest 0117 325 0369 www.cardnest.com Stand Z64

Light Bulb Moment Standing Out Redback is launching Cloud Nine, a stylish and colourful collection of humorous quote cards.

This striking new range features foiled text on a brightly coloured, uncoated board. There are 30 designs in all, sized 150mm, blank inside and sold wrapped with a high quality white envelope.

Redback Cards 01803 712793 www.redbackcards.com Stand ZA41

Lots of new and expanding ranges will be on show on Lizzie Chancellor’s stand at Top Drawer.

The Happiness range (pictured) comprise six cards featuring hand-drawn illustrations and an appropriately placed foiled circle, all created to spread joy and happiness. Tessellations is another new range of six designs and the popular Spirograph range will also have another six new designs.

Lizzie Chancellor 07913921282 www.lizziechancellor.com Stand ZA44 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Innovations

Top Drawer A showcase of products on display at Top Drawer, 15-17 January 2017, Olympia, London.

Life’s Rich Tapestry Broderie from Blue Eyed Sun is a new range based on stunning original embroidered artworks by award winning textile artist Jo Corner. Beautifully printed on thick watercolour board, embossed and hand finished with jewels in the UK, there are 48 distinctive original designs covering birthdays and key sending occasions. All the cards are sized 160mm and sold wrapped with a coloured envelope.

Blue Eyed Sun 01273 823003 www.blueeyedsun.co.uk Stand T42

Third Age Tricks

Happy Go Lucky

If you're after a light-hearted look at life, then Tattyhead Design's Life Begins At range is just the one for you. This discerning dry-humoured range of 16 cards features hand-drawn, jovial characters embracing their second childhood.

While the characters’ faces are always hidden behind their big red hats, their personalities and contagious love of life are there for all to see.

Tattyhead Design 01730 810401 www.tattyheaddesign.co.uk Stand X39C

Designed and illustrated by Emily Coxhead, The Happy News is an imaginative new collection from Pigment that combines kooky compliments with quirky illustration to sprinkle a tiny bit more happiness all over the planet.

With an initial release of 49 designs covering all main relations and occasions, The Happy News is bang on trend and set to be a standout look for Pigment in 2017.

Pigment Productions 01423 520098 www.pigmentproductions.com Stand W46

Festive Cheer Two brand new gorgeous Christmas ranges will be on show on Sarah Kelleher’s stand at Top Drawer. Christmas Bobbles and Christmas Crayon both comprise 16 designs across C6 and a new larger 7" x 5" size, with luxurious foiling added for extra impact on many of them. All the cards have Sarah's trademark handmade, vibrant look, and come with kraft envelopes to complete the look.

Sarah Kelleher 01234 240228 www.sarahkelleher.co.uk Stand ZB42

The Thought That Counts

Hound Dogs

Think of Me is very excited to be launching over 150 new everyday designs at Top Drawer including a beautiful bright new collection called Boulevard. This stunning new range comprises 36 designs featuring elegant embossing, beautiful coloured foiling and a sprinkling of flitter. The cards are sized 160mm square and supplied wrapped with white laid envelopes.

Think of Me 01727 375399 www.thinkofmedesigns.com Stand Y42

Apple & Clover will be showcasing its extended Jack & Jill range at Top Drawer. The range features two adorable basset hound dogs named Jack & Jill, for birthdays, special occasions and Valentine’s designs. Every Apple & Clover card is silkscreen printed by hand, making each one completely unique. There are over 12 designs in the range, sized 155mm x 155mm when wrapped.

Apple & Clover 07790 900976 www.appleandclover.com Stand V68 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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CALENDARS, DIARIES GREETING CARDS, GIFT WRAP & BAGS Come and visit us at the following Trade Shows Nuremberg Toy Fair

The Spring Fair, NEC

1st - 6th February UK Pavilion stand B-04-3

5th - 9th February Hall 3, Stand M16

Danilo Promotions Ltd | Waltham Abbey | EN9 1AS | 01992 702 900 | sales@danilo.com /DaniloCalendarsUK

@CalendarsUK

Despicable Me 3 is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Innovations PG Showcases A Collection Of New Product Launches

Soft And Squishy Claire Giles has extended her Pom Pom range to cover Spring Seasons. 48 new designs are being released for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Easter, all embellished with the cutest little pompoms ever!

Claire Giles 0191 258 0342 www.clairegiles.com

In Full Bloom Bloem is a gorgeous new range from Happy Nut Creations inspired by the beauty of nature, trees and flowers. Sweet and colourful, all the images are beautifully illustrated by Eva Huang. There are 10 designs in in this range covering everyday, occasions and Spring Seasons, sized 150mm square, on printed textured board and sold wrapped with white envelopes.

Happy Nut Creations 07735 271566 www.happynut.co.uk

Physical Graffiti From the home of Banksy, Bristol based Courgette Cards is launching a new Urban Collections range with six graffiti inspired cards.

Complementing the ever-successful Collections of Collections format, this range continues the multiple images theme, is sized 135mm square, and come wrapped with coordinating envelopes.

Courgette Cards 0117 9091864 www.courgettecards.com

Going To The Zoo Wrendale is extending its Zoology Collection with 10 new designs inspired by the wonderful variety of life on our planet. All the cards are designed by award winning artist Hannah Dale, with her usual quirky charm and in the beautiful illustration style for which Wrendale is so well known and loved.

Wrendale Designs 01652 680253With www.wrendaledesigns.co.uk

No Fooling

Humour On The Go Lucilla Lavender is launching Screen and Shout, a colourful range based on smartphones. Technology is an area rich with possibilities for observational humour and word play, which gives these designs their wide appeal. The characters get up to all sorts of silliness, drawn with lively facial expressions and text style captions. There are 16 cards in this range which are sold wrapped with complementing envelopes Lucilla Lavender 020 3405 1410 www.lucillalavender.com

Velvet Olive is releasing an exciting new collection of 24 birthday and occasions cards to brighten up the New Year! The Tomfoolery range comprises striking gold and black contemporary designs coupled with clever and quirky captions. All the cards come wrapped with a brown kraft envelope.

Velvet Olive (Ling Design) 01892 838574 www.velvetolive.co.uk

Straight To The Point New from Blue Island is The Blots, a unique and quirky collection of everyday cards. Simply put, ‘they’ll tell you how it is’. There are 15 cards blank in this range, supplied wrapped with brown fleck envelopes.

Blue Island Press 0176 123 9098 www.blueislandpress.co.uk PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Trends Focus

Prosecco Time Popping the cork on a bottle of Prosecco is a great way to celebrate a special occasion or just because you’ve reached Friday! Its rise in popularity is being reflected on glittering and gold foiled card designs as it's the perfect icon of fun and festivities.

To mark the arrival of 2017 with a tipple of something bubbly and opulent, a sparkling and effervescent cluster of Amy Cockcroft, founder publishers ponder why the Prosecco trend of Ryland Studios: has fizzed onto card designs and reveal their Top Fizz: “Prosecco has become a phenomenon in its own right. Where as New Year’s resolutions.

Above: Happy times! A design from Rosie Made a Thing.

Champagne was always considered the reserve of the elite, Prosecco is affordable luxury. It has brought sparkling wine to Monday to Thursday drinking and yet it still feels special.

It first fizzed into my card collection back in 2013 when I launched the popular Fairy Greeting Cocktails range extension. Peach Bellini was a cocktail I had noticed increasingly as welcome drinks at friends weddings, replacing the ‘old fashioned’ Bucks Fizz with this contemporary Prosecco and peach twist.

Above: A mouth-watering Peach Bellini recipe from Ryland Studios’ Fairy Greeting Cocktails range.

The term ‘Prosecco O’Clock’ seems to sum up the post recession feeling where most people are having to work harder and longer hours for the same pay and are counting down to home time! I noticed on Facebook a change in my friends from ‘Cider O’Clock’ to ‘Prosecco O’Clock’ around 3-4 years ago, partly due to their alcohol tastes changing as they grew up and partly due to them having more disposable income” New Year’s Resolution: “My sister in-law lives in Perth, Australia, and is expecting their second child in May. My New Year’s resolution is to stop procrastinating and book flights to go and visit her and the family - and cuddle a koala!”

Stephanie Leatherland, creative director of Stephanie Dyment:

Below: Launching this month at Top Drawer, one of the new designs from Stephanie Dyment.

Top Fizz: “Life is fraught and for us working mums - the constant juggle of little ones and work life sees us feeling frazzled and exhausted most of the time. We are comforted in the fact that we are not alone and, apart from the odd exception of the super mum, we are all on this relentless treadmill of snotty noses, homework and the school run together.

While we wouldn’t have it any other way, (honestly!!) our previous life, pre-kids, seems now somewhat glamorous and exciting… but a distant memory! Thank god therefore for our girly catchups where us mums can get together and offload together with a universal understanding!

The days of pampering, indulging and night outs are far less frequent and have been replaced by playdates, softplay and lunches, the next best thing has to be, and can now be, a glass of fizz that doesn’t break the bank! A glass of Prosecco is all it takes, a little treat for surviving another fraught week… a little reward for not burning dinner... a little relax... a little celebration of how fab we have done, and best of all shared with our fab friends who understand! The children made it to school on time every day, the house is relatively clean and tidy, all homework completed, swimming was a success, and yes, we actually managed to find the time to bake homemade cakes for the preschool cake sale! Well done us!

So thank you Prosecco for giving us Mums a reason to get through the week, an excuse to sit down and allowing us a little well done!”

New Year’s Resolution: “My resolution is to try and be less stressed and to accept that sometimes not everything can be done... and that it’s ok!”

Megan Purdie, director of Megan Claire: Top Fizz: “Prosecco is a versatile drink - it goes with most food types and can be used for simple and complicated cocktails or straight out the bottle, and therefore is the perfect drink to celebrate for any occasion and within budget - a little bit of luxury without the price tag!

We have used Prosecco as inspiration for a new addition to our Botanical card range for a quirky contemporary birthday card and we also use it on a Christmas card inspired by Christmas nostalgia.”

New Year’s Resolution: “Our resolution is to have a kinder work/life balance and make more time for drinking Prosecco!”

Left: A new sparkling addition to Megan Claire’s Botanical range.

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Trends Focus

Anna Price, senior designer for Hotchpotch: Top Fizz: “Whether celebrating a birthday, an anniversary or a wedding, chances are the bubbles will be flowing! Sending a card is all part of the celebration and using imagery of Prosecco is a trend that many of us can relate to, and indeed say cheers-to! Fizzing with style and sophistication, Prosecco is a trend that translates perfectly onto cards and the use of glitter finishing.”

New Year’s Resolution: “….hmm, try and practice my modern calligraphy and brush lettering a little every day!”

Right: A Hotchpotch Prosecco design from its best selling female range Rosé, using rose gold glitter.

Bev Cunningham, creative director for Abacus/ Clare Maddicott: Top Fizz: “Cards always reflect society and you cannot go anywhere social these days without someone cracking open a bottle of Prosecco. It is perhaps seen as a symbol of good times, but unlike its more expensive cousin Champagne, it isn’t solely the reserve of major occasions, more of an egalitarian tipple; and being widely drunk by women it is a good particularly subject for female cards.

We have a number of cards that feature Prosecco, both in the Abacus range and within the Clare Maddicott collection; all very different and appealing to a slightly different market. The one in our Frank by Name range (pictured right) came about because we thought of the caption first and then found an appropriate image. We even have a Prosecco card coming out within our Harold’s Planet range, for a long time Harold has been obsessed with red wine but even our little bobbly nosed character has become a Prosecco convert!”

New Year’s Resolutions: “I don’t make resolutions but if I did then it would have to be… to find time and money to travel more (and I don’t mean on the M25)!”

Above: When only a large glass will do, a Frank by Name design from Abacus.

Left: Even Harold’s Planet from Clare Maddicott now has a Prosecco design.

James Hayes, product development manager for Xpressions 4 U: Top Fizz: “Prosecco seems to have taken over as the number one drink of choice for women of all ages, both at home and on a night out. The natural transition of Prosecco inspired designs over to gift items is a perfect fit with the core of our products aimed at the female market. We wanted to express that feel-good vibe in our giftware; a range perfect for commemorating the best of times with loved ones. So far it’s been very well received, and we hope to keep our giftware range bubbling in the years to come!”

New Year’s Resolution: “This year I’m aiming to use my smartphone less. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but the amount of time I spend endlessly scrolling through useless information can surely be used better elsewhere!”

Below: New ‘Prosecco Time’ gifts are available from Xpressions.

Olivia Mortimer, creative manager for UK Greetings: Top Fizz: “Prosecco is such a hot topic at the moment. Whether it’s shared among friends or enjoyed while having a spot of lunch with your mum, it seems to be the drink of choice.

This makes it a perfect send for those fun-loving friendships as it has such an excitable and celebratory feel. We hear so much about how high street retailers are focusing on building a ‘lifestyle’ around their brand - for me, Prosecco echoes this theory as it evokes an idealism that is beautifully ageless, sophisticated and young at heart. So it’s no wonder this drink is enjoyed by such a wide variety of people.

This meant, Above: Celebrating friendships, a when it came to design from UKG’s Happy Talk range. developing the contemporary trend-led range ‘Happy Talk’, Prosecco was an obvious theme to choose!

The relaxed yet stylish illustration technique paired with the perfect editorial 'We put the Pro in Prosecco’, has provided us with a winning formula, and so far, proved very successful.”

Gabriella Peace, communications manager for UKG: New Year’s Resolution: “Ok. I’ll admit it... I’m a shopaholic!! So this year I’ve vowed to stop spending so much on shopping and SAVE SAVE SAVE. My second resolution is to travel more! After a magical holiday to Walt Disney World in Florida this summer I’m already planning my next American adventure, so any money saved from curbing my shopaholic ways will go towards this.”

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Trends Focus

Veronica Dearly, founder/ designer of Veronica Dearly:

Yasmin Rahmatullah, director of YTR Design:

Top Fizz: “While Prosecco is enjoying its 15 minutes of fame as the 'must have' drink, it seems to translate really well to relatable greeting cards. And as a committed Prosecco drinker it seemed like a natural choice to include it on a select few designs.”

New Year’s Resolution: “Create more reasons to celebrate with Prosecco, through hard work or pure inventiveness!”

Top Fizz: “Personally I love a glass of bubbles or even a bellini cocktail! Prosecco is a light and fruity fizz and is an affordable treat.

Prosecco is also a very trendy drinking fizz perfect for all occasions… a nice dinner, aperitif, special occasion or just great as an everyday drink and the word 'Prosecco' is easy to pronounce!”

New Year’s Resolution: “My resolution is to start making more time for myself, to take advantage of the lovely weather here in Dubai, go for more walks and start going to the gym more.”

Left: There’s always a time and reason for Prosecco – a design from Veronica Dearly.

Below: A YTR Prosecco card from its Sparkle and Shine range.

Alexa Stretton, creative director for Always Sparkle: Top Fizz: “Prosecco has become such a popular drink in the UK in recent years and the trend has filtered through to many products. Greeting cards especially are perfect for this, as many people will mark their birthday with a glass (or two!) of Prosecco to celebrate! We had already produced other alcohol related cards, such as gin, beer and wine, which are some of our best sellers, so Prosecco designs were perfect to add to our collection and have proved to be extremely popular.”

New Year’s Resolution: “My resolution is to enjoy more night’s out drinking Prosecco of course!”

Emma Young, head of art & production for Paperlink:

Right: With gorgeous gold foiling, an Always Sparkle design.

Simon Alker, director for Made With Love Designs:

Top Fizz: "Prosecco is to the consumer what Pinot Grigio was five years ago, and before that Chardonnay!

What started as a cheaper, celebratory replacement for Champagne seems to have become the normal tipple for some. There is always a drink of the moment and this is it now. The word 'Prosecco' is synonymous with fun!

It’s exciting and has the feel good factor about it and sending a card with prosecco on it spreads that feeling.

New Year’s Resolution: "…reduce my intake of Prosecco perhaps? Er, think I said that last year…"

Top Fizz: As Prosecco is one of the fastest growing drinks in the marketplace, and as it is seen as a celebration drink and part of an event or party, it’s natural that it is used on a card for a celebration. A glass of Prosecco is becoming as normal as a glass of champagne when celebrating. One of our existing good sellers features ‘Gin’ wording and so we added a Prosecco card to the collection, paired with some gold foiling and I think you have the perfect card for a celebration!”

New Year’s Resolution: “Mine is going to always wear my socks the right way round. Try to stop wearing your socks inside out. It really does make your life better.”

Above and left: Two designs from Paperlink’s Mimosa range.

Left: Stunning gold block foiling features on Made With Love Designs’ cards.

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In Conversation With... Paul Taylor Of Cardzone

A Taylor-ed

Approach

Having a grand plan is one thing, seeing it through is quite another. It was 11 years ago that Paul Taylor, founder of specialist card retail Cardzone, boldly stated that he would like to grow his then fledgling card retailing business to 100 stores. Now, with the addition of 14 Hallmark Factory Outlets stores within its portfolio, he is almost there.

PG went shopping with this ambitious card retailer.

“Retailing isn’t easy at the moment, and as a card retailer you have to recognise that changing consumer habits mean that card sending is unlikely to grow, but there are still opportunities out there,” was what Paul Taylor, owner of the Cardzone greeting card retail operation told PG in 2012. Back then he had just grasped one of those opportunities, acquiring the Special Occasions group of 14 specialist shops, largely based in the South-West.

Four years on and Paul’s take on the retail scene is even more sanguine, but counteracting this his opportunistic mettle is even more honed, having recently added another significant string to the company’s retailing bow with the addition of 14 Hallmark Factory Outlets.

“I really have never known retailing to be so bad – there is no getting away from the

Top: Paul Taylor, md of Cardzone, next to the map in his office which shows the locations of the group’s current store portfolio.

Above right: Greeting cards are at the heart of all Cardzone’s business, including in the Hallmark Factory Outlet stores.

Above: The Hallmark brand has enabled Paul Taylor to run and open stores in high footfall factory outlet complexes.

Right: Paul Taylor at the entrance of the East Midlands Designer Outlet mall where one of the Hallmark factory stores is located.

fact that footfall in the high street is way down,” says Paul. “Our like-for-like sales are down 1%. Our sales are up overall, but only because we are growing as a business,” he told PG in early December.

Paul knows plenty about nail-biting Christmas trading periods and how to hold his nerve, recalling a previous festive run up

when a massive dump of snow saw two thirds of Cardzone’s shops unable to trade.

“I was out walking with my wife in the snow and I realised that, in what was supposed to be our best trading period of the year, out of the 30 shops we owned, 20 of them were shut due to the weather.

Sometimes you do have to admit defeat!”

Sometimes, but very rarely in Paul’s case.

And the recent addition of the Hallmark Factory Outlet stores definitely adds considerable collateral to the company’s armory, in branch numbers and reach (both geographically and strategically).

Their addition takes the group to over 90 stores, within shouting distance of the 100 store goal on which Paul set his sights on starting the business with his wife Chris 11 years ago.

Up until now, the company’s growth has largely been through acquiring regional retail clusters – notably Special Occasions in the South-West and Card Centre in South Wales.

This latest deal is somewhat different. It not only stretches the company’s empire in all directions from its historic heartland of Nottinghamshire, taking it up into Scotland for the first time, with an outlet in Gretna, into Ireland with another in Antrim, providing a PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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@lauradarrington Laura Darrington Design Ltd.

Stand 3U30

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In Conversation With... Paul Taylor Of Cardzone

foothold in the North-East (County Durham) as well as bolstering its other retailing activities in the Midlands and the South.

Moreover, looking at it from an industry perspective, in handing over the Factory Outlets’ reins to Cardzone, Hallmark has effectively divested itself of its direct retailing interests while retaining this as a controlled supply channel for its excess stock, albeit one that is now shared with other card publishers’ brands and gift companies.

Due to the October hand over of some of the factory stores (meaning that there was little time for a decent run up to Christmas trade), Paul says that the “full benefits” of this addition to the group will not be fully realised until 2017, but he is in no doubt as to the attraction of this strand to the group.

“It is still greeting card retailing, but with high footfall!” he says, surveying a very busy scene in its store in the East Midlands Designer Outlet complex, close to Newark.

It’s early afternoon on the first Thursday in December and the extensive car park is full to bulging. The entrance to the shopping mall promises ‘All the brands you know and love’ with the 65 well-known fashion, sports and homewares names including Adidas, BOSS, Fiorelli, Phase Eight, Superdry and Tommy Hilfiger.

Top: Former UKG merchandiser Helen GriceBrown is assistant manager of the Hallmark Factory Outlet store in the East Midlands Designer mall. Seen here with store manager Gary Young.

Above: The wide aisles in the Hallmark Factory Outlet store in the East Midlands Designer Outlets complex can even accommodate the mini vehicles that the shopping complex provides for younger visitors.

Above right: Candles and fragranced giftware has proved popular in the factory outlet stores as well as the group’s high street locations, so much so that Paul has rebadged some stores Cardzone Home & Fragrance.

Right: The higher end Christmas boxes sold very well in the Hallmark Factory Outlet stores.

“People come here for brands. We would never have been able to get a store here under Cardzone, but through Hallmark we have a brand that can sit alongside these fashion names,” says Paul.

Although greeting cards still anchor the factory outlet stores, the one in the East Midlands centre having over 100’ of card bays, is bolstered by a strong gift and fragranced product offer, with Yankee Candle positioned prominently near the front.

The store is beautifully fitted out, with feature tables and recessed displays. And although the prices are keen, they are not rock bottom.

“We’ve done incredibly well with the high-end Christmas boxes at £4.99, while the majority of the everyday cards being bought are £1.29 – and they buy handfuls at a time,” reveals Gary Young, manager of this store.

Paul is clearly relishing this new growth opportunity, seeing the potential to open

more factory outlets, the first being in Livingston in Scotland in 2017. But that is not to say that this is the only planned route for expansion.

The map on the wall of his office, punctured by over 90 coloured pins, tells the tale, detailing where all the stores are located.

“You can see there is still lots of opportunities for us to grow,” says Paul, admitting hankering for a stronger presence in the South as well as filling in gaps elsewhere.

Having bolstered the company’s senior management and buying team evidenced by James Taylor (Paul’s son) joining to head up gift buying, ex Birthdays-buyer Sarah Chalkley consulting on the specialist card publishing buying side and former Thorntons exec Kevin Hart joining the team on a consultancy basis, Paul feels it has the wherewithal internally to push forward considerably in the coming years.

“We are keener to grow through acquisition and have a feeling that there will

be some opportunities out there for us to talk to quality independents who are considering selling up. I am sure they would get more from us for their business than on the open market as we are keen to grow, but only with the right stores,” reveals Paul, whose previous experience (most notably with Greetings Store Group which he helped grow to 230 stores before selling out) shows that building a sizeable chain holds little fear.

As he sums up: “I love this industry, the people, the products, watching card publishers grow and develop. Yes it is tough, but it probably always has been, but there are always opportunities, and that’s what keeps me going!”

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JEREMY’S JOURNAL Business blogging by publisher Jeremy Corner of Blue Eyed Sun.

Great Resolve Jeremy Corner, owner of greeting card publisher Blue Eyed Sun, considers making New Year’s Resolutions.

Inset: It takes determination to stick to your New Year’s resolution – a Graphite card from Abacus.

It’s that time of year again isn’t it? Where many of us set ourselves New Year’s resolutions and then fail to reach them within weeks or sometimes days! Despite having the best of intentions most of us aren't ready to change our habits. There are a variety of reasons for this:

We Don’t Like Change Sometimes, we are just too comfortable with how we are. Changing will have all sorts of ramifications within our lives. There are things we know that will change. Things that we know we don’t know, but can foresee in some way. There are also things that we don’t know we don’t know. The unknown can feel quite scary so it can seem easier to sit tight.

It’s Not Us We can often have an idea of how we should be that is dissociated from who we believe we really are. As a result we can have unrealistic expectations of the ways we feel we ought to live. For example, we feel that we should be this way or that way based on things we read in magazines or see in the world around us. Because of this mismatch we fail because the new resolutions aren’t really us.

Owning Our Shadows Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies. Even when we might posses our own noble traits we can refuse them and project them onto another. We might want to be like a hero of ours, for example, and instead of embracing our own finest qualities within, our hero acts as a shadow substitute for gold that we could be opening up within ourselves. Again there is fear involved.

Holding back from living fully can feel safer sometimes. We need to own our own shadow self to grow.

It’s Not Smart Sometimes our goals just aren’t that SMART. They aren’t specific, measurable, achievable, relevant or time-based enough. An example might be “I want to send more cards this year.” This goal is just too vague. If you want to have a smart goal it would be re-phrased as “I want to send at least one card a week for the next 52 weeks.”

Achieving Goals If you really want to achieve your goals, be prepared to embrace change, make sure your goal is something that is yours and not for someone else, make sure that it’s a smart goal and then be brave in the face of fear or the unknown, both externally and within. You

never know, it may turn out a lot better than you fear. So, how do you make it happen?

To be successful with your goals you’ll need to do the following:

Find Your Why To be sure of sticking with your New Year’s resolutions we have to find a compelling reason to change. Your ‘what is your goal’. ’I’m going to send a card a week next year’ is my ‘what’. Your ‘why’ drives you towards your purpose. Find a ‘why’ that inspires you.

‘What’ is a cause that feels bigger than you.

It should feel exciting and perhaps a little daunting. Listen to your feelings on this one.

Commitment The word ‘resolution’ means making a firm decision to do or not to do something.

Make a firm commitment to your decision at the point of making it. Then take action immediately to make it happen. Do not leave the moment of making a decision to change (that’s fuelled by a purposeful ‘why’) without doing something towards its attainment. If you want to send more cards, list out your friends’ birthdays, go and buy some cards, do something that moves towards this goal. Do it straight away and it will give you momentum.

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JEREMY’S JOURNAL rewards for being successful can be great motivators. You can take friends out to dinner or book a holiday as a prize for yourself. We can also use sticks to leverage ourselves to make the change, like telling those important to us or sending money to charity for each day you don’t stick to your plan.

Top: Keep your goal simple and get going!

Above: To achieve your objective enlist support from those around you. A Gemma Correll design from Ohh Deer.

Left: Telling someone about your goal can help you achieve it – a card from award-winning photographer Chris Wright, founder of The Puffin Man. Below: Thinking of You Week took to the streets last September and met the public, giving out cards to lovely passersby to send to friends and family.

Amazingly, Jeremy plans to action this every week of 2017.

One idea I’ve been thinking a lot about is how to improve our service to our customers. For the first time in several years we dropped out of the Top 25 publishers for Best Service To The Independent category in The Henries Awards. Our team is gutted and we are determined to do something about it.

We’ve already started and are hoping we will be back on the list later in the year.

While this could be a resolution, being back in The Henries’ Best Service list is not within our control. It therefore cannot be a smart goal, even though it is something we will be working hard on with new product, faster turnarounds and better communication. We will be specific and measurable in our improvements over the coming six months and then see if that has any effect on our standing in The Henries’ rankings.

Other resolution ideas I’ve been mulling over have come from daily gratitude and daily kindness exercises I have been doing in the last month or two.

Being more grateful and more kind aren’t specific enough for my resolution though.

Plus, I practice these regularly anyway.

Although I am very active in my involvement with our card and gift industry community through my work with the GCA and the Giftware Association, I still feel that there’s more I can do. I love social media, meeting new people and taking on exciting new challenges so I want something that would encompass all of these things for me personally. I’ve also been experimenting with video this last year and want to do more in this area.

Resolution Ideas

My Resolution

I have a number of things that I have been mulling over as resolutions for this coming year. My ideal resolution would be something personal with crossover for my business. Something that scares me a little and something that will allow me to grow as an individual while benefiting others.

So... I’ve decided to set up a YouTube channel that will run for one year and will include videos of myself and others writing and sending greeting cards to people. I’m going to commit to posting an average of one video a week throughout the year. This is actually an idea I've wanted to do for a while.

I want to send more greeting cards. I am inspired to see how this connects with others, how the experience enhances my life and I hope that it might have a positive effect on card sending around the world.

OK. Now I’ve told you... I have to do it. If you want to support my project do get in touch.

Support Keep It Simple It’s better to choose one thing to change than creating a long list. Once you have achieved the first goal you can always add more later. If your list is too long it can be challenging to prioritise and get started.

Long lists can also feel unachievable. Your resolutions must be achievable if they are going to be smart, so keep it simple.

It’s really important to enlist support from those around you to reach your goals.

Similarly, try to minimise contact with those who may want to hold you back from achieving them. You aren’t the only person afraid of change. Sometimes your loved ones can be afraid of losing you and can get in the way of your achieving your goals. Explain your ‘why’ to them so that they understand your motivations.

Write It Down Write down your resolutions on a piece of paper and put this somewhere that you can see it every day. The act of physically writing down your goals externalises them and registers them for yourself in a way that is different to simply carrying them in your head. I know this from my own experience and from successful people I have met in my life.

Tell Someone Certain personality types respond better to this than others. Being an external reality person rather than an internal reality person, I tell those that I know will be supportive of my goal and I will sometimes tell those that I do not want to let down. I’m always careful not to do this with something unachievable as this will only make me look bad and feel terrible when it doesn’t work out.

Carrots And Sticks Like getting a donkey to move forward, we can use carrots or sticks to move towards our goals. Using celebrations along the way as

Read more on Jeremy’s blog at www.blueeyedsun.co.uk/blog PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Rising Stars

T Bright

Young T T Things Winner of the Best Contemporary Words & Sentiments Range 2016, Jo Wilson, director for Dandelion Stationery: A Trio Of Tips: “l Perseverance!

You have to believe in yourself.

Building a business from scratch is Really hard work – I had quite a while of working a 9-5 job, while burning the midnight oil building my business in the evening – on top of being a wife, a mum to two young children, and having a very energetic dog who needs plenty of walks! l Ask questions. I have met so many lovely people in the industry, at trade shows and other events such as GCA workshops. Most people are very willing to share advice; it’s a fantastic and supportive industry to be part of. l Enjoy yourself and have fun – I spent too many years working in a (very) boring corporate job – life is short and it’s so important to enjoy what you do.”

Pivotal In Company Growth: “Have a comprehensive range, give your customers lots of choice and make it easy for them to reach orders at carriage paid level (and more!).

Securing a good agent in a region can really get you a good foothold in the market and have a trade website where customers can order online – so many of my stockists are small independent business where the

shop owners often work into the night placing orders online – not all of them have time to devote to regular agent visits during the working day.

Spend time finding good suppliers - ie we work closely with GF Smith who supplies the board we use, they have been amazing at helping us select the right materials.

And finally, trade shows having a presence at certain Left: Jo Wilson – Jo says the look on her face sums up perfectly her feelings on winning a Henries trophy!

Below: Two designs that were introduced into the Dandelion Stationery collection last year.

Twinkling brightly in the greeting card industry constellation, are a handful of card publishing ‘stars’ who, despite only launching a relatively short time ago deservedly won a Henries Award recently.

PG asks four of these card publishing ‘bright young things’ to highlight three key points they have learnt since being a tiny flicker of a business, pivotal moments in their respective growth, future plans and the boosts winning a Henries has bought.

shows gives a perfect opportunity to showcase your product to existing and new customers.”

Future Plans: “I still feel like a newbie, and have SO much to learn – sometimes that can be quite scary! I don’t know much about licensing or brokering, which I imagine we need to learn?! And while we do export successfully already, the world is a big place and there is a much bigger market to tap into than we do currently.”

A Henries Boost: “Winning a Henries Award was just amazing – we made it to the finals twice before, and I really did not expect to win. I smiled for days afterwards, and still often stroke the trophy as I walk past it in the office! The publicity has been super and has certainly boosted interest in the product from new customers. It has made me excited for the future, and I imagine is a bit like a tattoo – I now want another one!”

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Rising Stars

Winner of the Best Art Range 2016, Ilona Drew, owner of I Drew This: A Trio Of Tips: “l Be original in your work - Be it wording or how you create your images... this will ultimately define you as a publisher. l Be good - By this I mean be good to your fellow publishers, you never know when you might need some advice. The Ladder Club is great for this, but also at trade fairs, those quiet times are perfect for swapping information.

Also be good to your customers. Send them a pack of top selling cards if you are out of stock of something they ordered or ask them what they think would sell well for them and then create them a design, this will make them feel good about working with you and fingers crossed the design will sell well with other retailers too.

l Be realistic - Growing a good business takes time, if it were to happen really quickly you may not be ready... use the time to get good systems in place to help you run your business smoothly.”

Pivotal In Company Growth: “I got an accounting system, this really helped me pull myself together. I now have a system that I run myself and this has given me a much better understanding of my business.

I also dropped a whole lot of designs and focused on the designs that sell well.

This gave me much more confidence when selling to my customers and also helped me think about the direction I wanted to go in design wise.”

Future Plans: “I will continue running and improving I Drew This alongside working on commissions. I currently work

alone so I do love finding new people to work with. It would be great to find the right company/companies to discuss using my artwork on products so I can broaden I Drew This' offering to the market.”

A Henries Boost: “Winning a Henries Award for me has been 20 years in the making so it was a huge personal achievement. I love that by my winning it has raised awareness of the small publisher at the same time as improving my sales.”

Above: Ilona Drew presented with her Henries Award by Taha Meziane, sales director for Top Drawer, sponsor of this award.

Left: I Drew This has its own unique style as shown on these two card designs.

Winner of the Best Humour Range 2016, Rosie Harrison, owner of Rosie Made A Thing: A Trio Of Tips: “l Don’t be afraid to be different and realise that it might take a little time before you are noticed. I launched Rosie Made A Thing with just 30 card designs, 12 of which I have subsequently discontinued. I was right at the back of the NEC at Spring Fair by the loos and only took eight orders over the five days exhibiting. But, I found out a lot and I took on my first agent who is still with me now and continues to be brilliant! l The cards also need to be commercial. Some of my best selling designs are by no means my favourites but they

Right: Rosie Harrison clasping a shiny Henries Award.

appeal to a wider market. I always try to think about who would send the card, to whom and why. l Talk to everybody fellow publishers, customers, agents, GCA, etc. The greeting card industry is very friendly and there’s a lot of help and advice out there for new publishers.”

Pivotal In Company Growth: “My sales agents PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Rising Stars

have been, and continue to be, a very important part of the growth of the company. It’s important to get the right ones for your business and to be in contact regularly. I often run any new designs past one of my agents and her advice is always spot on.

of a clock, I’m just a girl, standing in front asking it to be time to open the wine

Far left, middle and left: A few cheeky Rosie Made A Thing designs.

Designing on my own, I think it’s important to be able to get that second opinion and they often know your customers very well.”

Future Plans: “I am certainly keen to expand my range but I try not to look too far into the future as things can change so quickly. At the moment, I’m the new kid on the block, but I think to be successful long-

term in this industry you have to keep it fresh.

I would like to create other products with my designs and maybe publish some work from other artists with a different style to my own.”

A Henries Boost: “Winning a Henries Award was, firstly, great recognition for a lot of hard work. Secondly, the publicity really does help to boost sales from existing customers, but I have also noticed an increase in the number of new enquiries.

And lastly, it’s a nice big trophy for my kids to hang their school creations on!”

Winner of the Best Spring Seasons Range 2016, Erin James and Kathy Slatter, co-directors of Stop The Clock Design: A Trio Of Tips: “We have learnt so much since starting eight years ago and are still learning things every day.

As a new company you need to be willing to listen and take all the advice you are given. Establish your own style and strive to stand out rather than copying ideas that you already know are popular. You need to take the time, when you have it, to design as well as keep up with the business side of things. It’s also very helpful to get in to the routine of designing for the different seasons well in advance. Lastly, don’t be afraid to say no to things you know your company is not ready for, as this could easily be your downfall.”

Pivotal In Company Growth: “I think one of the main reasons for our company’s growth is finding a fantastic network of agents who already had great relationships with independent retailers all over the UK. This, in turn, increased our customer base and gave our expanding card ranges an outlet.

Secondly, we were based in premises that had room to expand without having to increase our overheads. We have since moved to another larger premises, which will enable further expansion when the time comes.

Lastly, having friendly, reliable, hardworking staff make the whole process enjoyable, which in turn reflects on output.

Good staff and a happy environment are ideal for creating the right mood for designing. The ability to keep coming up with good designs is fundamental to success in this business.”

Above: A smiling Erin (left) and Kathy with their new Henries trophy.

Below: Stop The Clock’s winning range, Love You More Valentine’s Day (right) and a design from its new Burst My Bubble range.

Future Plans: “We plan to continue slowly growing the company without taking any massive steps. It is important to us that we don’t expand too rapidly and stop enjoying what we do.”

A Henries Boost: “Winning a Henries Award definitely helps to get noticed as a company - any kind of positive publicity has to be a good thing, even if the immediate benefits are not necessarily tangible. It certainly gets you noticed within the industry, which is good for selfconfidence. Apart from that, it’s a great night out!”

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Retailer Face To Face

“Brussels on crackers with my wolf packers...” must rank as one of the most unexpected marketing messages from any leading multiple retailer, but then Paperchase has fared extremely well not following the crowd, but playing to it.

It was to a trade throng that, a few weeks prior to releasing its ‘Be A Christmas #Wrapstar’ viral video on YouTube, a dynamic duo of the Paperchase buying team, ‘wrapsters’ Hazel Walker, Tish Bas and Frances Burkle, put in a stunning performance at The Ladder Club seminar, candidly sharing the ‘rhymes and reasons’ of supplying this design-led retailer.

Adopting a musical band analogy, with 166 UK stores and 37 overseas, while Paperchase may not be a mainstream ‘chart topper’ it is always a hot favourite for a Brit Award. And in common with many UK beat combos, it has recently announced that it has set its sights on ‘breaking America’ with its first standalone store due to open in Chicago in March.

Like its recent quirky viral festive video, in which it managed to tread that delicate line between sending up youth culture while keeping it onside with a witty rappers’ delivery of its Christmas offer, Paperchase buying duo Hazel Walker and Tish Bas put on

Top: A still from Paperchase’s ‘Be AChristmas #Wrapstar’ viral video.

Above: Paperchase’s Tish Bas (left) and Hazel Walker (centre) catch up with Rose Hill of Rose Hill Designs at the recent second day Ladder Club seminar.

Below: Paperchase offers greeting cards from 250 different card publishers in its flagship stores, such as this Tottenham Court Road, London branch.

a relaxed but confident performance last month to an enraptured audience made up of card publishers attending the second day of The Ladder Club seminar.

While difficult to imagine a headline act ‘playing’ mid morning on a winter Wednesday in the Westcliff Pavilion in Essex, this was a true one off, contributing to the event’s sell out status.

The audience was made up of card publishers who have been trading for a little while, likely to have exhibited at a couple of trade shows, building confidence in their style and keen to grow. While some had already started supplying Paperchase, many others had it on their wishlists.

“We want to hear about your businesses.

We want to know about you,” began Tish Bas, senior card and wrap buyer, setting the tone, with Hazel Walker, card buyer, ‘on keyboards’ working the visuals before doing a star turn of PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Retailer Face To Face

her own. “We do not make presentations, we sit at desks and go to trade shows, but we love cards!” said Tish.

And this is big love! Despite the fact that Paperchase retails an increasingly wide selection of products, from stationery to art materials, gifts to homewares, Tish stresses that “cards and wrap are integral to our business, representing 30% of our sales.”

And translating that into greeting card currency, Hazel quantified “we sell 12 million everyday cards a year – around 250,000 cards a week.”

There was a noticeable shuffling in seats and scribbled note taking as publishers did their own mental calculations as to what exponential growth supplying Paperchase could bring to their business.

Hitting another high note, Hazel revealed: “We sell 1,000 cards a week each of our best selling cards.” More frantic scribbling in the audience.

While there is a widely-held perception that a lot of Paperchase products are own brand, this pictures is perhaps skewed by the instore presence of the coordinated stationery and gift ranges, created by its own in-house studio.

While own brand cards dominate on Christmas packs, on Christmas singles 70% are from branded publishers and there is around the same split on everyday.

“We love UK card suppliers - we buy from 250 card publishers,” states Tish, dismissing any suggestion that Paperchase was about to move to a purely own brand model.

And it is amazing the sheer numbers of greeting card designs that it does display.

“In a flagship store we would have 4,000 everyday different card designs and 2,000 in a standard store,” says Hazel, whose remit involves balancing the numbers while creating an arresting aesthetic product mix for customers.

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Inviting interjections from the audience provided an opportunity to elucidate on the different buying timelines Paperchase works throughout the year.

“Deadlines are important,” says Tish laughing! “We do Christmas in January/beginning of February, we look at Valentine’s in April, Mother’s Day in July and have just done Father’s Day,” explains Hazel.

When asked how they source publishers, “We walk a lot of trade shows!”, replied Tish. When asked which is the most important, Tish’s immediate retort was “PG Live, of course!”

Making publishers aware of their responsibility of following up on a trade show enquiry, Tish said: “If we give you our business card, it is up to you to follow up with us with a quick email after the show. It is up to both us and you to make this work,” she reinforced.

Reassuring for all those publishers who have submitted packages of cards to Paperchase and wondered whether they ever made it out of their envelopes, Hazel said. “I can assure you I see every single card design sent to us. I receive between 10-20 submissions every week, but each and every one is opened and looked at.”

When considering submissions Hazel explains that she is looking for eight cards that Paperchase constitutes as a range that can be displayed together in a row instore.

Looking at the ordering quantities, Hazel expands that if she would like to trial a ‘range’, she would probably look to introduce the cards into the larger flagship stores (initially ordering 100 of each design). The next step up would be the mid way point of expanding it into more stores, buying 1,500-2,000 of each

design, while once the range goes into all stores, she would look to order 3,000-5,000 of each design.

With £ signs whirring in The Ladder Club attendees’ eyes, Hazel pointed out that the cards have to sell. While not every design can be a best seller, she expects to sell one of each card design per store per week.

Confronting the mucky money stuff, Tish says, “Like all retailers we have terms. We pay 60 days end of month. I think we are fairly easy to work with, but you guys have to manage your businesses”, softening it with a potent athematic finale: “We love working with small publishers, it is what sets us apart. You need to feel you are part of this.”

Adding Seasoning Paperchase does the seasons well – and does well out of them. The success of its social media activity and concerted entertaining email programme means that very few Paperchase fans are ever in doubt that a Spring Season event is about to take place.

“Christmas is still our number one season”, confirms Tish, but accepts that the vast majority of the packs are own brand (which this year included 24 large charity packs, with proceeds going to 21 different charities).

“Christmas singles is your opportunity,” she stressed to the audience.“Only 30% is own brand and the rest is branded,” she elaborated.

Revealing a changing shape of the Spring Seasons for Paperchase,“Mother’s Day sales have just overtaken Valentine’s Day for us,” said Tish.“We sold 500,000 Mother’s Day cards and 450,000 Valentine’s Day cards,” shares Hazel, the big numbers rolling off her tongue effortlessly.

Encouragingly, Hazel adds that, “Father’s Day is growing rapidly. In fact in 2016 we had to go back and rebuy!” but admits that Easter (for which it sells 150,000 cards) is “the hardest to buy for as there is not that much of a selection.”

Top: The Paperchase buying team (and ceo Timothy Melgund) embracing the fun at the 2016 PG Live exhibition, on the Brainbox Candy stand, where they tried out the Face Mats for size.

Above left: Hazel Walker explained to those attending The Ladder Club seminar how Paperchase treats branded greeting cards - from the moment they are spotted at a trade show to arriving at the buying office.

Left: Mother’s Day is now the largest selling Spring Season event for Paperchase, having taken over the top spot from Valentine’s Day for the design-led retailer.

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Industry Issue

Flattery Gets You Nowhere

Below: Hannah and Jack Dale, coowners of Wrendale Designs with their three lovely children.

Middle: The distinctive style of Hannah Dale that is much copied.

Bottom: Wrendale Designs’ profile has been raised by high profile licensing agreements, such as the one with Royal Worcester.

For all the positivity at the recent Ladder Club seminars there was a thread of caution and concern that wove its way through several of the presentations - over the issue of copying within the greeting card industry.

PG trod the tricky pathway through this minefield where a fresh interpretation of a trend is applauded while plagiarising another publisher’s take on these fashions is a definite no no.

Up Hill And Down Dale Last month, Hannah Dale, the creator and co-founder of Wrendale Designs, was up there with much larger companies, being lauded as one of the Brands of the Future, reaching the finals in the Everywoman Business Awards. It is an incredible achievement considering that the company she started less than five years ago, and now runs with her husband Jack, has a £multi million turnover, its products are sold in 12 different countries, and through licensing, as well as the company’s expanded portfolio, Hannah’s distinctive animal artwork against its signature splattered background now graces greeting cards, stationery, books, ceramics and textiles.

A great success story, but one that has come at a price - in that it has spawned many ‘me too’ ranges.

Paperchase Backs Diversity “Everyone follows trends - but you all tend to follow the same trends!” stated Paperchase’s senior buyer Tish Bas as part of the talk she gave with her colleague Hazel Walker at The Ladder Club seminar.

However, she didn’t hold back as to how the Paperchase team react when designs are submitted that are too close for comfort to something that is already in existence.

“We just won’t buy copies. We find it offensive if someone thinks we would even consider it. It is so sad that copying exists in this creative industry,” said Tish with a sigh.

“This is one of the most awful subjects to have to speak about, but unfortunately one that many publishers experience,” said Hannah speaking at The Ladder Club, including a section on copying as one of the real challenges the company has faced as it has grown.

“I have lost count of the times that well meaning friends say, ‘I’ve noticed a lot of similar designs in the shops recently’ or ‘have you seen…?’ This is really devastating – the uniqueness of your designs is one of the most important things you have as a designer and it can cause a lot of worry about the impact that it may have on your business as well as being infuriating at how anyone dare rip off your creativity,” said Hannah.

However tempting it may be, Hannah urged publishers not to accuse someone of copying before seeing legal advice as “this could land you in hot water legally if the claims were found to be unsubstantiated.” As Hannah has come to learn, you can’t claim copyright over a ‘style’ – unless someone has copied every element of your design. If however, you do feel you have a case, Hannah suggests that one option is to contact the company in question, in the hope that their conscience may get the better of them or fear of being ‘named and shamed’ on social media may make them back down and stop selling the offending items.

As Hannah pointed out, progressing beyond this down a legal route requires a lot of soul searching - you may feel that it will be worth it, but she predicts it is likely to be an emotional rollercoaster and will take your attention away from your core business.

“The best advice I can give you is to put it right out of your mind and carry on regardless. This may seem like useless advice, but I know from experience that it can really eat you up if you dwell on it too much. Remember that you are being copied because your designs are successful and that you will always be one step ahead of the copier. Keep being creative and move forward with your business,” she said pragmatically.

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Don’t Mess With Jess There is no denying Jessica Hogarth’s generosity of spirit as a super active member of a The Ladder Club Facebook page, of which she is an official administrator. However, while this talented surface pattern designer and greeting card publisher is always ready to share her advice and support on a multitude of issues there is one area where she adopts a zero tolerance - copying.

While in the past it was the larger publishers who were often criticised for apeing styles that had been pioneered by smaller players, nowadays Jessica feels that even startups are guilty.

“I do think that the greater use of Instagram and Pinterest has seen more ‘mood boards’ being created by publishers often involving other publishers’ designs,” says Jessica. She reveals that she had cause to speak to a new publisher at Harrogate Home & Gift who was showcasing designs that had a “very obvious likeness” to her designs.

“I knew that she had been following me on social media. As I pointed out to her, it is so important to find your own voice creatively.

If you copy designs they will always lack the essence of the original.

She accepted what I said and removed the designs from her range and website,” reveals Jessica.

Jessica had good cause to get firm with a graduate which quite rightly saw her stripped of her degree for directly copying some of Jessica Hogarth Designs’ artwork.

“This really shook me up,” reveals Jess. “I had helped the student and given her advice. I couldn’t believe what I saw when I went to the New Designers show and saw that what were my designs were being

Driving Forwards There are not many copying incidents that have a happy ending, but Paper Salad was happy to share one exception that proved the rule – and led to an ongoing licensing agreement.

Having taken the decision to withdraw a campervan design from its range of giftwrap designs (as Volkswagen was clamping down on imagery that suggested it was based on a VW campervan), Paper Salad directors Karen Wilson and Clare Williams were astonished to discover the said design on a toilet bag.

“We contacted the manufacturer in question who explained the fabric had been bought in China. However, once we explained

displayed as hers. I was in shock, but knew I couldn’t stand back and let her get away with it.”

Jess got her evidence together and contacted the university with the outcome being that the graduate had her degree removed.

“Like others I had slogged my guts out to get my degree and create my own bank of work and a signature style.”

Licensing her work onto other products, Jessica feels she has added some degree of protection as it raises the profile of her brand, but this protection is not watertight in some parts of the world.

“Copyright protection still does not seem to really exist in China. My most bizarre experience was when I was in Hong Kong with a friend and was looking at phone cases on a stall in Temple Market where to my amazement I discovered some of my designs that had been reproduced without a licence.

The lady running the stall tried to sell us one - until my friend pointed out that the picture of the person on the back of the case was in fact me! In this case I decided it was not worth the time and energy to pursue it further. I have learned to pick my battles where copying is concerned.”

Above: Jessica Hogarth Designs has become well known for her illustrations of townscapes.

Right: Jess in Temple Market in Hong Kong with some counterfeit products featuring her designs.

Left: (Left-right) Paper Salad’s co-founders Karen Wilson and Clare Williams with Jenny Morrison, founder of newbie publisher Papersole at The Ladder Club.

Bottom left: What started as a copyright infringement led to Paper Salad agreeing to licence some of its designs to the offending company.

Below: Some new Space Age designs from Paper Salad, which demonstrates its best defence against being copied – having a key style, but constantly evolving it.

that it was our design, and that we had not given any rights for it to be used, they not only apologised profusely and took the products off the market, but also then licensed some of our other designs for products. In this instance the copying issue ended well,” said Karen.

Karen and Clare’s advice to publishers looking to safeguard against copying is to just “keep moving on”. Karen accepts that publishers with one key look is more prone to being copied, but as Paper Salad is “trend/fashion-led, it is easier for us to move to the next thing.” She said that Paper Salad “purposely steers clear of the big trends, like brushstroke typography, as you end up looking the same as everyone else and it doesn’t give your product any point of difference.”

She also highlights how social media is partly to blame as trends are picked up much quicker.

“In the end being different is the only way forward,” she concludes.

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ARTSOURCE

TO APPEAR REGULARLY IN THE

ARTSOURCE SECTION OF PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS CONTACT TRACEY ARNAUD ON

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ART SOURCE

PG helps to paint a pretty picture of freelance artists, designers, verse writers and photographers’ worlds in order to promote their talents to publishers and, conversely, make it easier for publishers seeking artists.

ARTIST IN FOCUS

Jessica Kendrew I grew up in the Hampshire countryside, its natural beauty influencing me a lot. My childhood memories mainly consist of climbing trees, making dens, going for bike rides, fishing for sticklebacks, walking through fields full of cows and generally being a true country bumpkin! When I wasn't outside I would usually be found drawing or painting.

My best subject at school was always art, and after studying it as one of my main subjects at college I went on to do a foundation course at Winchester School of Art, gaining a distinction, followed by three years studying fine art painting at Chelsea College of Art & Design.

After graduating, I decided to focus on the business side of illustration and established a successful career working as an art agent in central London, liaising with many of the world’s leading advertising agencies and building up a rapport with a wealth of freelance illustrators and clients. Those six years have taught me a lot about the industry and have been essential to my development as an artist, finding my style and knowing what clients are looking for.

WANT TO BE FEATURED?

I now work from my studio in East Dulwich and my favourite medium is watercolour as I enjoy painting wet on wet and the freedom that it brings. My clients include UK Greetings, British Airways, Highlife magazine, First Magazine, Shop magazine, Jane Newbery and various newspapers. I enjoy exhibiting my work and I have original paintings and prints for sale in galleries in London and Suffolk. ● Email: jessicakendrew@googlemail.com

If you are an artist, photographer or verse writer and would like to be considered to appear in Art Source, please contact PG’s Emma Cain on emmac@max-publishing.co.uk. This is an editorial feature and as such is free of charge.

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ARTSOURCE

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ARTSOURCE SECTION OF PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS CONTACT TRACEY ARNAUD ON

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LITHO OR DIGIT DIGITAL, TAL, WINDLES ES GR ROUP O GROUP AL LWAYS MAKES ALWAYS THE RIGHT PRINT IMPRESSION.

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ART SOURCE Simon Treadwell

I have wonderful memories of being encouraged to draw at the age of five by my mum, and early on I realised that it was something I could do well. After taking up Classical Studies in Art, and realising that for me art was a need and not a choice, I completed my studies and set out to make it my career.

After many years working as an illustrator for the advertising industry I took the brave leap to become my own boss as a freelance artist. With many new creative challenges ahead finding a great agent to take care of all the bits I didn’t have time for allowed me to find a very happy balance and focus solely on the art.

I’m forever exploring my art, experimenting and discovering new exciting skills to best illustrate the ideas that I conjure up in my mind.

I’ve always painted and sketched by hand and to become much more efficient I have dedicated the last few years to developing my computer skills too.

My portfolio consists of a variety of subjects, from traditional detailed landscapes and charming woodland scenes, fluffy snowmen, puppies and cute whimsical children, which are used on a mix of products around the world. I particularly love working on my Christmas designs and I’m most proud of what has become my well-loved ‘signature’ Father Christmas… I really don’t think it gets anymore magical than this! ● Contact: Anne at Image Source 01442 834464 ● Email: anne@image-source.co.uk ● Web: www.image-source.co.uk

Olivia Holden I am a British designer based near Leeds, West Yorkshire, and with the beautiful scenery of the Yorkshire Dales at my fingertips I often find the inspiration for creating my illustrations in the nature that surrounds me.

I love to work on character design with a focus on people and animals.

I enjoy using everyday objects and scenarios to create relatable yet imaginative prints, developing colourful and quirky characters to narrate stories and produce cheerful artwork for licensing.

From a young age I have been scribbling in a sketchbook and have continued to draw and paint at any given opportunity. And after studying Fine Art and Textiles my interest in illustration and pattern design grew and my style and portfolio is continuing to evolve.

My favourite medium to use is acrylic paint because I love to use vibrant colours and create texture with brushes. I enjoy creating artwork that shows an obvious hand painted quality with a stylised and current look and I think my style reflects this. Experimenting with unusual colour pairings, contrasting vivid colours with pastels is something that I am having fun developing and I enjoy seeing my illustrations come to life once the colour is added.

I enjoy working across different genres including licensing, illustrative narrative and magazine editorial and I am very excited to be newly represented by the Bright Agency. I am really looking forward to working on new and exciting projects with them and welcoming new briefs in the future! ● Contact: Senior agent, Hannah Curtis 0207 326 9140 ● Email: hannah@brightartlicensing.com ● Web: www.brightartlicensing.com

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PG asked a selection of card retailers for their ‘hot’ card sellers.

Julie Clarke, owner of Deck Of Cards, Bournemouth, Dorset A medium shop in seaside town with a loyal locals customer base.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Humour

Paperlink Pigment

Across The Board Across The Board

Rainbow (Ling)

General

Photographic

Abacus

Rapture

Art Traditional

Tracks Gibson (UKG)

Art Cards Simply Traditional

Children’s Ancillary

Rachel Ellen White Cotton Cards

General Baby Keepsake Boxes

There’s the odd naughty one or two, but mostly they are not too offensive, nice general jokes.

I’ve been selling this range for 15 years and I still sell at least one design every day.

There’s a huge range of images so there’s something for everyone, and they are very Above: Tracks has a vast range of beautiful art cards. reasonably priced.

Sophisticated, classy and glamorous designs that catch the eye.

If someone asks for a card with nice words I steer them towards this range.

Lovely and bright colours, really cute and age appropriate.

A nice little pick up gift to give to parents to keep their baby’s special memorabilia.

Rohit Patel, owner of Paper Art, Finchley, London A medium shop in city suburb with a varied and loyal locals customer base.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Humour

Hanson White (UKG)

The New Yorker

CardMix

Irene & Gladys

Photographic

Tracks Woodmansterne

Art

Artists’ Cards Canns Down Press

General National Trust (NT) and National Garden Scheme (NGS) General General

Contemporary

The Art File Portfolio

Sara Miller London Jaz&Baz

Traditional

Gibson (UKG)

Simply Traditional

Handmade/ HandFinished Ancillary

Five Dollar Shake

Across The Board

Bluebell 33

Love Where You Live coasters and mugs

Easily one of our best selling humour ranges; its simple illustrations and sophisticated witticisms appeal to our Hampstead customers.

Tongue-in-cheek humour at the world’s famous artworks.

Both collections offer a wide variety of different images and the licensed NT and NGS ranges have added appeal because of their brands.

Between them these two publishers produce an eclectic offering of both contemporary and more well-known art.

Licensed from the designer Sara Milller, both ranges are tastefully done with their bright colours and beautiful foil finish.

We like to stock a wide variety of types of cards and these sell well; the words and sentiments are not too intense.

Every time I see this company’s latest ranges it’s a ‘wow!’ moment! They are simply gorgeous.

We’ve done really well with this collection as it covers most of the areas within our shop’s vicinity.

Right: 'Keith? What happened?' - a card from UKG's The New Yorker range.

Below: Let Bluebell 33 know your area and they can design Love Where You Live coasters and mugs to suit your shop's location.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Sparkle PG.pdf

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contact your rep/agent, call us or go online: E: hello@secondnature.co.uk

SECONDNATURE.CO.UK

T:+44 (0) 1983 209 590

Progressive Greetings advert : Second Nature : size A4 : January 2017 issue

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Caroline Collins, owner of Caroline’s Cards, Halstead, Essex A medium shop in a town with a loyal locals customer base.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Humour

Quitting Hollywood

Paw Play

Photographic

Simon Elvin

In The Garden

Art

Milkwood

General

Traditional

Jonny Javelin

Velvet

Handmade/ Hand-Finished Children’s Ancillary

Simon Elvin

Isabel’s Garden

Jonny Javelin Indulgence Jewellery and Lila Jewellery Joe Davies

Fudge And Friends General General Equilibrium Suncatchers

The animals’ faces have such great expressions and the jokes aren’t really rude so they appeal to a wide age group.

Bright images of beautiful garden flowers on varnished board.

A good variety of art themes and styles on blank cards for people to write their own message.

You just can’t beat them in relations and occasions captions!

Firstly, it’s their visual impact and then the lovely verses.

They sell like hot cakes, especially in Above: Furry facial expressions are part of the appeal of Quitting Hollywood’s Paw Play range. open birthday designs.

The price is good and they are lovely looking designs.

Indulgence’s jewellery makes more of a statement, while Lila’s is more delicate and sparkly for younger customers.

Hangings with a cute metal character and a coloured crystal that casts light fragments.

Glen Everton, owner of The Card Cottage, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire A medium shop in a market town with a destination, online and loyal locals customer base.

Category

Name of Publisher

Product/Name Range

Comments

Cute

Carlton (UKG)

Boofle

Humour

Hanson White (UKG)

Giggles

Emotional Rescue (distributed by Is It Art?)

Norbert & Val

Photographic

Noel Tatt

Cube

Contemporary

Nigel Quiney

Pizazz

Traditional

Jonny Javelin

Velvet

Handmade/ Hand-Finished Ancillary

Second Nature

Across The Board

Yankee Candle

Scented candles

Good quality cards, short and sweet captions and Boofle’s back-story about him being upcycled from an old jumper adds extra value.

We have two foot dedicated to Giggles designs; it’s our bread and butter line.

I think that customers can relate to the funny life situations the middle-aged couple find themselves in.

A good quality nice card.

There are a wide variety of images and they only retail at £1.99.

I didn't think square format would sell that well but I’ve placed them in a good spot and they just keep going and going.

I’m hoping to go to Barbados on the sales of this range! We reorder twice a week on the everyday designs.

We’ve only been selling them a year but they are going really well across all the ranges we have in store.

A well-known brand that draws the customers in, and the scents are gorgeous.

Right: An adorable design from Second Nature.

Below: Gorgeously scented Yankee Candles.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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On the ball comments by retailer and publisher Lynn Tait of The Lynn Tait Gallery.

Fair Is Fair

Below: A highlight of last year for Lynn was that her grandchildren created their own artwork (and printed on associated items such as coasters) to raise money for the cancer charity Myeloma UK. Bottom: Before attending a trade show find out where exhibitors’ stands are and what’s happening at the fair.

Paperfest at Top Drawer last autumn had some great talks from panels of keynote speakers.

Traditionally at this time of year we review the last year and consider how it's gone. For me it was a right old mixture of turbulent times, euphoric times and sometimes gut wrenching lows.

My highlights in 2016 were delivering the entries for the Cards for the Queen Competition to Buckingham Palace, and being in fully working order after a long illness for the wonderful Ladder Club seminars, as well as attending the glorious Bollywood themed Henries awards and the inspiring GCA AGM. All of these wonderful events just emphasise how blessed I am to be a small part of this unique industry, but now we are into 2017 it's exciting to see the lovely new product at the upcoming trade fairs.

Now, I love Christmas, but as I write this (in mid December) I am already looking forward to Top Drawer Spring in January, and soon after the Spring Fair in February.

My technique for planning and ordering for the shop has changed over the last few years because of my circumstances. It has certainly sorted out the men from the boys and I can truly say that I am very comfortable with all my suppliers now. The retailer/supplier/agent partnership has never been more important to me; ordering for a busy shop is a major all consuming job. My main objective is to minimise stress as much as possible.

Over the years I have had stunning service and understanding from suppliers and I've also received deplorable service. I always find it extraordinary that suppliers can let you slip thorough their fingers by just not caring or respecting you as a customer.

I know I've probably had less patience than usual but I do have a good track record going back 30 years with some companies, which shows that I respect my suppliers, I pay on time and I am loyal. So if there has been a glitch then it's important that suppliers are understanding, which in the main they have been.

I have to be very organised before I go to a trade fair and the planning goes on throughout the year as I look at all the companies’ lovely products.

I have been watching some card publishers for some years and I know exactly which ones I want to add to my portfolio, so before I go to a fair I see which of these are exhibiting at which shows and look at their websites, and I will note where their stands are located at the shows.

If my core suppliers are there then I will do a stock check before I visit their stand at the show so I am prepared with my order. I'm

also keen to get card and gift companies’ 2017 catalogues as soon as possible so that I can start planning my buying. But I also keep an open mind for new suppliers of gift and cards and would hope to pick up at least three of each at each trade show.

So now a mighty plea from a retailer to all exhibitors at trade fairs, a plea that I know will definitely increase your sales. Don't strangle your business with high carriage paid orders... and this is why.

At Harrogate Home & Gift I was looking for two new candle companies to introduce to the shop. I firstly looked at all the gift magazines to acquaint myself with all the candle companies, then I looked at the show’s website to see which companies were exhibiting. I marked them in my notebook where the stands were located at the fair and then I was set for my mission.

I visited all the candle suppliers at Home & Gift because my candle order is worth several £thousands a year and I wanted to consider a few new companies to see which best suited my customers.

With most of the companies I found the carriage paid order was so high that it was PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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LYNN’S LINES Left: Many potential buyers will ‘walk on by’ exhibitors’ stands if the carriage paid is too high.

Below: Good service heroes! – a card from U Studios’ 1000 Words range.

more of a commitment than I wanted to make before I decided which company was right for my store. I've bought from another candle company for around the last ten years, showing that often, once I decide, I'm very loyal to a supplier if it works out for us both.

Also at trade fairs retailers are buying a lot of stock at the same time - I ordered from over 30 companies at Home & Gift, all for immediate delivery, so I didn't want to spend about £1000 on three candle companies just to try them on for size. Once I'm comfortable with a company it's not unusual for me to spend thousands of £pounds, but only when it's proved that the product is suitable for me.

At PG Live last year there were about four card publishers with whom I spent about £800 each, but these are tried and tested companies for me.

At every single trade fair I ‘walk on by’ about six companies because their carriage paid order is not feasible to try out their product.

Buying from a new company to me I really wouldn't want to pay more than £80 for an initial order, as this would give me a good display of the cards and would allow me to test the market and also allow me to buy from quite a number of other new publishers so that I am giving several new companies a chance.

I am pleased to report that one of The Ladder Club publishers lowered its carriage paid to £80 and took three times the number of orders than usual, and when it averaged out the orders they were all over carriage paid. The reason being once a retailer starts to order they nearly always go over carriage paid anyway, because you start on a positive note.

Personally, I do not like suppliers telling me how much I must spend. Hugh carriage paid orders are a HUGE barrier to ordering.

What always puzzles me about exhibitors at trade fairs is that the companies spend a considerable amount exhibiting, then a retailer invests their time 90

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

and money buying from them, and then no order arrives.

From Harrogate Home & Gift one company lost my order, worth about £600, and one sent me a proforma when I was an existing customer, this in turn arrived in a plastic bag from the post office three weeks later. One company exhibiting at PG Live told me when I rang two months later after my order that they hadn't printed the cards yet! I still haven't got the order six months on and no word from them. This publisher’s range took pride of place on a table and a whole metre on the stand’s wall! So it was a lot of money spent on market research at the show if the publisher didn't get the cards printed!

I've scaled down the number of suppliers I deal with now, and the ones that have gone are all because of bad service. In turn, the ones I have kept are about 40% up on sales from the previous year.

In order for you to stop thinking I'm a whinging retailer, which I suppose I am, my intention is to give very helpful advice to all suppliers - that there is no point in spending £thousands on a show stand when you or the ambassadors of your company put the final nail in by giving terrible service.

On a positive note, I am the first to apologise to suppliers if, as a retailer, I have done something wrong, which believe me recently this has been the case much more than usual. With two main staff off long-term this year, and me working spasmodically, we have had to own up about mistakes we have made and apologise profusely.

In each case this has been met with wonderful manners and appropriate action taken to put right the problem.

We always try and show our appreciation by ringing up and thanking staff if they've gone beyond the call of duty in the service stakes. If we have received exceptional service I do make a point of either seeing the director at a trade fair or emailing him or her to say what good service we've had from their

staff and try to note down the names of the staff who have been particularly helpful.

I know I'm always praising the giftware supplier Joe Davies, but it has been exceptional this year with its service, and because it is our biggest supplier things are going to have hiccups. Recently we had part of an order that didn't come and we were rather slow to let them know - the company was completely within its rights to refuse the credit, but there was no hesitation, because our track record with the company is good the credit was issued immediately.

I can't stress enough how important it is to have this sort of relationship with your supplier. It's a long-term partnership with trust on each side, and I'm so grateful to have so many of these excellent companies on board

to give me a stress free life so that I can enjoy my business and not waste time on phone calls about petty little things. It's not only costly for me having these conversations but it's costly for the suppliers too.

In the new year I am taking on a full-time manageress. This is the first time in several years and I'm really looking forward to having the shop run more efficiently and more commercially and putting into practice the things that we majored on when we did the Investors in People programme - ie customer service, display, stock control, health and safety - and I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time organising the rest of my life so I can get my life balance correct and enjoy my family and grandchildren.

I hope 2016 was memorable for you.

And I wish you and all my friends in this industry a great 2017 and see you at the trade fairs!

Product Directory December 2016_NEW2 14/12/2016 18:01 Page 91

PRODUCT DIRECTORY

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Acting as the exclusive, direct-to-retail, UK Independent trade distributor for five market leading greeting card & gift publishers: Blue Mountain Arts Emotional Rescue Gemma Danilo Promotions Saffron Cards & Gift Our portfolio of product covers all genres including sentiment, contemporary art, ‘off the wall’ humour & licensed juvenile characters.

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or email on tarnaud@btinternet.com PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Product Directory December 2016_NEW2 14/12/2016 18:01 Page 92

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To appear in the Product Directories simply contact

Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740

or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud on:

07957 212 062

or email on tarnaud@btinternet.com 92

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Product Directory December 2016_NEW2 14/12/2016 18:02 Page 93

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Colneis Marketing

The UK No. No. 1 in The Licensed Greetings Greetings etings Licensed

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Over Overr 30 licenses Ov licens nses ses including: includin ng g: g: D Disne y, Peppa Peppa Pig Pig, Disney, He Kitty Hello Kitty, Mr Men Men Kitty, a d Angry A Birdss and Birds

Online Shop www.colneisgreetingcards.com

t: +44 + (0)1264 388400 e: enquiries@gemma-international.co.uk co.uk enquiries@gemma-interna national. ti w: gemma-international.co.uk gemma-international. ona co.uk

CARDS CARDS • WRAP • PARTY PARTY • GIFTS GIFTS

Eye catching, luxurious Gift Wraps, Gift Tags, Gift Bags, Roll Wrap, Tissue Papers & Ribbons for all occasions Glick, Unit 1 Allenby House, European Industrial Park, Knowles Lane, Bradford BD4 9AB Tel: 01274 655980 email: sales@glick.co.uk www.glick.co.uk

TM

GRASS ROOTS

INTERNATIONAL

G RASS R OOTS INTERNATIONAL A U.K owned Greeting Cards Publisher.

Our everyday ranges for all occasions and relations include traditional, contemporary, cute, humour and photographic designs. We also have a full range of Christmas and Spring Seasons.

All products are designed and printed in the U.K on the finest quality board.

Colour House Graphics York House, 2-4 York Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk IP11 7QQ T: 01394 271668 F: 01394 275114 E: colourhousegraphics@hotmail.com Online Shop www.colourhousegraphics.co.uk

BRANDS “Write from the Heart� brand includes; Corsage, Sentiments, Champagne, Celebrations and Jelly Beans.

M ETHOD OF SALE Direct to Retail

G RASS R OOTS INTERNATIONAL Units 4 - 4A Valentines Buildin g Ra cec our se Bus in ess Par k Aintr ee, Liver poo l, L9 5 AL Tel: 0151 52 3 9600 Fax : 015 1 523 494 9 e-m ail: s ales@ writefr om th ehear t.co.uk

from the

Market leaders in Humour, Art, Photographic, Occasions and Relations cards offering a full planning service with merchandising and retail development opportunities.

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High Quality Greeting Greeting Cards, Cards, Gift Bags, Gift Wrap Wrap & Tags Tags a for every occasion. occasio

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www.greatbritishcards.co.uk WATERWELLS DRIVE, GLOUCESTER GL2 2PH UK TEL: 01452 888999

135 13 1 35 H Heaton eaton ea on M Moor oorr Rd Rd | Stockport S Sttockp ock o kpo port ort SK4 4HY 4 4H HY

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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CHARITY GREETING CARDS One of the UK’s leading publishers of Charity Greeting Cards.

Impress offers a wide collection of images, including fine art, graphic, photographic and cute.

We also offer a bespoke design service for bulk orders and/or mail order fulfilment.

Impress Publishing Appledown House Barton Business Park New Dover Road Canterbury, Kent CT1 3TE Tel: 01227 811 611 Fax: 01227 811 618 email: info@impresspublishing.co.uk

60

ARTISTS AR RT TISTS C CARDS ARDS

years

g glebecottage.co.uk lebecottage.co.uk 01626 369269

Yo our N Number b O One S Supplier li off Numerals, Name, Relation & Age Labels for Greetings Cards.

E Established stablished 1993

Huge selection with immediate deliveryy. Buy direct or from your wholesalerr.

Listan Labels 3 Isis Court, Wyndyke Furlong, Abingdon Business Park, Oxfordshire Abingdon, Oxfor dshire OX1 5JN Tel T el e 01235 465489 Fax 01235 532118 www.listanpublications.co.uk www .listanpublications.co.uk sales@listanpublications.co.uk

H OTC H P OTC H PUBLISHING

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact

Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740

or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud

PHO PHOTOGRAPHY TOGRAPHY

L U X U RY C A R D S P R O U D LY M A D E I N T H E U K

g glebecottage.co.uk lebecottage.co.uk 01626 369269

Order s can be placed on our trader site

E Established stablished 1993

94

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

w w w. c b g t r a d e r. c o. u k or call our customer ser vice team on

+44(0)1243 792600

on:

07957 212 062

or email on tarnaud@btinternet.com

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Silk Screened Retro, Pop & Classic Cards Inspired by Music and 1960’s American Advertising.For all Vinyl & Rock n’Roll lovers

L E T U S TA K E YOU BAC K

For further details please get in touch.

info@vincentmcevoy.com

+44 (0)7779 578340

LING DESIGN The UK’s leading privately owned publisher of Greetings Cards and Stationery. ...The home for and

Products: Greetings cards for all occasions, Christmas and Spring Seasons cards, gift wrap and bags, charity cards, social stationery.

Bespoke service for charities and other fundraisers.

Ling Design Ltd 14-20 Eldon Way, Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6BE Tel: 01892 838574 enquiries@lingdesign.co.uk www.lingdesign.co.uk

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact

Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740 or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud on:

07957 212 062

or email on tarnaud@btinternet.com

Products An exciting and innovative range of quality Birthday, Relations, Special Occasions, Art and Humorous greeting cards. Full range of Christmas and Spring Seasons merchandise. Comprehensive collection of handmade cards.

Pizazz Gifts.

Brand Names Pizazz, Pizazz Gallery, Pizazz Jewell, Pizazz for Men, What a Picture, Time Out, Bon Bon, Marshmallow Cloudesley House • Shire Hill • Saffron Walden • CB11 3FB T: 01799 520200 F: 01799 520100 www.nigelquiney.com

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Design-led Stationery, Gifts, Calendars, Diaries and Cards Brands Laura Ashley, Roald Dahl, Lily & Val, Vintage Ladybird, Caroline Gardner, Monsoon, Born to Shop, Flash Gordon, Boofle and many more.

Our In-house design studio and established supply chain enables us to offer bespoke services. tel: +44 (0) 1225 329494 email: sales@porticodesigns.com website: www.porticodesigns.com

originalposter.com

All our cards are supplied on consignment, so you only pay for what you sell.

We also supply card fixtures and spinners free-on-loan.

We replace slow sellers and damaged stock free of charge.

We merchandise regularly, so you don’t have to.

THAT’S WHY WE’RE ORIGINAL!

01932 267 300

paperlink... pap erlink... the home of fa fabulous bulous cards!

356 56 Kennington Rd London SE11 4LD T 020 7582 8244 @paperlink.co.uk info@paperlink.co.uk www.paperlink.co.uk

Suppliers of humorous & contemporary Birthday, Christmas, Spring Seasons, Occasions & Relations cards Brands include: Bottomline, Bestie, Wrinklies, Hat Trick, Route 69, Bangers & Flash, Humdingers, Lacie, Sassy, Stay Wonky, Patisserie, Tinklers, Made With Love, and many many more!

Method of Sale: Direct P Paperlinkcards aperlinkcards @paperlinkcards @ paperlinkcards

96

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Three great publishers, all under one roof, contemporary, graphic, humour, cute and photographic ranges with a fantastic range of occasions and relations cards.

Key brands: V&A, Portobello, Spirit, Daisy Patch, Sugar Pips, Marzipan Toybox, Born to Stitch, Idols, Life, Sweet Tooth, Brights.

Method of sale: Direct to retail, Export and Licensing.

Riverside House, Centurion Way, Riverside Business Park, Nottingham NG2 1RW Tel: 0115 986 0115 Fax: 0115 986 0116 Email: sales@paperrose.co.uk Web: www.paperrose.co.uk www.artgroupcards.co.uk

Uk publisher of Greetings Cards with an extensive range of quality Birthday, Relations, Occasions and Seasonal product... available from

LING DESIGN To appear in the Product Directories simply contact

Warren Lomax on:

020 7700 6740

Our Brands: Laughter with Animals, Sporting Fun The Funny Side of Life.

Method of sale: Direct to Retail 14-20 Eldon Way, Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6BE Tel: 01892 838574 enquiries@lingdesign.co.uk www.lingdesign.co.uk

or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk or contact

Tracey Arnaud on:

07957 212 062

or email on tarnaud@btinternet.com

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A R A B E SQ U E

The UK’s leading publisher of highest quality handmade Greetings Cards.

Products: Greetings cards for all occasions, Christmas and Spring Seasons. Spinners and other retail displays available.

Talking Pictures Cards Ltd 14-20 Eldon Way, Paddock Wood, Kent, TN12 6BE

Tel: 01892 838574 enquiries@talkingpics.co.uk www.talking-pictures.co.uk

Greeting Cards that are unique & special with creative wit.

Looking for top-notch agents to join our expanding team.

rosierobins.com 01992 536461

DESIGN LED GREETING CARDS & GIFTS TO SUIT ALL OCCASIONS YEAR OF BIRTH GREETING CARDS ELEGANT CONTEMPORARY AND RETRO GIFTWARE & ACCESSORIES

020 8993 5966 www.retroco.com/catalogue info@ArabesqueFCG.com

EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR

&DUGV & DUGV & DOHQGDUV &DOHQGDUV & RDVWHUV &RDVWHUV 1 RWHERRNV 1RWHERRNV

www.tomcatcards.co.uk w: www .tomcatcards.co.uk e: tomcat@tomcatcards.co.uk t: 01243 837300

DIRECT TO RETAIL & EXPORT

Products: Greetings Cards, Gift Wrap, Social Stationery, Gift Bags, Keepsakes, Partyware.

Brands: Designer Collection, Feelings, Impressions, Inspirations, In Touch, Isabel’s Garden, Paper Wishes, Planet Happy.

Method of sale: Wholesale Distributors

Simon Elvin Limited Wooburn Industrial Park, Wooburn Green, Bucks HP10 0PE Tel: 01628 526711 Fax: 01628 531483 www.simonelvin.com mail@simonelvin.com

Sensations International Ltd Unit 6, Quad Road,East Lane Business Park,East lane, Wembley,MIDDLESEX HA9 7NE Tel. 0208 3854470 Fax: 0208 385 4471 Email: sales@sensationsinternational.com PRODUCTS: World’s leading publisher of high quality plastic greeting cards. Also an extensive range of quality greeting cards covering Everyday, Occasions, Christmas and Spring seasons.

BRANDS: Cherished Thoughts, Sweet Sentiments, Buddies Always, Symphony, Thinking of You, Style, Special Wishes, Special Times, Young Editions, Groove Sensations, Forever Blessed, Grey Skies, Classics.

METHOD OF SALE: Direct to retail.

TEL: 01480 43556 435562 2 FAX: 01480 450599 www.tracksltd.com UNIT 2, 12 BLACKSTONE RD, STUKELEY MEADOWS IND EST, HUNTINGDON, CAMBS, PE29 6EF

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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APPOINTMENT

WANTED Market Leaders in

Verse

& entimen

an extensive range of superior quality,

design-led Greeting Cards for all occasions, Spring Seasons & Christmas.

To appear in the Product Directories simply contact

Method of Sale: Direct to Retail

Warren Lomax

Orders can be placed on our trader site

on:

or call our customer services team on

020 7700 6740 or email on warren@max-publishing.co.uk

www.cbgtrader.co.uk +44(0)1243 792600

BY SHOWCASE GREETINGS

Paying top rates of commission promptly plus BONUS!

Good Sales Agents Agents rrequired equired to sell a fresh neew greetings i card conceptt ideal for Independentt Greeting Card Shops offering a simple one-stop ser vice for great new designs.

Card designs can be viewed on our website: www w..showcasegreetings.co.uk

Applly by email to: info@showcase egreetin ng gs.co.uk or telephone 01394 271668 Please note our new address: 3 Mannin ng Road, Felixstowe, Suffo olk, IP11 2

or contact

Tracey Arnaud on:

07957 212 062

or email on tarnaud@btinternet.com 98

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

Top-notch British Greeting Cards for Thoughts that Count

01923 200600 | www.woodmansterne.co.uk

Wholesale Directory December 2016_whole sale dirSeptember 2004 15/12/2016 16:28 Page 99

DIRECTORY OF WHOLESALERS

â—?

DIRECTORY OF WHOLESALERS

NATIONWIDE

MERSEYSIDE

WALES

UNIT 4, THE ARGENT CENTRE, SILVERDALE ROAD, HAYES, MIDDLESEX, UB3 3BS MERSEYSIDE GREETING CARDS LTD

TEL: 020 8573 2975 / 1768 FAX: 020 8561 2349

Merseyside’s Largest Greeting Card Distributor

Email: info@abbeycards.com

Due to our massive buyer power, we are able to offer you the best prices and also take a pride in our friendly service.

LONDON’S NO 1 GREETING CARDS STATIONERY PARTY AND BALLOON CASH & CARRY

Greeting cards • Gift ranges • Pocket money toys • Balloons • Badges • Banners • Soft toys • Stationery • Collectables , including dolls • Photo frames

Trading Hours Our Opening Hours are: MON, TUES,WED & FRI 9.00 - 5.30pm THURSDAY 9.00 - 8.30pm

Always something different Check us out now!!!

Mon-Fri 9.30 to 5.30 Sunday 10 to 1 Late night Thursday till 8pm Tel: 0151 227 2555 Fax: 0151 207 1564 mgconline@hotmail.com

To appear in the Wholesale Directory simply call Warren Lomax on

25 Dickson Street, Liverpool L3 7EB

HERTS & LONDON

SUMAN BROS Stationery and greeting card wholesaler

020 7700 6740

Crown House Otterspool Way Watford WD25 8HL

magnus RUPERT

T: 01923 200 900 F: 01923 200 909

TRADING

LONDON’S NO 1

Great deals Great location Plentiful parking Just off the M1 Junction 5

WEST MIDLANDS

GREETING CARDS STATIONERY PARTY AND BALLOON CASH & CARRY

Trading Hours Our Opening Hours are: MON, TUES,WED & FRI 9.00 - 5.30pm THURSDAY 9.00 - 8.30pm SAT CLOSED SUN 10.00 - 4.00pm UNIT 4, THE ARGENT CENTRE, SILVERDALE ROAD, HAYES, MIDDLESEX, UB3 3BS TEL: 020 8573 2975 / 1768 FAX: 020 8561 2349 Email: info@abbeycards.com

Crown House Otterspool Way Watford WD25 8HL Tel: 020 8993 2231 www.rupertmagnus.co.uk Wholesale and direct-to-retail greeting cards, gift wrap, gift bags, social stationery, partyware and gifts.

Great range, competitive prices, excellent service.

EUR EUROPE’S ROPE’S LEADING LEADING G GREETINGS REETINGS CARD CARDS, S, PARTY PAR ART TY PRODUCTS, PRODUCTS, GIFTS, GIFTS, CANDLES, CANDLES, TOYS, TOYS, STATIONERY STAT TIIONER RY AND FLORIST FLORIST SUNDRIES SUNDRIES DISTRIBUTION DISTRIBUTIO ON CENTRE 75000 SQ FT BESCOT CRESCENT CRESCENT, T, W WALSALL, ALSALL, WEST MIDLANDS. WS1 4NG 01922-646666 www www.greetingshouse.co.uk .greetingshouse.co.uk info@gr info@greetingshouse.co.uk eetingshouse.co.uk MON,WED,FRI 8.00am-4.45pm TUES,THURS 8.00am-7.45pm SA AT,SUN , 8.00am-1.45pm SAT,SUN

NORTH WEST

& $ 3 6 &DUG 3DUW\ 6WRUH /WG ZZZ FDUG SDUW\ FR XN 1(: ,03529(' ZHEVLWH IRU DOO \RXU (YHU\GD\ 6HDVRQDO &DUGV DQG 3DUW\ 3URGXFWV 6DYH 7LPH 2UGHU 2QOLQH ,W V 6R (DV\

Your One Stop Shop 0DQFKHVWHU 5RDG %XU\ %/ 6:

To appear in the Wholesale Directory simply call Warren Lomax on 020 7700 6740 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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Polypropylene & biodegradable bag specialists

GREETING CARD

Over 40 years quality service to the trade Hotfoiling also available

T 01206 396209 E sales@badgerconverters.co.uk www.badgerconverters.co.uk

GIVE Y YOUR OUR

VIP

TREATMENT TREA AT TMENT ENVELOPES

HIGH CLARITY BAGS FOR GREETING CARDS, CALENDARS AND ARTWORK ŏ ŏđŏ ŏ ŏ ŏ ŏ ŏ FOIL BLOCKING

FOR FOR ALL A LL Y YOUR OU R ENVELOPE EN V ELOPE N NEEDS! EEDS!

EXTENSIVE RANGE OF STOCK SIZES AND BESPOKE MANUFACTURE

L argest range range of Largest iin-stock n- stock ccolours olours

WRAPPING SERVICE AUTOMA ATED T WRA PPING SER VICE NEW AUTOMATED

Over 400 Bespoke Envelope Sizes 8 Sizes Permanently in Stock RECYCLED

CALL US TODAY

01228 560526 www.fulcrumfilms.co.uk

Available v 100% Recycled Paper Available Stock & Bespoke Cello Bags Peel & Stick Envelopes Bespoke Service on Request

ORDER ON LINE A AT: T: www www.regentenvelopes.com .regentenvelopes.com 01274 583000 sales@r sales@regentenvelopes.com egentenvelopes.com

We’ve We’ve been producing bags of high clarity and high quality for over 30 years.

01274 220 220 www w.wrapid.co.uk www.wrapid.co.uk sales@wrapid. sales@wrapid.co.uk co.uk

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Quality Bespoke Envelopes!

From 5,000 quantity to many millions we can produce excellent quality envelopes for you.

Plain, printed, coloured & textured finish.

100% recycled & FSC available.

Please call us on 0843 5066684 with your enquiry or visit our website

www.ukenvelopecentre.co.uk We will be delighted to help!

FLITTERING

LITHO OR DIGITA DIGITAL, DIGIT GIT TAL, LES GR GROUP ROUP R O WINDLES ALWAYS MAKES AL LWAY AYS M AKES THE RIGHT GHT HT PRINT IMPRESSION. RESSION. RE

FOR ALL YOUR FLITTER REQUIREMENTS

ABL Foil Ltd Unit 1, Industrial Estate East Hanningfield Chelmsford Essex, CM3 8AB

Contact DAVID JIGGINS Tel: 01245 400104 Email: david@abl-ltd.co.uk

WWW.WINDLESGROUP.CO.UK WWW W.WINDLESGR W OUP P..CO.UK

PRINTERS

PJ Print (London) The Capitals only Greetings card printer You name it what ?

We can do it.

With probably the most comprehensive range of card

Specialist UK and Global manufacturer for the greeting card industry

finishing in the UK card market PJ Print The answer to all your card production needs

PJ - PRINT

To discuss how we could work with you contact Simon King Tel: 0115 928 7766 Email: sales@sherwoodgroupuk.com

www.sherwoodgroupuk.com

E-mail: sales@pj-print.co.uk The Print Works Colville Road, Acton London W3 8BL tel 020 8993 5160 www.pj-print.co.uk Hadden Court, Glaisdale Parkway, Glaisdale Drive West, Nottingham, NG8 4GP PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE

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The home of greeting cards eting e r g adinugrer e l s ’ K ct The Umanufa card

50 0 1.1co.uk 5 2 14 eys

01 es@loxl sal

3

YOUR MANUFACTURING PARTNER FOR VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS English speaking production team, prices quoted in sterling... and only 3 days delivery to THE UK...

• LITHO PRINT • DIGITAL PRINT • FOILING • EMBOSSING • FLOWRAPPING

• DIE-CUTTING • FLITTERING • PACKING • DISTRIBUTION • INSERTING

Really... and there s no VAT to pay or customs procedures either...that's a great deal!

• Hand made and hand finished greeting cards • Boxed sets and acetate packs of cards / envelopes • Giftwrap and tag packs • Individually open and closed wrapped cards • 'Pop up' and cardboard engineered products • Notelets and social stationery • Specialised printing on plastics & lenticular For production enquiries, estimates etc., please contact our UK Agent:

Rob Pearson 07710 132 232 Tel: 01274 531828 Contact Chris Sharman. Email: chriss@herbertwalkers.co.uk

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rob@solutions-polska.com FSC accredited (BV-COC-002485). Audited member of SMETA. Printing to ISO12674-2 standard.

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WAREHOUSING & DISTRIBUTION

LB Warehousing (Women in Transport & Logistics Finalist)

S AME DAY order turnaround A CCURATE fulfilment and same day turn round V ALUE ADDED only as you sell the product E XCLUSIVELY Greeting Cards D EDICATED Account Managers With an excellent reputation we work as an integral part of your TEAM bringing much more than fulfilment.

Our costing structure is SIMPLE and TRANSPARENT. We carry out ALL aspects of hand finishing and assembly and provide whatever ADDITIONAL services YOU need Our select team of outworkers carefully hand wrap any size or format of cards urgently, OVERNIGHT!

We specialise in providing high quality print for short to medium runs, incorporating multiple images. Go to our website for prices, alternatively call or email us for a bespoke quote.

T

01274 305832

E

info@hellocards.co.uk

W

www.hellocards.co.uk

We CARE about your product as much as you do. Attention to detail, QC Issues and IT supported by a comprehensive paper trail for all stock movements are our hallmarks.

Our CAN DO approach means that WE solve your problems.

Outsourcing your warehousing operation releases your time to CREATE/MARKET/SELL/ MANAGE/GROW THE BUSINESS YOUR BUSINESS IS OUR BUSINESS, please visit our web site and see what OUR customers say, then to find out more call Lynda Raymond and perhaps we can arrange to meet and discuss your needs I am sure that we can help.

LB Warehousing, Units 1, 2 &3 Wayside Warehouses, Toseland, Near St. Neots, Cambridgeshire. PE19 6RX Tel 01480 880800 Fax 01480880900 Mobile 07889 399341 lynda@lb-warehousing.co.uk

WAREHOUSING & DISTRIBUTION

The Professional and Caring Approach..

DISPLAY AND SPINNERS Tel: 01929 550085 Email: sales@westminsterwire.com Web: www.westminsterwire.com

Home of the Wire Spinner Stand ... to 3rd Party Warehouse, Distribution and Hand Finishing needs.

With over 25 years experience in the Greeting Card and Gift Industry, we specialise in providing a very fast yet efficient and friendly service to all of our customers.

Our close links to the port of Felixstowe allowing excellent access for both UK and overseas business.

The Wire Spinner is proven to be the most cost effective method to display and enhance products.

We also offer sheet metal, wood, acrylic and cardboard solutions or a combination of materials.

We would be happy to talk to you and provide further information please contact either: James Smithies on 01449 778360 e: james@setinhand.com Tracy Davies on 01449 778363 e: tracy@setinhand.com Please visit our website at www.setinhand.com for further information.

Your Success Is Our Success

Immerse yourself in the greeting card world

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