33_35_37_39_41_muk.qxp_Grid 26/06/2019 10:25 Page 39
Retailer Viewpoints
Lynette Douglas, owner of Garrion Bridges Garden Centre, Wishaw: “I have been attending trade shows since 2001, but only discovered Progressive Greetings Live three years ago, and I am very glad I did. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that we were supplied with free tea and coffee with an absolutely wonderful buffet lunch. PG Live makes you feel that your attendance and participation is appreciated. The organisers’ hard work and attention to detail to ensure customers are fully looked after must be commended. We have a large card section in our garden centre and buy from many established card companies (such as Jonny Javelin, IC&G, Five Dollar Shake, Second Nature, UK Greetings, Ling Design, White Cotton) and it is so nice to meet all the suppliers in person in one place at PG Live.” Lynette’s top picks: “When we arrive we always go to the Springboard area to pick out a start-up company or two that we can give business to and help them along. This year we were particularly impressed with Crumble and Core and loved its cards with earrings incorporated into the design, and so gave them a good order. Other ‘new to us’ companies we bought from were Lucy Ledger, Toasted Crumpet and Beverston Press. We were looking for something new and different and these three companies filled the bill.” Above: Garrion Bridges Garden Centre’s Lynnette Douglas (left) and Allison Douglas Left: The Crumble and Core range of boxed cards with jewellery were a top pick for Lynette.
Jo Sorrell, owner of Cardies in Stevenage: “PG really does have it all for me, with fabulous cards, friendly fellow cardies and feeding my face with delicious free food - what more could you ask for!? We really had a wonderful day that was made extra special by being part of the opening ceremony. Not only that but we had both a Sunshine Ticket and ‘Willy Wonka’ Golden Ticket to spend - so thoughtful to be made to feel special. As soon as Mum and I arrived at PG I noticed straight away that our visitor passes were presented in a GF Smith paper card holder rather than a plastic one and we could choose which colour we wanted, and the lovely tote bags from Lagom were totally reusable - brilliant! Having feasted my eyes all morning on the wonderful products it was then my favourite part of the day, being fed and watered with lots of lovely food and admiring the wonderful decorations in the dining area, thanks to Tache and Louise Tiler Designs.” Jo’s top picks: “The standard of product choice was amazing. Where to start? Well my precious Retas Sunshine Ticket went to the very beautiful Deckled Edge and my Golden Ticket went to the consistently fabulous Wendy Jones-Blackett. Then I also placed orders with Lorna Syson and Special Delivery Cards. Other themes that caught my attention were environmental awareness with the CupCycling from Hallmark (although I tend to shy away from the larger companies as a rule, due to their presence in the supermarkets etc). - good for them in encouraging awareness and being so proactive. “‘Fugly’ IS a real word actually Victoria, Several small publishers were also showing awareness and that’s what this fella is...” of the environmental issues too and I particularly liked 1 Tree Cards with its tree planting and seed token initiative. Two other companies that also had so much exciting choice were Whale & Bird and Ohh Deer - we found plenty that we loved on both of these stands. My list of loves is endless - I came home saying that I need a bigger shop!” Above: Cardies’ Jo Sorrell (right) and her mum Jackie. Left: A design from Whale & Bird’s Forest_Fr1ends range.
Marion and Mark Flaherty, co-owners of Best Wishes, Garstang: “We had a great time. It was a good size show - we were able to see everything without the worry of missing anything. It was so great just to be able to concentrate mainly on cards. It was interesting to meet not only the sales staff of the publishers but also the designers, owners and those involved in the production of the fabulous products. We met old friends and made new ones - special mention to two lovely, crazy ladies Lucy and Bryn, who we were a delight to meet from Poet and Painter. We so enjoyed our glasses of fizz ‘after' the after show party. Cheers!” Marion’s and Mark’s top picks: “We spent our Retas voucher with Lucilla Lavender and our first order arrived a few days after the show and is selling well already! We were impressed by the great designs from Richard Partis, which will suit our countryside location. Crumble and Core’s boxed cards adorned with earrings and pendants we hope will be a new best seller, along with two new looks for us from Erlenmeyer and Poet and Painter. Another beautiful range, again new for us, is Louise Tiler Designs, which we are looking forward to stocking in our shop. We loved the new ranges from Paperlink, whose designs are always a winner with our customers, and were more than happy to do a top up order with IC&G, including its new range of humour and large relation cards. We are aiming to tap into our locals’ sense of humour with a selected range of Oliver Preston cards and we are very excited about Playpress and its model packs.” Top: (second left) Marion and Mark Flaherty with Lucilla Lavender (right) and Anneke Driscoll. Above: A lovely Louise Tiler Design card.
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
39