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Springboard Focus - PG Live 2017
Discovery Channel It will be a voyage of discovery for many at this year’s PG Live. Retailers will discover publishers’ magical and creative card ranges being freshly launched at the show, new visitors will discover what the only UK dedicated greeting card trade fair is all about, and then, there will be the innovative firsttime exhibitors making their debut in the Springboard zones. PG asks a number of these newbie publishers to 'unearth' their adventure into cards and what they hope to gain from showcasing their designs at PG Live 2017.
Inset: It's time for new ventures and adventures for a number of new publishers at PG Live. Below: Barley Bay’s Trevor and Myra Hutton, plus Rollo the assistant, in the studio. Below left: An embroidered age card from Barley Bay’s Floral Numbers range.
Trevor and Myra Hutton, founders of Barley Bay: Life Before Cards: “From very different professional backgrounds, we have collaborated in art for many years. Myra, a textile artist, trained in textile art and education, and having taught at various schools is best known as a Maker of large handmade felt landscapes; she has curated many Makers shows and champions her ‘Best Made Local’ brand with pop-up galleries. I (Trevor) have spent decades in the IT industry, from coding radar systems to securing banks, but I have always been a keen photographer. Merging this into digital art and composition led to selling my own art work.” Design Development: “Right from her earliest textile work Myra has always produced greeting cards that proved popular. As we have become increasingly aware of what makes a good greeting card and honed our technical and graphical skills we now produce work specifically with greeting cards in mind. We now concentrate on an end piece of art or sentiment that we can be confident will appeal to many.” PG Live Opportunities: “At PG Live we aim to build on our recent success at the British Craft Trade Fair and introduce our brand to many more great retailers. We have lots of new designs and plenty in the pipeline and we’re always willing to discuss new ideas with our customers.” Barley Bay, Stand 872
Catherine Phelps, founder of Cats & Roses: Life Before Cards: “I am a graphic designer and illustrator, starting first in London in the music business, then Madrid, (where I counted the Spanish Mint, The Ministry of Trade and the flamenco dancer Antonio Canales among my clients) and now I have my studio in Bath. Always an image maker, I was becoming tired of sitting in front of the Mac on my own and thought that launching a publishing company would get me out in the world, meeting people and sharing my work. How right I was, it’s hard work but varied and often fun.” Design Development: “I crowd funded the company’s launch by selling reproductions of my linocut Christmas cards to friends and family last November through social media. They proved so popular that I decided to launch them commercially this year at PG Live. Left: Catherine Phelps, founder of Cats & Roses.
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