64-65_Cath Tate.qxp_Grid 20/05/2025 15:40 Page 1
IN CONVERSATION WITH… CATH TATE CARDS X SIMON DREW
SIMON DREW THIS! Known for its humour offer, Cath Tate Cards has scored a great new collaboration by taking on the distribution for legendary artist and humourist Simon Drew. In advance of the inaugural launch of 80 cards at PG Live under the new set-up, PG caught up with Rosie Tate, director of Cath Tate Cards and Simon Drew to find out how it all came about.
When a family friend is the father of surreal greeting card humour and decides he wants to concentrate on his art, and you run a renowned publishing business, it’s definitely a match made in heaven. Describing himself as “half artist, half wit” Simon Drew has been amusing folk with his idiosyncratic view of the world for almost 50 years, offering original works as well as designing cards and other products – and Cath Tate Cards has been at the forefront of greeting card humour for nearly as long. Now the two have joined forces to launch a range of 80 designs on a dedicated stand at PG Live (which takes place 3-4 June at London’s Business Design Centre), showcasing Simon’s much-loved and unique take on life, while the Cath Tate Cards stand is close by. Below: Rosie Tate, director of Cath Tate Cards and Simon Drew. Below right: A Simon Drew classic.
64 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
Inset: Simon Drew’s unique take on life has earned him millions of fans over the year.
Left: Simon’s beloved dog Socket appears in several designs.
As director Rosie Tate explained: “Simon and mum [Cath Tate] have known each other since the birth of surreal humour in greeting cards – a genre started by none other than the great Simon! “We have been great fans of Simon’s work for many, many years, having purchased many of his cards ourselves and we also stocked his range when we had a High Street shop in Shropshire.” The collaboration came about after Rosie had a phone call with Simon and his wife Caroline earlier in the year when they discussed and shared information on international distribution. “After the call it occurred to
me that Simon might be interested in spending more time drawing and less time selling at trade shows and, after proposing that we take on the selling while he continues with the drawing, the collaboration came about.” Rosie is “thrilled” to be presenting “80 brilliantly surreal” Simon Drew greeting cards at the PG Live launch, featuring clever puns and eccentric animals – including many appearances of Simon’s beloved dog Socket. “Quirky, colourful, and unmistakably Simon, these designs are perfect for those who enjoy off-beat humour and a sideways look at life,” summed up Rosie. Having read zoology at Exeter University, Simon then spent five years as a teacher before Caroline established their own gallery in Dartmouth in 1981, and he’s been producing pen and ink drawings using plays on words in his inimitable quirky style ever since. While he enjoys portraying everyday objects and animals in unexpected environments or with bizarre accoutrements – hens on breakfast tables; runner ducks in Indian headdresses, birds bunched together