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Inking in In conversation with...Penguin Ink
penguins Penguin Ink’s recently forged relationship with Alpha Colour Printers, which has taken the letterpressbased publisher’s portfolio onto another level, is a real life example of why some things really do happen for a reason, and why you should never discard those business cards you randomly accumulate at trade shows. PG does a happy penguin waddle to talk to the cheerfully monikered designer penguin Lizzie Parker, founder of the greeting card and gift company, to go behind the scenes of the recent production tie-up. Lizzie Parker’s faith in serendipity serves her well - from the company’s name through to working with Alpha Colour Printers as its new production partner. While working as a graphic designer for multinational design company Ove Arup & Partners, Lizzie’s now husband Jay proposed to her at Bristol Zoo. This prompted the couple to plump for this as the venue for their wedding, and when Lizzie set about creating the invitations, she was determined to use the age old printing technique of letterpress, and the penguins in the zoo were set to playing a starring role in the design, for two reasons. “I do love penguins, but it also kept the cost down as it meant it was only a one colour print” confessed Lizzie. Little did she know then that this charming invitation design was to pave the way for what would become a revered letterpress greeting card 34 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
company, which continues to push the boundaries in its approach to design, production as well as its commitment to sustainability. “It was when I was on maternity leave, with our daughter Florence, that I felt I just had to continue designing something, so I
Above: A tulip card on the press ready to be cut and creased. Left: Penguins still feature in the Penguin Ink portfolio. Below: Lizzie Parker (second left) with Alpha’s Amy Muldrew, Luke Ostle (second right) and Richard Jones with the Heidelberg platen press.
created a Christmas card and a thank you card and really enjoyed it. I had a “I could do this” moment and so designed some more,” recalled Lizzie. “When I had come up with 10 designs, I approached Colette Foster, owner of Sky, a great card gallery and framing shop near us in Bristol and asked her opinion. She was so helpful, told me my cost price was too high and that she preferred the designs without words, but to stick with letterpress as it was different to what was out there. That was all the encouragement I needed.” So, in 2015, putting her graphic design skills to work, Lizzie came up with the Penguin Ink logo and created the first collection of 12 large and four small cards. The latter made use of the printing plates Lizzie already had from her wedding stationery. “As well as selling on Etsy, I then set off visiting shops and showing them my cards. I could not have been more delighted by the reaction, as of those first 19 walk-in visits, I got 18 stockists, many of whom still order our cards today,” explains Lizzie. The big step up, believes Lizzie was booking a stand at Top Drawer in Spring 2017. “I didn’t know quite what to expect, when Jay [Lizzie’s land surveyor husband], Rachel, one of my best mates and I rocked up with our 11-week old baby Oliver to set up the stand. I remember Rachel asking me what my KPI was, I just said “I