51-53_More Than A Card.qxp_Grid 06/03/2024 09:56 Page 51
Focus on…more than a card
What’s better than a fabulous greeting card? A fabulous greeting card with an added extra! And there are so many great products about offering a card and gift in the same small package which can be popped in the post for the price of a stamp – albeit sometimes a large letter one. PG looks at just some of the innovative ideas around.
Inset: Large letter stamps allow cards with gifts to land through the letterbox.
The card that keeps on giving Is it a card? Is it a gift? No, it’s even more exciting than that – it’s a card with a gift attached! And the various versions, from bookmarks and jewellery, through coasters and jigsaws to baubles and patches have all come about because publishers want to offer even more value. For Yoojoo it’s always been about that something extra as owner and designer Julie Ashworth has based her whole business on the
idea since setting up almost a decade ago after the bookmark cards she made for pals went down a storm. “With the increase in postage costs cards that give that something extra have great appeal,” Julie said. “When I first started making bookmark cards some people tried to warn me off saying ebooks were going to kill off paper books, but I’m glad to say the resurgence of bookshops has proved them so wrong.”
In addition to an 18-strong bird range which include origami ‘beaks’ as page keepers, her Monsters and Tall Tales range include integral bookmarks which can be popped out using the perforations. She also has her Plectrum range which came about by chance after Julie gave her guitar-maker son a plectrum cutter and ended up playing with it herself, coming up with plectrums made from upcycled gift store cards saved from going to landfill.
Check out cheeky choc Chocolate’s nigh on always an acceptable gift for any occasion and Rosie Made A Thing has gone one better by incorporating the sweet stuff into a card. And the move, which has come to fruition in less than six months after the Cambridge Confectionery Co approached the renowned humour publisher with the idea, has only gone and made it into the Gift Of The Year finals already! “Back in May 2023 they proposed a collaboration of our two favourite things,” product development manager Charlotte Dudley explained, “cards – obviously! – and chocolate. We loved the idea of supersizing card-giving to include a delicious choccy treat. “After some serious sampling we chose our four favourite flavours – milk chocolate drizzle, salted caramel, dark chocolate with raspberry, and rocky road. Within these flavours we’re pleased to be able to offer vegetarian and vegan options.” Fully launched at Spring Fair, the Choccy Cards range contains nine of Rosie’s top Gin & Frolics designs printed on cardboard packaging, each with a hefty chocolate bar inside, which can be shown off in store in the cheekily chomped display unit. Charlotte added: “Early sales have been amazing! Customers have been excited by the innovation,” and the Choccy Cards – which are one of just six finalists in the GOTY 2024 Card, Wrap & Stationery category – can be slipped into an envelope to post a sweetly cheeky greeting.
Above: Sweet collaboration has earned Rosie Made A Thing a GOTY finalists’ place.
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 51