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Trends Spotlight
Especially our pregnant ‘You're having a baby’ card… the avocado shape completely lends itself to looking like a mum-to-be! And using the obvious and not so obvious puns made us all laugh out loud in the office when we were designing them. It has definitely been one of the funniest ranges to design and is selling brilliantly for us!” exclaims Bluebell 33’s Tim Clark. Avocado passionista, Meghna Jhuremalani, director for Nocturnal Paper, believes the South American penchant may have erupted from another trend - in the past few years we have started to place a lot of importance on the craftsmanship and designer, and the story behind the brand or craft is given equal emphasis to create a unique bond with consumers. It is the complete opposite of our busy nature and tech loving culture. “I love my iPhone, but my love for paper products and handmade goodies is much more because there is so much more to it. South Americans have always
stuck to their roots of craft so I think that and added burst of colour in everything has become popular. Plus, avocados are just plain delicious (and nutritious) and can easily be cutely illustrated to sit with a pun that makes you LOL, literally, says Meghna, adding that, “Simply eating avocados is not enough, ha! They need to be everywhere! Our cards are all about whatever is #trending. We try to bring what we scroll through on our phones to paper to bring back that personal touch to communication one card at a time.”
Above: Stormy Knight’s 'Party Pinata' card from the new Good as Gold collection. Above right: Llamas are perfect for puns, as seen on this Duke & Rabbit design. Below: A fa la la llama Christmas card with an enamel pin from Hotchpotch’s Flair range. Below left: Nocturnal Paper’s cards reflect what’s trending on social media. Right: A spontaneous alpaca designed by Neil Slorance for Alicorn Cards (image by Holly Booth Photography). Bottom: Using Liberty print fabrics, stitching, ribbon, beads and tiny pompoms – a Valentine’s llama from Pearl & Black. Bottom right: Card Nest’s Go Wild collection is created in collaboration with illustrator Lydia Nichols.
Then, there’s perchance the Latin American unicorn, the llama (or alpaca)? For a couple of years now we’ve been enraptured by the magic and mysticism of the unicorn, sipping coffee out of unicorn cups and resting our heads on unicorn pillows. However, quietly, over the last year, a new four-legged animal has been gently trotting onto card designs. Not as glittery or dramatic as the single-horned mythological beast, but a homelier, cuddly version, one with a winning smile and a soft woolly coat – the alpaca. Emma Pearce, designer for Hotchpotch, whose ‘Flair’ range features enamel pins featuring (among others) a piñata and a Christmas llama, enthuses, “We just love llamas! They’re the goofy, dorky cousin of the magical unicorn and they really appeal to the animal lovers who are after something other than the usual cats and
dogs. Llamas and alpacas work with such a great variety of hilarious puns for birthdays and celebrations… our favourite is ‘Fa-la-la-la-laa-la-la-LLAMA!’” For Duke & Rabbit’s Adam Watts, the llama character in his range actually stemmed from a play on words of ‘You’re alarmingly good looking’ when coming up with ideas for a new card design: “After rejecting an alarm clock design and reading out the phrase again and again, ‘llama’ just seemed to fit in nicely. As for their appeal, I just think it’s the mix of them not being commonplace in our lives, their cuddly, unique shape and also all that hair that makes you just want to brush and style all day long! Or is that just me then?!”, jokes Adam.
Alicorn Cards’ Laura Frame believes, “Llamas’ and alpacas’ happy and self-assured expressions are a lot of their appeal, and the fact they can have an attitude. Illustrator, Neil Slorance, explains why he included them in his range for Alicorn Cards: “I've always loved characters in illustrations and especially animals. There's something about llamas and alpacas that seem so funny yet almost a bit under appreciated. They also have great pun potential.”” So from the naturally ‘smiley’ face and big brown eyes of the alpaca and llama, the ‘super’ avocado, and the bright colours and joyful patterns, Latin American design brings the sunshine, wherever it ends up. Tim from Bluebell 33 wraps it up (or maybe that should be burrito) when he says, “Who doesn’t want to have a South American vibe in their home? Especially with the British summer we have had! Pops of colour makes everyone happy, and the South American look and feel certainly does that, whether that's in your home or on your stationery!” PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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