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The Henries Judging Process
From dreamin’ to reality The theme for this year’s Henries awards was set at the start of the year as California Dreamin’, aiming to capture some of the upbeat sunny vibes of the US West Coast in the 60s. Not letting a pandemic get in the way of recognising and rewarding the best in UK greeting card design, the entering and judging process was taken online, with the winners being announced on December 10 at what promises to be the biggest virtual industry Christmas party ever. PG explains The Henries process which sees dreams becoming a reality. Buyers from John Lewis, Scribbler, Fortnum & Mason, Waterstones, Paperchase, Card Factory, WHSmith, Cardzone, Sainsbury’s, Clintons, Moonpig, RHS and Oliver Bonas, as well as a host of leading small groups (including Between the Lines, House of Cards, Postmark, Gee Tees, Mooch, Zo & Co, 3 Wishes, Baileys and Utility) and an incredible array of independents, scrutinised over 9,000 greeting card and giftwrappings which were submitted into The Henries 2020 to arrive at the worthy finalists that are featured in all their glory in the following pages. While the ongoing effects and restrictions of the coronavirus resulted in a change to The Henries’ entering and judging process this year, with both aspects taking place entirely online, this did not detract in any way from the quality and quantity of the entries, the thoroughness of the judges and the integrity of the judging process. The entire responsibility of judging the product entries and the Most Promising Young Designer or Artist award lay in the collective hands of the judging panel, that was made up entirely of retailers. Over the course of three weeks, they individually scrutinised the thousands of entries.
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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
The criteria for judging were: l Quality of Design l Quality of print, production and
manufacture l Appropriateness for the market
sector at which it is aimed l Value for money
Each judge voted for what they considered were the top six entries in each category. Six points were then assigned to all the top choices down to one point for the sixth choice. The points from all the judges were correlated to arrive at the winner and the other finalists in each category.
The independent judges 2020 Joining all the multiple buyers on The Henries’ judging panel were a huge bunch of independent retailers who spent many hours logged into the website, going through the thousands of entries. This knowledgeable bunch included Michelle Ellingham (Box of Delights); Andrea Pinder (Presentation); Anita Thorpe (Diverse); Anne Barber (In Heaven at Home); Sally Matson (Red Card); Brent Milburn (New Frames); Debbie and Jerry Brown (First Class Greetings); Denise Laird (Spirito); Fiona Trees (Memorable Moments); Georgina Black (Pretty Shiny Shop); Jane and Will Apps (Paper Turtle); Jo Georgiou (The Ark); Jo Sorrell (Cardies); Sarah Barrington (Blue Dog); Victoria Robinson (Wishes of Cockermouth); Martin and Joyce Fitch (The Card Hall); Liz Killick (Calladoodles); Maggie Wynn (Just Cards); Nigel Hamilton-Evans (Boroughbridge Post Office); Tim Gould (Objectables); Sonya HaandrikmanSibald (Celebrations); Sarah Laker (Marple Stationery Supplies); Fiona Fabien (Papyrus); Sarah Green (Wave and High Tide); Sarah Crees (Garsons); Nik Gornall (Romantica) and Rachael Barnes (Dragonfly Cards and Gifts). Above: Jo Georgiou, owner of The Ark, Stoke Newington in judging mode. Left: Penny Bailey, co-owner of Baileys with her dog Amber, who lay next to her feet for most of the weekend while she went through all the categories.