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VIEWPOINTS
Nottingham’s Riches “Welcome everybody,” said Chris Bryan, joint general manager of Second Nature and reigning president of the GCA to a packed audience of publishers, retailers, trade suppliers and agents, at what was the best attended GCA Conference and AGM ever. Sure, the punchy agenda was a good enough reason for so many members of the greeting card community to book their seats, covering as it did the benchmarking from the GCA UK greeting card market report on the year just gone (see News), the overarching economic climate and the challenges this brings to the sector as well as important issues of consumer spending, sustainability (see News) and how to ensure the industry’s lifeblood by attracting new designers and welcoming new publishers. Adding to this big picture stuff and providing a somewhat local flavour, Richard Bacon, md of The Sherwood Group; Jon May, co-owner of indie Mooch Gifts and Home and Ged Mace, managing director of The Art File, each shared their stories, sharing their respective poignant insights into life as a printer, independent card and gift retailer and publisher. But there was also a palpable feeling, almost a craving, for everyone to feel part of something bigger; a belonging which offered
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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
‘Steal from the rich to give to the poor’ was the ethos of Robin Hood, Nottingham’s famous legendary hero. Certainly, all the 180+ members of the greeting card community who attended the recent GCA Conference and AGM, held in Nottingham Trent University went home a lot richer in inspiration and insights - and fuelled by a super-charged spirit of camaraderie. PG joined the many merry men and women at the UK greeting card trade association’s annual gathering. Above: The special livery that The Art File team created for the recent event. Left: GCA president Chris Bryan welcoming the delegates. Below left: The packed audience at the GCA Conference and AGM.
some protection from the hardships staring us in the face. There were a lot of smiles as industry friends caught up, with a great turnout from retailers including WHSmith, Card Factory, Sainsbury’s, Scribbler, Cardzone, House of Cards and Stationery Supplies joining specialist suppliers, many of whom showed their support as official sponsors. While incredibly active throughout the year, the Conference was also a great opportunity for the GCA to summarise its achievements, with ceo Amanda Fergusson, and Adriana Lovesy, the association’s marketing and membership co-ordinator leaving no one in any doubt as to the value of being a GCA member, including its links to government, Chamber of Commerce, DIT and Royal Mail through to the wide reach of the Thinking of You Week initiative, the innovative Dragons Speed-dating event, progress on D&I as well as the growing number of helpful blog posts and toolkits on the website.