25-27_GCA Conference.qxp_Grid 07/10/2024 12:43 Page 1
GCA Conference and AGM Below: The livery for this year’s GCA conference was created by Bristol-based illustrator and card publisher, Emily Nash.
Full of emotional highs and a strong sense of togetherness, the recent GCA 2024 Conference and AGM delivered the good news that greeting card sales have not only increased – now topping £1.51 billion – but disappointingly Royal Mail stuck firmly to the assertion that its loss-making activities can only be helped by changing the universal service obligation, with moves to every other day second class delivery seemingly on the cards. PG hot-footed it to Bristol’s majestic Harbour Hotel to join what was the best-ever attended GCA annual gathering.
Ship Shape Bristol Fashion The city that has given us an amazing suspension bridge, laughing gas, Darth Vader, HMV’s Nipper the dog, Elizabeth Blackwell, Banksy, Lee Evans, hot air balloons, Cary Grant, Fry’s Chocolate Cream bar, Russell Howard and Ribena has a new accolade to add to its many achievements, as Bristol was the location of the recent GCA Conference and AGM, and it was certainly a memorable one. It was big, it was bold, it was meaningful. Whether you were someone who has been involved in this industry for many years or a newbie, publishers, retailers and suppliers were Left to right: Schmoozing started the evening before at an event at the Dirty Martini bar, co-sponsored by Emotional Rescue and Ling/GBCC. (Left-right) David Byk (Ling/GBCC) with Emo’s David Greaves, Jen Rutter and Brett Smith; A triumphant trio. (Left-right) Retailer Kaye Thurgood (Sincerely Yours), publisher Wendy Jones-Blackett (Wendy Jones-Blackett) and agent Rosie Trow getting in the mood for the Conference; Edinburgh-based retailer Micheal Apter of Paper Tiger (right) enjoyed a catch up with longtime pal U Studio Design’s owner Tony Cresswell at the pre-event drinks party. At the ready to check everyone in. (Left-right) GCA’s Adriana Lovesy, Ricicle Cards’ David Nichols-Rice and Raspberry Blossom’s Rebecca Green.
Left: Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA (centre back row) with members of the Council. (Left-right) Karen Wilson (Paper Salad), Daniel Prince (Danilo), Rebecca Green (Raspberry Blossom), David Byk (Ling/GBCC), Georgina Fihosy (AfroTouch Design), Mark Williams (Brainbox Candy), Darren Cave (UKG), Warren Lomax (PG), Fiona Pitt (Hallmark), Mark Callaby (Ohh Deer), Jakki Brown (PG), Nick Carey (Abacus), Chris Bryant (Second Nature), Sarah Jackson (Stormy Knight), Wendy Jones-Blackett, Seth Woodmansterne (Woodmansterne) and Rosie Tate (Cath Tate Cards). Below: GCA president Darren Cave, commercial director of UKG, reminded the audience of how 94% of the UK population send cards, but with almost 50% of these being sent by post, he stressed how we all need a reliable and affordable service from Royal Mail.
united for the greater good of the UK greeting card industry. The agenda certainly touched lots of buttons – the deep concerns surrounding Royal Mail were confronted head on, the lids were lifted on facts that shape our industry, there was a double whammy of publisher perspectives from Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby and James Ellis’ James Stevens, while Cardzone’s trading director James Taylor shared his/the retailer group’s boy to man story (see pages 29-31). And in between all this there was a strong plotline of a pulsating greeting card community
spirit that is engaged, undaunted and fired up for more collective activity that will protect and nurture our world leading industry. As Amanda Fergusson, ceo of GCA summed up: “My love affair with greeting cards started in 1979 as a Saturday girl in a card shop. I joined the industry properly ten years later as a national accounts manager at The Andrew Brownsword Collection. Admittedly much has changed in our industry in the last 35 years, but we continue to lead the world in greeting card innovation and design, because we have the passion and the gumption in abundance… and long may that continue.”
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 25