43-45_Stationery.qxp_Grid 06/04/2025 13:52 Page 1
FOCUS ON…STATIONERY
Stationery’s most definitely on the move, coming top in the recent PG Retail Barometer as the product area to which indies are prioritising for expansion this year. With London Stationery Show on the horizon, taking place 13-14 May at London’s Business Design Centre, PG embraced the wonderful world of stationery. It’s a genre not to be sniffed at – or actually it is with the huge number of people who love the smell of a brand-new notebook! Left: M&G has a vast range.
A BIT OF ALL WRITE “Stationery is literally part of M&G’s DNA – we’ve always produced stationery, right from our earliest beginnings in the mid-1980s,” explains Eddie Clarke, licensing manager of Museums & Galleries. With fine art and designer cards the bedrock of the business, the designs are expanded across a variety of products from boxed notelets and social stationery packs, through notebooks and sketch pads, to organic cotton pencil cases. As Eddie reveals: “All our product thinking emerges naturally out of the amazing artwork provided by our talented artist and designer contributors and brilliant heritage museum collections. These products all Above right: GBCC launches Stephanie Dyment stationery at PG Live. Right: Notebook art from Wrendale. Far right: The Art File’s list pads are popular.
complement our comprehensive gift packaging collections and growing home and giftware. Great British Card Company has come a long way since the launch of its first collection of Morris & Co licensed stationery products in 2021, and now boasts a selection of more that 160 produced across various licences and design concepts. As CEO David Byk explained: “In many cases, the designs and licences complement our greeting cards and the gift packaging offer from our sister company Penny Kennedy. Our customers and sales team love the coordinating look and recognisable licences. “We’re very excited to be launching our sixth collaboration at
PG Live with Stephanie Dyment. It meant a lot when she approached us to partner with her on stationery.” At Wrendale Designs stationery is very important with founder and co-owner Hannah Dale explaining: “I think it goes hand in hand with greeting cards. Because all of ours are art cards, the designs lend themselves perfectly to beautifully-designed stationery so it’s no surprise we branched out into notebooks pretty quickly! “If you’re drawn to greeting cards then you’re probably a bit of a stationery fan too. A fresh notebook is such a joy – I used to hoard them a bit because I couldn’t bear to write in them but now I just love starting a new notebook. It was a very natural progression for Wrendale in the early days
London Stationery Show London Stationery Show 2025 is all set to open its doors on Tuesday 13 May and Wednesday 14 May at London’s Business Design Centre. It will bring together a whole array of stationery products, writing instruments as well as arts & crafts ranges from leading UK and international brands, exciting new designers and innovative start-ups. To register head to www.stationeryshowlondon.co.uk
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 43