Our special selection not only offers a cost conscious range of card codes but importantly, retains IC&G's luxurious foil and embossing detailing that you'd expect from us. This will ensure your festive card pockets will be an eye-catching display for all your customers in 2026.
This collection is filled with traditional and nostalgic designs all with heartfelt verses, alongside a handful of delightful, more modern traditional designs to satisfy all our customer requirements.
The Fold continues to bring joy, colour and a carnival of contemporary creativity to the world of cards and stationery. Discover our brand new Notebooks, Christmas cards and Everyday cards selection for 2026 – all part of an exciting venture backed by a trusted name.
museumsgalleries.co.uk/thefold Spring Fair, Hall 3, Stand 3L30-M31
ON THE CARDS
They have been spotted up and down the UK. These small, but mighty symbols of hope have pushed their way through the cold damp earth to hold their heads up. I love the first sightings of snowdrops as for me they proclaim that the new year has truly begun and that Spring is on its way.
Right: CardGains’ managing director Penny Shaw (right) celebrating the buying group’s new branding with PG’s Jakki Brown.
Below: And the 2026 trade show season is off to a flying start! (Right-left) Amanda Fergusson (GCA), Miles Robinson (House of Cards), Jakki Brown (PG) with Jo Clarke, founder of Toasted Crumpet on her stand at Top Drawer which showcased her new contemporary Floh brand.
Bottom: The PG/N Smith pub will be open for business at Spring Fair (Hall 3 Stand K41) with ‘landladies’ N Smith’s Kerry Tyers (left) and PG’s Jakki Brown ready to serve willing punters at the end of each day of the show!
The findings of this year’s PG Retail Barometer also make hopeful reading about how trade has been for independent card retailer stockists as well as how they are feeling about the year ahead. Over half reported an increase in trade in the last year, helped by a decent Christmas trade for many. But more encouraging is that even more indies (58%) are anticipating growth in 2026.
Admittedly it was not easily won growth, epitomised with ‘challenging’ coming tops as the one word which best describes the UK greeting card sector right now as far as indies are concerned, yet their agility in pivoting to adapt to the changing retail landscape and pre-empt consumer buying habits means they are heading into this year full of positive anticipation. (See pages 47-55)
Adapting to change is of course key for all businesses, something which is very evident across so many of the articles in this edition. A prime example of this The Art File’s christening of Louise Mulgrew’s
portfolio joining the publisher’s portfolio under a licensing model (see pages 38-39). As Ged Mace, md of the lovely Nottinghambased business told me, such developments are a taste of things to come, predicting that by the end of the year several other publishers will be welcomed into The Art File family in this way, with activities of other major publishers (including Noel Tatt, GBCC, Cath Tate already following a similar pattern in being a distribution route for small companies).
It is not ‘bad’, just evolution. Greeting card sales are holding up well, diversification opportunities are being grasped with both hands while many retailers in our sector are openly expanding.
I so enjoyed my conversation with Eliot Siegel, who started out his career as a steadfast disciple of the traditional film camera as a fashion and fine art photographer, but now is enjoying pushing the creative boundaries that AI illustration offers. To his mind a greeting card’s true value is in “the sentiment and the connection it creates rather than how the design was created. I think that being open about that is just part of how the industry is evolving." (See pages 60-61)
I freely admit that I am still more scared of AI than I am in awe of its capabilities, but I do not have my head in the sand… I have it closer to the earth, looking for more snowdrops!
PS… With Spring Fair days away, just as publishers are putting the final touches to their stands, the N Smith maestros of cardboard are well underway creating the revamped PG/N Smith pub that will be serving drinks at the end of each day in Hall 3 Stand K41. See you there!
designs
officially licensed greeting cards.
Nearly 400 new designs in our Everyday collection. Explore 60 new designs across Stationery & Gift.
well as brand-new Everyday lines across occasions & relations cards, open birthday cards, stationery and giftware.
11-19 News
All the latest happenings and developments in the trade.
22-23 Over the Counter Hard Questioning
David Robertson enjoys a catch up with CardGains’ md Penny Shaw to talk about the positive changes with the indie buying group.
26-27 Cardsharp
A Tale Of Two Cities
Cardsharp tries to see the wood for the trees in the industry’s ‘tale of two city PLCs’ – Cardfactory and Moonpig.
29-37 Viewpoints
Festive Greetings
Christmas trading reports from all an array of greeting card retailers.
38-39 In Conversation With… The Art File (Mul)Grew-ing Up
As The Art File christens its publishing relationship with Louise Mulgrew, PG discovers there is likely to be more to come in this direction.
41-43 State of the Nation Headwinds And Tailwinds
A summary of where the industry is at and what 2026 is likely to bring for the sector.
M&G’s Spring Fair debut of its Angela Harding everyday and Christmas cards, an inaugural Peter Rabbit card range, plus a collection by renowned mouth artist Henry Fraser.
47-43 PG Retail Barometer Indie Indicators
Encouragingly, 54% of indie card stockists reported growth in 2025 and an even higher number (58%) are braced for increased trade in the coming year. Delve into the highlights from PG’s annual Independent Retailer Barometer.
55-59 Showtime… Spring Fair Fairground Attractions
PG checks in with some Spring Fair Hall 3 exhibitors to ask about show memories, hopes, dreams and launches.
Jakki Brown Editor/Joint Owner jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk
Hot on the heels of his London range winning Best Photographic Range in The Henries 2025, Spring Fair sees Eliot Siegel spread his love broader artistically.
63-65 Agents’ Revelations Playing Pooh Sticks
With this being the 100th anniversary of Winnie the Pooh, PG gathered some sales agents around the honeypot to ‘bear’ all about trade.
67-79 Innovations
New ranges and designs, including many Spring Fair launches.
80-81 Industry Issue: Generational Connections Educating Greeters
How the GCA is helping to ensure the greeting card buying and sending habit continues through future generations with its Card Club.
83-87 Life Outside Cards In Another Life…
Gigging every weekend in a Clash tribute band, teaching yoga, treading the boards at theatres, being a LEGO aficionado are just some of out of hours activities of cardies.
88-89 In Conversation With… Santoro Multi-Dimensional Thinking
Santoro’s beginnings are as extraordinary as its subsequent growth over the last 40 years, as co-founders Lucio and Meera Santoro reveal.
From witchcraft to dragons, crystals to forest symbolism, publishers share why and how they are casting their own magic spells in the mystical direction.
95 Art Source Trend Tracking
Hannah Curtis, founder of Creative Sparrow delivers her design trend predictions for the coming year.
97-98 What’s Hot?
Some leading retailers lift the lid on their best-selling ranges.
99-107 Sources of Supply
Tracey Bearton Features Editor traceyb@max-publishing.co.uk
Hyder Joint Owner ianh@max-publishing.co.uk
Shop Local Serves Indies Well
58% of independent card retailers are gunning for growth in 2026
While ‘challenging’ was the most popular word independent retailers plumped for to best describe the UK greeting card industry, indie retailers showed they certainly rose to the challenge, with 54% reporting that their retail businesses grew in 2025. And even more encouraging, even more (58%) are anticipating an upward trajectory this year according to findings of the latest PG Retail Barometer
A continuation of the ‘shop local’ drive, the consumer’s increased appreciation of greeting cards on the back of an improved card selection plus their own social media activity were cited as among the major boons for indie card stockists over the last 12 months. On the negative front, the vagaries of the costof-living came top for the fourth year running, but Jellycat supply issues and shoplifting being new entries on the bugbears list.
Among the many other insights into the independent greeting card retail sector from the latest annual survey are that humorous cards, followed by
Final festive push
Christmas singles, despite the fact that 55% of respondents reported that they felt customers sent fewer Christmas cards in 2025. Some 49% of respondents said the biggest boon to their Christmas card sales were customers shifting to buying more higher priced single cards. Outside of greeting cards, stationery and writing instruments trounced it as the top product area indies feel is ripe for further expansion in 2026, followed by impulse lines and giftwrappings
As far as threats to an indie card stockist are concerned, supermarkets are right up at the top, followed by Amazon and then garden centres.
(See pages 47-53 for more Barometer findings)
PG Live 2026 is most definitely ‘live and kicking’ with over 87% of all stand space booked for this year’s show, which takes place Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 June at London’s Business Design Centre, with well over 170 publishers, giftwrap companies and suppliers having already joined the strong line up.
“We were delighted that PG Live featured so positively in the recent Retail Barometer as a dead cert show retailers are planning to visit this year,” said Warren Lomax, co-owner of PG Live. “With early registrations underlining that multiples and overseas distributors also have PG Live in their diaries… bring it on!”
The 2026 PG Live will include all the features that exhibitors and visitors have come to know and love – free tea and coffee, delicious lunch on both days, and the opening night drinks party, plus a get-together on each day for all The Retas and Greats award winners and finalists.
Last year’s show saw retail buyers from Waterstones, Oliver Bonas,
GCA’s Dragons’ Speed Dating event fires up
GCA’s Dragons’ Speed Dating event fires up Steven McFee, owner of Running With Scissors card company has been pinching himself since attending the GCA’s Dragons Speed Dating last year – as just 18 months into his publishing life his designs are on sale in John Lewis!
And this roaring success was largely down to the GCA’s annual DSD event where John Lewis buyer Francesca
Theobald was one of the three retail dragons Steven met and she followed through to put his cards on sale in the department store.
As PG went to press there were only 27 places left for this year’s Dragons event, which takes place on 16 March at London’s Business Design Centre
“I really had no idea what to expect when I signed up to the Dragons event last spring,” Steven told PG. “Before launching 18 months ago, I’d spent years working in sales for fashion and gifting brands, but there was no equivalent event where you could meet so many buyers and creators from the same industry in one place.”
Sticking with the tried and tested formula, this year’s event will see 18 retail Dragons waiting to hear the pitches from the attending 72 publishers. Tickets, available from the GCA website cost £195 for a single attendee or £225 for a twoperson ticket where you do have to stick together for each date.
Each publisher will have the chance to meet at least three Dragons – confirmed so far for the 2026 event are indies Objectables, Stationery Supplies, Love One, and More Than Just A Gift, with multiples/small groups including Postmark, Scribbler and TGJones with more to be announced shortly.
Below: It’s all systems go to make PG Live 2026
Postmark, House of Cards, Cardzone, Blue Diamond, Lark London, Cardfactory, Sainsbury’s Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, John Lewis, Asda, Cards Galore, Selfridges, National Trust, Dobbies, HMV, Marks & Spencer, Moonpig, Morrisons, Barkers National Trust, Notcutts, Paper Tiger, Postmark, Sainsbury’s, Scribbler, Tesco, Temptations Gifts, TK Maxx, UOE, Utility and WHSmith and many more multiples, independents and distributors from across the UK and beyond. A free to attend, Preparing for PG Live meeting for exhibitors and would-be exhibitors is taking place on March 16, in the morning before the GCA Dragons’ Speed Dating event. To attend, email Jim Bullough on jimb@max-publishing.co.uk
Above: Card indies’ positive outlook for 2026.
Above: Supply, or non-supply issues from Jellycat were cited as one of the top bruisers to many indies’ sales during 2025.
Above: Steven McFee is rather chuffed to see his cards in John Lewis as a result of last year’s Dragons’ Speed Dating. Below: John Lewis’ Francesca Theobald (left) in the Den at last year’s event.
supercalifragilistic.
Winning windows
Christmas Greetings
Early shopping kicked off good sales for cardies
While it was a bumpy ride for many retailers, not helped by the unsettling Budget announcement, Christmas card sales delivered good results.
“A hard-fought and wellearned victory!” was how Mark Janson-Smith, md of the Postmark group of 16 stores, which saw a 4.7% and 3% increase by value on packs and Christmas singles respectively, though volume, as expected, dropped a tad on packs.
“Amazing!” was the verdict of Hazel Walker, buying manager of Waterstones. “Both singles and boxed/packs performed well and achieved similar levels of growth.”
Scribbler’s buying manager Tori Heath-Smith was equally buoyant, revealing an “excellent performance” with its sales of Christmas singles and packs finishing 9% up on 2024.
Oliver Bonas was even more “positive”, with Lucy Cornwall, junior buyer reporting a “double-digit increase on Christmas cards sales,” in its 95 stores.
In the Home Counties’ House of Cards group of seven stores, coowner Miles Robinson described its Christmas trading as: “Tough but it came good!”
“We may have bucked a trend here,” said Miles, with its boxed/pack sales ending 11% up while its single card sales were 7% up.
With such a widespread network of stores, the Cardzone group, which also includes Clintons, experienced a more erratic sales pattern, and is expecting to end up slightly down on last year’s sales. However, as James Taylor, trading director stated: its “Christmas card sales came in ahead of footfall which was encouraging but it was a very challenging time for customers across many High Street locations.”
(Full Christmas reports appear on pages 29-37)
Greeting card stores have been hailed window winners as Mantons took the title in the British Independent Retailers’ Association’s countrywide competition, and Austin & Co came top in Malvern Town Council’s competition. Both were announced on 23 December, with Mantons’ Chris Beards posting about the Port Erin store’s victory: “Winner! Winner! We won! Our Christmas window display has just been named as the best in the British Isles after a public vote. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us.” It was BIRA’s first window comp, with entries whittled down to eight finalists, and a public vote to decide.
Meanwhile, the judges from Malvern Town Council checked out all stores in the Worcestershire town before agreeing that Sean Austin’s efforts at Austin & Co hit the top notes. They posted on social media: “His boogie wonderland theme left the judges dancing down the street with excitement!”
Jokes with a bang
Publishers
Card publishers, Abacus, The Art File, Just Cards
Direct, Nigel Quiney together with wholesaler Tiger Feet and retailer Tesco all joined forces with The Sherwood Group for its Community Greeting Card Initiative which delivered Christmas card joy to those who needed it the most.
The Nottingham-based print group, which produces greeting cards for a number of publishers, set up the initiative with Wollaton Park Rotary organisation as part of the GCA’s Caring At Christmas campaign wanting to make sure festive cards reached people such as care home residents who might have had difficulty getting out to buy and post them.
Sherwood’s marketing manager Anna Fawcett paid tribute to the “generous donations” of cards from the aforementioned publishers to the community project which ran throughout December. “Their support really helped make it happen, and the cards reached a wide range of local
It was a cracker of a Christmas for Ling Design and Penny Kennedy as broadcaster, author and former politician Gyles Brandreth declared one of their jokes as the number one festive quip for 2025. The Daily Mail tasked the selfconfessed Christmas cracker obsessive to pick his favourite out of six supermarket boxes, with both the Sainsbury’s and Morrisons’ boxes coming from the publisher’s sister company Swantex, where they’re all part of the Swan Mill Group along with Great British Card Company and The Gifted Stationery Company. David Byk, ceo said: “The winning joke came from this box of luxury crackers we design and manufacture for Sainsbury’s: What do you call an old snowman? Water!” In the article headed “That’s a real cracker! Pull the other one…” Gyles said the jokes haven’t really evolved and are still typically a mix of a riddle and a pun.
groups, from elderly residents in Nottingham care homes, to emergency service teams and school communities.”
Cards were sent out to organisations around the Nottingham area, including to Fernwood School whose year seven pupils wrote festive messages to elderly residents in several local care homes.
Students at Bluecoat Wollaton Academy wrote hundreds of cards for those working for the emergency services during the festive period, including those in the ambulance, fire, police, GPs, social services, A+E, pharmacists and mountain rescue.
The Pulp Friction charity, which empowers learning for disabled and autistic individuals, also supported the project through its community network.
The Rotary club posted: “From care homes to emergency services the smiles have made it all worthwhile. The children in our community led this project and with the help from the business community we were able to give them the platform to make it special.”
Above: Emergency workers were very happy to receive their cards
Right: School children visited care homes with the cards.
Above: Mantons was ‘over the moon’ with its win.
Below: Austin & Co’s groovy window featuring Jo Bonomini’s artwork.
support Sherwood Group’s community card initiative
Far left: House of Cards’ Woodley store’s festive window.
Left: The Cardzone group certainly went for it on the Christmas card front.
Above: Gyles Brandreth is a cracker joke lover.
Above: Just like the message on this Paper Salad Colour Hub card, Christmas trade was a cracker cardwise for many.
Spring Fair Loaded
Launches galore, rich content and the PG/N Smith pub!
It’s now only days away until Spring Fair 2026, which will see the launch of some amazing new greeting card ranges, some spectacular collaborations, engaging speakers, plus the anticipation of the PG/N Smith ‘pub’ being open at the end of the day!
Taking place
Ohh Deer begins charity at home
Charity begins at home is the saying and that’s what inspired Ohh Deer to branch out on the good causes front.
Sunday to Wednesday Birmingham’s NEC, the show will encompass over 1,200 exhibitors - 170 in the Greetings, Party & Celebrations sector, which will anchor Hall 3.
Among the product highlights, the show will officially christen The Art File’s publishing relationship with Louise Mulgrew, who has now moved to a licensing model; GBCC’s launch of the Clean Dean range with Dean Morris as well as its licensing collabs with Pickled Prints and Sophie Allport; Noel Tatt’s licensed tie-up with Quitting Hollywood as well as Museums & Galleries’ debut of everyday, Christmas and advents with artist Angela Harding, plus a Peter Rabbit collection.
(Hall 3 K41) at the end of each day. A Retail Alchemists: Masters of the Mix theme will be running throughout the show this year, including spaces designed to engage all five senses and visionary new content areas.
As Jackson Szabo, portfolio director of show owner Hyve Group says: “Spring Fair 2026 marks a new chapter for the show. Retail Alchemists captures what happens when creativity, community and commerce converge. We’re creating an environment where discovery and connection are as important as the products themselves. By bringing together the right ingredients – product, design, storytelling and technology –Spring Fair 2026 becomes the alchemy that forges meaningful connections, unlocks opportunity and inspires transformation.”
Adding to the fun there will be a photobooth on the Paper Salad stand, Rosie Made A Thing is bringing back its popular tombola while the corks will be popping at the PG/N Smith stand
On the celebrity front, the show will mark the official launch of Parisi, the brand-new homeware collaboration between Widdop & Co and celebrity duo Kelly Brook and Jeremy Parisi. Buyers will have the opportunity to meet Kelly and Jeremy during a Meet & Greet and product reveal on Sunday 1 February at 3pm on Widdop & Co Village. Meanwhile actress, author and gardening personality Caroline Quentin and her husband Sam Farmer are launching CQ Gardens, a new lifestyle gift brand at the show too. www.springfair.com (See pages 55-57 and Innovations pages 67-73)
Theo Paphitis
For the first time the publisher has launched a brand-new Christmas collection supporting charities outside of something treerelated – Alzheimer’s Society, Crisis, Samaritans, and Switchboard LGBTQIA+ Helpline – all displayed on the company’s first large FSDU.
“I think everyone knows someone who has been impacted by Alzheimer’s,” joint md and co-founder Mark Callaby said. “For me my nan, who acted like a third parent to me as she lived with us when I was growing up, was cruelly taken by the disease so we’d love to try to support this really important charity.”
Launched at Top Drawer, the collection comprises 18 packs of three designs. For every pack sold, 50p is to be donated and split evenly between the four charities.
Of the other charities the launch supports, Mark added: “Being a LGBTQIA+ owned company we’ve always wanted to support our community and Switchboard is an important lifeline to many.
Crisis does amazing work to help people who are homeless and are actively fighting to end it in the UK.
Similar to Switchboard, the Samaritans offers a support line for anyone who might be struggling and they unfortunately see a huge uplift in calls over the Christmas period. There’s a great synergy with this charity and how greeting cards can help tackle loneliness and offer moments of comfort or joy.”
joins Morleys ceo as Power Talks speakers
Top retail execs are coming out of hiding and taking to the Hidden Forum stage at the back of Hall 5 at Spring Fair with entrepreneur and small business champion Theo Paphitis leading the charge.
The owner of Ryman and Ryman Design, which have a sizeable greeting card offer, and former TV Dragon will be one of a number of
executives giving Power Talks, with Theo’s being under the heading Future Fit Retail: Leadership, Resilience & Growth In 2026 & Beyond. Also confirmed to join in the Power Talks in the Hidden Forum – which is described as “a rare space for senior retail leaders to speak openly, think deeply and shape the future of the industry away from the noise of the show floor” – are Morleys department stores new ceo Ray Clacher, and Koreen Fader, ceo of QVC UK
Left: Theo Paphitis will be on the Hidden Forum stage.
Left: Across Ling Design, GBCC, Penny Kennedy and Gifted, the group is set to launch almost 4,000 new products at the show. Below: Cath Tate Cards’ Rosie Tate (right) and Cath are looking forward to launching an extended collection of Simon Drew (pictured) cards at the show.
Above: A group of cardies at the PG/N Smith ‘pub’ at last year’s Spring Fair.
Above: Mark Callaby with Ohh Deer’s charity Christmas card FSDU.
CardGains Rebrand
New website and logo trumpets ‘built for independents’ tagline
financial and accounting side.”
Coral Hawkins, who works with her mum Meg at CardGains’ supplier Meg Hawkins Art, created the new logo, as a result of a conversation with Penny and marketing manager Connie Middleman at Autumn Fair
Lola Design’s strong Temu stance on Rip-Off Britain
There was a shout-out for Progressive Greetings on national television recently, as Lola Design’s co-owners Frank and Amanda Mountain credited the mag for alerting them to the wholesale plagiarising of their cards, as well as those of many other publishers, on Temu.
CardGains, the buying group for independent card and gift retailers, has rebranded with the tagline Built For Independents, and has christened a spanking new website.
The new website, built by Skylight Media, gives the group’s 600+ retailer members and raft of suppliers, easier access to the content and info about CardGains, which has been working with and supporting indies since 1989.
“You’ll find new supplier bios, member testimonials, charity information, and much more,” said managing director Penny Shaw, who laughed that she also hopes the new branding will put a stop to people calling the group “Cardigans”!
Coral explained that the brief for the logo was: “to create something new and refreshed and for it to look less like a charity,” Coral explained. “The new branding has been designed to reflect the true heart of CardGains – a confident, contemporary brand built on partnership, community, and the power of independents.
Retaining the red colour scheme the new brand logo reinforces the history of CardGains, but the new custom rounded serif font and identity is fresh and friendly.”
“It’s all designed to help our retailer members discover new suppliers and opportunities with ease.
And our new updated back office system has gone live, ensuring the company is future-proofed on the
GCA update on Temu
The third-party copycat sellers populating the Chinese-owned online marketplace for cheap goods came under fire in a recent 45-minute Rip-Off Britain TV episode.
“We got alerted to this by an industry magazine called Progressive Greetings,” Amanda told viewers, “they were doing an article about copycats within the industry, and they were saying that a load of our designers and publishers are having the same problems within the industry.”
The new website includes an upgraded supplier directory, news, the monthly CardGains magazine, upcoming events, and new product launches.
The new brand will be making its trade show debut at the Spring Fair (1-4 February at Birmingham NEC) on the CardGains Village in Hall 3 Stand M10-N11, which will include ‘pods’ from several CardGains’ suppliers including Carte Blanche Greetings, IC&G, Jacksons, Rainbow Designs, Sarunds, Smart Toys, UKG and Woodmansterne. (See David Robertson pgs 22-23)
The GCA which has been fully engaged in tackling the Temu issue, is gauging interest for a webinar to further boost its pilot programme that is helping its publisher members report and fight sales listings which infringe their copyright.
The GCA’s tenacity has seen the marketplace bring in new technology to speed up the identification and removal of British greeting card designs which infringe the intellectual property rights of association members, hosting a dedicated blog on its website.
Over 212,000 cards have already been protected proactively through the platform’s
Frank added: “We found 44 of our designs. One design with the two alpacas is immensely popular for us. We found that it was immensely popular for Temu too, because it showed the sales figures for Temu, and they'd sold 5,800 units of that product. For Temu, that was £8,000 in revenue. For us, it'd be in the region of £20,000 in revenue. We estimate it was in the region of £100,000 of lost sales due to the sales that have taken place on Temu alone.”
Catherine Hart, from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute admitted on air: “There is such a rapid growth within the e-commerce Industry at this present moment in time, the Intellectual Property Offices have also said that within this industry, it's huge. What we're looking at today is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Amanda urged people to “buy the original products” pointing out that her work supports the UK economy, filtering down to the supply chain including warehouse pickers and packers and postal workers.
And Frank added: “My advice would be, go to your card shop and support your High Streets. Ultimately, if you see low pricing, there might be a reason that's it’s at that price.”
Temu told Rip-Off Britain that “its policies prohibit sellers from infringing on others’ rights”, and that it employs a number of measures to enforce those rules, to identify suspicious listings and ensure they're taken down quickly.
Proactive Monitoring Programme, and there have been over 35,000 potentially-infringing listings removed without requiring further reports from the rights owner.
As GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson said: “Publisher members who have onboarded for over two months have submitted very limited additional reports, which is a positive indicator that proactive monitoring is helping reduce repeat issues.”
Any publisher or designer interested in attending a GCA Temu webinar to learn more about the Pilot Programme should email hello@gca.cards.
Above right: The new CardGains logo was designed by Coral Hawkins of Meg Hawkins Art.
Above: CardGains’ marketing manager Connie Middleman was heavily involved in developing the new website.
Below: The cover of the latest CardGains’ newsletter.
Above: (right-left) Lola’s Frank and Amanda Mountain with presenter Louise Minchin and CITS’ Catherine Hart.
Below: TV presenter Louise Minchin with one of Lola’s card designs that was ripped off.
Above: The GCA’s Temu blog is being regularly updated.
Carousel Worldwide And Otter House Merge
Calendar company Avonside Publishing has been acquired by Carousel
Calendar publisher Carousel Worldwide and Otter House, its sister greeting card, stationery and gift company, are merging to create “significant growth opportunities”.
This news hit just days after Carousel Worldwide announced it had acquired fellow calendar business, Avonside Publishing
Going forward, the merged business will be known as Carousel Worldwide, with the brand names of Otter House, Avonside and Gladstone Media to be used for products.
Both the Carousel and Otter House businesses are part of the same group of companies, both based in Exeter. The merger is aimed at bringing together their complementary strengths, expanded capabilities, and a shared commitment to delivering exceptional value to customers, partners and stakeholders across the UK, USA and internationally.
director Martin Rees-Davies added that the “absolute aim of the merger is for wider opportunities with both products and licensing”.
“Our goal is to build on our joint tradition of product quality, operational excellence, and strong partnerships,” said Carousel’s managing director Gillian Richmond. “Our portfolio of licensed and generic calendars, greeting cards, stationery, jigsaws and related products will be unmatched in the category, creating significant growth opportunities for all of our partners.”
And licensing and business development
On the acquisition of Avonside Publishing, Gillian explained that its catalogue of topselling dog, animal and travel calendars, will continue to be produced and distributed under the Avonside brand. She added that both companies are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for staff, suppliers and customers with the combined business being run from Carousel’s head office in Exeter, while the Avonside team will stay working from its base in Melksham.
“We are proud of what our small team has achieved over the years”, said Avonside md and co-owner David Higgins, who has run the company since 2002 with Rob Jane as a director since 2013. “Joining Carousel Worldwide is a natural extension of our longstanding cooperation and opens exciting opportunities for our team and our customers.”
Norbert creator Mike Atkinson has sadly died
Mike Atkinson, the cartoon genius behind the Norbert character among many other humorous greeting cards, has died recently, following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Mike was an artist with Emotional Rescue for almost 40 years, and the Great British Card Company brands Paper House and Humour Factory prior to that.
Commenting on the “brilliant greeting card cartoonist”, former Paper House and GBCC md Chris Wilcox said that Mike “helped put Paper House on the map in the 1980s with his designs for the Humour Factory genre”.
Sign up to Windles
The Windles team got back from the festive break to find a new sign trumpeting the print group’s B Corp status. Having been certified for the accreditation in the autumn, everyone at the Thame-based greeting card printer is pleased as punch to have met rigorous social and environmental standards which represent its commitment to goals outside of shareholder profit.
The plaque came from Elvis & Kresse, which makes sustainable designer accessories from reclaimed and rescued materials, using timber from old scaffold planks, with the logo laser cut from a decommissioned fire hose.
British Garden Centres has acquired Ferndale
British Garden Centres now has 74 sites following its acquisition of Ferndale Garden Centre in Derbyshire and is now trading as Dronfield Garden Centre
The garden centre was established in 1982 and was operated by Helen Watson with Neil and Linda Grant, who have now retired. Neil said: “After many rewarding years building Ferndale into a thriving local hub for gardeners, Linda, Helen, and I are excited to see it join the BGC family. We have every confidence that Charles Stubbs and the team will nurture the community spirit and take it to new heights.”
BGC founder and director Charles added: “Ferndale has long been admired for its quality and community values that align perfectly with our own.
We’re excited that the Ferndale team will continue delivering the same excellent and even better service, plants, and products customers love. We look forward to investing in the site, supporting the team, and continuing to offer customers a truly outstanding garden centre experience.”
In a testament to his talent, Mike’s comedic artistry was marked by Norbert & Val reaching the finals in The Henry Cole Classic award in The Henries 2025.
“We will all miss him very much,” Emo’s creative director Jennie Rutter told PG. “Mike was a brilliant old-school artist who much preferred paper and pen to digital but, more importantly, he was a lovely, kind and gentle man.
Creator of Norbert – a nerd for the 90s – that went on to become Norbert & Val as we know it today – he was brilliant at creating jokes and artwork together. The range has lasted over 30 years, so he was definitely doing something right!”
Above: Mike Atkinson.
Left: A classic Norbert design from Emotional Rescue.
Right: Martin Rees-Davies is looking forward to realising even greater potential as a result of the merger.
Above: Otter House acquired 3D card company Special Delivery in April 2025. Left: One of Avonside’s 2027 calendar titles.
Above: Windles’ sign of the times!
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
Hard Questioning
colleagues that are sometimes uncomfortable, but ultimately need to be looked at in detail.
As I write this, I am surrounded by heavy snow which has stifled the first few trading days of the New Year, sending my brain into overdrive at a time when we are all looking back while trying to predict where things are going.
We, like others had a pretty good Christmas trading period, though not without its challenges, and as we embrace the new year, my head is swirling with the day to day decisions while juggling cashflow, staffing etc.
Isolation or loneliness of decision making in small business is a theme that I hear time and again. Many really want a shoulder to lean on or a helping hand just to reassure, but where do you find that help?
One organisation that has been there to help and guide business for over 37 years is the CardGains buying group.
As Pozzis grew I became a member for a
number of years as it offered me access to certain deals with suppliers that I may not have been able to secure on my own. The monthly direct debit (covering the orders placed with CardGains’ suppliers) was however difficult for me to manage as the payment date hit when I often had other commitments, plus I prefer to manage my payments in different ways.
Our leaving was no slight on CardGains, it was just a natural evolution of my business. I enjoyed my time in the group and had numerous good discussions with those in charge of the company.
As we ended 2025 I spent a day with CardGains’ md Penny Shaw to learn more about where the group is now and its plans. Does CardGains still solve real problems? Is it still a relevant place for retailers to support each other? Is its relevance rooted not in nostalgia, but in evolution? Also, my feeling was that some of the suppliers/brands involved, as well as the group’s marketing had not aged well, so I was very interested to see what Penny’s answers would be.
In 1989, the role of a buying group was relatively clear. Independents needed simplicity: fewer invoices, consistent trading terms, and a sense of belonging in a sector already under pressure from multiples. CardGains delivered that through a centralised system and by fostering a strong sense of community.
Fast-forward to 2026 and the challenges are more complex. Independents now compete, not just with supermarkets but with garden centres, online marketplaces, social commerce and of course other indies.
Yet the fundamentals remain strikingly similar: retailers still need to save time, protect margin, and focus their energy on customers rather than administration. They also arguably still need to feel a sense of belonging.
CardGains’ origins sit firmly in the CTN sector, initially working with suppliers across convenience categories. Its move into the greeting card sector proved pivotal. Greeting cards offered strong margins, repeat purchase behaviour, and a product that independents
Left: David’s mum and business partner Lynda with his son Hudson and dog, Hiro readying to go out into the Winter Wonderland. Above: David with CardGains’ md Penny Show in one of his shops.
Above: Some of the ‘folk’ in the Highlands of Scotland
could genuinely excel and become known for.
That foundation remains strong today. CardGains is still recognised across the industry as the greeting card buying group of which to be a part, but its membership has diversified significantly. Now, alongside traditional card shops and CTNs sit post offices, specialist gift retailers, art galleries, garden centres, candle stores and other prestige independents.
This diversity reflects modern independent retailing. Few shops are now single-category specialists. Successful indies curate, blend and evolve, and CardGains says that it has adapted its supplier portfolio accordingly while remaining anchored in the high-margin strength of greeting cards.
I would argue that CardGains’ strength is still in cards, recognising that the challenge of getting its gifting selection right for such a diverse retail membership is very difficult.
One of the most underestimated assets of CardGains is its sense of community. In an era of digital platforms and faceless transactions, this human element is not a ‘nice to have’, it’s strategic. As Penny quite rightly pointed out, CardGains is more than a commercial arrangement. There is a shared identity, a shared understanding of the pressures of independence, and a shared belief in local retailers being a cornerstone of communities.
One of the biggest questions for me is, does CardGains make financial sense now?
With platforms like Faire, Amazon and with fully digital record-keeping systems now commonplace, do the CardGains benefits still resonate? Penny’s answer is unequivocally “yes”, but for different reasons.
While digital platforms offer convenience, they often come at a significant cost. The fact that CardGains guarantees supplier payment also means that new retailer members can benefit from terms straight away. This is a benefit that cannot be overstated in uncertain trading conditions for both retailers and suppliers.
For members, the bonus scheme remains a defining differentiator. Spend through the system does not just deliver discounts, it builds a bonus pot that rewards loyalty and
volume. The more that members use the system, the more they get back. Few digital marketplaces offer anything comparable in that way. The CardGains monthly admin charge is also still minimal compared to other such costs.
There has been some misconception that Cardgains’ recent investment is surface level, improving record-keeping or modernising statements. In reality, the investment has been about survival and scalability.
Handling millions of low-value transactions placed increasing strain on its system and you could argue that if it had not been upgraded that quite simply it would not have been able to operate in the near future.
Its supplier mix remains weighted towards cards, and deliberately so. Cards deliver margin, frequency and reliability. Gifts, by contrast, are subjective and risk-laden. What sells in one shop may sit unsold in another.
On gifting order quantities and minimums can be a barrier, particularly for smaller independents. This is where CardGains’ relationships with major gift wholesalers become critical, allowing retailers to access breadth without an over-commitment.
I have long made a joke that CardGains adhered to an annual slim transfer window when it added and culled suppliers which meant that it could not react through the year to things that became hot. However now, it is
adding new suppliers at any point during the year, which allows it to be more fluid.
One of my biggest areas of criticism was how CardGains marketed itself. Penny assured me that this is changing and the appointment of marketing manager Connie Middleman has already driven increased engagement on social platforms while its new website and rebrand went live recently, presenting CardGains as a powerful, trustworthy, essential partner for independent retailers nationwide.
CardGains’ presence at trade fairs remains important, such as the CardGains Village at Spring Fair, with its pod structure offering suppliers visibility and members a one-stop destination as well as its presence at PG Live.
Penny informs me that with around 500 solid retailer members, many operating multiple stores, CardGains is entering its next phase from a position of strength.
The stated aspiration is not dominance, but trust. Not control, but partnership. Cardgains has a clear place in the industry and it really does have its heart in the right place.
The organisation has worth and validity and also raises a huge amount for charity, all of which must be acknowledged and applauded.
Like most business decisions it takes courage and commitment to make changes, let the hard questioning of 2026 continue!
l To contact David email:
Above: The CardGains January 2026 newsletter fanfared the new branding.
Above right: CardGains members and suppliers at the start of the Toni’s Trek charity challenge last summer which raised money for Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Right: Some ‘Pozzi-tive’ marketing from David about his business.
Right: Some questions are harder than others in life.
A Tale Of Two Cities
As we all try and make sense of the recent Christmas’ retail sales figures on the greeting card front, Cardsharp looks at the position of a duo of major retail Plcs, (now that WH Smith is out of the picture with its high street chain sold) and tries to see the wood for the trees in the industry’s ‘tale of two city plcs’.
card chain and Plc
Cardfactory, at the time of Cardsharp writing this, had yet to post its postChristmas trading statement, but worryingly it did issue a trading statement in early December downgrading its profit forecasts.
Penning this as PG went to press there was no definitive picture of how Christmas trading in our sector had gone. While many of our greeting card chains and indies seem to have had a reasonable golden quarter, the larger macro-economic retail analysis seems less positive. Analyst Shore Capital said it sensed it was a rather underwhelming Christmas, stating: “The biggest factor depressing consumer confidence, and so the propensity to spend, has been the dire performance of Rachel Reeves and her appalling late 2025 budget"
Our largest specialist greeting
Although the retail group’s half year figures for the period to September 30 were pretty good, it claimed that high inflation and pressures facing consumers were making trading difficult in October, and it has downgraded its end of year profit forecast to between £55m and £60m.
That news hammered Cardfactory’s share price, which dropped by nearly a third down to 69p. To Cardsharp’s mind, it would seem that its acquisition of online retailer Funky Pigeon earlier in the year failed to shift the share price upwards significantly despite the acquisition answering previous criticism that Cardfactory did not have a strong digital offering. And the fact that Card Factory’s portfolio had risen to over 1,100 stores was ignored too.
that Moonpig dominates the online UK greeting card market, commanding a market share of around 70%. It launched on the London Stock Exchange on 2021 during the Covid lockdown with a share offer price of £3.50 per share. It made a strong debut and in the share price hyped lockdown that followed, the share price soared to a ludicrous £5.00. More recently, on the back of some less than fantastic results, early last year its share value dropped down to around £2.
It makes Cardsharp smile how so called 'financial experts’ self-justify their previous misjudgements. One previous supporter has stated that when Moonpig floated, it was a good business, but a bad investment. Now the same analyst claims it is good investment too!
Now it is true that Moonpig has reported a rise in first half profits and turnover. And the new incoming ceo Catherine Faiers, who joins at the beginning of March is highly regarded by many in the City for her digital
Below: Around half of Moonpig’s card purchases are made using its AI extras.
But then what of our other greeting card plc, Moonpig. Cardsharp was somewhat surprised to see that Moonpig was listed as one of the key share tips to buy in 2026 by the Mail on Sunday’s financial pages. It is common knowledge
Above: The difference between London and Paris is covered in Dickens’ classic, but Cardsharp is intrigued by the City’s different treatment towards Cardfactory and Moonpig.
Below: The London Stock Exchange has made and lost fortunes for shareholders as trading wipes and adds £millions every minute.
roles with Auto Trader Group, Addison Lee and Trainline. The Plc claims that customers are engaging more deeply than ever, with over half using its ‘innovative creative features to make their cards more personal'.
The share price dropped by 4% last year, then ceo Nickyl Raithatha departed and although 3p per share was paid to shareholders, the figures deserve further investigating. Although the headlines declared a £97m half year gross profit to the six months to the end of October, the net profit (forget the EBITIDA figure which financial luminaries like Warren Buffett describe as “bullshit earnings”) was £26m. Not bad but nothing to write home about given the £2 share price.
It would seem, that despite Cardsharp’s reservations, Moonpig has turned a bit of a corner and has recovered from its slump, but as for being a share price to buy Cardsharp is not so sure. As Cardsharp has previously stated, Moonpig’s share price seems to be marked up because it is considered a 'tech stock’, while Cardfactory is marked down as being a legacy bricks and mortar stock
despite its recent acquisition of the major online greeting card player Funky Pigeon. Moonpig’s improvement in performance makes it, according to some City analysts, a share price to watch while Cardfactory’s modest decrease in profit expectations have seen its share price drop by a third, to around a £1.67. It must be frustrating to Cardfactory’s directors and shareholders that the City seems to ignore any good financials emanating from the Plc and mark it down overly severely for any blips. Its share price is now standing at two and a half times lower than Moonpig’s current price of £2 yet Cardfactory is still estimating it will report end of year net profits that match or are higher than Moonpig’s £50m net profit. And on top of that Cardfactory is expected to announce a healthy dividend. Cardsharp can’t quite make sense of it. Going back to this column's headline, what the Dickens is going on?
Cardsharp recalls it was Karl Marx who was attributed with the saying: “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce".
Cardsharp wonders what the hirsute co-author of The Communist Manifesto would now make of President of the USA, Donald Trump, who has filed for bankruptcy no fewer than six times.
Cardsharp’s thoughts turned to these matters on reading the latest shenanigans at Modella Capital, the private equity firm that seems to specialise in buying distressed retail assets and squeezing them until the pips squeak, or more accurately, until their landlords' and suppliers' pips speak!
Modella was of course the final owner of Paperchase, before its demise that left publishers, suppliers and landlords with whacking great debts. Modella also is the owner of TGJones, which was WHSmith High Street before its sale by the Plc.
Modella also owns The Original Factory Shop and Claire’s Accessories and as PG went to press Modella was exploring ‘strategic options’ for both chains as they are on the brink of collapse. The Original Factory Shop has filed for administration yet again, while Claire’s is lining up restructuring advisors to handle a second possible insolvency. Funny how these things always seem to happen after Christmas just as creditors are seeking payment!
Modella is shedding crocodile tears. The company says it has been working tirelessly to save the businesses and jobs but now neither has a realistic possibility of trading profitably again. Well, if that is the case why did Modella acquire Claire’s as recently as 2025? Surely not to
bag the last golden quarter of sales and then not pay for them in full?! Modella also blames the challenging high street climate, not that anyone seems to have told Next, who reported a 9% plus increase in sales this Christmas.
Well, what of TGJones? Apparently, an agreement as part of the purchase from WHSmith in March last year, was that Modella would not attempt any kind of financial restructuring for at least a year, so hopefully creditors should be okay for a bit, at least until July. WHSmith plc did this so its reputation would not be affected. What with the revelations about the reported financial malpractice in its US division that worked well then!
TGJones has revamped a handful of stores and is really shouting about its plans for the business, but irrespective of this, Cardsharp would not rule out another farce occurring on Modella’s watch this time next year.
Left: Adding to its market leading position in bricks and mortar, Cardfactory bolstered its online presence with its acquisition of Funky Pigeon. Below: Cardsharp is as bemused as Charles Dickens looks!
Above: Cardsharp wonders what Karl Marx would make of the current day happenings?
Below: BBC News was among the media to share the news of Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop’s demise.
Below right: Having branded concessions and Post Offices is viewed as a positive for TGJones, but the size of the estate post July is still under question.
VIEWPOINTS
Hazel Walker, buying manager of Waterstones
Festive Greetings
As ever there was a lot riding on Christmas trading, but while a bit bumpy for some, it came good for the majority. While many of the buying public shopped early, prompting retailers to instigate several top up orders, other shoppers numbed their festive feelings until after the Budget was announced.
PG caught up with a selection of greeting card retailers for their take on Christmas takings.
Jo
Sorrell, owner of Cardies, Stevenage
Christmas verdict: “Amazing!”
Reveal all: “Our Christmas card sales were strong right from launch and this continued throughout the season meaning we finished with growth on the previous year and beat our plan. Both single and boxed/packs performed well and achieved similar levels of growth.”
Your approach: “As well as extending our relations cards, we increased our singles offer in more shops. Overall, these shops finished up on the year, with some seeing growth as high as 40%, so it was a success. Growing the options in our larger shops worked well for us. I think, as we become more known for our card offer, we’re seeing a wider range of customers, including those looking for a relations card, shopping with us.”
Star performers: “Our own brand boxed designs were popular as always – these supported the BookTrust charity with a 20% contribution. We also had an exclusive boxed design to tie in with Charlie Macksey’s new book Always Remember and this flew off the shelves.
Singles wise, it was a real mix with strong sales across the board – Museums & Galleries, Jelly Armchair and designs from The Art File all sold well.”
Hunch for 2026: “Excited! We think there’s even more opportunity for Christmas next year. Given the success of the range extensions this year we’ll be looking at where we can expand space in additional shops and we achieved some great sell throughs so have lots of space for new designs for XM26. Outside of Christmas, we’ve just launched some new everyday and Valentine’s, which are off to a strong start!”
Christmas verdict: “Better than expected!”
Reveal all: “Christmas card sales and trade overall was slightly better than the previous year, which given all the doom and gloom was a pleasant surprise.”
Your approach: “Our Lab On The Ledge campaign was very well received. People commented daily that they had seen something on our Lab On The Ledge posts.
Last year our bumper charity boxes sold out very quickly so we ordered three times as many this year and every box sold out. Tracks offered a great selection of charity bumper boxes with 24 and 30 cards retailing at £5.99 and £6.99, they were all very popular.”
Star performers: “ICG, Five Dollar Shake, Tracks and Paperlink were all good. Our individual relations cards, as ever, performed well – Wife, Mum, Grandson, Granddaughter, Daughter & Son-InLaw, Son & Daughter-In-Law, and To Both Of You were top sellers. We also sell lots of cards with dogs on and the caption From The Dog is also particularly good for us but that’s no surprise! Five Dollar Shake produced one of my favourites for this area this year.”
Hunch for 2026: “As always, we look forward to a new year. May it be filled with cards and labradors!”
Above: Waterstones saw strong Christmas card sales across the estate.
Below: The retailer had a special Christmas card box to tie in with an exclusive version of Charlie Macksey’s new book Always Remember.
Below: Christmas stocking to generate maximum sales is always a tricky balance!
Above: Cardies’ Lab On The Ledge social media campaign was well liked by customers, gently reminding them of the shop’s festive products.
Below: A Five Dollar Shake design that unsurprisingly featured in Cardies’ Christmas selection.
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James Taylor, trading director of Cardzone
Christmas verdict: ““As of now, it’s looking like we’ll come in slightly down on Christmas trading like for like. However, sales were quite far ahead of transactions.”
Reveal all: “Our Christmas card sales came in ahead of footfall which was encouraging but it was a very challenging time for customers across many High Street locations, hence the profits warning from Cardfactory prior to some of its peak trading weeks. This did come as a surprise to us as we felt discounters
Tim Gould, co-owner of Objectables, Folkestone
Christmas verdict:
“Best yet! Turnover for December and November, we were up 5% with Christmas cards growing by more than that.”
Reveal all: “We focus on individual cards in general so packs are always a minimal part of our sales. We didn’t notice anything noticeably different from previous years. Our average spend was slightly up but we also made more sales.”
Your approach: “No real changes from previous years. Cards maybe went on sale a few days earlier and we changed a lot of our stock from last year, but that’s no different to every other year.”
Star performers: “Selling our own Objectables cards is always a boost and they’re always our bestsellers. Our Folkestone-based cards always sell the best. Buddy Fernandez’s Naughtivity range was our bestselling ‘outside’ publisher with Sarah Ray, Lucy Maggie, Eleanor Bowmer, Alljoy and Stop The Clock all having sold well too.”
Hunch for 2026: “It’s hard not to buy into the economic doom and gloom that the media projects but we’re feeling pretty positive and excited about the year ahead. We have pretty accessible price points for our customers and try to create a welcoming, fun place to shop. Generally, people seem to enjoy coming into our shop so, hopefully, that will continue to be a thing.”
VIEWPOINTS
would fare better as that tends to be the norm! Customers did come out late and our best trading day was, as expected, on 23 December. Overall, and quite interestingly, we found things tougher in our southern stores and we’re trying to get to the bottom of why this was.”
Star performers: “Traditional verse cards performed well for us and our own label cards also worked very well, which was pleasing.”
Hunch for 2026: “We fear there will be many announcements of challenging Christmas trading as time unfolds.”
Mark Janson-Smith, managing director of Postmark, 16 stores in London and Glasgow
Christmas verdict: “A hard-fought and well-earned victory!”
Reveal all: “LFL sales were robust with the five weeks to Christmas trading 5.6% up as a company and 3% up for Christmas-specific lines. Christmas card sales were fairly flat on volume but up on revenue due to higher price points. Pack volumes were down 3% but we expected this due to a more streamlined offering, with gross value up 4.72% so we’re happy with this and the focus on a better offering of premium boxes worked. Single cards held up well and we ended 3% up, but only 1% up in volume. One area we struggled with was relations which has been a growing category for us for some years now, but we were 3.36% down in volume.”
Star performers: “As always, the main volume came from our regular big players, The Art File, Museums & Galleries and Woodmansterne, but a big shout out needs to go out to Poet and Painter and Ross J Designs, who performed exceptionally well – the latter has made my year as it was my daughter’s pick at PG Live! Buying trends: “We definitely found customers were being far more cautious with what they bought and the rising stamp prices has undoubtedly played a factor in consumers being far more cautious in how many cards they posted – something that was often vocalised in the stores. That being said, stamp sales were at a record high, but that was down to fewer retailers selling them around us.”
Hunch for 2026: “We’re all looking forward to 2026 and are excited to hit the ground running. Although the headwinds are still blowing, it's all we’ve ever known and they have to change direction at some point, right!
We’ll also be embracing the change in the Chinese New Year cycle to fire, which is generally seen as a dynamic and transformative period that favours bold action and innovation.”
Above: A festive red look in Cardzone. Right: A value message from Clintons.
Above: As ever, Objectables marketing was quirky, but it did deliver early sales. Below: Objectables’ A board full of its own breed of festive fun.
Above: Christmas trade was gloriously bright for Postmark.
Below: Mark Janson-Smith was touched to receive a model of a Postmark shop made by Jolly Awesome’s Matt Nguyen who also created a bespoke Christmas card design for the retail group to send.
For more information please contact your local sales representative or call our friendly sales office team
Modern Cards for Modern Men
Aga Marsden, owner of Highworth Emporium
Christmas verdict: “Our strongest Christmas yet!”
Reveal all: “Overall, our final quarter finished 5.9% up on the previous year, with December itself 7.5% up.”
Christmas cards specifically were up 14% year-on-year! Although boxed cards are definitely continuing their downward trend –we saw a 20% drop, in large bumper boxes in particular. On the other hand, charity packs were exceptionally strong, showing a 52% increase.
Single card sales were also up, finishing 4.8% ahead of the previous year. I had to reorder single cards three times, first reorder was on 2 December! Something that has never happened before.”
Your approach: “We didn’t change the timing of when Christmas cards went on display. However, initiatives such as the #Cardmitment campaign and Thinking Of You Week continued to have a positive knock-on effect.
We also added one spinner for general Christmas cards, as I see more and more customers choosing an open option and also asking for open titles really early.
One very telling indicator of footfall and gifting intent was that we completely sold out of Christmas roll wrap, something that doesn’t always happen, and very much underlined how strong Christmas trade was this year.”
VIEWPOINTS
Sarah Lishman, buyer of Barkers, Northallerton
Christmas verdict: “Christmas trade was fantastic.”
Reveal all: “Our card department has had an incredible year. People are definitely still sending Christmas cards! Buying started early, from when we put it out mid-September right until the very end.
Everything across the board sold incredibly well, from singles, boxed, gift packaging (especially roll wrap) if anything was a little slow it would be charity packs, but the sell through was still excellent.”
Buying habits: “We definitely noticed customers buying cards earlier this year. This may partly be linked to the Second Class stamp price and earlier cut off time, but our Scout stamps had a noticeable impact too, bringing new customers into the shop who were specifically looking to use them.”
Star performers: “Between UK Greetings, Ling and Woodmansterne, they accounted for around 70% of our Christmas card sales. UKG remains particularly strong for large and traditional cards, while Woodmansterne consistently performs well for elegant, subtle designs. Ling’s boxed cards were really strong, Paper Shed was great for cute designs, Paperlink and Tracks offered great humorous designs, while Museum & Galleries contributed strongly to the overall performance with some great designs, especially on the religious front.”
Hunch for 2026: “I’m feeling a bit twitchy about rising costs, minimum wage, national insurance changes and the other pressures being thrown at us but, as a result of the way the year ended, I’m feeling very positive and confident about 2026.”
Star performers: “Every publisher we stocked sold very well. I tried two new companies this year for boxed, Tracks and Alex Clark both of which were really well received by our customers. So, I will definitely increase on their orders for this year.”
Hunch for 2026: “I have started my Christmas buying for this year and it’s looking very strong again.”
Miles Robinson and Nigel Williamson, co-owners of House of Cards, seven shops in the Home Counties
Christmas verdict: ““Tough but it came good!”
Reveal all: “Our Christmas lines like-for-like sales were 7% up on 2024 with our till sales being almost 4.5% up in the eight weeks to Christmas.
We may have bucked a trend here with our boxed/pack sales being 11% up
compared to singles, which were 7% up. We think a lot of this is down to Lisa Gilbert, our main buyer putting together an exception range of boxes for 2025.
Pet cards definitely increased while our roll wrap sales were down (but gift bags and boxes were up). Our stamp sales were up this year, but we put that down to better management from our side dealing with RM during Nov/Dec!”
Star performers: “Highlights for us were Emotional Rescue (who published our overall top selling card, which was wife design XXWF2475) Bug Art, Ling Design,
Paperlink, UKG, Five Dollar Shake, KDee Designs to name but a few!”
Your approach: “September is supposedly the busiest month for birthdays so we avoid putting our single Christmas cards out until mid-October. We did cut down on our lower priced Christmas gifting in an effort to simplify and while we felt this a little in our till sales it certainly helped massively from a logistics (and therefore cost!) perspective.”
Hunch for 2026: “After a somewhat chaotic last quarter, due in the main to the ridiculous Budget leaks and scaremongering, we feel 2026 will be very positive. The reaction since Christmas has been excellent and we are hopeful this will continue into Valentine’s Day which is now on display.”
Above: The Christmas window in House of Cards’ Woodley store. near the Star Performers
Right: This Emotional Rescue card from its Stuffed with Love range was the overall top seller for House of Cards at Christmas.
Below: Highworth Emporium got involved with Scout post. Customers bought these cheaper stamps for cards to be delivered (by Scouts) in the surrounding area
Above: Barkers had all the top customers come through its doors!
VIEWPOINTS
Hannah Sharman, owner of Earlybird, Stoke Newington
Christmas verdict: “It came good! Once the Budget was out of the way people started spending, just really wish there wasn't such a long drawn-out period leading up to the Budget as it really damages consumer confidence.”
Reveal all: “Overall our Christmas trade was slightly up on last year, encouragingly our single cards sales were up by 9% and, surprisingly, pack sales were up 6%. Our buying prep really paid off so we sold through almost all of the new stock!
Single cards were very popular, we sold around 3.5 times more singles than packs and had almost no new stock left by Christmas Eve. Charity packs, as ever, were a more popular option over non-charity, we sell more than twice as many. Local charities are particularly popular and our continued collaboration with Hackney Night Shelter brought in a lot of customers.”
Star performers: “Earlybird is always our top-selling brand year round and Christmas was no exception! Museums & Galleries is our second biggest brand as we almost exclusively order our card packs from the
Ross Lasseter, buying and merchandising manager of
Christmas verdict:
“Positive in a competitive market.”
Reveal all: “We saw single digit growth on both volume and value. Boxed cards saw double digit YoY growth with more customers looking for a more cost-effective card solution. We saw no major changes to buying habits except for an increased demand for boxed cards.”
Tesco
Star performers: “We saw strong sales across the board, but especially on own brand/Paperchase as well as Carlton, Carte Blanche, Emotional Rescue and Danilo. Paperchase had its best Christmas since we took on the brand, with customers liking the innovation and style.”
Your approach: “We made no major changes to display or promotions, the focus was on providing new and exciting designs.”
Hunch for 2026: “The card market, especially within grocery, is getting more competitive so our focus for 2026 is to ensure that we’re providing the best range and the best value for our customers.”
company. Ohh Deer, Paper D'Art, Stormy Knight and The Art File singles were all quick sellers, but everything we brought in this year sold exceptionally well!”
Buying trends: “Thankfully there was very little talk about the cost of stamps from customers. There was definitely a growth in customers who were more willing to spend more for the speciality cards, such as the pop ups from Paper D'Art and bauble cards from Stormy Knight.”
Your approach: “We put our full Christmas pack stands and a selection of single cards out a couple of weeks earlier than previously and noticed a sales upturn straight away. Our socials and newsletters promoting the Cardmitment campaign (and the growing number involved in that) seem to be helping to build a feelgood factor around card sending rather than the 'chore' rhetoric that has blighted the industry in recent years.”
Hunch for 2026: “Feeling optimistic – over the course of the year sales have generally been up, and cards are as popular as ever, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the new year has to offer. Personally, I'm really excited have taken on the ownership of Earlybird and to continue its success in Stoke Newington!”
Lucy Cornwall, junior buyer of Oliver Bonas
Christmas verdict: “Positive.”
Reveal all: “We saw double-digit increase on Christmas cards sales from the previous year.
We predominantly stock single cards over packs, due to display and space challenges and these performed well for us. We saw no huge changes in buying habits, with animal-themed cards performing strongly as well as relatable humour designs.”
Star performers: “Kiss Me Kwik, Redback Cards, Poet and Painter.”
Your approach: “We launched Christmas earlier this year across all stores, to capture early trade.”
Hunch for 2026: “Optimistic.
We’re looking forward to heading to the trade shows and seeing the new trends and the new designs everyone has been working on.”
Tori Heath-Smith, buying manager of Scribbler
Christmas verdict: “Positive.”
Reveal all: “Overall, it was an excellent performance, particularly for card categories!”
Reveal all: “Scribbler delivered a strong Christmas, with Christmas singles and packs finishing up 9% vs 2024. We noticed our shoppers buying later this year, but a strong surge in the final two weeks drove a standout finish. We also saw growth across packaging and party categories, making it a very successful Christmas trading period overall!”
Above: Christmas was Heidi Early’s last spin as a retailer, having now handed over the keys to Hannah to concentrate on the publishing side.
Above right: Hannah noticed customers were more willing to spend on special cards, such as this Paper D’art design.
Above: Oliver Bonas has given more space over to cards in some stores.
Left: With the recent store openings, Oliver Bonas was trading from 95 stores by the end of 2025.
Above: Ross reveals Tesco saw an uplift in boxed Christmas card sales.
Below: A bay of single Christmas cards in a Tesco store.
Left: Instore display courting Secret Santa sales.
Below: Scribbler enjoyed good festive card sales.
VIEWPOINTS
Rebekah Mudie, owner of Daisy Daisy, Cardiff Christmas verdict: “Wow, better than expected!”
Reveal all: “2024 was a brilliant year for us which I didn’t think we could beatespecially considering the Royal Mail postage price increases and reduction in second-class service in 2025 – but I’m really pleased to say that we ended on a par with last year in terms of festive card sales and just under 5% up on overall for total trade.
Single Christmas cards as ever remained really strong for us. We’re a traditional, sentiment-driven card shop and pride ourselves in stocking these kinds of products, which our customers love.
Bumper boxed cards weren’t as popular this year while smaller packs were favoured. We always have a wide selection of charity boxes and packs. Customers are really supportive of charities particularly if they have a specific one close to their hearts. We felt many customers were holding off buying larger quantities of Christmas cards, but they soon came back for more once they’d received a few more cards than expected themselves!
I did promote the #Cardmitment campaign on my Facebook and Instagram pages again this year, it’s so important for our industry. My husband and I also wore the fabulous Choose Cards Christmas jumpers initiated by Matt Simpson at The Letter Arty – what a perfect advert for Christmas cards!”
Star performers: “Single card-wise IC&G, Jonny Javelin, GBCC and Ling all sold really well as did the beautiful intricate 3D cards from Me & McQ (Paper D’Art). Boxed and packs of Christmas cards that sold well for us were GBCC and Ling’s ranges, Woodmansterne, The Art File, Caroline Gardner, Museums & Galleries, and Abacus – particularly the Welsh packs.
The captioned cards for Friend, Granddaughter, Grandson, Son & Daughter-In-Law and vice versa, and All Of You were by far the most popular for our customers.”
Caroline Ranwell, owner of Hugs & Kisses, Tettenhall
Christmas verdict:
““Wonderful… way better than we expected.”
Reveal all: “In December alone we were 9% up on last year, mainly due to our huge range of Christmas cards. Single card sales just get better each year with customers asking for more and more minor captions. Boxes of Christmas cards were steady, but charity pack sales were amazing – we almost sold out! I bought from four companies and we ended up with just 29 packs left which is perfect”
Buying Habits: “Lots of people moaned about the cost of the stamps but then still bought lots and lots of cards.
We’ve always stocked From The Dog and From The Cat cards. We sold out of Five Dollar Shake’s From The Dog!”
Your approach: “We started putting Christmas cards out in September and
our Christmas window went in right after Halloween. We did get behind the #Cardmitment campaign as much as we could as I do think that this really helps.”
Star performers:
“Charity packs were amazing from Abacus, Ling Design, Paperlink and Woodmansterne
Boxed cards that sold well were from Abacus, Five Dollar Shake, Ling Design and Woodmansterne
On single cards, our bestsellers were from Abacus, Five Dollar Shake, Ling Design, Rush Design, Wendy Jones-Blackett and White Cotton Cards Five Dollar Shake’s XL cards, retailing at £15.99, sold out and we had to reorder!”
Hunch for 2026: “After such a great Christmas I feel really positive about sales going forward.”
Hunch for 2026: “Knowing that 2025 went well for us fills me with much more optimism for 2026. We’re spoilt for choice with such amazing card publishers both small and large, so finding new and exciting designs is not a problem.
I do worry about Royal Mail in terms of more stamp price rises and further service cuts. I’m keeping everything crossed for stability because we all know the joy that receiving a thoughtful card brings.”
Fiona Haddrell, owner of Inklings, Hungerford
Christmas verdict: “Christmas trading was good.”
Reveal all: “We ended up on last year. It started early, then slowed a bit and then came back in the second half of December.
We had our best year ever for Christmas cards, both packs and singles. Double digit percentage increase in the actual number sold. We had three extra deliveries of packs in the last two weeks and they sold out completely.”
Star performers: “Museums & Galleries was our best publisher for packs and boxes. For singles, Alljoy, Wendy Jones-Blackett, Five Dollar Shake, Dandelion and Woodmansterne were tops for us this year. The £16 Five Dollar Shake cards sold out very quickly!”
Changing habits: “Quite a lot of people told us that they weren’t going to send Christmas cards due to the price of the postage. Once we gently pointed out that if someone bought a box of say 30 or 40 cards, this worked out around 30p per card. If you then add a second class stamp the two together are still cheaper than one first class stamp. We also reminded people how much receiving a card meant to the recipient.
We sold a lot of cards earlier this year and I think that people were giving cards to people when they saw them rather than posting them closer to the big day.”
Hunch for 2026: “As Christmas 2025 was good I am feeling confident about the year ahead.”
Below: Among some festive loveliness from Inklings.
Above left: Rebekah Mudie, owner of Daisy Daisy in her Choose Cards Christmas jumper. Below: Among Daisy Daisy’s best selling Christmas boxes came from GBCC and The Art File.
Above: Caroline Ranwell (4th right) with the Hugs & Kisses team enjoying pre-Christmas drinks.
Below: The festive window in Hugs & Kisses.
(MUL)GREW-ING UP
When The Art File debuted at Spring Fair back in 1997, its stand was so small that there wasn’t enough room for cofounders Ged and Karen Mace to be on it at the same time.
At this year’s show, despite a vastly enlarged stand size, space will again be at a premium, this time though it’s down to the wealth of new products being launched by the publisher. The most notable of these is the inaugural Louise Mulgrew x The Art File collection, following Louise’s wholehearted decision to move to a licensing model with the Nottingham-based publisher.
PG filed in to meet up with Ged Mace, md of the business and discovered this is just a taste of things to come.
There is no doubt about it, The Art File is an impressive business. Year on year this independently-owned family business has grown in stature, stealthily broadening its product portfolio and its brand’s reputation from everyday greeting cards and premium quality Christmas boxes into stationery, calendars, plush and impulse gifts.
While the vast majority of its collections are developed by its super-talented in-house design team, savvy licensing collaborations with brands, designers and small publishers including Sara Miller London, Jo Scott, Peace & Blessings, Meloo, Pavilion and Fox Under The Moon have added to its appeal, across the retail spectrum.
And, as its Queen’s Award for export testifies, its halo extends beyond UK shores, with representation in over 30 countries, while
its embryonic licensing out programme has already seen several of its brand concepts translated onto jigsaws with Gibsons.
Now into this already heady mix is poured another well-loved and respected greeting card name, Louise Mulgrew. With the news
announced at the end of last October that Louise had chosen to move to a full licensing model for her cards with The Art File, it all becomes a reality at the Spring Fair. Bearing both brands’ names, some 300 Louise Mulgrew by The Art File products will be on show in their own dedicated area on The Art File stand.
This is not just a big step change for The Art File (and Louise too, of course!), but for the industry as a whole. Yes, there have been collaborations of this nature before, but other than Cath Tate taking on Simon Drew, the
Above: (right) Ged and Karen Mace’s son James (left) has been promoted to sales and marketing director of the expanding business.
Left: Louise Mulgrew’s Mini Cards collection has been very successful for retailers.
Inset: By moving to a licensing model with The Art File, Louise Mulgrew can now concentrate all her efforts to the creation of new designs and products.
other deals have been on a much smaller scale or not exclusive.
For Ged Mace, md of The Art File, Louise making contact with him to say she was looking to shift to licensing her designs, truly was a case of serendipity.
“Following on from the success of our relationships with Meloo and Pavilion I had tentatively had conversations with other brands who for various reasons may have been interested in licensing us to publish their cards to enable them to concentrate on the designing side. Then, in the midst of this Louise got in touch,” recalls Ged.
that I just knew would sit well within The Art File family as well as appeal to our retail customers.”
Left: 2026 is a year of the book, but The Art File was ahead of the curve with its Storybook collection.
Below: The Art File has expanded into plush with the star of the Bear card range.
“Like so many others, I had admired Louise’s designs for a number of years, and was at the Louies when she won a brace of awards. She has built a proven British brand
Ged pays tribute to Louise’s honesty and bravery for admitting that the conflict between the creative side and the responsibility of running the business she set up a decade ago had adversely affected her mental health.
As Louise openly admitted: “As time has gone on, the joy of creating has been overshadowed by the compounding pressure and responsibility of the business side of things, which has felt like a huge weight on my shoulders,” leading her to acknowledge that it had become completely unsustainable for her to continue on that trajectory.
Debuting at Spring Fair from The Art File will be 300 everyday Louise Mulgrew designs alone, across six collections, including mini cards, with Louise already underway
EXTENSiVE SHOWMANSHiP
The Art File’s stand at Spring Fair (Hall 3 Stand P11) will be well weighted down with newness, across everyday and Christmas. Over 340 new designs are being launched by the publisher across cards, wrap, stationery and gifts.
There are 10 brand-new card collections alone, with over 80 new extensions to The Art File’s current collections.
Among the notable new card collections are Tidal Ink and Happy Things. Every card in the Tidal Ink collection is printed with kelp ink, a biomass ink that has a carbonnegative footprint, while Happy Things is a joyful collection of birthday mini cards.
On the gift packaging front are 17 new gift bags, 18 new gift wrap designs, 12 new tissue paper packs as well as new collections of ribbon in 24 colours.
In stationery, the company has brought out a new collection of sticker rolls, and bookmarks, along with extensions to wall calendars, notebooks, notecard packs and magnetic list pads.
In gifts, the new collection sees additional
designing more designs for future ranges.
“Louise will also be visiting the stand, so I hope we do her proud!” said Ged.
Tellingly, since the announcement about the tie-up with Louise Mulgrew, Ged revealed that he has been contacted by several other publishers looking to discuss the potential of a similar relationship with The Art File, something Ged is open to.
“My feeling is that we, through The Art File, could support several more ‘Made in Britain’ greeting card brands, thereby offering a credible alternative to brokerage for retailers and publishers,” believes Ged. “I predict that by the end of this year, we will be working with up to another five publishers in this way. We already supply 1,700 independent retailers as well as many groups and multiples, plus have an established export business in 30 territories.”
To Ged’s mind, the overarching mission is a need “to continue to energise our category so retailers are never in any doubt that they need to stock greeting cards that offer the best selection possible to their customers. The industry’s way of working is changing, and needs to change, this is all part of that evolution.”
tote bag designs, keychains and pin badges join the line-up.
On the plush front, The Art File has welcomed eight new teddy bears into its Bear family, based on the character from the publisher’s bestselling card collection created by Robert Reader. Every Bear is made from recycled materials, has a personable stitched logo on one foot and comes with an embroidered colourful logo tag.
Left: Spring Fair will see The Art File launching hundreds of new designs and products across its many ranges, including everyday and Christmas. Below left: Fruity giftwraps from the publisher. Below: The Art File is launching into pin badges.
Left: Michael Apter, owner of Paper Tiger was so taken by The Art File’s Penny Lane collection that he created a dedicated Christmas window to the range in his four Edinburgh stores.
'Battling the elements’ was the metaphor used for the annual State of the Nation article in last year’s PG February edition on how the UK greeting card industry was facing multiple challenges. And that is how it turned out. While 2025 was not a record breaker and some ‘storms’ were faced head on, the industry survived, battled on and has plenty of wind in its sails to stay on course for the coming year. PG considers what is on the horizon for the greeting card industry in 2026?
HEADWINDS AND TAILWINDS
proved its agility to react to challenges on a micro economic basis it cannot avoid being affected by the general health of the UK macro economy. And as we get underway in 2026 there are both headwinds and tail winds in the offing.
The headwinds are that the UK economy has at best been stagnant in the last six months. And although we have not experienced a recession, the lack of growth, the squeeze on living standards and increased taxation both to businesses and the consumer, has depressed consumer confidence and there is a feeling we are somewhat stuck in a rut. And for a mature industry like ours, the general state of the macro economy, and the retail economy in
But there could be some favourable tailwinds. This year the world is going to experience a huge glut of gas and oil production which could lead to prices in turn plummeting and which could provide a big stimulus to the UK and indeed the world economy. This could result in a big drop in inflation, multiple drops in interest rates, and trigger if not a boom, at least a consumer pick-up. That is of course assuming there are no more political headwinds to blow the economy off course.
Plus, given that President Trump’s tariffs have made China’s export business to the US very expensive, expect to see a huge wave of cheap Chinese imports flooding the UK, exerting a downward pressure on prices – disinflation. This could be good news as long as it does not mean lots of Temu-like greeting card design rip-offs flooding the UK.
So, despite all the negativity in the media about the state of the economy, there is a real chance of consumer sentiment improving. And how we need it.
In 2024, 13,500 retail units closed their doors. In 2025 it is estimated that figure had risen to 17,500. With many more retail administrations and financial ‘restructuring’ predicted among the big boys for 2026, this does look worrying. The fate of the likes of The Original Factory Shop and Claire’s Accessories, both owned by Modella looks uncertain, and given that Modella acquired WHSmith last year, there is cause for concern there as well.
Above: Rachel Reeves’ Budget in November unsettled confidence.
Right: Aldi opened 16 new stores in the UK just five weeks in the lead up to Christmas alone, with 40 more set to open in 2026.
Below: Cards Direct’s impressive growth has seen its estate grow to over 90 stores, opening in Preston’s Fishergate Centre shortly before Christmas.
Inset: the GCA Market Report showing that the UK public spent £1.53 billion on everyday greeting cards alone in the last year, the greeting card sector has plenty of wind in its sails.
STATE OF THE NATION
Cardfactory has continued to grow over the last year, now up to 1,100 units and it also acquired online retailer Funky Pigeon from the aforementioned WHSmith last year, which is all positive. But it was not immune from the retail headwinds and issued a trading statement in December warning of lower than previously anticipated profits.
Encouragingly in addition to Cardfactory, Cards Direct, Postmark, Scribbler, UOE, Waterstones and Oliver Bonas are among those who have grasped opportunities of clinching decent retail sites, all expanding their respective estates (and therefore greeting card distribution points) in the second half of 2025 and with more stores in the pipeline for the first chunk of this year.
reliable, and it was encouraging that for the first time in decades Royal Mail went out of its way to really promote Christmas card
On the publishing side UKG continues to be the uber force in greeting card distribution, especially with it being the principal greeting card broker for what were the big four supermarkets of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda. It will be interesting to see how Aldi’s and Lidl’s incredible growth at mainly the expense of the debt-laden Morrisons and Asda affects overall greeting card sales. Up until now these two German grocers have relatively little space designated to cards, but that could well change.
Things are looking more hopeful at the Royal Mail, so vital an organisation to our industry. It would seem that despite the increase in cost of First Class stamps and the reduction in the frequency of the service on Second Class, there are some tailwinds. Service levels do seem to have become more
smaller talented publishers have seen sense in exploring collaborations with larger publishers who have a decent salesforce/distribution. This month The Art File is christening taking on Louise Mulgrew under a licensing model, while on the back of its Earlybird collab, Noel Tatt has added Quitting Hollywood in a similar way. GBCC is adding licensed card ranges with Dean Morris and Pickled Prints to its existing licensing tie-up with Bewilderbeest and Cath Tate is extending its Simon Drew range. This is a trend that is likely to continue in 2026.
sending with a ubiquitous advertising campaign and hefty consumer prize draw. Surely it is great to see Royal Mail backing us rather than harming us.
The last year, like 2024, saw no real major acquisitions at greeting card publisher level and other than Modella’s acquisition of WHSmith’s high street chain, there was little movement on the retail front either.
However, as the independent and multiple customer base has rationalised in the last couple of years,
As far as publishers are concerned, one of the largest issues in 2025 was the countless blatantly copied cards on the Chinese online marketplace Temu. Thanks to the incessant pressure from the Greeting Card Association there are signs for 2026 that Temu really is prepared to put procedures in place. Despite blustery winds that continue to blow in different directions, the findings from market research company, Kantar revealed at the GCA Conference shows that we are still a nation of card buyers and givers. The research revealed that encouragingly 92% of the UK population buy greeting cards on a regular basis, more than those who buy tea, spending more on cards than toothpaste. So perhaps we should be renamed a nation of greeting card givers, not tea-drinkers - and that we are better at sending greetings than shining our gnashers. And even more encouragingly, in a 12week period just before the Conference, Kantar saw the value of retail sales for greeting cards rise by over 7%, massively over indexing on the overall retail sales average of 1.9%.
So, let’s hope that the tailwinds of greeting card sentiment and humour continue to keep our sails full in this all-important English Channel.
Left: The 2025 GCA Conference and AGM saw research company Kantar shared encouraging insights into how engrained greeting card buying is for the British public.
Above: Royal Mail’s Magical Card Prize Draw promoted Christmas card sending, offering members of the public the chance to win a share of £500,000 for sending festive greetings. Right: An apposite card design from Archivist.
ARTiSTiC IMPRESSiONS
Already gracing many celebrated book covers, including seven of her own books, Angela Harding’s art is now also a cover story for Museums & Galleries, the front of its Christmas catalogue fanfaring the printmaker and illustrator’s deepened relationship with the company. In addition to its existing gift,
homewares and gift packaging collection, Angela’s beloved artwork of birds, countryside and coastal scenes is now also being published by Museums & Galleries on an extensive
TRULY iNSPiRATiONAL
“It was M&G’s general manager Tom Williams who brought Henry Fraser to our attention,” revealed Eddie. “Henry’s journey is hugely inspiring and his contemporary art is wonderful.”
Paralysed from the shoulders down after an accident in 2009, Henry, an artist as well as an inspirational author and speaker, paints using only his mouth to create bold, contemporary and colourful interpretations of exotic animals and plants.
An antidote to the raging debate on the impact AI will play in creative industries will be there for all to see on the Museums & Galleries beacon stand at Spring Fair, trumpeting an even louder veritable emporium of products that exude true artistic mastery.
With the show marking the debut of Angela Harding everyday and Christmas cards from M&G, an inaugural Peter Rabbit card range, plus a collection featuring the art of renowned mouth artist Henry Fraser, PG caught up with Eddie Clarke, the company’s licensing manager to talk about this trio of significant launches.
extraordinaire, Angela Harding. Below: Angela Harding’s artwork features on the front cover of Museums & Galleries’ Christmas catalogue.
everyday card collection as well as on Christmas cards and die-cut Advents.
“Ben Dorney, our creative director and I have always admired Angela’s work, and actually contacted her over a decade ago about publishing her artwork on cards, but she was exclusively signed at that point,” explained Eddie Clarke, Museums & Galleries’ licensing manager, alluding to the longrunning relationship Angela had with Art Angels for cards and advents before she
“We initially considered Henry’s work for our The Fold project, as there were obvious contemporary aesthetic compatibilities there, but we decided his story and his body of work deserved its own unique spot in the M&G collection. For the launch we are concentrating on Henry’s paintings, but we are also looking at his inspirational books for future development.”
The backs of the cards also link back to Henry’s website, thereby bringing the artist and his story closer to the public.”
Left: Printmaker, illustrator, and author
Above: Having been left paralysed from the shoulders down in 2009, Henry Fraser has become a renowned mouth artist and inspirational speaker.
Above: One of Henry Fraser’s paintings which features in the new Museums & Galleries greeting card collection.
RABBiTiNG ON
“This has been a slow-burn for us!” confessed Eddie about its signing of a licensing agreement for Peter Rabbit. “So many of the organisations we work with have collections of Beatrix Potter artwork - the V&A, Tate, British Museum, National Trust, and British Library - but due to the complicated copyright situation we just weren’t able to touch them.”
Following long-running discussions with Penguin, the licensing agent for Beatrix Potter, “and with Peter Rabbit's 125th anniversary on the horizon, we were delighted to sign a licensing contract for the full spectrum of our products,” confirmed Eddie.
The deal continues a strong greeting card legacy of the celebrated Victorian illustrator.
decided to broaden her licensing arrangement with M&G.
The resultant card collection spans 30 cards in the everyday range, including six diecut cards, all with Angela Harding branded envelopes. The Christmas range, a new
vehicle for Angela’s work comprises 12 pack designs, a large theme box as well as four die-cut Advent calendars.
As Eddie highlighted, the last decade has seen “Angela’s career go truly stratospheric” as evidenced by the increased popularity for her work, “collaborations with poets and writers, and lots of media exposure”.
“Beatrix started by making handmade cards for her family – and her uncle encouraged her to find a publisher,” explained Eddie, with greeting cards being the very first product she licensed her work onto.
“Her first work was inspired by her pet rabbit Benjamin Bouncer (coincidently my first pet was also a rabbit called Benjamin!) – and she was paid £6 for the licensing rights. It’s incredibly inspiring to see how her career developed from there!”
Focussing on the integrity of the historic artwork, Spring Fair marks M&G’s debut of Peter Rabbit with six everyday fine art cards within its Illustrators range and four Christmas card packs.
“This is just the initial launch of a much larger gifts and homewares licensed range which will be unveiled in the months ahead,” reveals Eddie.
In the last year alone, in addition to publishing a seasonal quartet of her own books, Wilding, a book by Isabella Tree about the re-wilding project on the Knepp estate featuring Angela’s illustrations won Children's Non-Fiction Book of the Year at The British Book Awards. On the media front, Angela has appeared on Martha Kearney's This Natural Life programme on BBC Radio 4 and, a sure sign she’s arrived, was a guest on Desert Island Discs, hosted by Lauren Laverne during which she gave a shout out to greeting cards.
And continuing the pace, this November, sees A Chronicle of Birds and Beasts, a major exhibition of Angela’s work opening at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, but before that of course there is M&G’s big launch at Spring Fair!
“We are so thrilled and humbled that Angela had the confidence in the team at Museums & Galleries to take this very big step and entrust her cards and die cut Advent calendar publishing to us,” said Eddie. “We are so excited to be unveiling the new ranges at Spring Fair!”
Below and right: Angela Harding with poet laureate Simon Armitage in her studio. Angela created the artwork for the cover of Simon’s Blossomise book.
Left: One design from the new M&G Angela Harding everyday greeting card collection, which also includes some concertina designs.
Above: Museums & Galleries’ licensing manager Eddie Clarke has been busy.
Above: Peter Rabbit has hopped into the Museums & Galleries portfolio.
INDIE INDICATORS
While being an indie card retailer may not be the easiest ride, forever at the mercy of footfall not to mention the slate of cost increases, the findings of PG’s recent Retail Barometer reveal that their true mettle and firm grip on their businesses stood them in very good stead, with 54% of respondents reporting growth in the last year and even more anticipating a further upward trajectory in 2026.
PG delved into the insightful findings of the only annual survey into the health and wealth of the independent greeting card retailer to find out more about the boons and banes of the last year’s trade as well as the genres and product areas deemed ripe for further expansion.
The PG Retail Barometer is an annual survey of independent greeting card retailers. This latest survey includes both independent retailers who are Cardgains 600+ members as well as those who are not a member of the buying group. All surveys were completed by 14 January 2026.
What happened to your average spend per customer
Business Boons
The Barometer findings trumpet an even more positive tune than the previous one, with indies’ sales up, average spend up and the consumer’s appreciation of greeting cards up too. While the continuing ‘shop local’ pattern has brought benefits to indies in the last 12 months, their own greeting card displays delivered the readies, with social media (used by 80% of respondents to promote their business) and staff all driving sales.
How Has Your Business Fared Over The Last Year?
PG looks back at the last nine years of PG’s Retail Barometer data.
Continued on page 48
Below: The Smartphone Free Childhood campaign used cards in its marketing.
What main factor(s) had a positive effect on your business in the last year? (Previous year’s position in brackets)
1st The ‘Shop Local’ Support (2nd)
2nd Improved Card Selection (1st)
3rd Social Media (4th)
4th Staff (5th)
5th Improvements in Shop Displays (7th)
6th Improved Gift Selection (3rd)
7th Promotional Activity (6th)
8th Shop Improvements/Refits (=14th)
9th New Customers (8th)
10th Decline in Local Competition (10th)
11th Increasing Prices (=9th)
12th Improved POS (=15th)
13th Collaborations with Local Businesses/Groups (=14th)
14th= Improvements in Service From Suppliers (=15th)
14th= Winning An Award (=12th)
15th People Working From Home (11th)
16th Website/Online Activity (=13th)
17th= Cardmitment Campaign/PR Activity (=12th)
17th= Participation in Online Platforms (eg Amazon, Faire, Trouva) (=9th)
18th Decreasing Prices (=14th)
How do you feel the consumer’s appreciation of greeting cards has shifted over the last year?
The Big Downers
The vagaries of the cost-of-living was, for the fourth year running, the top reason indies cited as having had a detrimental effect on their business over the last year with other perennial bugbears, such as postal issues and business rates also featuring high up on the banes front. The saga of Jellycat supplies, a lifeline for many indies, not surprising made an entry in this year’s list as did the demoralising and costly issue of shoplifting
What main factor(s) have had a detrimental effect on your business this year? (Previous year’s position in brackets)
1st Cost-of-Living Crisis (1st)
2nd Postal issues (2nd)
3rd Business Rates (8th)
4th Jellycat Supply Issues (–)
5th Costs of Staff/Minimum Wage (4th)
6th Shoplifting (–)
7th Competition from Multiples and Garden Centres (=7th)
8th= Concerns about The Budget (5th)
8th= Selection of Cards In Supermarkets (3rd)
9th= Drop in Customer Footfall (6th)
9th= Consumer Lethargy (12th)
10th= Empty Shop Units in the Vicinity (16th)
10th= Charity Shops Selling Greeting Cards (11th)
11th Reduction in Service Levels from Suppliers/Reps/Agents (10th)
12th= Parking Issues (=7th)
12th= Rent Review (9th)
13th Environmental Concerns (15th)
14th Online Activity (Including Temu Copying) (=13th)
15th Expansion of Value/Discount Retailers (=13t)
16th Expansion of Cards in Garden Centres (–)
17th Promotion of Print On Demand Cards (–)
Business Predictions for 2026
Indies have started 2026 feeling very optimistic, with well over half (58%) aiming for growth while the majority (52%) are not expecting drastic growth, 6% are aiming high. Looking further ahead to the next 10 years, that positivity holds strong, with 50% of respondents pretty upbeat about the role of the independent card retailer a decade hence, up 5% since in the last PG survey. That said, at the other end of the spectrum, 17% see the card indies’ long-term future as weak.
How do you view the future of the independent card shop in the next 10 years?
Threats And Opportunities
Supermarkets ’ improvements in their greeting card selection, coupled with the convenience of shopping in these grocery emporiums has seen them rise further as a threat to indies, with 63% (more than a year ago) citing them as potentially damaging to their sales. Amazon has also risen up
How do you view the supermarkets’ expansion on the greeting card front?
the threat stakes, with 51% of respondents citing the mega online generalist as gnawing at their sales. Garden centres track as a threat for almost half of card indies while Cardfactory has dropped right back to only being deemed as a threat for a quarter of indies.
How do you currently view Moonpig, Funkypigeon and Thortful?
4% Serious Threat
39% Threat
55% Neutral
2% Bonus
How do you currently view Amazon?
20% Serious Threat
31% Threat
47% Neutral
2% Bonus
How do you view texting, emailing or social networking sites as an alternative to greeting cards?
29% Serious Threat
How do you currently view garden centres?
Growth Indicators
Humorous cards once again topped the greeting card charts for indies as being the card category that showed the largest growth over the last year compared to the year previous, however on the back of a strong festive trading, Christmas singles nudged into second place, forcing the ‘backbone’ of relations and occasions cards to share the third place with the now multifarious words & sentiment area. The high risers last year were mini cards and those with a local flavour.
37% Threat
34% Neutral
How do you currently view Card Factory?
6% Serious Threat
19% Threat
73% Neutral
2% Bonus
Which card categories have you seen sales grow in your shop(s) in the last year? (Previous year’s position shown in brackets)
1st Humour (1st)
2nd Christmas Card Singles (3rd)
3rd= Relations and Occasions (=2nd)
3rd= Words & Sentiment (=8th)
4th Pop-up and 3D (6th)
5th Local Cards (–)
6th= Mini Cards (12th)
6th= Mother’s Day (4th)
7th= Christmas Packs or Boxes (=7th)
8th= Art (10th)
8th= Contemporary Trend (5th)
9th= Valentine’s Day (=8th)
9th= Easter (9th=)
10th Hand-finished or Handmade (=7th)
11th Licensed (=10th)
12th= Diversity and Inclusion (=11th)
12th= Cute (=11th)
13th Photographic (=10th)
14th= Father’s Day (=10th)
14th= Male (=11th)
15th Children’s (=12th)
Above: New humour from Rosie Made A Thing (left) and Divorce cards from Stoats & Weasels’ new Freedom range.
Appetite For More
When asked in which card categories indies would like to have an increased choice, the responses followed a pattern of several years, once again, it is more laughs they are looking for! After humorous cards, it’s still a wider choice of male designs that there is a call for, with a plea for more relations & occasions designs coming in third place on the wish list. More handmade or hand-finished cards are being called for as are more special Christmas singles, with a wider selection of photographic cards also on the wishlist.
On the specific caption front, there is a strong rally call for more ‘Greats’ be that Great Great Grandson/Granddaughter’, Great Grandparents, Great Niece
As well as an appetite for more minor captions, it appears there is still ground to be gained on the LGBTQ front across all events, notably for Christmas.
Festive Greetings
Christmas trade was strong, however the Barometer findings reflect the general feeling that 55% of customers sent fewer Christmas cards, but with the cost of postage being a real issue, the general feeling was that more Christmas cards were given by hand rather than sent by the post. And even if people bought fewer Christmas cards, 49% bought more higher priced single cards, providing an opportunity for indies to reap the rewards of their curated displays.
What is your feeling about the number of Christmas cards people sent in 2025?
16% More than the previous year
29% Same as the previous year
55% Fewer than the previous year
What do you see as having had the biggest detrimental effect on your Christmas card sales?
72% The cost of postage
16% Consumers seeing the sending of Christmas cards as less important than previously
6% Media coverage about Royal Mail
4% Consumers saying they are making a contribution to charity instead
2% Concern over reliability of Royal Mail delivery
What do you see as having had the biggest positive effect on your Christmas card sales?
49% Consumers moving to sending more higher priced single cards
20% Consumer sentimentality
8% Strong positive PR
9% Better designs on offer
6% The GCA #Cardmitment campaign’s activities
4% Your own promotional efforts
4% Christmas Day falling on a Thursday
On The Slide
It wasn’t a great year for Easter or Valentine’s sales or was it just that Christmas card boxes did disproportionally better than in previous years?
Which card categories have you seen sales decline in your shop(s) in the last year?
1st Easter (=4th)
2nd Valentine’s Day (=3rd)
3rd Christmas Card Boxes (1st)
4th Father’s Day (=6th)
5th Words and Sentiments (=3rd)
6th= Licensed (=6th)
6th= Photographic (=6th)
6th= Pop-ups and 3Dy (=6th)
7th= Cute (=4th)
7th= Children’s (=6th)
8th= Handmade or Hand-Finished (2nd)
8th= Christmas Singles (7th)
9th= Diversity & Inclusion (5th)
9th= Art (–)
10th Relations & Occasions (=6th)
11th Male (9th)
12th= Mother’s Day (=8th)
Sustainability Drivers
Concerns about the environment and playing their part in sustainability once again featured strongly for indies in the last year.
Despite the significant strides made in the last few years, over half (52%) made further changes were in relation to their product stocking and/or the running of their business on the environmental front in the last year.
How do you prefer your cards to be packaged?
47% Naked and Nested
18% In Biodegradable Bags
16% Cellowrapped
10% Card Clasped
9% Paper Banded
To what extent do you think environmental/sustainability concerns have impacted on card buying in the last year?
8% Greatly
51% Marginally
41% Not at all
What sustainable steps did your business take in 2025?
1st Reduction in Cellowrapped Cards 55%
2nd Reduction in Plastic Bags in the Shop 39%
3rd More Vigilant Recycling 38%
4th= Expansion of Sustainable Products Stocked 35%
4th= Reduction in Cards/Giftwrap with Glitter 35%
5th Greater Use of Paper Bags 32%
6th Removal of Cellowrapped Cards 26%
7th Persuade Staff to be More Sustainable 23%
8th Increase in Cards in Compostable Bags 16%
9th Change of Energy Provider 13%
10th Introduction of ‘Bags for Life’ 6%
Above: Five Dollar Shake’s XL handembellished cards, which retailed around £15.00, were a success.
Indies have harnessed the potential of various promotional activities with 63% having flexed their marketing muscles in the last year to promote their shops and the products they stock.
Top Promotional Mechanisms Over The Last Year
(Previous year’s positions shown in brackets)
1st Social Media Promotions (1st)
2nd Customer Loyalty Initiatives (5th)
3rd Customer Events/Private Shopping and Competitions (6th)
4th Press, Radio or Online/Google Advertising (4th)
7th= Collaboration with Other Businesses/Programmes (3rd)
8th Leaflets (=8th)
9th= Free Gift Promotions (9th)
9th= Gift Voucher Scheme (=7th)
10th Exclusive Products (=7th)
Sourcing Matters
The importance of physical connection with the greeting card community comes out loud and clear in the Barometer findings, both on human and product fronts. The strong bonds indies have with their agents and reps as a lifeline to sourcing new products were stronger than ever in the last year, while the joy of discovering new products at trade shows and seeing them in all their glory has not been lost on indies. However, the role of the catalogue and actual card samples should never be underestimated, seen as important or very important by 96% of respondents.
How Have You Sourced Products In The Last Year?
1st Agents and reps (2nd)
2nd Trade shows and their websites (1st)
3rd Progressive Greetings and other media (3rd)
4th Catalogues and leaflets (=5th)
5th Looking in other shops (=5th)
6th Cards sent to you (6th)
7th Online platforms (eg Faire, Trouva) (=4th)
8th Publishers’ websites (=4th)
9th Social media (7th)
10th CardGains newsletter/website (10th)
11th Word of mouth (8th)
12th Feedback from customers (9th)
How do you view seeing catalogues and actual card samples?
If you place orders online, what percentage?
21% Under 10%
21%Around 25%
33% Around 50%
25% 5% and Above
Do you see your online ordering as likely to increase in the coming year?
31% Increase
67% Remain the Same
2% Decrease
As far as the number of suppliers from whom you order, do you expect to…
28% Increase the number
66% Remain about the same
6% Decrease the number
How have service levels from suppliers been over the last year?
4% Improved Significantly
23% Improved Slightly
63% Remained the Same
10% Decreased Slightly
The selection box
On the product diversification front, stationery and writing instruments have retained the pole position for the second year running with impulse products taking the silver spot with giftwrappings nudging up a place into 3rd place.
Into which product areas would you like to further diversify?
1st Stationery/Writing Instruments) (1st)
2nd Impulse Products (2nd)
3rd Giftwrappings (4th)
4th Books (=7th)
5th Home Accessories (6th)
6th= Sustainable Products (=3rd)
6th= Candles/Home Fragranced Products (=5th)
6th= Children’s Products (=3rd)
7th= Calendars and Diaries (=8th)
7th= Sentiment-based gifts (=9th)
7th= Wellbeing Products (=7th)
8th= Bath and Body Products (=8th)
8th= Chocolates/Confectionery (=3rd)
8th= Plush (=9th)
8th= Jewellery (=5th)
9th= Clothing (=8th)
10th= Fashion Accessories and Bags (=10th)
10th= Balloons and Partyware (=12th)
11th= Crafting Products (–)
11th= Food Gifts (=11th)
11th= Kitchenware and Tableware (=10th)
12th= Advents (=12th)
12th= Gardening Products (=11th)
13th Pet Products (=13th)
When: Tuesday 2 – Wednesday 3 June Where: Business Design Centre, Islington, London N1 0QH
Times: 9.30am-6pm on 2 June (1st night party ‘til 8pm) 9.30am-4.30pm on 3 June
www.progressivegreetingslive.com
With Spring Fair 2026 now just days away (1-4 February at Birmingham’s NEC), visitors are finalising their respective plans of action while exhibitors are putting the final touches to their stands and respective launches.
PG checked in with some of the Hall 3 exhibitors to find out what they have in store for the show.
FAIRGROUND ATTRACTIONS
Ohh Deer - Hall 3 Stand Q10-R11
Mark Callaby, Oh Deer’s comanaging director and head of sales has a memory of literally being ‘floored’ at a previous show: “I remember quite vividly falling off my stool in front of Hazel Walker from Waterstones (when she was at Paperchase) - not out of excitement, more because I'm a clumsy fool and I got my foot trapped awkwardly trying to stand up. My colleagues Harry and Edd would definitely pick their high(low)light as breaking down on the motorway on their way to the show one morning and Harry having to offer a huge tip to an Uber driver as no one wanted to pick him up from the side of the road.”
Show Stoppers: “We have a lot of
new launching at this show across most of our ranges. I'm most excited to see how our V&A Eastern Elegance range will do as well as our new and improved Christmas collection for 2026.” Hopes & Dreams: “The obvious choice is meeting some amazing new customers that will place huge orders with us, especially from countries where we have little distribution, but I'd also love for the build to go extra smoothly as we've doubled the size of our stand at the show this year and it's always a little daunting when taking on that much extra space.”
Secret Tips: “Book your restaurants early if you're staying at the NEC... you haven't got the greatest of choice if you don't want to venture too far from the show. Also, if you're not in a rush to breakdown or know it's going to take you a little while then normally the NEC will let you drive your van into the actual hall once most people have cleared out. Just pack a broom in the van and you can sweep the path clear. This has saved our breakdown team many backbreaking hours to and from the van.”
Above: Ohh Deer’s co-owners Mark Callaby (left) and Jamie Mitchell.
Below: One of the designs in Ohh Deer’s V&A Eastern Elegance collection.
Above right: Ohh Deer’s first Spring Fair stand, back in 2013.
Right: Ohh Deer’s bumper 2026 catalogue.
Paperlink - Hall 3 Stand H02
Emma Young, Paperlink’s managing director relives a Spring Fair past:
“There was a time when attending Spring Fair felt like refurbishing a house, the level of logistics, construction and creative chaos involved was impressive… and mildly alarming. These days our stands are a little less grand, but no less carefully planned. With our team now dotted around the country, everything has to be watertight and ruthlessly efficient.
One memorable year, we arrived at the NEC with a completely empty toolbox and somehow built the stand using a pair of scissors and a heroic amount of hook and loop tape. More recently, we turned up on day one to discover that every single card had fallen off the shelves overnight. Proof, if ever it was needed, that gravity has no respect for good planning.”
Show Stoppers: “We’ll be showcasing a whole host of brand-new
ranges at Spring Fair
- from witty humour (Back in a Jiffy) and stylish contemporary designs (Saltmere as well as Mochi and Glow Up from Meraki) to milestone ages (Bubbly and Fizz Whizz) and occasions cards.”
the outdoors.
Below:
a
Hopes & Dreams: “Great conversations, strong orders and a stand that remains structurally sound for the duration of the show.”
Secret Tips: “Play to people’s strengths. Spring Fair is never a one-person job, so divide the roles, trust the team and let everyone own their part. And always, always double check the toolbox before leaving for Birmingham. Scissors and hook and loop tape are not optional!”
Paper Salad - Hall 3 Stand R10
Karen Wilson, Paper Salad’s owner and creative director shares a Spring Fair memory: “A memory which always springs to mind is when myself and Claire [Williams, cofounder] used to build the stand ourselves. Equipped with all the gear and no idea, we gave it a good go and were happy with how it looked ready for the doors opening the following day. However, when we returned the next morning, our handiwork had lost the battle with gravity and was nothing more than a heap of rubble on the floor. To make matters worse, a prospective
French distributor was there before us and watched as we frantically tried to rebuild the stand, with help from our good friends, Lynn and Andy Tait, who came to the rescue. It was this moment which gave us the aspirations to have our stand built for us by professionals. This year’s stand is having a mini-makeover and will also feature our own photo-booth!”
Show Stoppers: “We’re excited to launch 120 new designs at this year’s show –including Zing! which is brandnew luxury die-cut
range – as well as additions to our Henries awardwinning children’s range, Sunshine and much more. As always, orders placed at the show will not require customers to reach carriage paid and we will be voting on the best photo taken in our stand to win a seat on our table at this year’s Retas awards.”
Pigment - Hall 3 Stand M20
Martin Powderly, Pigment’s creative director recalls how even ‘snow shows’ brought some fun: “Steve [Baker, sales & marketing director] reminded me of the year it snowed so heavily during Spring Fair that no one could get in or out of the NEC. To relieve the boredom he conducted time trials on a mobility scooter around the card hall, which went down well!”
Show Stoppers: “This year, among a plethora of newness, we’ll be showing our finish innovation on our Glaze collection and increasing our breadth of genre with the launch of our Thinking Out Loud sentiment collection by Giles Andreae and Heather Flynn.”
Secret Tips: “Steve’s top tips are to be philosophical during the stand build, something always goes wrong no matter how well you plan. And don’t party too hard. It hurts too much these days.
I would add to this, don’t forget your lip salve, moisturising eyedrops and of course, avoid alcohol!”
Hopes & Dreams: “No snow, no train strikes and lots of busy walkways.”
Secret Tips: “On brand clothing, of course!”
Above right: Who could forget the Spring Fair mobility scooter time trials?!
Above: Pigment’s new Glaze range features innovative design techniques.
Right: A portion of a Thinking Out Loud card, co-created by Giles Andreae and Heather Flynn for Pigment.
Above: Paper Salad owner Karen Wilson dressed on brand!
Above: Paper Salad’s Ellie Woodcock suitably attired in keeping with the bright brand.
Right: The Paper Salad stand at this year’s Spring Fair will include a photo booth and fun competition. Far right: New range Zing! will be making its debut at the show.
Above: Pigment’s Martin Powderly (back left) and Steve Baker (back right) with creators Heather Flynn and Giles Andreae on the publisher’s Spring Fair stand in 2015.
Above: Emma Young.
Right: Saltmere is a new art-led range that celebrates
Back in
Jiffy is a new humour range from Paperlink.
Rosie Made A Thing - Hall 3 Stand P21
Rosie Harrison, RMAT’s founder is looking to build on last year’s party vibe: “Last year’s Spring Fair was definitely memorable as we were celebrating 10 years in business with cocktails, goody bags and giveaways.
This year, we want to continue the party so we’re bringing back the Rosie Tombola, full of snazzy show offers. For every order
placed at the show, spin the wheel and pick a lucky ball to make new memories!” Show Stoppers: We’ve been asked for Rosie socks for a while now so we’re really excited to launch our new range of Party Feet at Spring Fair. There are six women’s designs and three for the boys.
We’re so happy that these have been shortlisted in the Fashion Accessories, Textiles and Jewellery category in the GOTY Awards 2026.
Hopes & Dreams: “I can’t wait to have four glorious NEC days with all the cardies in one place. Roll out the pink carpet!”
Ling Design and Penny Kennedy - Hall 3 Stand L10-M11, GBCC Hall 3 Stand L20-M21, and Gifted Hall 3 Stand Q15
David Byk, ceo of the Swanmill Group has lots of memories of the show: “I remember the first year after Covid in 2022 when footfall went absolutely mad. We had people queuing up to place orders and I was taking people’s mobile numbers to call them when a rep was free so they could come back. And they did!! It’s been busy since, but not that busy!!
One year we changed our mind on the colour of the envelopes for our Christmas singles from cream to red meaning the team had to change 1,400 Ling cards over during set up, which was quite a job!”
Show Stoppers: “We have three stands at the front of Hall 3, covering nearly 300sq mtrs in total across Ling, GBCC and Gifted Stationery and are launching nearly 4,000 new products across the businesses.
Among my personal favourites are Ling’s beautiful Showcase Christmas box collection of beautifully foiled and embossed cards in innovative packaging; GBCC’s Cath Kidston Christmas singles, wallets and everyday cards; Penny Kennedy’s Christmas 3 ply premium licensed napkins, a new licensed Morris & Co 14” ultra-premium cracker box as well as the launch of our first Sophie Allport collaboration which will have stationery and cards added to it at PG Live. I’m also very excited about the launch of GBCC’s everyday card collaboration with Dean Morris which we have nicknamed ‘Clean Dean’ and is a great addition to our humour offer.”
Hopes & Dreams: “I really want everyone to have a good show as this is great for visitors and exhibitors too to make the Spring Fair even stronger, which is important for the industry.”
Secret Tips: “My team take the mickey out of my fixation to ensure that we have enough clipboards for all the leads we take. Then of course there are staples. Everyone remembers the stapler but not always staples!!”
Laura Darrington DesignHall 3 Stand S31
Laura Darrington, founder highlights how lucrative chats at Spring Fair can be:
“One of my top memories of the show was having a quick conversation with the lovely Kirsty Dennis, the former greeting card buyer for Waitrose, which led to us supplying Waitrose for 18 years.”
Show Stoppers: “Alongside 150 beautiful new designs joining our ever-evolving greeting card collection, we’re delighted to announce an exciting collaboration with the inspiring charity, Labre’s Hope. Together, we’ve created a thoughtfully curated collection of candles. Labre’s Hope is a social enterprise supporting young adults on their journey out of homelessness, providing livingwage employment, mental health support, and qualifications to help them rebuild their lives and realise their potential. All proceeds are reinvested back into the programme, enabling them to support as many people as possible. Hand-poured in Sheffield, these candles feature high-quality packaging, beautiful fragrances, and exceptional burn performance.”
Hopes & Dreams: “I’d love to connect with both existing and new customers, secure strong new stockists, and gather meaningful feedback on our latest collections — particularly on our new candle collaboration.”
Secret Tips: “Go in with an open mind and take the time to chat with as many exhibitors as possible. The industry is incredibly welcoming, and I always leave with at least one valuable insight or piece of advice I can take back into the business.”
Above: Christina Milstead, Ling Design and GBCC’s head of new product & international sales replacing the envelopes after a last minute change of heart! Below right: Ling will be debuting Showcase, a collection of luxury Christmas boxes.
Above: RMAT’s 10th birthday bash on the stand at last year’s Spring Fair. Above left: Party Feet will be socking it to customers on the stand this year.
Right: The Rosie Made A Thing tombola will be returning to the show this year.
Above: Laura and her husband Ross enjoying a drink on the PG/N Smith stand at Spring Fair last year.
Above: The Honcho range has welcomed new additions.
Below: Two of the new candles from Laura Darrington.
Noel Tatt - Hall 3 Stand L21
Michael Griffiths, Noel Tatt’s sales manager shares a ‘sticking power’ story: “I think this will be my 35th show. I always enjoy the set up on a Friday and Saturday, chatting about the trade with other publishers as we all ‘dress’ our stands. The aisles are always full of handshakes, smiles and optimism for the coming days.
In terms of disasters, one comes to mind. Coming in on a Sunday morning to see most of our cards on the floor - I seem to remember the ’strong’ double-sided tape wasn’t that strong after all!”
Show Stoppers: “Following the announcement of our collaboration with Quitting Hollywood last November, this collection will be a key focus for us at the show.”
Hopes & Dreams: “I would most like to see a strong attendance from our existing customers plus a ‘hatful' of new accounts! I love the excitement when a key prospect customer visits the stand and says: “Show me what you have”.
Plus meeting up with our many overseas customers, who travel from all over the world to see us.
While many use the web in between visits, we remain a tactile business, and the internet cannot hope to match the benefits of putting a physical card in a customer’s hand.”
Secret Tips: “There is no secret, but staying positive and being ‘on your toes’ at all times is key. I remember we once had someone come onto our stand at five minutes to 6 as we were starting to think about departing for the hotel. They had not traded with us before, but said: “Please put me an order together for around. £2000 - all of your best sellers”. It pays to always be ready.”
Cath Tate Cards - Hall 3 R 36
Rosie Tate, director of Cath Tate Cards will definitely not be wallpapering its stand this year, with good reason: “A great memory for us is when Cath [Tate, Rosie’s mum] exhibited at Spring Fair in the late 90s and realising that the products might actually sell quite well when customers started to form a queue to place their order!
A not-so-great memory: the year we decided to wallpaper our stand. Spoiler alert: terrible idea! It started peeling off mid-show!”
Show Stoppers: “We’re so excited to launch over 70 brand new cards, including our new Twisted Lyrics range which is a clever twist on classic music hits. We’ll be running a game on our stand to celebrate the range’s launch which customers can play to win 10% off their order!
We’ve also proudly extended the Simon Drew collection to include 12 of his beloved Spot It designs which so many of our customers have been asking for!”
Hopes & Dreams: “Of course we’d love to have a busy show with loads of familiar and new faces alike! It’s always such fun catching up with our industry pals and having not been to the show in 2025, it will be great to be back.”
Sharing Advice: “My advice to new exhibitors is that the scale of the show is four times the size of every other show you’ve done. For set-up and break-down, work out what car park is the nearest to your stand! Also, the PG drinks are a must at the end of the day on the N Smith stand - at such a big show it’s so nice to see some friendly cardies faces!”
Rainbow DesignsHall 3 CardGains Village Stand M10-N11 (and Hall 4 Stand J25)
Zara Grindrod , Rainbow designs’ sales and brand director recalls a mega cake eating extravaganza at a Spring Fair past:
“This year marks the 55th anniversary of Rainbow Designs.
Having exhibited at Spring Fair since its early years, we’ve built up over 50 years of wonderful Spring Fair memories. We have some great photos from back in the 1970s and it is just fantastic to see how the whole event has evolved into the phenomenal enterprise and product showcase it is today.
Over the decades we have held several Spring Fair stand parties, and one year we were celebrating an anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar , but the snow was so bad, there were very few visitors, so we ended up eating a lot of cake!”
Show Stoppers: “We are excited to be unveiling three new brand collections that are joining the Rainbow family this year, all of which are a great fit for the greetings sector. Leading the way is Pembe the Pink Cat , arriving this summer in a cute collectible plush range designed for tweens and adults. For the infant market, we are welcoming the adorable Care Bears Baby and Disney Dumbo collections, both focused on plush baby essentials. These new additions will sit alongside our well-established greetings store hero collections, that include Paddington , Peter Rabbit , Disney Winnie the Pooh , and Guess How Much I Love You .”
Hopes & Dreams: “We value the chance to spend dedicated time with our independent retailers, strengthening long-standing relationships while hopefully introducing new customers to the Rainbow family.”
Secret Tips: “Comfortable shoes, lots of hydration (of all types!) and bundles of energy!”
Above: A Noel Tatt stand at a Spring Fair.
Below left: The Noel Tatt x Quitting Hollywood range will be a focus on the publisher’s Spring Fair stand.
Top: A Care Bears Baby range will also be debuting. Above: Rainbow will be showcasing its Pembe the Cat collection.
Above: Cath Tate at Spring Fair in 1995 vs 2024! Far left: Cath Tate is to add some Simon Drew Spot It designs into the portfolio. Left: The Twisted Lyrics collection is set to hit the high notes.
Above: Zara Grindrod.
IN FOCUS… ELIOT SIEGEL/THE BRITISH ART GALLERY
Eliot Siegel, the namesake behind the Eliot Siegel/The British Art Gallery publishing business missed out on being in the winning shot on stage at The Henries with personal reasons precluding him from being at the recent awards event at which his London Series 2 was crowned Best Photographic Card Range, but this industry accolade has definitely sharpened his focus as a card publisher.
With Spring Fair marking the launch of his Love collection, PG found out how Eliot is now spreading his love broader across the art mediums.
LONGER EXPOSURE
Some card publishers wait for decades, many others never ever achieve it, so Eliot Siegel clinching a Henries award last year for his London Series 2 collection, only a couple of years after starting his greeting card business should quite rightly be seen as a triumph.
“Winning The Henries award was truly thrilling. It was wonderful to know that retailers placed me at the top of the heap of absolutely brilliant creators in my category,” enthused Eliot.
Eliot is a relative newbie on the greeting card circuit - and may never even have progressed into becoming a card publisher had it not been for GCA’s Amanda Fergusson chatting to him at a local arts show in Teddington where they both live –but has been able to draw on the many
American-born Eliot was living in New York, he move. “I then shuffled
couple, and enjoyed Madrid
somewhat playing down his life in the fast lane of high-end fashion, working for many of the big names and magazines with agents in all the top cities.
Never one to adopt the arrogant, pushy stance of many fashion photographers at that time, Eliot was always keen to listen, learn and adapt, ever curious about doing things that little bit differently. This is something that has stood him in good stead with his move into greeting cards as well as in the lectures he has given to photography students.
“I remember being told once that I put too much power into my photographs and not enough into the fashion element. So, I then spent three months completely redoing my portfolio. The motto which served me well, is: ‘Try, fail, try harder’. It is something I tell my students as I think it
The Henries 2025. Left: Spring Fair marks the launch of Eliot’s LOVE art collection.
Right: Some surreal creativity from Eliot! Below: Eliot Siegel has taken millions of photographs over the years.
keeps you grounded.”
Around a decade ago, living in London, but spending a lot of time in Devon where his children live, Eliot decided it was time for him to give up fashion photography and so turned his attentions back to his first love of fine art photography, especially urban landscapes and portraiture.
As a self-confessed Anglophile, England’s capital city has been a rich treasure trove for Eliot’s photographic art, as evidenced in his Henries award-winning range, capturing scenes which echo London’s vibrancy.
“I love London, and the UK in general for that matter, for its love of art and photography, as well as its respect for the contribution of creatives from around the world,” states Eliot.
Having tested the waters selling his photographic greeting cards packaged in themed boxes on Etsy, Eliot then took what he describes as his “first stepping stone into the real greeting card world” by participating in the GCA’s Dragons Speed Dating event in 2024.
“It was so great to meet and gain feedback from some great retailers, including Shannon Fisher from Postmark, Kaye Thurgood from Sincerely Yours, Sally Matson from Red Card and Tim Reynolds from Medici. This encouraged me to book my first stand at PG Live which took place a few months later,” recalled Eliot.
“This year will be my third year exhibiting at PG Live. The first year was a huge learning experience, the second year was a big selling experience and this year I am hoping it will be a killer show for me!” Eliot twinkled, clearly excited by the new publishing directions in which he is taking
the business, broadening out from photography into AI illustration.
This is all part of Eliot’s forward-thinking approach to art and creativity.
“In 1991, Kodak introduced the first professional grade digital camera that started the complete devastation of film and film cameras. A client of mine was involved with digital cameras at the very beginning and I laughed when he told me that the images were still a bit too small in resolution to use as anything bigger than a quarter of a page. I didn’t make the change immediately, out of fear of the unknown, but pretty soon I was onboard 100%,” admits Eliot, illustrating the need to accept progress.
“Have you seen all the digital art that David Hockney has produced over the past 5-10 years? That shocked the art world more than a little,” probes Eliot. “Hockney said the genre was as ‘expressive and powerful as painting’. He said the iPad was just another tool, like a brush or a pencil. He said that what matters is the artist’s eye and creativity, not the tool. He dismissed the critics by saying the medium evolves, but the art comes from the artist,” said Eliot, nodding in agreement.
Similar thinking has led Eliot to spending an inordinate amount of time painstakingly creating illustrative designs using AI, tending towards complicated somewhat surreal, yet nostalgic scenes.
"I see AI as just another evolution in the creative toolkit. From my perspective, it's obviously becoming more and more common behind the scenes. I’m quite certain that creators in the greeting card industry are using AI as part of their process, even if it's not always openly talked about,” says Eliot. “I’m happy to use AI for things like concept creation and exploring different artistic directions. It's a tool that helps me brainstorm and refine ideas, but it doesn't replace the human touch or the final creative decisions.”
The Spring Fair will be the first showing of Eliot’s latest creation, his Love Collection. “I’m pushing love, with cultural, ethnic diversity and inclusion as important points of the pieces. Couples in love, skin tones that may be other than white, mixed race couples. I’m not sure how retailers will react to this, but I think our world is far more interesting with this melting pot of humanity, especially because it’s all about love,” says Eliot who is clearly loving how his working life has spanned fashion and fine art photography and now is also embracing AI illustration, giving him a perspective of the role greeting cards play in all of this.
“Greeting card art is a bit different from fine art. It's not necessarily meant to be a collectable piece of high art that's kept forever. Most of the time, a greeting card is something that brings a smile in the moment. The value is really in the sentiment and the connection it creates rather than how the design was created. I think that being open about that is just part of how the industry is evolving."
Below and right: The last year or so has seen Eliot experiment using AI to create designs.
PLAYING POOH STICKS
JANE HARGREAVES’
Pooh Corner is anything with a Welsh postcode, representing Belly Button Designs, Wrendale Designs, Smiling Faces, Accessories by Park Lane, Alice Wheeler, Fragrance of Ireland (Inis) and Wickedly Welsh Chocolate
A year full of honey?
“From a trading perspective, honey was thankfully not too sparse across most of my area, my customers are generally very resourceful.” Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “The year itself had its ups and downs, but overall trading wasn’t too bad for which I’m grateful. There were moments that felt rather Eeyore like, particularly with the constant negative messaging in the media, however, these were balanced by more Tigger-esque moments, driven by loyal customers and exciting new product launches from the fantastic companies I work with.”
Which Pooh character are you?
“Mmm… a Heffalump. Generally friendly, and playful with kind characteristics, representing friendship and understanding.”
Winnie-the-Pooh and his chums, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Owl, Heffalumps and Christopher Robin make as interesting a bunch as the independent sales agents in the ‘greeting card Hundred Acre Wood’.
With this being the 100th anniversary since AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh made his first appearance in The London Evening News, PG gathered some agents around the honeypot to ‘bear’ all about trade.
BRENDAN CAHILL of Cahill Agencies’ Pooh
Corner is Wales, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire (though not all areas are covered for all his principals). Brendan represents Carte Blanche, Museums & Galleries, Mint Publishing, Tracks Publishing, Woodmansterne, Glick, Rainbow Designs and House of Marbles
A year full of honey? “As agents our role is to keep communicating with our customers and putting the world to right with what we agree/disagree about in our industry. I am very happy to report that the last year was one full of honey… for myself and the customers I call on.”
Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “My 2025 got off to a great Tigger bounce as I was fortunate to been given the opportunity to represent the fabulous Museums & Galleries and Rainbow Designs (especially as the company has brought out a whole range of new Winnie the Pooh products to tie in with the 100th anniversary). These along with my other fabulous principals meant I was buzzing like the bees in Hundred Acre Wood all year.
The long hot summer gave all of us a feelgood factor while every customer I have called on or spoken recently enjoyed very good Christmas trade… Yippee!”
Which Pooh character are you? “Tigger and I have quite a lot in common. Both of us bounce around with a positive attitude, trying to enjoy every moment the day has to offer.”
LYNSEY DAVIDSON and her two colleagues’ Pooh Corner is Scotland. They split into Glasgow and West Coast; Edinburgh and the Borders and Highlands and Islands. They represent Five Dollar Shake, Wendy Jones-Blackett, Paper Salad, Belly Button Designs, Janie Wilson, Molly Mae, White Cotton Cards and Stop the Clock
A year full of honey? “We had a year full of honey. We have seen a real focus on consumers looking for specialist titles from our indies plus sending a card ‘just because’ rather than focusing on birthdays, weddings etc. Our brands have reacted to this quickly which has meant our customers have been excited
to see anything new that has launched.”
Tigger Moment: “Taking over the Scottish business from Corinne Forbes Agency was without doubt been my Tigger moment - the support from our brands, our customers and my team has made it a smooth transition and made me bounce for joy!”
Eeyore Moment: “There was a bigger consumer focus on Halloween which I think pushed Christmas trade back a little, but Christmas did arrive!”
Which Pooh character are you? “As I have been referred to as The Flying Scotsman, I am definitely Tigger!”
Inset: Independent sales agents have to be in time with the song and dance routine of retailers’ needs.
Above: Brendan Cahill.
Above: Jane Hargreaves in her equivalent Hundred Acre Wood.
Above: The front of the licensed Winnie the Pooh 2026 calendar from Danilo.
Left: Jane picks a Heffalump as her Pooh character.
Above: Lynsey Davidson with her new pup Ronnie.
LEWIS AND CHARLOTTE
LEWIS’ Pooh Corner is the North West of England representing Rosie Made A Thing Five Dollar
A year full of honey? “We would say that 2025 was more a honey kind of year overall. With a few exceptions, nobody is bouncing around the woods gorging themselves on honey, but we are all still here and remain positive for this year.”
Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “Our principals make us bounce around like Tigger, some of whom we have worked for, for a very long time... and they continue to keep coming up with the goods. We are only as good as they are! No matter how much Pooh bear is loved ultimately, his
DAVE LANGDON’s Pooh Corner is East Anglia where he represents Museums & Galleries, Paper Salad, Ohh Deer and Mint on the greeting card front as well as Star Editions, Peppermint Grove, Global Journey, WPL Gifts (now Widdop) and David Fischhoff
product has to stand on its own two feet!
As for what made us as sad as Eeyore, that would have to be seeing a couple of our retailers disappearing for one reason or another. Also, one of our best independent garden centres that we have been dealing with for 25 years was sold to Blue Diamond. Accounts like that, you just cannot replace. I hope they can retain some of the individuality that made them stand out.
A year full of honey? “Pooh? Don't be ridikkerous, there's no need to be an Eeyore in the East! As far as I can tell we had a stupendous sell through of Christmas cards and all of my greeting card agencies were up, all credit to my principals and customers.”
Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers:
“The year ended with two notable bounces… Museums & Galleries signing Angela Harding for greeting cards, and Ohh Deer working with Meg Fatharly Both are super exciting for me as I was already such a fan of their work! As for Eeyore, the rise of AI in card design is an eyesore, an insult to the industry and the hard-working designers for whom I have the pleasure of working.”
Which Pooh character are you? “The one I align most to is Pooh, as he's innocent (I am gullible to a fault), loyal, and food-motivated (hahaha).”
JOANNA MCFARLANE AND JO BANNISTER of JJ Agencies share the Pooh’s Corner of London and Middlesex representing Cinnamon Aitch, Glick, Paper Salad, Rocket 68, Rosie Made A Thing, Sally Scaffardi, The Art File, Running With Scissors and Think of Me Designs. (Joanna also covers Oxfordshire for Glick).
A year full of honey? “The honey jar remained pretty full for the year. All things considered customers remained optimistic like Pooh himself.”
We also represented Louise Mulgrew, who is now moving to a licensing model with The Art File portfolio. We fully understand why, and wish Louise well, but we are sad not to be representing her in 2026 as the product is so brilliant!”
Which Pooh character are you? Lewis: “I think I would identify as Christopher Robin who mostly serves as a therapist for his friends in Hundred Acre Wood while grappling with growing up and trying to retain a gentle dreamy nature.”
Charlotte: “I would identify as Kanga. A loyal friend to Pooh, playful, optimistic, fearless, but always ready for fun.”
RICHARD PASS’ Pooh Corner is the North of England where he represents Alljoy Design, The Art File (NW only), Flame Tree, Ohh Deer, with Pigment and Redback Cards in the NE only.
A year full of honey? “Most customers had a paw in the honey pot, but there were a few stings along the way, by the end of the year most were enjoying the sweet success of a busy year.”
Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “The trade shows all bounced along and despite initial fears there was a definite Tigger effect with an upturn in trade. Overall, the year ended with a bounce and a smile. Although melancholy moments appeared, mostly around the ridiculous ‘days, weeks, months… who knows?’ Budget leaks before it was actually announced, Eeyore found his tail again and a strong Christmas turned it all around.”
Which Pooh character are you? “I’m a definite Tigger… extreme optimism (often carefully hidden!), boundless energy for at least 10 minutes at a time, a heart of gold and always happy to help but a little impulsive at times.”
Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “We fully admit to bouncing around like Tigger when we were told we had got the Rosie Made A Thing agency as of January 2026. It’s always sad when shops close, but in 2025 it wasn’t always for sad reasons. In some cases it was retirement and so more time for them to play Pooh Sticks.”
Which Pooh character are you? Jo: “I’d probably be Rabbit, a practical yet sometimes fussy Rabbit!”
Joanna: “I'm a little bit of all of the characters!”
Above right: Dave Langdon (left) with Helen and Paul Southgate of Cards N Things, Norwich.
Below: Dave is delighted that Ohh Deer is launching a range of Meg Fatharly designs.
Left: Charlotte and Lewis Holmes. Below: Charlotte sees herself as something akin to Kanga, depicted here on a print from PearTreePrints.
Above: Richard, lost in Hundred Acre Wood.
Above: Richard (so he says!) with the kids a few years ago!
Left: Joanna (left) and Jo out and about in the wood looking for Pooh and friends. Below: Disney’s depiction of Rabbit, whose characteristics chime with Jo.
ROSIE TROW’s Pooh Corner is the South West representing Anna Wright, Accessories by Park Lane, Belly Button Designs, Bewilderbeest, Brainbox Candy, Candlelight, FYG, Glick Packaging, Meg Hawkins, Museums & Galleries, Oli Olsen, Paper Salad, Redback and Wendy Jones-Blackett
year started by losing two major companies (who moved from agents to reps) so, I could only look forward and believe that, planning where I was going was a key factor to ensure I'd know if I got there! Each day came with lovely conversations with customers, passing on useful information while allegedly working.” Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “I think the entire year was a game of Pooh Sticks. We'd all thrown our sticks in the river and waited to see what came out the other side of the bridge... but I certainly think talking to most it was a positive 2025. My customers and I are in the same forest, and in AA Milne’s words: "You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you, you have to go to them!”
Which Pooh character are you?
BETH ROBSON’s Pooh Corner is London and Middlesex representing Museums & Galleries, Mint, Redback, U Studio and gift company Pikkii
A year full of honey? “2025 was surprisingly much better than the doom and gloom the media would have had us believe. Despite footfall being down and all the extra costs they had to bear retailers have told me their lovely customers spent more money in transactions. They were certainly much more cautious in their spend on stock not wanting to chance their arm on the unknown. London-themed and innovative products worked well in dispelling any fear. So, honey would be my takeaway for the year.”
A year full of honey? “I never had Winnie the Pooh, in my life as I child, but I have since discovered AA Milne’s stories and learnt a lot from them. Last year was no exception of learning how to be positive daily as the
“I'm a bouncing Tigger going into 2026, (to keep warm too), but I think I would resemble Winnie the Pooh’s character more… a ‘bear of very little brain’, laid-back, optimistic and loyal, but driven by the love of work and not honey!”
ALINA CLARKE’s Pooh Corner is Yorkshire and the North East, representing Berni Parker, Belly Button Bubble, Stoneglow, Inis, Alice Wheeler, Selbrae House and IHR
A year full of honey? “2025 was a great year for me and I’m pleased to say full of honey. In a difficult trading climate there are still shops who are doing well with strong brands that people want to buy. Yes, the consumer is more cautious, but they still want to buy cards and gifts which are good quality and those that offer more value.”
Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “What makes me bounce around like a happy Tigger is when I see the ranges I represent selling over the counter and hearing the lovely comments about the products I’m selling.
What makes me a sad Eeyore is hearing about shops closing or of customers struggling.”
Which Pooh character are you? “I associate most with Christopher Robin. He’s described as ‘cheerful’ and ‘compassionate’ and I really hope that’s how my customers see me.”
Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “Christmas orders into shops and getting the products out earlier really helped sales and so far the feedback I have received certainly made me and is making me bounce around like Tigger! Everyday sales held up very well throughout the year so more bouncing around! Despite a much longer selling period than normal - some retailers holding back until second half for various reasons certainly put pressure on warehouses throughout the land as did forecasting forward production thus leading to the inevitable OOS later in the year. A sage old salesman gave me some excellent advice at the beginning of my career- "Get in early to avoid disappointment” - an adage I have tried to live by for all my years in the business.”
Which Pooh character are you? “As a child I had a donkey called Jemima so I’d definitely have to be Eeyore as she may come back to haunt me if I said anything else! However, I believe I don't carry any of Eeyore’s traits - quite the opposite in factoptimism and happiness are my default settings!”
CARL STIRK of Carl Victor Agencies has a Pooh Corner of the North East of England. He represents The Art File + Louise Mulgrew, Rosie Made A Thing, Five Dollar Shake, Cinnamon Aitch, Me&Mq, Rachel Ellen and Hammond Gower
A year full of honey? “2025 was better in the North East as we did not have many casualties with retailers trading as well as possible. I think we all got used to all the negativity and change of polices doom & gloom in the media.
The year got off to a good start at Top Drawer and Spring Fair with lots of new exciting product launches which set the tone. Harrogate Home & Gift also had a good vibe.” Tigger bounces and Eeyore’s downers: “All the new launches from the creative and imaginative people I represent have made me a happy Tigger… on everyday and Christmas.
The only Eeyore downside is that when the sun was out and the weather improved people made the most of it and headed to the beaches and countryside so summer was not as busy as my customers and I would have liked.”
Which Pooh character are you? “I would be Christopher Robin –Fun, caring, compassionate and cheerful, as life is for living!”
Above: Alina in her Hundred Acre Wood. Below right: Alina sees similarities between herself and Christopher Robin.
Above: Rosie Trow with some of her Winnie the Pooh chums.
Below: One of the pages in Danilo’s officially licensed Winnie the Pooh calendar which shows the friendship between Tigger and Pooh.
Above: Beth Robson with Tim Reynolds of Medici Gallery. Below right: In homage to her childhood donkey, Beth has to pick Eeyore (seen her on plush from Rainbow Designs) as her alter ego.
Above: Carl Stirk.
A selection of wonderful new products debuting at Spring Fair (1-4 Feb, NEC).
Cocktails Calling
Stormy Knight's latest collaboration with Texan illustrator Shelby Warwood features contemporary illustrations with subtle art deco styling, antique gold foiling and decorative die-cuts. The greeting card collection features 16 truly decadent designs, covering both everyday and Christmas.
Stormy Knight 0117 9098684
www.stormyknight.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand R44
Creature Comforts
As its range name suggests, the new Claw-some Collection from Emily Nash Illustration range pairs together some very silly puns with vibrant animal illustrations. The 10 contemporary designs are suitable for Valentine’s, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. They are A6 in size and printed on premium FSC-certified stock for a bold and vivid finish.
Emily Nash Illustration 07891 339 686
www.emilynashillustration.com
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand Q49.
Fishy Tale
Earlybird Designs’ latest additions to its much-loved Honey art range tap into the current coastal-chic trend, featuring designs of striking shrimps, lobsters and crabs. Created by fabric designer Linsey Kelly, the artwork is beautifully presented on recycled, textured board for a premium finish.
Twenty Birds’ new Nose to Toes collection comprises eight greeting cards starring six charismatic cats and two cheeky ferrets, each with a playful tail illustration on the back. Four designs feature embossed noses and toes for while the other four shimmer with rose-gold foil. The 120mmx170mm cards come paired with a canary-yellow envelope.
Twenty Birds www.twentybirds.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Greetings Lab Stand K28
No Background Noise
Ohh Deer’s stand will be bubbling with newness across cards, stationery and wrappings. Among this will be a greeting card collection featuring the artwork of revered US cynotype maestro, Julia Whitney Barnes. Julia’s depictions draw on the historic, camera-less photographic process that uses iron salts and UV light to create Prussian blue monochromatic prints where the botanicals block light to leave white silhouettes.
Ohh Deer 01509 649478 www.ohhdeer.com
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand Q10-R11
Nature Calls
Lola Design is launching new Wildlife Botanical cards at Spring Fair to add to its signature collection. The six beautiful new designs blend delicate florals with charming wildlife art. Each design is fresh, modern, and nature-inspired, to appeal to those who love expressive animals and elegant florals.
Lola Design
01904 900141
www.loladesignltd.com
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand S24
A selection of wonderful new products debuting at Spring Fair (1-4 Feb, NEC).
All Lined Up
Apple & Clover is debuting its new Henley Collection, a vibrant range of 27 designs defined by their striking octagon-shaped diecuts, bold colour palette, gold-foil, embossed captions and numbers as well as a signature Henley stripe border. Each 155mm square card is accompanied by a recycled kraft envelope.
Apple & Clover 07790 900976
www.appleandclover.com
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand P40
Best Foot Forward
Having been pestered to produce a collection of socks, Rosie Made A Thing has jumped in with both feet to launch its inaugural Party Feet range. In addition, there are lots of new mug designs, as well as tea towels, coasters and stationery.
Rosie Made A Thing 0116 406 2000
www.rosiemadeathing.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand P21
Doodlebugging You
Super cute characters based on watermelons, peaches, pancakes, burgers, marshmallows with cute faces and legs make their debut in Doodlebug from The Tall Poppy Company, White Cotton Cards’ sibling brand. Each of the 12cmx16cm cards come with a pearl white envelope. White Cotton Cards 01932 589989
www.whitecottoncards.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand R32
Golden Moments
There are three new ranges from Bexy Boo - Little Rays of Gold, The Golden Girlies and The Little Puds everyday collection. Pushing the boundaries of gold-embossed foil the designs in the Little Rays of Gold range are handfinished with a Bexy Boo signature wooden letter tile. Each of the 20 cards come with a kraft envelope, wrapped in a biodegradable cello.
Bexy Boo 07810 448080
www.bexyboo.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand S26
It’s Shrew Business
Wilfie the shrew and his tiny friend Pip the beetle have discovered treasures in the forest, which feature in the Simple Pleasures range by Moongazer Cards. The 30 designs depict woodland creatures enjoying the simple life. Each card, illustrated front and back, is printed in the UK on FSC-certified textured board accompanied by an brown eco envelope. Moongazer Cards 077454 81411
www.moongazercards.com
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand N32
An Academic Year
As well as a new licensing collab with Royal College of Art, ArtPress is kicking off 2026 with a substantial expansion of its Royal Academy Collection, unveiling 58 new designs that further strengthen this highly regarded range. Covering florals, still life, landscapes and animal studies, the expanded range comprises new single cards as well as everyday wallets.
ArtPress Publishing 020 7231 2923
www.art-press.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand L31
Fox Under The Moon
Gentleman Joe Desktop Games
Crystal Healing
Crochet Blooms
A selection of wonderful new products debuting at Spring Fair (1-4 Feb, NEC).
Blooming Great
As well as welcoming new additions to its much-loved ranges, Louise Tiler Designs has launched Golden Blooms, a fresh new collection combining modern colour palettes with a signature foil detailing. Also, following the success of its female age cards last year, new male age cards are also joining the portfoilio.
Louise Tiler Designs 01535 957878
www.louisetiler.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand S11
Natural Leanings
Wrendale Designs is launching its Discovering Nature stationery range at the show. This collection includes notecard packs and field notebooks in four designs, sketchbooks in three designs, along with a pencil case and a set of nature stickers. All products are graced by artwork by the company founder, Hannah Dale.
Wrendale Designs 01652 680253
www.wrendaledesigns.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand P10-Q11
Golden Tinges
Making its Spring Fair debut, Lil Wabbit is launching 54 new greeting card designs as part of its As Good As Gold range. This joyful collection finished with gold-foil embossing covers Christmas, Spring Seasons, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year, Eid, and Diwali.
Lil Wabbit 07825 127775
www. lilwabbit.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand R34
Burning Brightly
Raspberry Blossom is welcoming over 20 bright new additions to its muchloved Brightside collection, complete with quirky die-cuts and playful illustrations. The new Brightside cards, measuring 114mmx162mm and printed in 310gsm board, each come with a mint-coloured envelope.
Raspberry Blossom 01926 257757
www.raspberryblossom.com
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand S25
Pulp Faction
Pulp is Dean Morris Cards’ bold new range of 16 cards inspired by the lurid charm of 1950s and 1960s trashy pulp novel covers. Aimed at anyone with a wicked sense of humour, the card collection riffs on exaggerated drama, hysterical headlines, distressed vintage textures and gloriously inappropriate scenarios.
Dean Morris Cards 01902 560247
www.deanmorriscards.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand R39
Page Turners
The timeless magic of books, the way words can transport us, tell stories, and evoke emotions was the inspiration behind Roger la Borde’s Bookstack 2026 range. With Fay Ford’s stunning illustrations, each card in this collection tells its own little story, bringing a sense of warmth, wit, and meaning to every occasion.
Roger la Borde
0207 328 0491
www.rogerlaborde.com
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand M24
A selection of wonderful new products debuting at Spring Fair (1-4 Feb, NEC).
Tea-ing Off
Time for Tea is a charming new illustrated card range from Grace Jackson Design. The 14 designs are inspired by vintage loose leaf tea tins, celebrating the comfort and ritual of a well-brewed cup. Each colourful design features gold foil detailing, a different tea variety and a thoughtfully paired sentiment, from Birthday Wishes to Feel Better Soon, blending nostalgia, colour and everyday moments worth sharing.
Grace Jackson Design 07902875014
www.gjdesignwholesale.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand R37
A Botanical Twist
Well Noted
Paper Mirchi will be showcasing a recently expanded new collection of 100% recycled cotton notebooks, which are a celebration of craftsmanship and sustainability. Featuring bestselling block-printed and hand-marbled designs from the cards and giftwrappings collection as well as lots of new designs.
Paper Mirchi 0203 633 1415
www.papermirchi.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand Q35
With its bold, graphic imagery of succulents, cactus and aloe vera, the Leaf Prints collection from Popsy & Plum appeals to lovers of contemporary design with a botanical twist. With six designs launching at Spring Fair, a further six designs will follow later in the year.
Popsy & Plum 07769 212269
www.popsyandplum.com
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand K28
Lucky Alice, the brainchild of artist Anna Tjan is unveiling its inaugural greeting card collections at Spring Fair. Championing diversity and sustainability with bold and colourful designs at its heart, Lucky Alice's four debut collections, which range between eight and 20 cards each, cover occasions and everyday. Lucky Alice 7903550994
www.luckyalice.co
Spring Fair Hall 3
Greetings Lab Stand K28
Tabling A Motion
Building on its expansion into partyware, UKG has launched some new Boofle and RHS collections, including bowls, plates, napkins, cups and tablecloths to add a flourish to those special occasions. What’s more, there are more balloon designs too to commemorate a milestone or event.
UK Greetings 01924 465200
www.ukgreetings.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3
Cardgains Village stand M10-N11
Stationery Not Stationary
Bewilderbeest has embraced the stationery world with collections of A5 notebooks and magnetic list pads. The seven new notebooks feature 80 pages of thread-sewn ruled pages each with little illustrations and playful touches. The six magnetic list pads include 50 illustrated tear-off sheets, and two magnets to keep them in place on the fridge.
Bewilderbeest
07586 481 578
www.bewilderbeest.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand S40
A selection of lovely new products that have recently launched.
The Planning Stage
Versed Aid’s new Planning On It range features blueprint-inspired designs that turn life’s occasions into quirky plans that are full of wit and cheekiness. Printed on FSC-certified, 300gsm board, the cards are 150mm square, come paired with an eco-Kraft envelope and are supplied naked or cello wrapped.
Versed Aid 07932 759 357
www.versed-aid.co.uk
Spring Fair Hall 3 Stand 3Q52
Vegging Out
One of three new ranges from Jessie Maeve Studio is the Cottage Garden collection. Following on from the success of the publisher’s Henriesnominated Palermo Picnic range, attentions have turned from fruit to vegetables, inspired by English kitchen gardens. Intricate illustrations combine with fun hand-lettered puns in the 18 designs, which cover everyday and occasions.
Jessie Maeve Studio 07941 393861
Festive Home Coming
After finding success with its bespoke Christmas cards service, Bare Cards has extended its Snow Place Like Home Christmas cards with town options. For 2026, the publisher is offering three images of local landmarks, all with its signature self-sealing format with Christmas-themed 'envelope' panels.
Bare Cards 07842197276 www.bare-cards.co.uk
Piecing It Together
New from Doodleicious Art is its Collage greeting card collection. The designs are based on the publisher’s founder Sarah Capper’s distinctive hand-created designs which combine her illustration work, recycled sari fabrics and watercolours. The cards are all 150mm square and each comes with a kraft envelope.
Doodleicious Art 07734034039 www.doodleicious.co.uk
Getting Ahead
Following the success of Hats Off, which was a finalist in the Best Male Range category in The Henries 2025, Heather Trefusis Art has expanded the collection with eight new designs based on her hand-painted artwork. Covering popular sports and hobbies, the cards are 150mm square, are printed on textured board and come with a recycled kraft envelope, either nested or cello wrapped.
Heather Trefusis Art 07946 605564 www.heathertrefusisart.com
Crowning It
Poet & Painter’s swanky new Crowned collection comprises eight designs which are die-cut in the shape of a quirky crown. Each crown has a gold, hot-foiled ‘title’ for the recipient, ranging from ‘Legend’ to ‘Dirty Stop Out’. Printed on luxury quality matt board, each is accompanied by a gunpowder grey envelope.
Poet and Painter 07779 064894
www.poetandpainter.co.uk
A selection of lovely new products that have recently launched.
Write First Time
Just Write is an extensive new collection from Lucilla Lavender that features hand-written greetings on different pieces and scraps of paper, that are ‘stuck’ onto the board beneath. Embossing creates a crafted, layered look, and the messages are spot-varnished for extra impact. The range spans adult ages, occasions and general birthday designs.
Holy Mackerel continues to grow its popular One Lump or Two collection by Erica Sturla, introducing a new wave of characterpacked designs created in response to customer demand. Music lovers will enjoy the bold new Guitar God and Guitar Goddess birthday cards, while the booming interest in birdwatching has inspired FullyFledged Birder designs, plus some for nautical enthusiasts and coffee lovers.
Banana Park is a new illustrated birthday card range from Happy Street featuring playful, characterful animal designs created in a bright, funky colour palette. The range has a fun, contemporary feel that appeals to both children and adults. The cards are 105mmx150mm and come paired with a kraft envelope.
Happy Street 07956680935 www.happystreetcards.co.uk
Award-winning artist and designer Sarah Epsom has launched the Aura greeting card collection. Each design features an elegant floral watercolour painting, detailed with stunning gold foiling, adding intricate, luxurious accents to the artwork. The 148mm square cards each come with a kraft envelope.
Sarah Epsom 07747618163 www.sarahepsom.com
Annual Events
Maternal Instincts
Mum’s the Word is MaryAnna Emerson’s new card collection that celebrates mums in all their forms. Cheerful, hand-drawn and playful, the range features light-hearted designs in MaryAnna’s signature hand-painted style. The A6 cards are printed on high-quality watercolour paper and come with a recycled brown envelope.
The 12 months of the year give a dozen milestone points to mark, which is the basis of Shaku’s new birth-month card collection. The designs in the range pair expressive floral artwork with foil detailing. Printed on FSC-certified board, each comes with a colour-coordinated envelope.
Shaku 020 8125 7860 www.shaku.co.uk
A selection of lovely new products that have recently launched.
Jam-ming Session
Rocket68's new Jarchive range really is jam-packed with rich colours on a retro vibe. The bold illustrated jar designs cover everyday as well as occasions, including good luck and anniversary to name a few.
Rocket68 07903 603229 www.rocket68.com
Fashion Posters
Pink and Mint Design combines fashion pin-ups with postage stamps in its latest Pin Up Postage Stamp collection. Designed to look like postage stamps, but without the traditional King/Queen profile, each is based on women the company founder Suzanne Tak admires. All the cards are enhanced with gold foil embossing.
Pink and Mint Design 07841666101 www.pinkandmintdesign.co.uk
Lotions and Potions
Vintage medicine jars are the inspiration for Ornament Art’s latest greeting card collection, Thrill and Pills. Filled with retro sweets and labelled with playful messages the range of 10 brand designs deliver a dose of feelgood humour to celebrate age, love or send get well wishes. The A6 cards, printed on luxury Italian hammered finished board are confidently clashed with colourful envelopes.
Ornament Art 07971 704650 www.ornament.art
I Don’t Care
Inspired by campfires, starry skies and off-the-grid weekends, Lumberjack is Hotchpotch London’s latest male collection. The cards, which are finished with copper detailing and pantone red accents, are each paired with a rustic kraft envelope.
Hotchpotch London 01243 792600 www.hotchpotchlondon.com
Design Geometry
Unclipped Heart
Meloo Cards has expanded its portfolio with a whole host of new cards and co-ordinating wraps. The bright and breezy card designs, covering cocktails, seaside scenes, swimming and skiing, all take the artwork to the reverse to add to their appeal. Each card comes with a ‘gold’ heart clip to seal the sender’s words. Sales help support the Fight for Sight charity. Meloo Cards meloo@bymeloo.com www.bymeloo.com
Storigraphic officially launched its new design collection, Imprint Series at Top Drawer. The six bold geometric prints feature across giftwrap, greeting cards, accessories and homewares. It has also launched a new Wrap Editions, a bound wrapping paper collection of 12 full-size sheets.
“Let's make sure the next generation grow up with cards in their hands and not just phones,” urged Rebecca Green, co-owner of Raspberry Blossom and GCA Council member at the end of her inspiring presentation at last September’s GCA Conference and AGM at which the Card Club initiative for primary school children was revealed as a solution.
“When was the last time you saw a child write a card to send to a friend instead of sending a quick emoji on their phone?” Rebecca asked the packed audience of publishers, retailers and trade suppliers at the GCA Conference.
Ramming home the urgency for action, Rebecca quantified:
“UK children aged between five and seven spend over two hours a day on screens, with children aged eight to 11 spending nearly four hours on their phones,” with studies
showing how children’s screen use can be linked to poor sleep, lower attention spans and rising anxiety.
The essence of Card Club is to provide a fun and engaging school lesson plan or activity for youth groups, such as Brownies, based around making greeting cards, thinking about the people who would receive the cards - and with no screens in sight!
With input from primary school teacher Robin Lomax (the son of PG’s Warren Lomax), who road-tested the lesson plan with his class at a Sheffield Primary School and received a thumbs-up from his pupils, it is now all systems go with all the downloadable assets hosted on the GCA website.
Filing her Card Club ‘school report’, Rebecca told PG: “Since the launch of Card Club at the
GCA’s AGM Conference in September, the Council and Card Club sub-committee have been incredibly busy. Behind the scenes, we’ve been beavering away connecting with organisations and teacher resource
Above left: The Card Club classmates of Milverton Primary School.
Above: Milverton Primary School pupils in greeting card making mode.
Left: Raspberry Blossom’s Rebecca Green explaining all about Card Club at the recent GCA Conference and AGM.
Below: Rebecca Green had some iron on badges made for her Card Club class, and has sent those she had left to Jo McBeath for her class.
Saint Matthew’s Primary School in Chapel Allerton.
“It’s the primary school my daughter went to. I walk past it every day and lots of my customers have children who go there or went there.
platforms, with the ambition of having the Card Club lesson plan featured on education websites and ultimately embedded within junior school curriculums.
As a parent to two young children aged four and six, both currently at primary school, it felt especially important to begin this movement at a local level and fully immerse myself in the school environment. I wanted to experience first-hand how Card Club could work in practice and the difference it could make.
The headteacher at Milverton Primary School was immediately enthusiastic about the initiative, as it aligned perfectly with the school’s values: encouraging creativity, learning through discovery, and empowering children to be empathetic individuals who care for themselves and the world around them.
With greeting cards being such a powerful way to connect, and with the school actively encouraging children to move away from phones and return to more traditional forms of communication, the lesson plan felt like a natural and meaningful fit.
I spent a full afternoon at the school teaching two Year 5 classes. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous as I’m not a teacher, but I knew the session would be fun, hands-on and engaging. We began by talking about cards: how many are sent each year in the UK, the different occasions cards are used for, and whether the children had sent or received cards themselves. It was genuinely heartwarming to see just how many already had a connection with cards.
We then explored how greeting cards are created, looking at my own design process and the types of cards Raspberry Blossom produces. From there, it was straight into the creative part using card templates, colourful pens and colourful
paper. The children chose one of four occasions and decided who they wanted to write their card to. I supported them with drawing ideas and wording, and the classroom was filled with focus, creativity and excitement.”
Sarah Jackson, founder of Stormy Knight, who is also a GCA council member and has also put the Card Club lesson plan to the test, in a lively reception class in St Anne’s Infant School in Bristol, with her daughter Phoebe being one of the pupils.
“It was great, the children loved it,” exclaimed Sarah. “I let the teacher run the class, but I was there to be on hand - and to listen and learn!”
After hearing about Card Club from PG Buzz, I sent the school the link all about it,” explained Jo. “The school then contacted me to invite me to go in and present an assembly on February 9 about the importance of sending and receiving cards and then during that week, which coincides with Children’s Mental Health Week (9-13 February), the pupils will be making cards, including those to give to people in the local community.”
As Jo summed up: “Card Club is a wonderful way to engage school children in the joy of sending cards. And what a great way for us as an independent retailer to forge our links with the local community and reinforce the relationships we already have with the teachers and parents who come into the shop.
Indie retailer, Jo McBeath from Chirpy is another of the cardies who is ‘going back to school taking the Card Club with her. At the beginning of February, she’s off to
Several of Chirpy’s card suppliers have already offered to help, with Wendy JonesBlackett providing some blank cards and envelopes and others sending Jo cards that she can use as inspiration for her assembly and class.
Commenting Rebecca added: “It is wonderful to hear that Card Club is growing already as it is sure to bring benefits all round.
As well as lots of happy children on the day I even received lovely note from one of the parents soon afterwards which read: ‘I wanted to say a huge thank you for going into school and doing the workshop. My daughter loved it and has spent each evening and this weekend making cards — you really inspired her. Thank you.’
Moments like these perfectly capture what Card Club is all about: sparking creativity, encouraging meaningful connection, and inspiring the next generation to discover the joy of sending and receiving cards.”
With all the details and downloadable assets for Card Club on the GCA website (www.gca.cards), the hope is that more GCA members, retailers and trade suppliers will reach out to schools and children's groups to really promote card sending with the next generation. It’s an inclusive not an exclusive club!
Above: A downloadable Card Club toolkit, including a lesson plan, templates and sticker sheet is available from the GCA website.
Below and right: Stormy Knight’s Sarah Jackson helping out at a Card Club class at St Anne’s Infant School, which daughter Phoebe attended and showed her card making prowess.
IN ANOTHER LiFE…
Clashing with Daleks
As lead singer in top The Clash tribute band London Calling, indie sales agent Reg Shaw has the coolest life outside cards – and it’s his job that’s made it possible.
Having played in bands since first getting into punk in the late 70s, Reg pulled London Calling together for a one-off charity gig in 2002. “There was no plan to go any further with it but we had such a good night that we decided to play a few more shows – and it just kept getting bigger and bigger,” Reg revealed. “Now we play constantly across the UK and we've toured Australia and New Zealand twice, played in America – although now Trump is in power we can't go back –and across Europe. 2025 was our biggest year so far, and we are expecting even more in 2026.”
As lead vocalist Reg plays the role of the late Joe Strummer with bandmates Zep Guatieri (Paul Simonon), David Devonald (Mick Jones), and James Wise or Shane Tremlin (Topper Headon), and are known for performing full albums like London Calling as well as high-energy hits including Should I
Stay Or Should I Go and Rock The Casbah. Reg, who is and agent for Ohh Deer and Dean Morris, added: “I love it because The Clash is a brilliant band, there's so many great tunes to play and the people that come to see us love The Clash and genuinely enjoy what we do.
“I've met a couple of members of The Clash and they know about us, but I know they won't come to see us – they’d get mobbed!”
Reg explained that when he was employed by Half Moon Bay and Statics he couldn’t play much due to the constraints of having a fulltime job but the week he went self-employed (in February 2015) was the start of the band’s first UK tour.
“It was perfect timing!” he said. “My week now works out like this, Monday to Thursday I’m out on the road as an agent, Friday morning I get collected by the boys in the van for gigs Friday and Saturday night, Sunday liein – and repeat!
“It can get a bit hectic so one thing I have to make sure is to write up and process all my orders before I go away, but being self-employed means I can take off for a four-week tour down under when I want.
“I once played a gig in Auckland,
Is there life outside cards if you’re in the greetings industry? That can be the question as people often get bogged down in keeping their business and work going and forget to take time out to enjoy time away from cards. But there are also many who have created a work-life balance – and have some very interesting hobbies!
New Zealand, and an old housemate from Bristol turned up. He didn't know I was in the band until we started playing. We’d lost contact when he moved to London, and he was bought London Calling tickets by his wife – it was three songs in when he realised it was me!”
Punk isn’t Reg’s only musical note as he also writes and records bhangra electronica music with his best friend Judge Singh in his home studio under the name DanceGuru: “We played Glastonbury last year which was amazing!”
And he has other hobbies too, including quizzing and building full-size Dalek models: “I did TV’s Eggheads with my cricket team Easton Cowboys – I beat the show’s Judith Keppel – and I did Pointless with my brother Eddie, and we won £6,000.
“I'm also a member of the Dalek Builders Guild – there is such a thing – and I made a copy of a 1980s retro Dalek that you can get in and drive around. To be exact it's a Remembrance Of The Daleks rebel Dalek leader. This is what happens when you have a short attention span and no kids!”
Inset: Lead singer in The Clash tribute band is probably the coolest life outside cards!
Below: London Calling in action. Right: Daleks are a passion too.
Above: Reg makes a great Joe Strummer.
Designs on acting
After spending his childhood loving watching his mum from the stalls lighting up the stage in musicals and pantomimes, treading the boards was the only way to go for Danilo’s Brad Green.
With creativity part of his day job as head of design for calendars and diaries at Danilo, Brad also uses his skills to design posters and programmes for the shows he’s involved in.
“I was inspired not only by mum’s performances but by the magic of theatre as a whole,” he explained, “and captivated by every element of the process and endlessly curious about how productions were created.
“I was completely transfixed – not just by my mum, but by the whole idea of theatre. I was always asking questions about how everything worked behind the scenes. That curiosity led me to take a keen interest in drama at school, where I was involved in numerous musicals, plays and pantomimes. When I turned 16, I was able to join the same local community theatre group my mum was part of, and I’ve never looked back, revealed Brad.”
Brad has now appeared in over 50 productions, mainly musicals, and has just finished a sell-out run of Elf – The Musical at the Palace Theatre in Southend, seen by over 4,500 people, and is currently auditioning for a role in the classic musical Anything Goes, which will run at the same theatre in May.
Favourite roles include Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys & Dolls, Doody (Grease), Seymour (Little Shop Of Horrors), The Big Bopper (Buddy), Beadle Bamford (Sweeney Todd), Monty (Made In Dagenham), Boone (Whistle Down The Wind) and Daddy Warbucks (Annie).
“My absolute favourites are Bull Frog in Honk! and Uncle Fester in The Addams Family,” he added. “I was also lucky enough to appear on the official cast recording of the musical Lust, playing the hilarious Quack.
“Alongside performing, I’ve also directed and designed sets and costumes for many productions.
“Theatre has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. It’s brought me incredible joy, creativity and lifelong friendships. While performing and producing shows is hugely rewarding, the social side is just as important to me. Many of my closest friends are people I’ve met through theatre, and I continue to meet amazing, inspiring people through being involved in it.”
Art has also been a huge part of Brad’s life and he remembers painting, drawing and making a mess with anything creative back in play school so, when it came to leaving school he had to make a choice between performing and design.
“I was very aware of how difficult and uncertain a career in acting can be while design felt like a more realistic and grounded path, one where I could still be creative every day. Choosing design never felt like giving something up, it felt like finding another way to tell stories.
“In the end, it’s allowed me to have the best of both worlds. I get to express myself visually through design while still stepping on stage and performing, combining two passions that have always gone hand in hand for me. Theatre lets me bring everything together, performance, creativity and collaboration, and I wouldn’t change that balance for anything.”
Lego of me!
Known for his naughty and extremely naughty humour card offer, it may surprise many to realise that, not only does Dean Morris never send any rude designs, but his passion away from the office is the surprisingly respectable building of LEGO models.
And it all came about because he and his family lived above the general store his parents and grandparents ran so Dean and brother Darren had to entertain themselves while the grown-ups were at work.
“I found LEGO really entertaining,” Dean said. “I’d love building anything, from LEGO City, railways, space and, once I got a bit older, the more advanced Technic sets,” but it fell by the wayside when he moved on to sixth form and university – although his old sets are still in a box in the old family home where his brother now lives.
“I rediscovered my love for this perennial toy about 10 years ago when my mum was terminally ill and I needed some mindful distraction – LEGO was perfect. I could afford more expensive sets as an adult and I enjoyed building the Modular City sets, which were incredibly detailed large sets of typical buildings, such as bookshops, town halls and police stations.”
Having found the simple act of following instructions “really relaxing and a great method of reducing my daily screen time” Dean now has a huge collection at his Wolverhampton home where he lives with partner Mat O’Marah, and also runs the card business.
He added: “Since getting back into it my favourite builds have been the Ninjago City sets. Based on chaotic cyberpunk futuristic cities the sets are so varied I never get bored building the same bits and, since starting these, I’ve bought duplicate sets and more bricks to add my own modifications resulting in a huge Ninjago diorama above one of my picking lines in the office. It’s still not finished – possibly never will be – but I’ll be tackling it once more in 2026.
“Mat is also a fan of LEGO in his own way and never minds me taking over the dining room for weeks at a time – as long as he doesn’t step on a rogue piece on the floor!”
Above: Brad loves the two creative theatrical sides to his life.
Above: Taking over the dining room for a build.
Below: The massive Ninjago city set in Dean’s office.
Below: Brad in Annie. and as Bull Frog in Honk!
Below: Whistle Down The Wind.
Below right: The Addams Family.
Left: One of Dean’s childhood sets.
Quick march!
Lance Ranson’s life outside cards has been exactly that as he’s had a full career in the British Army Reserve alongside running Clanna Cards.
He founded the business in 1983 when he left the Grenadier Guards, the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army whose dress uniform includes the bearskin helmet, and continued as a lieutenant colonel in the reserves to 2008.
“My inspiration was to bring to the market a range of cards that would appeal to men, as most card ranges at the time were very feminine,” Lance explained. “I feature designs of sports cars, motorbikes, trains, boats and planes, along with images of animals and plants that are quintessentially British.”
While running the publishing side, his day job appointments included platoon commander with The Grenadier Guards, squadron leader and Regimental 2IC of The Royal Wessex Yeomanry and commanding officer of Bristol University Officers' Training Corps.
Staff officer (SO1) appointments included military/civilian cooperation in Kosovo, media operations in Bosnia, close air support liaison in Afghanistan and coordination and plans at the Development, Concepts & Doctrine Centre (DCDC) at Shrivenham, then he moved on to colonel commandant of the Gloucestershire Army Cadet Force, vice-president of the Army Cadet Commissions Board, and only recently retired as chairman of Wessex Reserve Forces’ & Cadets’ Association.
“The internet allowed me to run the business wherever I was on active service around the world, including tours in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo along with when I was serving in roles in the UK – I found serving as the county commandant of the Army Cadet Force particularly rewarding.”
Now retired from the forces, Lance keeps in touch by editing his annual regimental journal Hussar!, a record of the regimental activity of the King’s Royal Hussars.
In the swim
Run with it!
Retailer Sarah Holmes of Pencil Me In claims she’s not very good at running, swimming, or cycling – but manages to put all three together well enough to regularly compete in triathalons!
And this is all done while Sarah is running her three stores, Pencil Me In and Seasgair in Elgin, and the new Task In Hand in Nairn where she challenged herself to get it all up and running in 30 days.
Admitting she wasn’t very active before having her two boys, she was inspired by a few friends who’d completed triathlons but was worried that it meant Olympic distances of 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km runs or even full Ironman 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride, and 42.2km run!
“But my husband knew about sprint and super sprint, which are much shorter,” Sarah said.
“Sprint is 750m swim – 30 lengths of the pool –25km cycle and a 5km run.
“It seemed like a great physical challenge and I completed my first and second super sprint triathlons in 2019, a year after having my son, had grand plans for 2020 but we know what happened there. Then after having my second son in 2021 I’ve done a further five sprint triathlons.
“I’m not particularly good at any of the disciplines but having three to train for means you don't get bored. It’s a super friendly and supportive sport and I joined our local club Moray Firth Triathlon a few years ago. I now help with their social media and marketing – another Instagram account to run!”
“My husband has also joined me in the triathlon club and we both feel it’s great for our kids to see us training, competing and pushing ourselves.
Our eldest Ruaridh is seven and is now a keen park runner who has completed 50 Junior Park runs of 2kms every Sunday. We moved house in 2025 so I am hoping to complete in our local event in Nairn which includes a sea swim. There aren't too many in the North East of Scotland so competing often means travelling to different parts of Scotland. Hoping to do two this year, but I also have a big 10km run end of September in Inverness I’ll be working towards.”
Go La La!’s Laura Kavanagh has always loved outdoor swimming, since long before it was rebranded as wild swimming and was just about going for a dip outside.
“When we were planning our move to Scotland a couple of years ago it was a priority to settle near water so I could make swimming part of my regular routine,” she explained. “We’ve ended up living by the Firth of Clyde on the west coast and close to many islands.
“The swimming here is fantastic. The water is clear, healthy and clean with abundant wildlife such as dolphins and porpoises. I started using a local popup beach sauna and have made many lovely friends
with like-minded ladies who regularly dip together. We go all year round, even through winter – I think the coolest water temperature was around 7C!”
Laura explained that husband and business partner John has always “hated” the idea of cold water swimming, but dipped his toe in on a trip to Skye and is now a convert too, and they’ve even incorporated their hobby into a Go La La greeting card design.
She added: “It's a great tonic for both physical and mental health. We ended the year with a dip on 3 December on the island of Arran and started the year with a dip on 1 January near home. I'm planning to swim in more lochs this year, there are hundreds of them!”
Above: Lance Ranson served for over 40 years.
Below: A Morris Dancing design by artist Richard Jelfs from Clanna Cards’ Celebrating England’s Traditions range that is set to launch at Spring Fair.
Top: Finishing a triathalon is very satisfying.
Above: Sarah on her bike.
Below: It’s a family affair as hubby joins in and the kids cheer them on.
Left: Turning the hobby into a card.
Right: Laura and John ready for a cold dip.
On the ball
Admitting to having a competitive streak a mile long, Stormy Knight’s founder Sarah Jackson now channels that into her newfound love of netball, getting back into the game she loved at school.
“My husband kept saying I should start playing team sports again to make exercise more fun,” Sarah explained, “and it turns out he was right. I signed up to a friendly league and joined a team appropriately called Winging It.”
What with running the business and being a busy mum, Sarah makes sure her netball is very much a child-free time but laughed: “Phoebe [Sarah’s daughter] is looking like she’s going to be very tall so I’m hoping she has a blossoming netball career ahead of her!
“It's safe to say I've got a bit of a competitive streak – and that's really
It’s in the post
With @the_postbox_enthusiast as her Instagram profile, there’s little doubt about what Louise Richardson likes doing outside of running Two For Joy Illustration – although there’s a definite connection as she’s always posting out orders!
Two For Joy Illustration founder Louise Richardson freely admits she has an “obsession” with tracking down the different versions of the mailboxes that have been around since 1853, and were originally green before the iconic red colour was settled on in 1874, then working out the age from the royal cypher.
Louise said: “It fascinates me that some of these boxes have been stood there for 100 years, and I like to imagine what life in the community was like when that post box was first being used.
“There are so many cool facts about post boxes and I seem to have built up a bit of a reputation because when customers and publishers find old boxes, both in this country and all over the world, they tag my Instagram page and I just get so excited about it!”
After the reveal of the first King Charles III post box in July 2024, Louise’s Insta reel decrying the “shoddy craftsmanship” went viral, getting over 1.5million views plus more than 700,000 on TikTok. She had to follow up with another explanation because “there were so many comments where people did not understand how post boxes work, including people saying they've done it cheaply because it won’t last long, as William will be on the throne soon and they'll have to replace them all – of course, that's not how post boxes work, so I posted another reel to explain this”.
And she’s just been posting about the current changes where classic pillar boxes are being retrofitted with digital bar code scanners and a new solar power cap, while the doors have been removed to be replaced with a small parcel hatch.
“I admit it’s a clever move but I’m mourning the loss of these beautiful cast iron pillar boxes, and we’ll have to say goodbye to all those community-made knitted toppers too, as each pillar box is being fitted with a solar panel on the top,” she said.
Louise has even bought herself a replica post box and personalised it for Two For Joy, to add to her stickers that she puts on every order saying “thank you postie”, and a whole collection of greeting cards featuring post boxes.
come out since I got back into netball a couple of years ago.
“I was nervous going back. I was nearly 40 and hadn't played since school, so was a little rusty, but found it really good fun once I got back into the swing of it.
“One thing has changed though, I used to play goal shooter but I'm useless at shooting now. Luckily, I've found my new position as goal defence, where my long arms get put to good use!
“The only time I miss a game is when I'm away at a trade show... and Top Drawer S/S meant I missed the final game of the season, the decider which saw us secure the top spot in the league!”
Namaste
Some 23 years ago trying to juggle new motherhood and running More Than Just A Gift at Narborough Hall, Sophie Edwards turned to yoga. And six years ago became a qualified teacher and now runs two classes every week.
“I didn’t go looking for enlightenment. I just needed something that would keep me steady rather than tip me further into overwhelm,” said Sophie of the original reason she gave yoga a try.
Sophie said: “I loved my regular classes but eventually found I wanted to immerse myself more deeply so, six years ago, I signed up for yoga teacher training. At that point I had no plans to teach, just to learn for my own satisfaction.
“What stayed with me was what we learned about ourselves in the process and that proved life changing. Those lessons extended far beyond the mat into my personal life and they have been invaluable in business too.
“Teaching turned out to be a role that suited me in a way I hadn’t expected. I get just as much out of it as my students do. I still teach two yoga classes every week. It isn’t an escape from work, it’s one of the things that helps me work better and helps my life work better for me too.
“Yoga can seem complex but, at its heart, is something surprisingly simple and universal – take the right action and let go of the result. You show up, pay attention and act with care and integrity, without gripping too tightly to how you want things to turn out.
“I’ve found that approach applies almost everywhere, from business decisions and creativity to parenting and everyday life. Goals might seem useful, but it’s the actions you take that matter, not the goals themselves.
“Yoga has also helped me feel more comfortable with unpredictability. You can set intentions, but you can’t control how a practice will feel on any given day. Running a shop is basically the same. You can plan as much as you like, but you can’t predict the future. What you can do is observe what’s happening and respond to conditions in the moment.
Yoga is called a practice for a reason – there’s no final point where everything is perfectly completed and that feels very familiar as a shopkeeper. There’s no finished shop either, just the ongoing practice of turning up, paying attention and consistently making small improvements. In yoga and in shopkeeping you’re never finished learning. The joy is in showing up and gradually mastering the craft.”
Above: Not a fan of the altered digital boxes.
Below: Louise stamps her envelopes thank the posties.
Right: (second left) Sarah’s happy as goal defence these days.
Above: Sophie finished her teacher training in Morocco in 2019.
MULTi-DiMENSiONAL
THiNKiNG
Santoro’s beginnings are as extraordinary as its subsequent growth over the last 40 years. It all started with some soon to be discarded postcards being picked up off the floor of an Italian factory. Now four decades later, Santoro is a global brand creation powerhouse, with a recent deal to open up the Chinese market signalling further significant expansion for Gorjuss, Bango Berry and its other brands.
Following on from its 3D Swing greeting cards clinching The Henry Cole Classic award in The Henries 2025, PG popped in to see Santoro’s co-founders Lucio and Meera Santoro.
Santoro is a business that cannot be pigeonholed, neither is it one that has hung around waiting for good things to happen.
Some people quite rightly view the company as a pioneer of 3D greeting cards, as testified by its Swing Cards range being feted by The Henry Cole Classic award in The Henries last October for ranges that have stood the test of time.
Others know it best for its broad range of gifts and stationery based on its largely homegrown brands, such as Gorjuss, Masterpieces and Bangoberry, and historically also Bang on the Door which it represented for many years.
Those in the toy sector arguably best know it for its games, jigsaws and the increasingly successful Pop and Build product range, while the licensing fraternity view it as a licensor of lifestyle properties which lend themselves to all manner of products from licensees all over the world.
In Italy, the company’s status has been further heightened by its acquisition in 2024 of Smemoranda, a household name in Lucio’s homeland for diaries and planners, which sit alongside Santoro’s products as well as the Mr Wonderland Spanish brand, Leuchtturm1917 German brand and Yankee Candle which it distributes.
And then there are those in high end interiors and fashion who fawn over is its sister business, Santorus, whose wallpaper and fabric luxurious designs grace top hotels and homes.
“When we started, we didn’t have a plan and in many ways it has
continued that way for the last 40 years,” the ever-effervescent Meera Santoro told PG from the company’s UK showroom in London’s Wimbledon, the reception of which has a full cabinet of trophies, including two Queen’s awards for its exporting and licensing prowess.
It is a cliché to say someone started with a business from the floor up, but it is a truism in the case of Meera and Santoro.
“Lucio and I were visiting an Italian company who specialised in reprographics and I spotted the floor was littered with retro postcards featuring actors and actresses with handpainted eyes and cheeks that were about to be thrown away. They were so kitsch, and being a massive film buff I eagerly gathered them up and took them back with me to the UK,” revealed Meera. The plucky 22 year old then drove up to meet Beryl Isherwood who was the buyer for Scribbler at the time. Her first reaction was: “Where on earth did you get these from?”, her second was to order almost every design. And we were off!” recalls Meera.
Above: Last year saw Santoro’s The Book Café Swing Card win a Gift of the Year award, a Louie award in the States and contribute to its Henries award.
Below left: Lucio and Meera Santoro, the co-founders of Santoro in the company’s base in Wimbledon.
GORJUSS GROWTH iN CHiNA
Continuing Santoro’s international expansion, the company has recently announced the significant signing of a master licence agreement with Toons Max International, appointing the company as the official representative for the publisher’s Gorjuss brand across greater China.
“Having exhibited at China Licensing Expo in October 2025, we witnessed first-hand the emotional connection to Gorjuss,” said Lucio, who spread the news to millions about Gorjuss, appearing on several Chinese TV stations.
“We are thrilled to partner with Toons Max International and founder Julia Chu with her team to bring Gorjuss to greater China.”
Julia, who is also general manager of Animation International Shanghai, will spearhead the programme, overseeing the local development and management of all Gorjuss licensing partnerships, consumer products, and merchandising initiatives across the region.
Julia commented: “We are thrilled to officially partner with Santoro to represent Gorjuss in greater China. Having followed the brand’s international evolution, we strongly believe Gorjuss will resonate emotionally with consumers here. The market is ready, and we look forward to building a long-term, successful licensing programme together.”
Meera’s fascination with film also played a part in Santoro’s next product development step.
In 1984, having previously worked for MCA Universal Pictures adding to Meera’s inherent gumption to contact the president of 20th Century Fox to ask for the licensing rights to postcards based on its famous films.
“I will never forget the meeting I had with Chuck Ashman, the then president of 20th Century Fox’s licensing and merchandising business,” said Meera. “He listened to what I had to say then told me he
would send me a massive box full of film stuff for me to have a play with.”
Chuck did as he promised, with Meera’s ‘playing’ resulting in Santoro launching a licensed film postcard range at Top Drawer, which at that time took place in Kensington’s Derry Street,
Matching Meera’s fanaticism for film, it was Lucio’s passion for paper engineering that forged what has become a cornerstone of the business, which is further amplified in its Pop and Build toy range.
“I loved working on the prototype for our very first Swing Card, making sure that it would look fantastic in its 3D form, but also could be packed flat in an envelope,” said Lucio. Lucio was well aware that the development and production costs of Swing Cards would mean imposing a relatively high retail price.
to immediate success.
“We only had 36 different postcards, so to fill the stand we bought some clip frames and repeated the postcards. By lunchtime on the first day, we were also in the ‘multi print’ business!” recalled Lucio.
In 1986, having expanded into giftwrap, Santoro exhibited at Spring Fair for the first time.
“It was so much fun, we sort of knew what we were doing, but sort of didn’t, but it felt really exciting,” admits Lucio.
It was the move into 3D cards six years later that really put Santoro on the map.
“Even back then, we set the RRP at £3.99. So many people told us that no one would buy them at that price, but thankfully they were wrong!” said Lucio with a wry laugh.
Although Lucio’s fascination with paper engineering continues undeterred, he pays tribute to his daughter Tara Strickland who is now responsible for the art direction of the portfolio as well as heading up the day to day running of the company, with Lucio and Meera now adopting more supervisory roles.
As the company embraces its 40th anniversary, Lucio and Meera feel they have a lot to be thankful for. “Business has been good to us. We started in greeting cards and they still form a big part of what we are, but probably a better description now would be that we are brand creators, but who knows what the future will bring!”
As to the advice he would offer anyone looking to break into the greeting card industry today, Lucio is in no doubt: “Just don’t panic… we had to wait 30 years to win our first Henries award, but we have one now!”
Above: One of the Pirouette designs, which like all Santoro’s 3D cards pack flat. Right: Bangoberry is one of Santoro’s recent brand creations.
Below: Tara Strickland (left), Lucio and Meera’s daughter now runs the business day to day, while longstanding colleague Jo Campbell (right) drives the licensing activity.
Above right: A small selection of Gorjuss products in Santoro’s HQ in London’s Wimbledon Right: Lucio Santoro on Chinese TV talking about the Gorjuss deal.
MAGiC TOUCHES
As Hazel Walker, Waterstones’ buying manager highlighted at last Autumn’s GCA Conference, we’re in something of a spooky era, with a surge in interest especially among late teens/early 20s for the magical and fantasy genres. From witchcraft to dragons, crystals to forest symbolism, publishers shared why and how they are casting their own spells in this direction.
NATURE’S MESSAGES
“There’s a sense at the moment that magic is ‘returning’, but for me it never really left. Hearing Hazel Walker from Waterstones talk about a renewed interest in magical and fantasy aesthetics, particularly among Gen Z, feels like a validation of something I’ve been living and creating for a long time,” says Rachel Blackwell, artist and founder of Ethereal Earth who has built her entire brand around what she describes as “a magical worldview”.
Rachel creates her artwork from a retreat centre run by druids, where magic and mysticism are part of everyday life. “In the world I’m living in, these things aren’t fantasy, they’re the spirits of plants, the land, and the living presence of the planet itself. My work is filled with fairies, forest landscapes, night skies, owls, dragons, mushrooms and other nature beings, not as decoration, but as a visual language for something much deeper,” explains Rachel.
Rachel believes this reconnection with the magical, has become especially important in recent years. During the pandemic, and now, with ongoing global instability, war and political uncertainty, many of the structures we once relied on have stopped feeling so solid.
“I think this experience resonates strongly with younger generations. Millennials grew up with events like 9/11 shaping our worldview; Gen Z had the pandemic during their formative years. Being locked indoors, separated from friends and told the world was ill and something to avoid, the lockdowns in their stillness forced them to face and find their inner world, this has shaped how they relate to each other and the world. Mysticism, symbolism and magical imagery offer ways of coping, meaning-making and self-reflection. These aren’t escapist fantasies, they’re tools for surviving and understanding reality.”
Rachel recognises that there is tendency to dismiss magic as escapism, but she doesn’t see it that way at all. “Have you ever stood in a woodland and really looked at the trees. The way they twist, grow, adapt and reach for light? There’s imagination and wonder everywhere. Magic isn’t somewhere else; it’s right here, under the surface, waiting for us to notice. It’s simply seeing the world through the eyes of wonder,” she believes.
Some 30 years ago, just mentioning meditation would have seemed wacky, now it has commonplace acceptance. “Magical practices of manifestation, meditation and mindfulness are now mainstream and these are forms of everyday magic and mysticism underpinned by psychology and science,” highlights Rachel.
Working your magic: “My brand, Ethereal Earth, is rooted in this idea of everyday magic, intended to bringing enchantment, meaning and intention into ordinary life. Greeting cards themselves are a perfect example of this everyday magic. Every time we send a card, we’re performing a small spell.”
Left: It would seem that it is The Year of the Witch with demand for the 2026 Flame Tree calendar based on Temperance Aldren’s book up by 15%.
Above: Rachel Blackwell, founder of Ethereal Earth creates her designs from a druid retreat centre.
Right: A sleepy dragon design from Ethereal Earth.
Right: A fairy teaching secrets to foxes on an Ethereal Arts’ design.
MAGICAL INGREDIENTS
“A big part of the rise in all things magical and mystical I think is about people being much more self-aware and unapologetically themselves. There’s a real shift to owning your personality, your interests and your quirks,” says Louise Richardson, owner of Two for Joy Illustration
Louise cites how the reading of fantasy and ‘romantasy’ books is now huge and is being openly embraced.
She also suggests that traditional religion may not be sitting comfortably with a lot of people for many reasons, but that “there’s still a desire for meaning, ritual or a 'path' of some sort, whether that’s witchcraft, crystals, or just being more connected to nature. Especially in this digital world there’s something grounding about returning to nature/folklore and these witchy vibes.”
Working your magic: “My best-selling Witches Don’t Age card has set the tone and I'm soon to release a Faeries Don't Age cake card, which leans more into nature-vibes magic with greens, mushrooms and forest floor details.”
OPENING THE PORTAL
“I think that the rising interest in magical and mystical merchandise was initially sparked mainly by the recent successes of huge television and film franchises. Game of Thrones and Stranger Things
specifically have been massive, not only for Gen Z, but for everyone,” points out Ceri Seal, director of Bare Cards
READING THE CARDS
“I do sense an uptick in mystical and magical TV shows over the last few years,” says Sarah Jackson, founder of Stormy Knight. “I also read recently that tarot cards have seen a rise in popularity as people look for some meaning during so much global uncertainty. Related imagery is being featured in high fashion and interiors, which filters its way down to us in the greeting card world.”
Working your magic: “Shelby Warwood, one of the new illustrators we are working with loves all things mystical and her portfolio featured lots of beautiful designs that fitted that trend so we have included a little of this.”
ESCAPISM ROUTE
As Rosie Tate, director of Cath Tate Cards sees it: “The love for all things magical and mystical feels like it’s coming from a few different places. People are craving a closer connection to nature, fantasy stories in films and books are everywhere, and a lot of younger people are turning to imaginative worlds as a bit of escape from today’s political and social climate.”
Working your magic: “We’ve loved working with Lisa Robson, the artist behind our Henries-winning Lost Plots range, and her passion for all things magical and otherworldly. Our Evil Plans notebook — packed with Lisa’s illustrations of skulls, potions, spell books and witchy details — came directly out of this growing trend. It’s been such a strong seller that for 2026 we’ve turned it into a birthday card too, and we’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a big hit!”
“Having a Gen Z child (who is now 23!) we saw their interest in mushrooms and frogs as a younger teenager shifting to tarot and crystals as an older teenager and so were aware of the demand of such designs.”
Echoing the view of Louise Richardson, Ceri also cites how the younger generations are moving away from traditional religious beliefs and seeking alternative spiritual practices, “probably fuelled by the uncertain times in which we live. If you think about it, the unease that we all feel about technology and the increasing capabilities of AI, can be combatted by immersing yourself in a mystical and mythical world. Social media plays a huge part in this too - there's a lot of influencers posting viral content regarding crystals and astrology. WitchTok, for example has amassed billions of views!”
Working your magic: “Even though I attended the GCA Conference and listened to Waterstones’ Hazel Walker discussing the current interest in magical and fantasy designs, we were already planning our Portals of Wonder range on the back of the success we had had with our Goth Girl ranges. Using art from a local artist, Cannedels, our Izzy character was developed in response to Derren's [Ceri’s husband who is an agent] customers asking for female cards which were not the traditional 'pink and pretty'. Goth Girl is one of our highest ranked titles on Google, simply because there are not many other similar titles out there. Together with the upsurge of mystical retailers in our area and a family interest in all things crystals and tarot, we researched the availability of greeting cards and found that this is an area with not a great number of titles.
Our Portals of Wonder is a range of 12 designs. Our signature trifold format allows us to print across the entire 39cm x 19cm board. The current designs include dragons, witchcraft, unicorns, tarot, astrology, mythical beasts, the underworld and wolves.”
Below: A Two for Joy card that is good enough to eat.
Above: Bare Cards’ Ceri Seal showing how the Portals of Wonder trifold format cards lend themselves to be framed.
Below: An astrology-themed card from Bare Cards’ Portals of Wonder collection.
Top: The Evil Plans notebook from Cath Tate Cards.
Right: Two designs from the Lost Plots range.
Above: Stormy Knight has sprinkled some magic into its greeting card portfolio.
EVERYDAY ENCHANTMENT
“Magical fantasy is having a massive moment right now because mystical archetypes, like the powerful witch or the ethereal princess, resonate so deeply,” believes Arrthi Little, founder of Arrthi Studio. “Thanks to the feel-good factor of the recent Wicked movie, the cinematic escapism has leaked into our everyday surroundings. Our lives are very digital now that we’re craving something we can touch, like a physical card. So, it’s no surprise that the rise of the mystical goes hand-in-hand with the boom in self-care and self-gifting. Picking up a tarot-themed card or a mystical notebook is such a beautiful way to treat yourself to a little sprinkle of wonder,” adds Arrthi.
Working your magic: “I actually caught a scent of this magical trend a few years ago when I first conjured up Cheeky Legends. I wanted to put my own spin on those classic characters, but without shying away from some naughty, light-hearted humour! I’m now busy taking this mystical element to the next level as I prepare to launch a brand-new Magic, Wish and Potions range at PG Live in June.”
BOOKS OF SPELLS
While Frances Bodiam, managing director of Flame Tree Publishing says that while it was Gen Z who initially drove the demand for designs inspired by magic, fantasy and the mystical world, this is now being increasingly embraced across all age groups. “From witchcraft and tarot to dragons, folklore and forest symbolism, these themes are now embedded in the gift and stationery sectors. As a publisher rooted in art, storytelling and illustration, this shift feels both timely and natural,” says Frances.
She points to the explosion of fantasy and ‘romantasy’. “Fantasy fiction is leading the mainstream, with bestselling series such as Fourth Wing bringing dragons, magic systems and epic worlds to a new generation of readers. These stories are influencing aesthetics, fashion, interiors and gifting, creating demand for products that reflect fantasy-led identities,” explains Frances. She adds that social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram have become hubs for witchy, spiritual, and mystical content with influencers and creators building communities around tarot, manifestation, folklore, herbalism, and astrology, which makes mysticism accessible and contemporary.
“Gen Z and Millennials are reclaiming tarot cards as tools for self-care, personal growth, and divining the future.’
Working your magic: “Fantasy, mythology and folklore are core to our publishing identity; we publish many books extensively in these genres, so the crossover into magical and mystical themed stationery feels natural and allows us to deepen engagement with our audience. We are working with established and new artists whose work embodies this trend, including Anne Stokes, hugely popular in the field of gothic and magical fantasy.
FANTASY CORNERSTONE
Annabel Easton, marketing manager of The Art File recognises that fantasy has always been a staple genre for consumers, but feels that the past couple of years have seen it rise with unprecedented popularity.
As she points out: “We can now see fantasy becoming a major cornerstone for mainstream publishing and TV. From books to films, all things mystical and magical are making a comeback.”
Annabel cites online platforms, such as Booktok and Bookstagram as having fuelled the popularity of fantasy in publishing, highlighting that “high-budget TV shows such as Stranger Things and House of the Dragon have seen the genre become more mainstream than niche.”
Working your magic: “A few years ago, we published our classical Storybook collection for the first time and saw a huge response from our customers. Storybook is a card collection focused on fairytales and fantasy, with each card being die-cut into the shape of a book. Now, years later, Storybook is one of our bestselling collections with 21 everyday designs, and seasonal collections in addition to this.
The work of Anna Stead captures the intersection of folklore, nature and magic.
We have further leant into this trend with our collections such as Huzzah and Soulmates, both of which are popular ranges with new designs this year. These collections cover everything from medieval and classical fantasy stories to folklore and tarot themes. We expect fantasy to continue to be a popular genre going forwards and we’re thrilled to see it perform well across the board.”
We are continuing to work with Alchemy England, the British lifestyle brand known for its extensive art library spanning gothic and fantasy styles and also distribute Amber Lotus’ The Year of the Witch calendars and planners, based on Temperance Aldren’s bestselling book.”
Above: The Art File’s Storybook collection taps into the fascination for fairytales and fantasy.
Left: The Huzzah and Soulmates collections from The Art File have designs which echo the trends for folklore and tarot.
Below: A design that echoes Edgar Allan Poe’s raven poem on a notebook from Flame Tree Publishing.
Below right: A jigsaw from Flame Tree featuring Anna Stead’s Mushrooms & Fungi design.
Above: The distinctive artwork of Anne Stokes on a tarot card pack from Flame Tree Publishing.
Above: Arrthi Little working her own breed of magic. Above right: One of the designs in the Cheeky Legends collection.
Art Source: Design Predictions
Trend Tracking
Drawing on her many years of experience of licensing artists’ creations, Hannah Curtis, founder of Creative Sparrow shares some of the cultural drivers of our creative tastes as well as highlighting a few design trends that will pique our aesthetic tastes in the coming year.
Trend 1: Tactile Craft
“With the rise of AI and the threat to creative industries I see 2026 as being another year of trends that focus on all things human made, authentic and tactile,” believes Hannah. She is expecting this to be reflected both in technique and subject matter. “This is a continuation of the last few months when we have noticed the need for maximum detail and craftmanship which will be reflected the 2026 trends,” she adds. Here Hannah shares a quad of trends that she predicts will be echoed in greeting card design in the coming year…
“I predict that depictions of crafting, sewing, reading, making and still life scenes will be popular, demonstrating the power and importance of human touch as well as the crafter behind the craft. Hand-painted artworks, handdrawn illustration and the art of sketching, crafting, cutting and engraving will come to the fore.”
Trend 2: Nature’s Calling
“Illustrations using organic materials and subjects that are nature centric will chime with the public. As we strive to save our environment and habitat we see a focus on nature, wild meadows and woodlands as well as native animals and pollinators. Techniques, including depth through contrast, collage and texture layering lend themselves to be used to depict this trend.”
Trend 3: Identity & Lived Experiences
“Portraiture and artworks focussing on human elements with authenticity will be strong. For a long while greeting cards have steered against using people in design, but with this trend we see portraits depicted in fun colourways that are raw, personal and imperfect.”
Trend 4: Positive Palettes
“With so much negativity and uncertainty in the world we will be reaching for vibrant and popping colourways, contrasting colours and clashing tones. Affirming sayings and slogans paired with fun illustration and mark making will be used for maximum impact.”
All the artists whose work features on this page are represented by Creative
(www.creativesparrow.co.uk)
Above: Detailed illustration by Dawn Quigg. Above right: A multi-media creation by Lindsay Roberts.
Sparrow.
Above: Natural artistry from Jacqueline Wild.
Above: Nature’s beauty by Jacqueline Wild. Right: The call of the wild by Siya Liu.
Left: With over two decades of experience in licensing artists, Hannah Curtis is adept at spotting and translating trends.
Above and right: Two designs by Karin Lauria.
Above: Popping colour from Clare Davis.
Above right: Positive overload from Ginger Deverell.
Right: Affirming words and clashing tones from Mell Oliver. Border: A colour explosion by Karin Lauria.
PG ASKED A TRIO OF RETAILERS FOR THEIR BEST SELLERS
Miriam Roberts, owner of Celebrations in Dunstable
“All the designs are popular and are great for any age.”
“Great modern designs that our customers love.”
“Something completely different - no need for an envelope! The bespoke Christmas cards were a huge hit.”
“Very popular for the sentiment verses.”
“Great for the modern designs.”
“All the designs are popular, especially those for men.”
“Something for everyone. The licences are always popular.”
“These have been great!”
“Good selection of images and at a great price too.”
“Strong designs; great for special occasions.”
“We love all of Paperlink’s ranges but especially this one.”
“Always hit the right note for something special.
The Christmas collection sold really well.”
“There’s always a good selection of bags and wrap from these two companies. Both are great quality too.”
“These are so soft, and have been a big hit with our customers.”
Hot on the heels of a busy Christmas, Miriam is now planning a celebration to mark 20 years in the business.
Right: Special cards from Second Nature.
Right: Bare Cards’ bespoke design.
Right: Ling Design’s relations and occasions designs sell well for Miriam.
Below: A Five Dollar Shake design.
Right: Rosie’s humour goes down well.
Right: Cosy scarves by Butterfly Fashions.
Nikki Weir, buyer for Cilla & Camilla’s stores in Beaminster, Bridport and Sherbourne Greeting cards fare well in these gift and cookware stores in Dorset market towns.
Category Name of Publisher
Everyday Relations & Occasions Humour Children’s
3D/Pop-Ups
Cinnamon Aitch
Category
Woodmansterne
Redback
Kali Stileman
Art Angels
Paper Bird
Me&McQ/Paper D’Art
Product/Name Range Comments
Alice’s Garden Quentin Blake
Zeppelinmoon
General
General cards and notecard packs
Una Joy
General
“They consistently come up with innovative, beautiful designs, not least Alice’s Garden concertina cards.”
“Quentin Blake never loses his appeal and new designs are regularly brought out.”
“Our customers love the off-the-wall, irreverent humour.”
“The high-quality designs have great impact.”
“Featuring some wonderful artists and printmakers, such as Angie Lewin and Mark Hearld. We do well with the packs of notecards too.”
“One of my particular favourites. Quirky, often funny and highly original.”
“These guys reign supreme in this category. Year on year they create astonishing works of paper engineering.”
Eva Gourkan runs For Something Different, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Name of Publisher
Living up to its shop name Eva has run the store for seven years with a strength in humour cards for all occasions. Everyday
“Our traditional and safe range, the only one we do that’s non-humorous.”
“These are funny but great for everyday.”
Humour
Dean Morris
Brainbox Candy
Buddy Fernandez Running With Scissors
Adult Ages
Buddy Fernandez Running With Scissors
CGB Giftware
Richard Lang
Gainsborough Giftware Ancient Wisdom
“The humour Dean’s got is really well received with our customers… the rudest ones sell the best.”
“We do bits of everything from Brainbox, and they all sell really well.”
“These are just great, people love them.”
“These are quite new to us, but very creative.”
“We don’t do many but we have the ranges from these two – all humorous.”
“We sell loads of trinkets of all sorts, for sister, for friend, man tray etc.”
“Lovely alternative, more mystical items.”
Right: A cat bud vase from CGB Giftware.
Second right: A power bracelet from Ancient Wisdom.
Right: Alice’s Garden by Cinnamon Aitch.
Right: Kali Stileman’s cards have impact.
Right: An Una Joy design from Paper Bird.
Right: Dean Morris’ cards sell.
Right: Honesty by Buddy Fernandez.
Second right: Running With Scissors’ age humour.
Right: More neutral humour from Icon Art.
CHARITY GREETING CARDS
One of the UK’s leading publishers of Charity Greeting Cards. Impress offers a wide collection of images, including fine art, graphic, photographic and cute. We also offer a bespoke design service for bulk orders and/or mail order fulfilment.
Impress Publishing Appledown House
info@impresspublishing.co.uk
PRODUCT DIRECTORY l PRODUCT DIRECTORY l PRODUCT DIRECTORY
6 Heron Trading Estate Alliance Road, Park Royal, London W3 0RA T: 0208 385 4474 F: 0208 385 4471
E: info@Xpressyourselfcards.co.uk
WWW.XXPRESSYOURSELFCARDS.CO.UK
PRODUCTS: World’s leading publisher of high quality plastic greeting cards. Also an extensive range of quality greeting cards covering Everyday, Occasions, Christmas and Spring seasons.
BRANDS: Cherished Thoughts, Sweet Sentiments, Buddies Always, Symphony, Thinking of You, Style, Special Wishes, Special Times, Young Editions, Groove Sensations, Forever Blessed, Grey Skies, Classics.
METHOD OF SALE: SENSATIONS –Direct to retail
XPRESS YOURSELF –Now one of the leading wholesale publisher suppliers in the UK
APPOINTMENTS l APPOINTMENTS l APPOINTMENTS l APPOINTMENTS
Revenue & Relationship Manager
Senior full-time role, acting as a public face for the company. Develop and maintain research and development programmes to ensure that the company remains at the forefront of the industry, applies the most cost-effective methods and approaches, provides a leading-edge service and retains its USP.
Revenue Growth
• Recruit new members.
• Develop goals and targets for member recruitment, sales and development of members.
• Drive new business opportunities, develop strategic partnerships, and create and implement revenue growth strategies.
• Arrange regular meetings with suppliers.
• Research and develop additional growth opportunities.
Sales & Marketing
• Motivate and manage sales / telesales / marketing team.
• Oversee and play active part in brand development and representation with focus on relationships.
• Approach and negotiate with potential new suppliers.
Please
• Contribute to and oversee marketing activities, including newsletter, website etc.
• Oversee collation of member admin.
• Produce reports for quarterly board meetings.
• Represent the company and host at events, shows, celebrations and in negotiations.
• Attend and organise conferences.
• Organise and attend trade shows throughout the year, including overseeing the planning, staffing, design and POS.
• Oversee the planning, promotion and organisation of annual CardGains Charity Challenge.
• Address day-to-day challenges and provide solutions.
Qualifications/Experience
• Extensive experience in greeting card and gift industry.
• Excellent verbal, written and face-to-face communication and interpersonal skills.
• Degree level or equivalent qualification in marketing preferred.
Remuneration
• Competitive package depending on experience and expertise. Private health insurance. Company pension.
