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VIEWPOINTS
Pick Of The Crop
The vibrant atmosphere at Progressive Greetings Live was more than matched by the abundance of new ranges and products launched at the show that were lapped up by retailers and overseas distributors from all over the globe. PG caught up with a selection of retailers who revealed some of their top picks from the show.
Mark Janson-Smith,
managing director of Postmark, 14 stores in London and Glasgow “What a fantastic show! We loved every minute of it. PG Live gets better and better with every year that passes. The show itself is so well organised and the treats for buyers are unrivalled to help make the day that bit easier as all the walking and talking is exhausting. The quality of new exhibitors continues to Above: Postmark’s Mark JansonSmith (centre) with exceed expectations, and LoveLossDiscoballs’ Rachel and Warren Hart-Phillips. established suppliers Right: A RossJDesigns’ card. continue to amaze with their fresh new collections that many now seem to save for PG Live to launch.” Your top picks: “Our standout publisher ‘award’ has to go to RossJDesigns whose beautifully illustrated cards caught the eye of my daughter Aoife, but was also on my radar so I was delighted she picked them to spend her first ever Golden Ticket. The card designs are a perfect mixture of charm and wit, we just love these and can't wait for them to hit our shelves. The standard was so high this year, I could make a list as long as an Adrien Brody acceptance speech, but a special newness shout must go out to: LoveLossDiscoBalls, Studio Boketto, Twaat Cards, Lottie Billson Designs and Little Paper Soul.” Did you place any orders? ‘We didn't place any at the show as we need to get things set up on our system but have done since with lots more to follow.’
Above: Some retail buddies at PG Live give a toast to the exhibitors. (Left-right) Cardies’ Jo Sorrell; Presentation’s Andrea Pinder; Hugs & Kisses’ Caroline Ranwell; Expressions’ Tracey Bryant; Highworth Emporium’s Aga Marsden and Southbourne Cards’ Deborah Tingay.
Heidi Early,
co-owner of Earlybird, Stoke Newington, London “What a brilliant show! The buzz was electric for the entire two days. The goodie bag was, as always, a lovely bonus - I particularly liked the ‘to do list’ pad from Enveco. The quality overall of new products, especially from established brands, was exceptional this year. I can't wait to see what 2026 has in store!” What were your top picks? “We saw so many new companies we liked: Lucky Ink, Little Paper Soul and others in Springboard that we'll keep an eye on - if only we had an unlimited budget!” Did you place any orders? “We placed orders with existing suppliers Penguin Ink, Dean Morris and Objectables and also newbie LoveLossDiscoballs, we absolutely love their sentiment cards and what a lovely couple Rach and Woz are. We also ordered from Kenji, a Japanese-style gift company that has really fun pick-up lines that will be perfect for our tweenage market!” Top: LoveLossDiscoballs was a big hit at the show. Left: (right-left) Earlybird’s Hannah Sharman and Heidi Early with Objectables’ Tim and Annie Gould and Joy Thomas.
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 27