32-33_Roger La Borde.qxp_Grid 08/10/2025 09:35 Page 1
IN CONVERSATION WITH… ROGER LA BORDE
ACROSS THE BORDE It all started in a bookshop. The Roger La Borde story has evolved over the last 40 years, involving a fish and chip shop, four siblings, art exhibitions, installations in Liberty and Bergdorf Goodman and numerous contemporary designer collaborations. PG took its place at the table of one of the publisher’s delicious weekday lunches at its London HQ to chat about the last four decades. Left: (left-right) Roger La Borde directors and siblings Jenni Barnett, Alison and Tim Solnick with the publisher’s bound giftwrap archive book. Below left: This year marks 40 years of Roger La Borde championing contemporary design on greeting cards and other products.
Food plays a strong part in the day to day running of the Roger La Borde publishing business; its history, its present and no doubt its future. Every weekday at the company’s London HQ, which is a quick walk from the celebrated Abbey Road studios, members of the team take turns at creating a delectable spread. They down tools, leave their respective desks and enjoy some banter. “The only rule we have is that we can’t talk about work,” explains Jenni Barnett, who, in addition to being the company’s creative director is also famed for her tablescaping skills. Jenni’s tablescaping skills are set to come into their own over the coming months as the company is planning to host a series of what she and her sibling co-directors sister Alison Below: As part of marking its 40th birthday has seen a Throw Back Thursdays Instagram campaign, selecting a design from each year of the publisher’s history.
32 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
and brother Tim describe as ‘Thanksgiving Dinners’ to mark Roger La Borde’s 40th anniversary under their ownership. “It certainly doesn’t feel like 40 years since we started the business. I may be older, but don’t feel that much wiser!” Jenni joked.
As Alison added: “As well as bringing out a special collection of products featuring the artwork of artists that we have worked with for decades, we also wanted to mark the milestone with a series of dinners involving some of the many special people who have played a part in the company’s evolution. We have a lot to be thankful for!” There are so many fabulous stories which natural orators Jenni, Alison and brother Tim recount, each bouncing off each other, reliving the multifarious highlights in the company’s history, a tie-up with Paul Smith for an exhibition in his Paris store as part of the Idée Fixe sub-brand launch, their own store in Berlin, retail installations in flashy department stores, Bergdorf Goodman in New York and Liberty in London or collabs with top artists, such as Rob Ryan, Jane