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progressive greetings awards
The Henries 2016 Judging Process
Which Ranges Were Eligible To Enter?
Above: Among the retailers who formed the judging panel for this year’s Henries were (left-right) Alexis Hayward (Frosts), Michelle Burgess (National Trust) and Amie Scull (John Lewis). Right: (Bottom to top) Paperchasers Tish Bas, Hazel Williams and Alexandra Maggs with Moonpig’s Sasha Walker-Allen and a waving Brent Milburn (of Rhymes With Orange) making their way between judging rooms.
The Preparation Throughout June and July, PG’s offices are deluged with boxes, Jiffy bags and envelopes, boldly marked ‘The Henries’. Together they created a mountain of packages containing over 14,000 greeting cards, sheets of giftwrap and giftbags, submitted from some 200 different UK publishers. All greeting cards submitted for The Henries 2016 are treated equally, whether they are sent in by a multi-national company, a new start-up one-man band publisher and everything in between. The Henries are free of charge to enter meaning it is open to all. Each entry is logged onto the computer and assigned a number. One card design from each entry is retained for archive purposes while the other cards in each submission are mounted onto their own large display board. A label is affixed to the top of each board that prominently features a distinct entry number as well as the RRP(s) of the mounted cards. To overcome any preconceived ideas judges might have had of publishers, the brand and company name of each submission for the product entries are concealed. In the case of the Most Promising Young Designer or Artist category, those entering were invited to submit their own ready-mounted boards if they wished. For the Henry Cole Classic award, publishers were asked for some substantiating text, which demonstrates how and why the range has stood the test of time. Above: A mass of entries to The Henries which Anna and William Scrimshaw, key members of the awards team, ensured they were correctly logged and then presented for judging. Above right: Tesco’s Sara Gibson with her clipboard of entry forms at the ready! Left: Leading indies, such as Lucy Cave, buyer for Set Design in Leicester, considered the multitude of entries, including these ones for the Most Promising Young Designer or Artist award.
Entering The Henries 2016 was open to all UK publishers, as well as UK-based distributors of card publishers from overseas. Publishers were invited to enter ranges that had been launched since August 1 2015 or new designs that had been added to ongoing ranges. The Henry Cole Classic award is slightly different in that this is for ranges that have stood the test of time and therefore the onus is on the heritage and evolution of the brand rather than just the new designs in the range. Publishers could enter as many categories as they wished, with as many entries in each category as they wanted.
The Judging Process The judging for all the product categories, as well as Most Promising Young Designer or Artist, took place on a single day, in offices, theatre rehearsal rooms as well as the Shillibeer’s Bar & Grill, all of which are adjacent to PG’s London offices. The criteria for judging were: l Quality of Design l Quality of print, production and manufacture l Appropriateness for the market sector at which it is aimed l Value for money All entries were put on display category by category. The judges considered all entries in each category, individually selecting the five entries they deemed to be the best in each category. Judging forms were completed by writing the corresponding Above: Adjudicators Stacy Jones (left) entry numbers, in order of and Emma Cain tot up the points on merit, in the relevant boxes the judges’ voting forms. on the form. Points were then awarded accordingly by the adjudication team; five points being assigned to the entries each judge felt was the best in the category down to one point for the fifth choice. The points from all the judges’ forms were then correlated to arrive at the winner and five other finalists. The winners will only be revealed at The Henries Bollywood Ball on Thursday October 6 at the Lancaster Hotel in London.
The Finalists The following pages reveal the finalists in each of the product categories as well as the Most Promising Young Designer or Artist contenders, Best Service To The Independent Retailer (the latter being decided as a result of almost 2,000 independent card retailers voting for suppliers).
The Henries Awards 2016
Judging_Henries Awards Brochure 2016.indd 2
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