Henries Awards final focus features Nicole Elders and Sophie Thorne
Fresh and exciting art is key to keeping greeting card collections up to date for consumers, and the Henries Awards aims to bring it to the fore with a special category for the newest young artists, illustrators, designers, photographers, and font maestros.
Many took the time to compile and enter their moodboards in the Lynn Tait Most Promising Young Designer Or Artist Award, which shines the spotlight on the top under 35s – with eight being picked as finalists in the category sponsored by indie retail chain Postmark.
They were all displayed at the live Henries Awards judging round a few of weeks ago where 35 buyers from grocers, multiples, small groups and indie retailers all had the chance to check out the entries in the flesh and their collective votes from the day decided the eight finalists.
Here PG Buzz gives an insight into the final two of the 2023 finalists, Nicole Elders and Sophie Thorne…
Nicole Elders, founder and designer of Nicole Elders
“I hold an MEng degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University Of Southampton and have been working as an aerospace engineer on aircraft engines for the last 12 years. I love engineering, but calligraphy and design is my creative outlet.
“While it may seem unusual for an engineer to be a designer and artist, the crossovers between engineering and art are long held – just look at Leonardo DaVinci, a talented artist, draughtsman, mathematician, sculptor, engineer and inventor!
“I’ve always loved detailed engineering drawings because they are simultaneously beautiful, detailed and informative. As I developed my love of and skill with calligraphy, I realised I could apply this same approach to my art, and paint pictures with words, so they too are beautiful and informative.
“My work is created to tell a story, stand back and see the picture, stand close to read the words. I love seeing the joy that my work brings to people. I love the creative outlet and challenge that card design can bring to me, many pieces taking days to produce.
“I’ve been fortunate to work on some incredibly intricate showcase pieces, including Portrush Open 2019, celebrating the return of the golf Open championship to Northern Ireland, and Virgin at 70, celebrating the incredible achievements of Richard Branson and Virgin.
“Greeting cards are my everyday artwork. I love creating unique and meaningful designs, things people will want to keep.”
Sophie Thorne, artist at The Great British Card Company (GBCC)
“Growing up in a small village in the Wiltshire countryside was where my love of nature and painting first started. My family and I would frequently go for long walks at the weekend and I’d collect flowers and leaves to paint.
“I remember many visits to our local garden centre during which I would scour through all the beautiful greeting cards, I never imagined that one day I’d be so lucky to be painting and designing original artwork for these very cards.
“After graduating from Loughborough University with a first class honours degree in printed textiles, I was thrilled to be offered a position at Designers Guild (DG), where I was responsible for art-working beautiful designs for luxury homewares and products including cushions, rugs and throws.
“Following on from my five years at DG I was eager to find a new role where I could use my hand-painting skills and then secured a position as a Christmas decoration designer at Gisela Graham where I hand-painted original artwork and designed many collections of decorations.
“Currently I have a very exciting role at the Great British Card Company where I develop hand-drawn and painted card collections for all occasions.
“Nature very much inspires my work and I love to build layers of colour and texture into my designs. Intricate gold foil layers and detailed embossing contribute to creating my luxury greeting cards.”
The full list of finalists for the Lynn Tait Most Promising Young Designer Or Artist 2023 is:
Rosie Bennett, in-house designer for Paper Salad
Stephanie Davies, founder and designer for Stephanie Davies
Georgi Doig, founder and designer for Lil Wabbit
Nicole Elders, founder and designer of Nicole Elders
Esme Lintin, in-house designer for Woodmansterne Publications
Hannah Marchant, founder and designer for Hannah Marchant
Lottie Murphy, founder and designer for Lottie Murphy
Sophie Thorne, in-house designer for GBCC
The winner will be revealed along with all the product category and best service awards winners at the industry’s Mardi Gras-themed big night on 5 October, at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel. Tickets for the event can be bought here.
