Publishers pick up four awards at Top Drawer’s latest edition
While the carpets – or lack of them – was the scuttlebutt at Top Drawer S/S24 this week, the big news was that the inaugural Spotlight Awards saw greetings make a big impact.
Out of the 11 categories, card creators triumphed in four of them at the three-day show at London’s Kensington Olympia, with Best New Product Greetings & Stationery picked up by Lagom Design for its Warner House collaboration.
Meanwhile, Archivist came out tops in the Gift sector, while Freya Niamh Design were winners of the Launchpad trophy, and Studio Kulik won in Craft to push the point that greeting card publishers are incredibly creative.
The presentations were made after the show closed on the first day, Sunday, 14 January, in the new awards introduced to shine a light on outstanding products across all categories.
Show manager David Westbrooke, from organiser Clarion Events, crowned the winners and said: “I’m constantly in awe of the sheer quality of products on display at Top Drawer, and we’re delighted to have introduced the Spotlight Awards to formally recognise it.
“The strength of entries was outstanding, and the judges certainly had a hard task on their hands. Congratulations again to the worthy winners, and we look forward to seeing their beautiful products on shop shelves across the country!”
Holly Northcott, assistant to Lagom Design’s creative director Kelly Hyatt, told PG Buzz: “We’re very pleased at the win – Kelly has done some really vibrant collections, they’re all from wallpaper prints from their archives and he’s extended our heritage range, which we launched here along with some wrap.”
The full list of winners was:
Best New Product In Craft – Studio Kulik
Best New Product In Fashion – Original Duckhead
Best New Product In Play – Dinosuit
Best New Product In Wellbeing – Oir Soap
Best New Product In Food – Coco Chocolatier
Best New Product In Home – Designed in Colour
Best New Product In Gift – Archivist
Best New Product In Launchpad – Freya Niamh Design
Best New Product In Greetings & Stationery – Lagom Design
Innovation In Design – Picture This
Best Newcomer – The Way to You
Meanwhile the show itself was making a statement with the decision to leave the aisles free of carpets as buyers including Blue Diamond Group, Cardzone, Daniels Stores, Fenwick, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Fortnum & Mason, Habitat, Harvey Nichols, Hoopers Department Stores, Jarrolds, John Lewis, Joules, Kew Gardens, Lark London, Liberty, Museum of Cambridge, National Trust Scotland, Oliver Bonas, Oxfam, Russell’s Garden Centre, Ryman, Scribbler, The British Museum, TJX Europe, Waterstones and WHSmith were among those visiting.
As part of an eco-friendly sustainability drive where there was only a bright pink slither down the central aisle, and no tote bags were handed out or plastic badge holders, the move was broadly welcomed, and has become common across the trade show world, as Carolyn Verderame, sales director at Caroline Gardner, said: “From the eco point of view I get it, and the design-led shows like Ambiente have it, but I think maybe they need a new floor here to get away with it.”
For retailer Sarah Laker, who runs Stationery Supplies in Marple and Wilmslow, the hard floor was an issue. “It’s killing my knees! I can see what they’re going for but the floor isn’t nice enough and it doesn’t give the feel of a premium show.”
Ricicle Cards’ David Rice-Nichols commented: “From an environmental perspective it’s so much better because it goes down for three days and then gets ripped up again and thrown away. It isn’t bothering me as much as I thought it would.
“Obviously we care so much about the environment and brag about FSC certification so it’s nice to see it here as well. We were a bit surprised at first, then the organiser told us it was a conscious decision.”
Redback Cards’ Chris Stanley agreed: “From the eco side it’s obviously good because it’s just thrown away afterwards – it just seems nuts that they use it for a couple of days and just throw it,” and Oh Squirrel’s Katie Wagstaff added: “We were surprised at the lack of carpet at first but the show is about the stand, and making your mark, not the carpet.”
Industry veteran Cath Tate has seen many changes in her 40-plus years running Cath Tate Cards, and said: “They told us they’re going through the eco thing but it looks unfinished. The carpet is so wasteful but couldn’t it be given to some charity?”
It’s a good thing according to Sarah Heycock, of Papersheep, who added: “We all passionately hate the waste that used to go on, but a few of the customers have said it makes the show more ordinary whereas it’s always been a polished show.
“It’s a dilemma, I hated the waste and I get it so, in a way, I’m glad but there’s something missing. They may have wanted an industrial vibe and it shouldn’t matter because you want people to look at the cards, not the floor.”
And sustainability was high on the agenda for Lil Wabbit’s Georgi Doig, but she was concerned about the lack of information: “I’m all for sustainability but just let us know! I would’ve been happy if they’d emailed the week before the show saying they’re trialling it.
“We turned up on the first day expecting the carpets to have gone down but there’s nothing. People didn’t know so weren’t careful with their painting and there are splashes everywhere. And there are places with metal hatches showing with corners people can trip over.”
The official explanation came from Clarion Events’ Franky Sequeira: “Forgoing aisle carpet is an aesthetic choice that many design fairs in the UK and abroad have adopted over the last few years. Having introduced it at the front of the show in the September 2023 edition and received universally-positive feedback, we chose to trial it in a larger way again this season.
“Clarion Retail is rightly known for putting the customer experience at the heart of everything we do and, while we continue to assess the response to all aspects of the show experience, overall feedback has been extremely positive, with the show on track to deliver a second successive year of visitor growth, and with retailers and suppliers alike praising the 25% increase in greetings and stationery exhibitors.”
The best view has to be from Ilona Drew, as the I Drew This founder and creative enthused: “I really want to get my skates out, they’re quads and it would be the perfect place to whizz up and down!”
