Retailer judges lapped up product excellence in The Henries Awards 2024
Cardies discovered the truth of doing something you love not being work adage yesterday, 30 July, with The Henries Awards’ live judging session.
While this year’s awards have an Ancient Rome theme, there was nothing but newness as judges were surrounded by cards as far as the eye could see at the Business Design Centre in London, all the fabulous shortlisted ranges and Most Promising Young Designer Or Artist entries were there to be examined in all their glory.
“How on earth do you choose the best greeting cards when they’re all fantastic,” was the comment from Sarah Laker, of Stationery Supplies in Marple and Wilmslow, who posted the reel that can be seen below, “what an honour and a delight to be a Henries judge once again.”
And, showing the breadth of judges – more than 90 took part in the initial online judging round, with over 40 attending the live session – Tesco’s Lauren Thomas added: “It’s my first time here, we did it online as a team and I volunteered to come in person, and it’s been great.”
Confirming that entering The Henries is a fabulous way to get your designs and ranges in front of some of the most influential retailers, Lauren added: “Yes, there are some I’ve taken pictures of to take back to the shop, some that were very recognisable and others I haven’t heard of, and those will be quite interesting to see how they’d fit.”
Cardzone’s Sam Ody had been a judge in her previous national grocer’s buying role but this is the first time since moving to the large independent group which now includes Clintons: “I had a different take on it, but it was great, seeing all the new designs, and particularly lovely to see the up-and-coming talent in the Young Designer category.
“I thought the calibre form each section was great, it was hard to pick a winner because everyone has stepped up a gear. There was a lot suitable for Cardzone and I thought humour was really strong, plus the traditional and contemporary relations, which was interesting to see in more detail as Cardzone and Clintons lend themselves to that genre.”
From First Class Greetings in Hadleigh, Debbie Brown said: “We saw some really nice things, my favourite is always gift wrap and it was all really beautiful. I especially loved the new range from Woodmansterne, and Glick has some beautiful ranges too as they always perform.
“The one I find hardest to judge is wholesale, but my second favourite is humour because it makes me laugh!”
One of The Henries judging virgins was Sonya Adams whose Serendipity store in Hale has only been open a year, and she commented: “I did the online judging but it’s better in the flesh. I liked the kids’ category and found the young artists the most difficult.
“Everything was interesting and I’ve got myself a bag of goodies from the samples to look at more closely.”
Cilena Easton, of Artichoke in Tynemouth, was also a first timer judge and admitted: “Some of the categories were quite hard. Probably my favourites were the relations and occasions such as Mother’s Day, and best of all was the Young Designer, that was lovely.”
As a former art director for a publishing company, Maxwell Roberts, from Leeds’ Hedgerow Gallery, has an unique insight into the design perspective: “It was absolutely brilliant and inspiring. Some of the young artists are outstanding and it was extremely difficult to choose because they all bring something different.
“I’m an art and picture framing business but cards are a big sideline so I’ve got to have different hats on. The photography was all good and the humour I really liked!”
Having only missed one Henries judging session over the past couple of decades, House of Cards’ Nigel Williamson is an old hand and said: “The cream always come to the top. There’s definitely a good wide spread of styles and some great stand outs.
Humour is a bit more difficult because of political correctness, but it was a lovely day and talking to other retailers does help, we do learn from other retailers.”
For Olivia Reilly and husband Peter, from Little Boat Gifts in Brightlingsea, they had a brilliant day at their first-ever Henries judging although she admitted: “It was slightly overwhelming! When you can see all the cards laid out in all the categories, it’s just so hard to choose.
“I’ve picked up a goodie bag that I think are going to work for me, and talking to everyone has been great, they’ve all been so friendly. And it’s different than at a trade show because you can look without worrying that you’re touching someone’s baby!”
The live nature of the judging was the best bit for Evonne Pearson, of Penrith’s Hedgehog Bookshop: “I enjoying doing the first virtual round but it’s brilliant to come and touch and feel the cards. That made me eliminate some because of the card, and others were pushed higher up.
“I’ve taken some photos of some ranges and from the first round I found Citrus Bunn so when I was at Harrogate last week I was able to see their cards in person and have ordered, and there are some more that we will probably order too.”
Having not done the online judging this year, Scribbler’s Ruth Taylor came in with an open mind and commented: “There are some nice new things that I’ve not seen before, new lines, and I’ve got some samples for the office. We’ve started to take on more contemporary, it’s not just rude at Scribbler now, we do cute and are looking to take more classic because it’s what the market wants and our customers are asking for it.”
Cardfactory’s Charlotte Green and Cheryl Sandbach had a really good day: “It was great to see the products after visualising them online, looking at the finished card. There was lots of newness and we have some samples to take back with us. It was nice to see some of the smaller publishers are here, there were quite a few we didn’t know until Dragons Speed Dating, such as Little Roglets.”
If you want to see how the day went down check out the behind the scenes post below – and, don’t worry, it won’t be long before the fabulous finalists for The Henries Awards are revealed as the Max Publishing team are beavering away counting the votes with the intention of getting the finalists’ list out tomorrow, 1 August.
All winners of The Henries 2024 will be announced at a lavish awards event, the industry’s big night, taking place at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on Thursday, 3 October, 2024, which this year has an anything goes Ancient Rome theme.
To book tickets click here. It is a fabulous opportunity for the greeting card community to get together and celebrate its creative excellence as well as its strong sense of camaraderie. For more details head to the website www.thehenriesawards.co.uk
