Retailers celebrate publisher who’s sold 70m cards over three decades
What started as a chance conversation with a neighbour concerning a Japanese art gallery has resulted in one of the most enduring, well-loved greeting card and gift brands which is making the most of marking its 30th anniversary.
On Wednesday, 11 October, Caroline Gardner Publishing kicked off its milestone celebrations with a drinks party held at its own store in London’s Marylebone High Street, attended by several of its many retailer stockists including John Lewis & Partners, Waterstones, Oliver Bonas, Between The Lines, Postmark and Gift.
Caroline Gardner and her husband Angus continue to head up the business and were full of thanks, not only for the loyalty of their retailer customer, but also their own colleagues, one of whom is son Charlie!
As Caroline said: “People make our business, our customers and our staff, they are the true treasures.”
In his short welcome speech, Angus acknowledged “30 years is a long time to do anything” but cited how the “substance of the brand” coupled with “strong partnerships” with retailers as well as the “hard work and commitment” from the CGP team have all contributed to the company’s ongoing success, with lots more in the tank.
“Caroline and I were listening to Keith Richards talking on Radio 4 the other morning about the Rolling Stones’ latest album release, and he’ll be 80 this year and still coming up with new ideas – so here’s to our next 30 years!” said Angus.
Although very much part of the warp and weft of the greetings industry, the Caroline Gardner brand began unexpectedly in 1993, after a chance meeting between the woman herself and a neighbour looking for handmade cards on behalf of a Japanese gallery.
Having been to Chelsea Art College and with a natural leaning towards design, Caroline was up for experimenting with wire and card to successfully meet the brief, creating six unique card designs from her kitchen table.
They proved such a hit that the reorders quickly followed and the rest, as they say, is history, spawning many more card ranges before moving into gifts and the opening of the company’s own London store to champion the brand nine years ago.
Paying homage to the its humble beginnings, as part of the company’s 30th anniversary celebrations CGP has brought out a series of handmade wire greeting cards as a limited edition and is even holding a wire cardmaking workshop in its store at the end of this month for the public.
“Our core values have never faltered in our 30 years trading,” Caroline said, adding thanks to the hundreds of long-standing customers, many of whom it has traded with since the start.
Having trailblazed on design concepts and formats for the last three decades, Caroline has no intention of shying away from experimentation: “I’m passionate about design and it’s thrilling to come up with ideas which haven’t been done before and to push boundaries. It’s an intrinsic part of the personality of the brand.
“We continue to innovate and experiment, driven in part by the desire to make new and interesting product. As science evolves, I’m sure there will be more and more ways to do this in an ecological way and this is very exciting.”
And company sales director Carolyn Verderame highlighted: “Greeting cards are still very much the heartland of the business, now accounting for 70% of our turnover.”
Since its inception, Caroline Gardner has sold a whopping 70million cards which, if stacked on top of each other, would reach higher than 408 Buckingham Palaces! It has also sold 2.4m sheets of flat wrap and 300,000 rolls of wrapping paper – combined, this is enough to pave the way from London to New York. And the ink from the 300,000 pens it’s sold would draw a straight line completely circling the globe six times!
Here retailers share their views on why the Caroline Gardner brand is still rocking n rolling…
Kerry Nichols, category lead for greeting cards, stationery, games, candles and flower shop of John Lewis & Partners
“I’ve been in the John Lewis partnership for almost the same length of time as Caroline Gardner Publishing has been trading. I remember the company in the early days and had the pleasure of also working with the brand on textiles, the strong patterning lending itself well to be translated onto other products. Throughout the years its designs have always retained a distinct look yet at the same time it has evolved to keep step with consumer tastes.”
Hazel Walker, senior buying at Waterstones
“In the 15 years that I’ve been a card and stationery buyer, Caroline Gardner has been a constant brand, always exuding quality contemporary design with wide appeal. It’s great this British brand with such history continues to thrive, still headed up by its namesake on the design side. In a consumer products market which has low brand awareness among the public, it’s testament to its strength and distinctive imprint that it is widely known and liked by so many outside our industry.”
Tiffa Easmon-George, owner of Gift, Crouch End
“I can’t think of another company that has endured a shelf presence right across all the seasons the way that Caroline Gardner has. There has been no dry patch! Customers love its signature look. Its simplicity of graphics always have a touch of the quirky too. In addition to the actual designs, the Caroline Gardner team has always been such a pleasure to deal with.”
Mark Janson-Smith, managing director of Postmark, 15 stores in London, Birmingham and Glasgow
“I’ve been dealing with Caroline Gardner Publishing for 18 years and what I’ve always loved about the company is its ability to evolve. How it has managed to reinvent itself for such a long period is incredible, let alone broaden its reach with additional products. On top of this, people do business with people and ,from Caroline and Angus through to the whole team, they’re all lovely which makes it such a pleasure to do business with them.”
Lucy Cornwall, greeting card buyer, and Nicola Connolly, greeting card merchandiser, at Oliver Bonas
“There’s no doubt about it, Caroline Gardner is a recognised brand, known for its great design and good quality products. The company is not only always innovative in its product design, but is always so lovely to deal with.”
Ellie Kleinlercher, buyer of Between The Lines, 17 stores in the south of England
“I grew up with Caroline Gardner as it’s been a constant in our shops over the years. It is an iconic brand with real design integrity backed up by a wonderful company ethos. Its strides on the sustainable front over the last few years as well as its commitment to charity are also impressive.”
