Cath Tate Cards is collaborating with publisher Wot Ma Like on Modern Icons, a range of greeting cards based on the striking artwork of Geordie illustrator Jo Burrow, founder of Wot Ma Like card and gift company.
The new range, which will be a major focus of Cath Tate Cards’ stand at PG Live (Tuesday 4 June and Wednesday 5 June on Stand 307) features modern celebrities – from pop stars (such as Freddie Mercury and Bowie) to artists (such as Frida Kahlo and Grayson Perry) and even Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp – each with a quirky caption.
“We heard about Jo/Wot Ma Like through our North West agent Jill Knopov as Jill was selling Jo’s cards and gifts in her area (a fellow Northern lass!). Jill had been saying for ages how brilliant Jo is and how well the range of cool Wot Ma Like wooden keyrings featuring the celebrities have been selling. I could tell Jo had a great sense of humour from her regional product so I spoke to her about adding captions and making them into a card range, and voilà, the Modern Icons range was born!” Rosie Tate, director of Cath Tate Cards revealed to PG Buzz.
This new tie-up with Wot Ma Like is the latest of Cath Tate Cards’ collaborations with other card publishers, notably Deadpan, Jelly Armchair, Pavilion Prints, Veronica Dearly and Katy Christianson.
Elaborating on why these inter-industry arrangements work, Rosie sees it as “an opportunity for smaller publishers to spread their reach and get their work out there in lots of different and new places. From our point of view it is also really enjoyable working with lots of different designers – many heads are better than one, as they say!”
And it sounds like there could be more activity on this front to follow from Cath Tate Cards. “There are so many funny and talented artists out there and we’re always on the lookout for likeminded artists, illustrators and designers!” said Rosie.
For Jo Burrows, the latest development is a great new strand to the successful business path she has carved out.
“Wotmalike consists of myself Jo (a designer with over 20 years experience) and Nick an ex customer services director with brilliant organisation and people skills,” explains Jo.
Following on from the success with the company’s regional gift ranges, it went on to produce THE POSH BIT, a range of cards and gifts which feature a town or city name. The cards say ‘Happy Birthday from xxxx – The posh bit’ which have struck a chord with stockists up and down the country.
As to how the Modern Icons brand came about, Jo reveals: “To keep up my illustration skills current I drew a couple of famous people and showed them on Instagram. The reaction was immediately with several of our current stockists and sales agents asking me to draw specific icons. This has resulted in quite a library of characters from literary figures to iconic pop stars. (And I still have a huge list of people waiting to be drawn). Initially the characters were only reproduced on wooden keyrings, but we have now begun translating the images onto wooden coasters,” explains Jo. The keyrings and coasters are produced using Wot Ma Like’s own digital printing equipment, which makes them both durable and water resistant.
“Cath Tate then approached me to see if we could work together on cards. It is such a great match – we use my illustrations with their witty clever catchphrases. I can’t wait for the cards to be launched at PG Live. With Cath Tate’s distribution and string reputation I think we are a brilliant partnership!” believes Jo.
Cath Tate is one of 230+ companies who will be exhibiting at PG Live (June 4 and 5 at London’s Business Design Centre). To make sure you are at this amazing celebration of the exciting greeting card industry, register now (and receive your free 2019 Show Preview) https://pgl-2019.reg.buzz/
Online registration works really well, but if you don’t have an easily accessible email address or you would just rather speak to someone in real life, please call the PG Live show team on +44 (0) 1635 297070 during office hours.
Top: Three of the Modern Icons designs from Cath Tate Cards.
