A taster of new releases at greetings trade show – and the delicious lunch menu
There’s a feast for the eyes – and tummies – at PG Live in just a week’s time, with so many wonderful new launches to be seen, so here’s a taster of what’s going on.
And, of course, the fabulous free lunch on both days, 4-5 June, at London’s Business Design Centre means the ever-important trade show question of keeping the tummy rumbles at bay is catered for while the hunger for new product is well taken care of.
The delicious menu of vegetable putanesca lasagne or roasted haddock, celeriac and potato gratin with sea lettuce butter, and roasted carrot and chickpea salad on Tuesday and Thai green chicken curry or spinach, celeriac and ricotta pie, with cucumber, edamame beans and green pepper salad on Wednesday was thoroughly taste-tested by the team from show organiser Max Publishing and the BDC’s catering staff, and the empty plates were testament to the deliciousness.
Make sure you’re registered to attend the UK’s only dedicated greeting card trade show by clicking here – do it now to ensure you get a copy of the fabulous show guide – and get a taste of what to expect by looking through this short list of new releases at PG Live.
Standing out – Lowlands Studios is serving something special to your table, with its brand-new 3D collection, Pop it Up! The collection comprises 36 designs that are a mixture of large pull-out, pop-up and special 3D folded cards in three different formats, portrait 160mmx220mm, landscape 220mmx160mm and 180mm square.
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Mini mayhem – it was seven years ago that Dom Early, Earlybird Designs’ head designer and co-owner, produced a range of mini cards that, despite the size being unusual at the time, was snapped up by many stores and has grown to 100 relations, age, birthday and occasion designs in the collection. PG Live sees the launch of 18 new neon mini cards, which focus on sentiments and children’s numbers, featuring spot UV and embossing.
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Feeling Tipp Top – christening a new collaboration, Rosie Made A Thing has collaborated with friends Abi and Roz, aka Tipperleyhill, to arrive at the new Tipp Top range, comprising 18 designs featuring quirky animals in rather fancy shirts. The 109mmx 157mm cards come naked with a snazzy Aqua envelope.
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Fair’s fair – there’s more fun to be had at the Objectables’ fair! A host of new ages designs as well as more occasions are joining the Fun Fairs range. The 120x170mm cards are sold naked and nested with a Callisto soft white envelope.
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A man’s world – Vibrant Verse is among the newness from Two For Joy Illustration. This male-orientated collection comprises over 30 typographical designs in a contemporary palette of blues and yellows with a rainbow-foiled finish, accompanied by an ochre envelope. This complements the original female collection foiled in pinks and oranges, paired with a lilac envelope. Wrap is also available.
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It’s a wrap – James Ellis is launching its first ever giftwrap range, with 16 designs of sheet wrap in the inaugural collection for adults and children. Each 500x700mm sheet is printed on 100gsm FSC-certified uncoated paper that’s plastic-free and 100% recyclable. Orders will be sent without plastic packaging, flat in a box.
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Beauty and the Beastie – The Comedy Card Company will be showcasing its new Beastie range featuring daft humour, pastel colours, and the odd mouse or two! Printed in the UK on FSC board, each card is supplied with a recycled kraft envelope.
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Down on the farm – inspired by the lovely rural setting of its west Berkshire studio, Buttercup Farm is a new range of birthdays and blank cards from Paper Shed Design. The collection features soft whimsical beautifully illustrated designs featuring farm animals. in a range of birthdays and blanks.
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So Italian – Allora is one of the several new ranges Lucilla Lavender will be showing. This collection of 28 everyday and occasions designs by Liz Vanden Baviere features a contemporary colour palette overlaid on to backgrounds of cream and soft pastels, with a fun type-style and subtle embossing.
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Act your age – Ricicle Cards‘ new adult age range celebrates each milestone with shimmering gold foil and a vibrant, gender-neutral colour palette. A6 in size, there are eight designs in the inaugural collection, each of which will be accompanied by a white envelope.
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A capital idea – responding to requests from several retailers, Klara Hawkins is launching a range of London-themed cards at the show. These 15 playful designs, featuring some of the capital’s favourite landmarks and icons, contain a mixture of birthday and blank cards. Orders over £150 placed at the show will receive a 15% discount.
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Delicate touch – Cinnamon Aitch is welcoming 30 new designs to its bestselling range, Primrose Hill. Each card is hand-finished with little gems and flowers to add an understated sparkle, delicately enhancing each illustration. The new additions cover ages, relations as well as birthday designs. All are printed on heavyweight, textured FSC board and supplied with a bespoke printed envelope.
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Female finesse – Millefleur is Abacus Cards’ latest illustrative female birthday range. Taking inspiration from the art deco era these dazzling, celebratory designs are created using intricate raised gloss black varnish with iconic birthday symbols accentuated by beautifully penned flowers. All are accompanied by a black and white art deco-inspired printed patterned envelope.
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Sunny days – in celebration of its 15th anniversary, Rosanna Rossi has fused all of its best creations in its new card collection, Sunburst. Spanning a broad mix of masculine and feminine designs to suit any occasion the 150mm square cards all include raised gold or copper foil accents to add a luxury touch. They are paired with a cream or eco kraft envelope.
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Flush with plush – Peter Rabbit, Paddington, Disney’s Winnie The Pooh and the new Harry Potter Wizarding World collections are just some of the licensed plush and gift ranges that Rainbow Designs will be showcasing. Among these is Rainbow’s Disney’s Hundred Acre Wood Winnie The Pooh collection of soft toys and nursery essentials which includes Pooh Bear himself and his friends Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet. And, with the third Paddington movie on the horizon, it’s marmalade sandwich time!
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Text messaging – well-known for its quirky contemporary statement pins, stickers, patches, bookmarks and notepads, Fluffmallow is now branching out into greeting cards. Launching with 20 designs, they’re a mix of everyday and occasions designs with the messaging enhanced by a foil finish. There’s a show offer of free postage if you buy 6 skus of cards.
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Buns at the ready – Fire up the grill and hoist the wieners as Arrthi launches 20 new designs into its Cheeky Legends greeting card collection. Among the new additions to this growing humour range and captions such as BBQ Wizard and Drama Bum.
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Animal magic – The Art File is launching over 100 new designs in brand-new collections as well as extensions to bestselling card ranges, plus giftwrap and stationery items. Among these is Zig Zag Zoo, an adorable children’s card collection. Every card features a pair of geometric animals in pastel colours, with six designs available as age cards too. Each die-cut card is printed on textured board and finished with spot uv.
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No brush off – following on from ArtPress’ successful Inky range, artist Jenny Frean has created Brush With Nature, a new colourful and gently humorous collection. The animals and critters interact playfully with objects in our world and give rise to titles such as “Ants in your plants” and “2B or not 2 Bee”. The 150mm square blank cards are accompanied by a recycled kraft envelope.
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A greener sparkle – as the world’s first reel-to-reel manufacturer of Bioglitter wrapping paper, The Unique Paper Company will be showcasing its brand-new Winter Woodland range of flat wrap, roll wrap, greeting cards and gift bags. All wrap is printed and converted in the UK using FSC-certified paper, water-based inks and finished with Bioglitter, made from natural and plant-derived material for a greener sparkle. There’s a 10% discount off orders placed at the show plus entry into a prize draw to win £250 worth of vouchers for the Buyagift website or equivalent free stock.
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Keeping you postcarded – Pink And Mint Design has extended its greeting card and prints portfolio with the addition of a range of postcards. They all feature founder Suzanne Tak’s distinctive contemporary style in trademark pink and green colour palette, the designs cover popular London landmarks and scenes.
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Paws for thought – making its show debut, Heather Trefusis Art will be launching Happy Tails, a joyful range based on hand-painted animal designs covering birthdays and congratulations. The 150mm square cards are printed on 300gsm beautifully-textured FSC-certified board, supplied with a kraft envelope either nested or wrapped in biodegradable cellos.
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A stitch in time – all based on the lady herself’s incredible freehand embroidery art, Jane Buurman Handmade has three brand-new collections. Summer Breeze features beautiful florals with heartfelt sentiment, Bouquet incorporates bold type with bees and florals, while Whiskers celebrates our furry friends, featuring dog breeds with a pop art twist. New designs also join the Inspire female sports collection.
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Hello Sunshine – You won’t miss Paper Salad’s new children’s range Sunshine as it’s a fun and super-bright icon-based children’s collection featuring the company’s signature neon colours, further enhanced by super shiny spot uv and deep embossing. The 125mm x 175mm cards are supplied with a bright patterned envelope.
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Back to collage – Soho is one of three brand new ranges being launched by Happy Street. Featuring an array of vibrant colours, the contemporary designs, all created in-house started off life as tiny, collaged artworks. The 105mm x 150mm cards come with a recycled kraft envelope and are supplied naked or wrapped. There is no minimum order.
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Wood if you could – new from Apple & Clover is its Eco Wooden Badge card collection, comprising 18 designs, each featuring a colourful children’s badge covering ages one to seven, along with open birthday captions for boys and girls. The wooden badges are sustainably sourced, making them an eco-friendly alternative to the classic birthday badge. The 155mm square cards are accompanied by a black spotted, kraft envelope, and there’s 15% off orders placed at the show.
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Chocs away – The Cambridge Confectionery Company is the younger, more chocolatey sibling of family-owned fudge manufacturing firm Calico Cottage UK and will be exhibiting at the show for the first time showcasing its UK-made artisan chocolate and gift confectionery. It will be a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds.
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Shopping spree – A quirky alternative to the “love you to the moon and back sentiment comes The Curious Pancake’s Love You To The Supermarket And Back range, the designs of which pay homage to all the major supermarket carrier bags! The A6 cards, printed on luxury matt 350gsm FSC board, come naked and nested, accompanied by a kraft brown envelope.
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Such bravery – Brilliantly Brave is launching nine new ranges, 104 cards in total, all 150mm square, sold naked and accompanied by colourful recycled envelopes. Gratitude Galore (pictured) is a range that captures the profound impact of having a supportive presence during life’s most challenging moments with vibrant, joyful designs that radiate sincere appreciation. Through its tie-up with Green Ribbons, every 1,000 cards sold translates into covering the cost of a two-day, 16-person mental health first aid course.
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Animal antics – in addition to its Renaissance Vandalism range, licensed from Artijoke, Bewilderbeest is adding a bundle of new designs to its Tail Wagging The Dog and Heard They’re Absurd collections. All animal-themed, there’s a mixture of occasion-specific cards and the everyday nonsense that Bewilderbeest is best known. All available cellowrapped or naked, as is the publisher’s founder Iain!
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