GCA teams up with publishers and Top Drawer London for card-sending boost
Thinking Of You Week is coming up fast and the GCA has teamed up with Top Drawer London organiser Clarion Events to give the greeting card sending initiative a boost, while publishers have been connecting with indie retailers.
A total of 3,000 TOYW packs have been sent to stores across the UK, giving them each an A3 poster, a tent card to display in store, and a leaflet to explain the Send A Card, Deliver A Smile concept for the week-long greeting card sending initiative, which runs over 18-24 September.
“As proud members of the Greeting Card Association, we’re delighted to host the Thinking Of You Week initiative at Top Drawer this September,” Clarion’s show manager David Westbrooke told PG Buzz.
“Visitors to the show this year will be able to reignite the art of heartfelt communication by sending cards to friends and family directly from the event.”
As well as publishers Abacus, Belly Button, Emotional Rescue, Hallmark, Caroline Gardner, GBCC/Ling Design, Ohh Deer, Paper Salad, Raspberry Blossom, Ricicle Cards, Second Nature, Stormy Knight, and UK Greetings sending the kits – which were printed by Graphite Creative – to their indie customers, The Imaging Centre also printed and sent out packs to its retail customers.
And for Top Drawer A/W, which takes place at Kensington Olympia in London from Sunday to Tuesday, 10-12 September, the GCA is working with show organiser Clarion to spread the joy of sending and receiving cards, with a TOYW display located in the Greetings & Stationery area.
The double-side wall display will feature cards from show exhibitors, who include ArtPress, Atelier Auge, Cambridge Imprint, Charfleet Book Bindary, Curlicue, East End Prints, Flower & Press, HappySelf, Heather Evelyn, HomeLess Made, Ia Am Roxanne, Intelligent Change, James Ellis, Kinshipped, Lottie Murphy, Modern Goods, Njeri Illustrated, Once Upon A Tuesday, Pavilion, Peggy & Kate, Poet And Painter, Roger La Borde, Rumble Cards, Stengun Drawings, Susan O’Hanlon, T’Art Designs, The Pop Out Card Company, The Positive Planner, Type And Story, Vent For Change, and Wendy Bell Designs.
There will also be a special postbox created by packaging experts N Smith. Visitors and exhibitors will be encouraged to take a card – specially designed by Raspberry Blossom and printed by Graphite Creative with envelopes donated by Enveco – and write it to someone, just to say hello, send a hug or share a joke and pop it in the postbox, with the postage being covered by Clarion.
There are TOYW events across the country, in schools, communities and local shops, with a free toolkit available to help people get involved in the GCA’s initiative.
