Greeting card publishers have just over three weeks left to enter The Henries 2021, the UK’s dedicated awards for greeting card ranges. As well as being in with a chance of winning a coveted award, entering also means that the designs will be seen by a huge number of retailers and overseas distributors who will form the judging panel.
A revamped website, the portal for all Henries 2021 entries and judging this year, is now filling up with entries (https://www.thehenriesawards.co.uk/), with the deadline for entries being Wednesday 21 July.
Open to all UK publishers, The Henries 2021 awards will reward creative excellence right across the greeting card publishing spectrum, from humour to art, sentiment to contemporary trend and everything in between. In addition, there is an award category for Best Giftwrappings Range as well as one for Best Young Designer or Artist (open to all cardie creatives 35 years or under).
All new card and wrap ranges (or extensions to existing ranges) launched between 1 July 2020 and 28 July 2021 from UK publishers or distributors can be entered.
The Henries 2021 welcomes a brand new award category – Best Diversity and Inclusion Range, which is being sponsored by the GCA.
“It has always been a core belief that to maintain their respected status, The Henries Awards categories would need to evolve to reflect both society and the industry. The addition of a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion award is part of our commitment to this,” states Jakki Brown, co-owner and joint managing director of Max Publishing (which owns and organises The Henries).
The GCA is the sponsor for this new award. As the association’s ceo Amanda Fergusson commented: “The GCA is delighted to sponsor this award as it allows us to celebrate diversity in our industry and encourage both retailers and publishers to continue the drive to ensure that all communities are represented on greeting cards. With 18-34 year olds sending more cards than a generation ago, engaging everyone in our wonderful diverse British population is vital to ensure that greeting card sending continues into the next generation. I know there will be a lot of strong competition for this trophy!”
Mark Callaby, owner of Ohh Dear and chair of the GCA Diversity and Inclusion Sub-committee added: “this award is a really positive step in celebrating diversity within the industry and will provide another great platform for underrepresented groups and showcase some of the fabulous inclusive collections that are available from UK publishers”.
As ever, entry to The Henries is free and the online entry process is easy. Entrants will be required to register and in doing so will be asked to create a password. This will enable them to update and add to their entries right up until the closing date.
In the case of the Henry Cole Classic Award (for ranges that have stood the test of time), in addition to imagery, publishers should also submit a brief description about the range’s heritage and evolution.
Likewise, for The Lynn Tait Most Promising Young Designer or Artist award category, entrants should include some details about themselves as well as images which show off their creative skills.
Elaborating on the judging process for this year, Jakki Brown, joint md of Max Publishing explained: “While everyone is still adjusting to the ‘new normal’ we wanted to find a way that we could make it as flexible as possible for a wealth of new designs from publishers to still be judged by an extensive panel of retail buyers. This way, they can. And retailers will not need to do it all in one day!”
In something of a twist from previous years, the extensive judging panel of retailers, from right across the spectrum will be joined by several leading overseas distributors. All judges will have a couple of weeks to complete their task.
Any retailer or overseas greeting card distributor who would like to join The Henries 2021 judging panel should contact Jakki Brown on jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk
While publishers are being invited to submit their product ranges, independent retailers will be invited to nominate their top three card or wrap suppliers for the Best Service to the Independent Retailer award. The deadline for nominations for this category is August 21.
The finalists of The Henries 2021 will be announced in late August while the winners will be unveiled at a Boogie Wonderland-themed awards extravaganza on Thursday 7 October, which will take place at The Royal Lancaster Hotel, London.
“The greeting card community deserves a humongous party of celebration and togetherness and that is exactly what we are going to create with The Henries 2021 awards event this year,” exclaimed Warren Lomax, joint managing director of Max Publishing. “And with Boogie Wonderland as the theme for the awards event, everyone will be in a fab and groovy mood on October 7!”
Tickets and tables for The Henries 2021 can be reserved quickly and securely online by visiting Max-Tickets.net or by contacting Clare Hollick of Createvents via email: clare@createvents.co.uk or phone: +44 (0)1183 340085.
The Henries Awards 2021 have the strong backing of major names in the industry as official sponsors. These currently include Alpha Colour, EBB Elliott Baxter, Fedrigoni, Foilco, GCA, GF Smith, Gould, Herbert Walkers, The Imaging Centre, LB Warehousing, Loxleys, Postmark, PG Live, Skeet Print, Spring Fair, UK Envelopes and Windles.
Top: The disco ball is revolving in anticipation of The Henries 2021.
