Catch up on all the latest news and views in the July issue of Progressive Greetings, which is out now, both in physical form and digitally online.
Want to know how Father’s Day went, what ranges are piquing the interest of leading card buyers right now and what trends are evident for the new clutch of Spring Seasons ranges? All these, plus all the latest news, columnists’ views and tons more are covered in Progressive Greetings July edition, which is out now and available to read online.
“I always love this show, it is really spirited. We have seen every single one of the 280 stands and are so impressed with the creativity out there”, exclaimed Lisa Rutherford, card buyer of John Lewis about the recent PG Live.
With a stunning array of publishers’ new product at last month’s PG Live, card buyers and retailers visiting the show this year were spoilt for choice. But, when pinned down, they revealed what exciting gems caught their eyes (see pages 33-39).
Want to relive that PG Live magic when the whole industry was in a magical ‘bubble’, enjoy a glance at a selection of photographs of the show (see pages 29-31)
And of course, we’ll all be off to Harrogate Home & Gift later this month, have a look at what’s new at the show this year (see pages 43-51).
Just how did Father’s Day fare for retailers this year? (see page 9).
With the last of this year’s Spring Seasons events over, attentions now turn to the 2018 offerings. Certainly the pater of the 21st century is more likely to have a stronger emotional connection with his kids and so gets a bit more ribbing from his offspring, with a plethora of teasing humorous cards for dear old pa.
With Valentine’s birds and bees, beautiful blooms for Mother’s Day and bouncing Easter bunnies, design trends ‘fruiting’ on Spring Seasons cards for 2018 are bountiful (see pages 62-63).
And now onto the fame game…Ever wondered what celebs thought about greeting cards? Wouldn’t you like to know that Mary Berry and Tom Hiddleston are busy making cards for their loved ones between TV or film scenes? And how does Sir Cliff Richard feel about having his own Danilo sound card? A group of famous names from the music, acting and political scene are ‘paper papped’, to reveal their views and involvement with greeting cards (see pages 40-41).
Tapping into one of our most powerful senses Cherry Orchard has launched Scent with Love range, which emits a gentle rose and vanilla aroma when the inside of the cards are brushed gently. But this is no ‘scratch and sniff’ novelty range. It’s been a real labour of love for Jackie Collins, managing director of Cherry Orchard who shares how inspiration from Jo Malone and her own mother, coupled with a chance discovery of The Cotswold Perfume Company, saw her follow her nose to the sweet smell of publishing success (see pages 66-67).
Someone who ‘nose’ a lot about this trade is Chris James, who retired at the end of last month having been sales director of Danilo for the last 18 years. As he hands over to Brett Smith, Danilo’s commercial director, both chaps share their reflections and future plans (see pages 64-65).
A ‘must see’ on the Art calendar is PG’s Focus On Art Cards in this month’s issue. With brush in hand, PG July paints a pretty picture of the news and the new within this very ‘palette-able’ sector of the greetings market (see pages 55-61).
But from high notes to a very sad note. Lynn Tait (of The Lynn Tait Gallery) has touched the lives of so many in the greeting card industry. Last month, Lynn sadly lost her fight with Myeloma, a rare blood cancer. In this month’s issue of PG Ladder Clubbies, peers and friends pay tribute to this special lady (see pages 75-77).
She may no longer be with us, but her legacy lives on.
We hope you enjoy PG’s July edition!
