Card and gift retailer Tabi Marsh joins national committee as Jeremy Corner steps down
The Giftware Association has a new chair with Louise Welsby, managing director of creative agency Buy-From, taking over for the next two years.
Gert Schyberg, founder of Sebnini, steps down into the deputy chair role, while Mark Jones, from Gisela Graham, becomes vice-chair, working alongside Louise before he becomes chair in 2024.
“It’s an honour to be the new chair of the Giftware Association, the first service provider in the association’s 75-year history to take on the role.” Louise said, having received her chain of office from Gert at The GA AGM held on Wednesday, 22 June, at its Birmingham HQ.
“I’m looking forward to continuing the excellent stewardship of Gert, and am keen to get to work on supporting the GA with new initiatives, including the development of the digital marketing and educational benefits,” she added.
With Blue Eyed Sun managing director Jeremy Corner standing down from the National Committee, The GA welcomed two new members to the ranks – Widdop And Co’s commercial director Stephen Illingworth will offer his knowledge and support, while Tabi Marsh, owner of card and gift shop Papilio At Heritage in Thornbury, is set to provide an important retail perspective on future projects.
Jeremy was the first greeting card publisher to chair the GA and took over from its first retailer chair Henri Davis, then working with Scribbler, and he was warmly thanked at the meeting for his many years of service and support.
Despite the rail strikes, GA members including suppliers, retailers and service providers, braved the travel chaos to attend, and heard from three members who each shared their incredible business journeys – Claire Harris, founder of Talking Tables; Demi Pendakis, founder of FYG (Find Your Glow), and Paul Sun, co-founder of Gingko.
The GA ceo Sarah Ward commented: “The day was fantastic. It was great to meet new and familiar faces and, also, to welcome the changeover in the National Committee. We wanted the day to be a bit different from a formal AGM and we succeeded in making that happen and connecting a lot of people.”
The minutes of the meeting and yearly report are available on the BATF website and can be found here.
