As the final touches are being put to the inaugural Noted: The Greeting Card Expo, the new US greeting card trade show which debuts in New York’s Brooklyn Expo Center (May 18-20) plans are already underway for the show’s next location, destined for San Francisco in May 2020.
The brand new show, which is being organised by the US Greeting Card Association will see around 150 publishers exhibiting at the event in a few weeks time.
“Noted is an experience that is all about making meaningful, lasting connections between buyer and seller. And an experience that, frankly, is very much like the sending and receiving of cards,” says GCA executive director, Peter Doherty.
The exhibition will also see the trade association showcase its other initiatives, including its take on the UK GCA’s initiative, Thinking of You Week. Having debuted last year, this year the US GCA is relaunching the event in the States with a little help from Raj Arora, founder of UK card publisher, Davora.
Having devised the US branding for this year, the US GCA contacted Raj to see if he could create the website, especially as he built the website for the UK event.
As Nicky Burton, executive member of the US GCA (and owner of Calypso, a US distributor for many UK publishers) explained: “It became clear that Raj had unique skills that perfectly matched our needs. As a member of the UK’s GCA, he understood the Thinking of You Week idea, and through his web design business he knew how to put together a website. We’re really pleased with the outcome!”
The new website includes support and suggestions for publishers and retailers who want to get involved with Thinking of You Week (September 23-29), and a toolkit with useful downloadable resources.
“The Inspiration Wall is one of my favourite pages,” Nicky said. “Thinking of You Week can mean different things to different people, and the Inspiration Wall allows us to capture the diversity of sentiment it evokes.”
In addition, the new Noted exhibition will accommodate a display of the Louie Awards finalists, the US greeting card awards equivalent of The Henries in the UK. As previously announced on PG Buzz, this year’s Louie awards’ finalist line–up includes several UK publishers (https://www.pgbuzz.net/louie-fame-for-lagom-laura-sherratt-rosie-made-a-thing-ohh-deer-and-think-of-me/)
The winners of the Louie Awards will be announced during the show (May 19) at a evening event.
While funky Brooklyn Expo Center is the venue for Noted: The Greeting Card Expo this month, the plan is that the show will be staged in a different US city each year with the 2020 show taking take place in San Francisco. And next year’s show will also have the added attraction of running alongside Blue Print, a surface print and design show.
“This kind of collaboration never would have happened, had it not been for a number of courageous volunteers agreeing to pledge our resources in support of an effort that works to bring publishers, designers, artists and their retail and wholesale partners together for a truly new and exciting event experience,” explains Peter, referring to the members of the GCA who have volunteered who have been instrumental in getting Noted off the ground. ”2020 will see the start of an annual “rotating” event that moves to a different city in the USA each year. The locations of the 2021 and 2022 shows will be determined based on feedback from both exhibitors and attendees. The rotating locations will give buyers and visitors the opportunity to experience the trends and lifestyles of consumers across the country and offer a fresh perspective from a new location each year,” Peter added.
www.greetingcard.org/noted-the-greeting-card-expo/
Top: Noted: The Greeting Card Expo will take place in the funky Brooklyn Expo Center.
