The UK leads the world in greeting cards, both in design and per capita send – The Henries awards celebrate this pre-eminence as the only dedicated accolades for greeting cards.
Named after Sir Henry Cole (who introduced the first commercially produced Christmas card over 160 years ago), The Henries were introduced by Progressive Greetings Worldwide magazine in 1996 as annual awards to shine the spotlight on greeting card ranges.
Winning a Henries award is something to be really proud of. Each and every year over 14,000 greeting cards and wrappings are entered in The Henries.
The Henries award categories span the whole gambit of greeting card publishing, from humour to cute, art to Christmas and everything in between.
The Henries awards are free to enter and are open to all UK publishers (of those distributed in the UK), from the largest multi-national to the smallest one-man band.
The majority of the award categories are for card ranges that have either been launched in the preceding year or for new designs to an existing range. The Henry Cole Classic Award however celebrates card ranges that have stood the test of time.
There is also a special award to celebrate young designers/artists (under the age of 35) to encourage and reward the immense creativity that provides the lifeblood of the industry.
All product entries are judged by an extensive panel comprising completely of retail buyers. The panel includes top retail buyers from right across the retail spectrum including from specialist multiples, regional groups independents, department stores, supermarkets, bookshops, garden centres and online operators.
The winners are announced at a lavish awards event that takes place every October at the Royal Lancaster London Hotel. Each year the event takes on a different theme making each one even more memorable for the 700+ publishers, retailers and trade suppliers that attend. To find out more about The Henries, visit the dedicated awards website here.
To discuss entering, sponsorship or any other way to be involved in the awards, please visit the contact us page and get in touch.
To book tickets or tables for The Henries please click here.
