Sainsbury’s x GCA Design A Card For Black History Month Initiative

Almost 1,000 greeting card designs were entered into the Design A Card For Black History Month competition, instigated by the GCA in conjunction with Sainsbury’s, which will see 26 of the selected designs being printed onto cards and going on sale in 107 Sainsbury’s stores, displayed in a dedicated shipper to mark Black History Month this year.

Above: Sainsbury’s buyer Emma Tanner (second right) met in person with the GCA’s Amanda Fergusson (far right) and Ohh Deer’s md Mark Callaby and Adriana Lovesy (owner of Mrs Lovesy), the latter two being GCA Council members and also on the GCA Diversity and Inclusion sub-committee.
Above: Sainsbury’s buyer Emma Tanner (second right) met in person with the GCA’s Amanda Fergusson (far right) and Ohh Deer’s md Mark Callaby and Adriana Lovesy (owner of Mrs Lovesy), the latter two being GCA Council members and also on the GCA Diversity and Inclusion sub-committee.

“This initiative is very much part of the GCA’s on-going commitment to drive diversity and inclusion within the industry,” explained Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA. “We are absolutely delighted with the enthusiasm for this project, highlighting the importance of building connections through greeting cards, and also engaging the next generation of artists and card senders”

Above: The competition was open to all designers and publishers, irrespective of whether they are GCA members or not.
Above: The competition was open to all designers and publishers, irrespective of whether they are GCA members or not.

Mark Callaby, managing director of Ohh Deer and head of the GCA Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee was instrumental in developing this progressive project with the Sainsbury’s team.

The Sainsbury’s buying team of Abi Wilson, Kate Goss and Emma Tanner are currently ratifying their final selection of the 26 winning designs, following a meeting at Ohh Deer’s Loughborough offices (and via Zoom) with GCA Council members’ Adriana Lovesy from Mrs Lovesy and Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby and GCA’s Amanda Fergusson.

Above: Sainsbury’s buyer manager Abi Wilson (bottom) and card and wrap buyer Kate Goss (right) joined the initial selection meeting via Zoom.
Above: Sainsbury’s buyer manager Abi Wilson (bottom) and card and wrap buyer Kate Goss (right) joined the initial selection meeting via Zoom.

All designers and publishers (irrespective of whether they were a GCA member or not) were invited to submit designs via Instagram.

As Adriana commented: “There are so many talented black publishers based in the UK and this initiative has really highlighted that.

I love the fact that the competition was run on Instagram and entry is therefore easily accessible to all.  In doing this, Sainsbury’s and the GCA have ensured that the competition is truly inclusive while also providing these talented designers with a platform on which the public can see and show support for their work.”

Above: Adriana Lovesy with baby Noémi at PG Live.
Above: Adriana Lovesy with baby Noémi at PG Live.

The 26 selected designs are to be printed onto greeting cards, with the designers/publishers receiving a royalty of 15p for every card sold, with any additional profits made going to kickstart a new GCA Diversity and Inclusion Fund that will be used to drive future initiatives within the industry. Greeting card printer Windles is subsidising the printing costs of the cards in order to maximise the profits for the initiative.

Above: Some 999 designs were entered into the competition (including these three) with the winning entrants being contacted shortly.
Above: Some 999 designs were entered into the competition (including these three) with the winning entrants being contacted shortly.

Top: Three of the designs that were entered into the competition via Instagram.

 

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