As the new card ranges ordered at PG Live are now earning their keep on racks, PG Buzz shares the views of Andrew Webb, buyer of Scribbler, Yasmin Twist, buyer of Gee Tee’s group and Kristan Miller, owner of Cadeaux & Co in Wells as to what they felt was the cream of the crop at the recent show.
Andrew Webb, buyer of Scribbler: “PG Live is the premier event for greeting cards as it pulls together the best in the industry and with Springboard it introduces you to new and upcoming designers. As well as the amazing ranges of cards, it also is a perfect venue to network with other suppliers, artists, retailers and other international partners.”
Andrew’s top picks: “Among the highlights for me, were…
Emily McDowell (from Abrams and Chronicle): Strong portfolio with amazing cards and gifts that we look forward to bringing in-store soon. It was great to meet Emily and get a photo while awarding them a Silver Ticket.
Angela Chick: Unique colour palette that always stands out with amazing lines and recipient of our Sunshine Ticket.
Objectables: A great range of cards and we always love the sense of humour and had to give Tim Gould, owner a Silver Ticket.
Cardinky: All the team loved the range and was an easy pick for our other Sunshine Ticket.
Bold & Bright: The Jeffrey & Janice characters are amazing and Thea Musselwhite, the company founder has a great sense of humour so I always love seeing what is new with J&J.
Dean Morris: A legend in the card industry and always has some fun and new designs that make us laugh.
I could go on and on as this year’s PG Live had some amazing ranges across the board with companies like Roger la Borde, Redback, Paperlink, The Art File, Archivist, U Studio, Special Delivery, Five Dollar Shake, Counting Stars, Some Ink Nice, Pango, Quite Good Cards, Whale & Bird, Rosie Made A Thing, Sooshichacha, Cath Tate, Earlybird, Poet & Painter all showing fantastic new collections.”
Yasmin Twist, buyer for Gee Tee’s, with five stores in Westhoughton, Fleetwood, Bamber Bridge, Ashton-in-Makerfield and Pemberton:
“As always we had a thoroughly enjoyable day at the show – one of the best dates that always has to be in my diary. The show was superb in its entirety, brimming with an array of wonderful exhibitors that never fail to impress. There are many who have been in the card industry for years, but also equally I love browsing the new designers in Springboard, where you are enticed with so many new looks and ideas from all over the world.
It amazes me how this wonderful greeting card industry of which we are all part continually reinvents itself with fantastic new designs, looks, styles and trends.
Big thanks to both Tache and Louise Tiler for their huge generosity in sponsoring the lunchroom and the after show party. Full credit to them for both achieving such success in only five years, I am delighted for them both, they are a true inspiration to up and coming designers.”
Yasmin’s top picks: “It was good to see so many of the card companies focusing on the eco-friendly as we have to cherish this world for our future generations by utilising new boards and materials that care for our environment.
I was really thrilled with what was new to our little eyes, notably Punkcards’ new eco-friendly cards that are displayed in what appears the old nostalgic ‘record’ sleeve on a CDU that complements the range so very well. All three of us were so impressed with all three different looks of cards, whether they were the buff natural look, the gorgeous girly pink range or the vivid bright eye catching colours. Each range comes on amazing CDUs that would entice any customer to browse and no-doubt chuckle away at the very new jokes on the front of the sleeve of the card. So very impressed, and loved the idea of the ‘naughty more rude’ cards in a white and red sleeve cover – only to view if over 18 years old. I really wish I could house each of the stands with all the ranges as they stood out to me as the best humour cards I have seen in a long while, plus the packaging could not be improved upon. A great deal of care and time had clearly been spent on developing the concept. I am so excited for the product to arrive as I am sure they will be a most welcome addition to our stores. We used our Sunshine ticket on this stand, and I was more than happy to do so, as I so loved the cards.
After reading PG Buzz, and the comments from Mark Janson-Smith of Postmark on what was his sell through was at Christmas, I took note of the company Sooschichacha that he mentioned and went along to the stand. What lovely, lovely ladies – and what a coincidence that they’re from the Wigan area. Lucie Chadderton, co-owner’s grandma was living in Orrell just around the corner from our head office, so perfect to support someone from our neck of the woods. Likewise, they had very new designs and trends, different to the other companies we stock, so we used our Silver Ticket with them.
Our Sunshine ticket was used with Dean Morris Cards. A lot of the humour focuses on current affairs and so we saw it as an ideal opportunity to trial the cards during the summer months to determine whether or not it is a company we could stock on a regular basis.
Second Nature also jumped out with its Yours Truly 99p card range, which is ideal to offer for customers who are looking for a more value card. The look and quality were excellent so am now trialing them at our Westhoughton store. We already deal with Second Nature, and its ranges not only sell well for us but we receive a good service from Tim West and the team.
We were also impressed by how IC&G, Jonny Javelin and UKG all demonstrated what a marvellous job they do by continually changing and improving their ranges and designs on such a regular basis, hence the reason they are our best selling publishers.”
Kristan Miller, owner of Cadeaux & Co in Wells: “What a great show!! Up until a couple of years ago, I did not see PG Live as a priority exhibition for me, but I have completely changed my mind. I’m able to focus entirely on cards and stationery, which I find impossible at other shows. It’s also a great meeting place – to catch up with existing suppliers and find new products, particularly as so many companies use PG Live as the perfect time to launch new lines.”
Kristan’s top picks: “Our card selection has grown hugely over the last few years and while I’m obviously happy to continue with our favourites, new stars to Cadeaux & Co include Emma Bryan, Stormy Knight and Poet & Painter, all discovered at PG Live this year.
Emma Bryan’s designs are a beautifully elegant selection of hand-painted watercolours. Fresh, subtle and sophisticated – and how lovely to support someone at their first trade show!
I loved the variety from Stormy Knight, many of which will appeal to our slightly younger customers; Sarah’s Christmas collection is gorgeous and the Claire Owens’ selection of cards is beautiful. And discovering that Sarah went to the same high school as my own children was lovely.
Poet & Painter – such colourful contemporary style, some risqué but with brilliant sentiment. Love them!
Some of the highlights from our longstanding suppliers who I managed to catch up with include Laura Darrington, Toasted Crumpet, Wendy Jones-Blackett, Lucy Ledger, Stop the Clock and Dandelion Stationery.”
Top: Scribbler’s Andrew Webb, Yasmin Twist of Gee Tee’s and Cadeaux & Co’s Kristan Miller.
