Retailers can still pledge participation in the greeting card awards
Greeting retailers from far and wide have been pledging to form The Henries online judging panel – but there are still spaces left if you’d like to have your say on the best designs of the year.
“We are already over 60 retail judges for the first stage of The Henries judging – from the biggest grocers, specialists and department stores to a wealth of independents, garden centres and bookshops,” explained Jakki Brown, managing director of Max Publishing, which owns and organises the awards.
“All retailers are welcome to have their say on ensuring the best greeting card ranges reach the finals of these very special awards. So many have signed up already, but the more the merrier!”
The list of judges already includes buyers from Card Factory, Clintons, Fortnum & Mason, John Lewis, WHSmith, Scribbler, Sainsbury’s, Postmark, Waterstones, Tesco, National Trust, Oliver Bonas, Henry & Co, Morleys, Elphicks, Paper Tiger, MiMi, House Of Cards, Longacres, The Card Centre, In Heaven At Home, Milford Cards & Gifts, Pencil Me In, Chirpy, Nickery Nook, First Class Greetings, Medici, Maddy Moos, Lovely Libby’s, Lark, Highworth Emporium, Cards N Things, No14 Ampthill, Lovely Libby’s, Hugs & Kisses and lots more!
With entries having closed on Sunday, 18 June, the Max team is currently busily double-checking everything ready for the start of the first part of the two-step judging process, which takes place entirely online with the extensive panel of retail buyers, each judging at least six categories each.
Judging will get underway in earnest on Monday, 26 June, but judges will have until July 10 to cast their votes.
Then, from the judges’ online votes, a shortlist of contenders will be drawn up to go forward to the live round later in the summer, again judged entirely by retailers, where publishers will be asked to supply physical card samples to be presented to the panel whose votes decide the finalists and winner in all product categories.
The Henries 2023 award categories span the whole gamut of greeting card publishing, from humour to cute, art to children’s, Christmas to sentiment, and D&I to R&O. This year the Best Handmade Or Hand-finished Range has been expanded to reflect the proliferation of paper-engineered cards and renamed Best 3D, Pop-Up, Hand-Finished Or Handmade Range.
Once again, there is no online submission stage for The Lynn Tait Most Promising Young Designer Or Artist award as it has been deemed this special award category needs to be appreciated in the flesh so creatives are invited to submit boards showcasing their artistic prowess.
This award is open to all designers and artists, either employed by a publisher or freelance, aged 35 years or under on 1 July, 2023, and there’s a little longer for submissions with the boards due in by 26 July.
If you’re a greetings retailer of any sized store and you’d like to take part in the online judging round please email Jakki at jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk by 5pm on Monday, 26 June, so she can get you signed up ready for the judging.
All the winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony which will be taking place at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on Thursday, 5 October, 2023, and The Henries 2023 is set to be a vibrant, joyful event, especially as it will take on an up-tempo Mardi Gras fiesta theme this year! To book tickets click here.
Top: The extensive panel of retailers at the 2022 Henries live judging round
