The Henries 2020 greeting card industry awards are now open for entries! As announced at the start of this month, with the ongoing Covid-19 situation, in order to safeguard The Henries awards, the entry and judging process is moving entirely to online for this year.
A brand new website, which is now the portal for all Henries 2020 entries and judging, has just gone live (www.thehenriesawards.co.uk).
The deadline for entering The Henries 2020 product categories has been extended to 28 July 2020.
UK publishers (or distributors) are now invited to enter their new card and wrap ranges (or extensions to existing ranges) launched between 10 July 2019 and 9 July 2020.
Explaining about the change, Warren Lomax, joint managing director of Max Publishing (which owns and organises The Henries) said: “While lockdown is easing, we felt it was important to create a failsafe method for publishers to be able to enter their wonderful ranges. With so many people still furloughed or working from home, moving to online entering and judging for this year seemed the best solution.”
Instead of sending in physical cards and wrap to Max Publishing’s offices be entered, this year, publishers will upload five images to via the site for each range being entered.
In the case of the Henry Cole Classic Award (for ranges that have stood the test of time), in addition to imagery, publishers should also submit a brief description about the range’s heritage and evolution.
Likewise, for The Lynn Tait Most Promising Young Designer or Artist award category, entrants should include some details about themselves as well as images which show off their creative skills.
As ever entry to The Henries is free and the entry process is quick and easy. Entrants will be required to register and in doing so will be given a password. This will enable them to update and add to their entries right up until the closing date.
In recognition of current times, The Henries 2020 programme welcomes the introduction of a new award categories – Best Lockdown Range.
“It has always been our core belief that to maintain their respected status, The Henries Awards categories would need to evolve in order to reflect the developments within the industry. The addition of a dedicated Best Lockdown Range, which can be humorous or non-humorous, is a perfect example of this,” added Warren.
While publishers are being invited to submit their product ranges, independent retailers will be invited to nominate their top three card or wrap suppliers for the Best Service to the Independent Retailer award. However, as the majority of indie retailers were closed for almost three months of this year, the deadline for this category is not until August 5.
The judging of The Henries product categories will also be undertaken online. An extensive judging panel made up entirely of retailers from right across the spectrum will share this collective from the comfort of their homes or offices, and will have several days to complete the task.
The Henries Awards 2020 have the strong backing of major names in the industry as official sponsors. These include Alpha Colour, EBB Elliott Baxter, Fedrigoni, Foilco, GF Smith, Gould, Herbert Walker, The Imaging Centre, LB Warehousing, Loxleys, Paperchase, PG Live, Sherwood Group, Skeet, UK Envelopes, and Windles.
