Join GCA for postal reform chat at Spring Fair along with tots, trophies, cheekiness and beavers
Cheekiness and beavers, tiny tots and trophies, flamboyance and fighting talk – Spring Fair has been making waves with its 75th anniversary edition in Birmingham this week.
And today, 4 February, is an important one for the greeting card industry as the GCA will be grabbing the limelight in the Masterclass Studio in Hall 3 at 3pm, with a 15-minute presentation on Postal Reforms & Retail: What Ofcom’s Changes Mean for You.

With Ofcom announcing its postal reform proposals on Thursday, 30 January, GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson and council members David Falkner, of Cardology, and David Byk, from Ling Design and GBCC, have grabbed the opportunity to explain the issue at Spring Fair and persuade more people to sign its petition to parliament.
“The proposals will reduce second-class deliveries to every other working day,” Amanda said, “leaving businesses and consumers reliant on an unregulated first-class stamp for letters and cards that need to arrive Saturday and next day.
“We’ll be explaining why this will affect your business and why we want MPs to review this before we irrevocable changes are made to the UK postal service.”

The petition, which can be accessed here with more details on the association’s website, asks for a parliamentary review of any changes to the 509-year-old Royal Mail service.
There are over 6,000 signatories already, but it needs to reach 10,000 to force the government to respond to it – if it reaches 100,000 then it will have to be considered for debate by MPs.
On the fun side of things, there was the tiniest of exhibitors as 11-week old Rafe captured visitors’ hearts on mum Megan Purdie’s Megan Claire stand yesterday, 3 February, while Dean Morris’ cheekiness caught the funny bone of stage and screen legend Dame Judi Dench.
“Something Different in Stratford are a customer who came on the stand on Sunday,” Dean told PG Buzz, “and said a chap had come in to buy a card and gift, he’s a theatre director who lives in Stratford, then he went back and said Judi had absolutely loved the card more than the gift!
“I’ve no idea what the gift was but the card was very rude – actually one of my rudest!”

Wrendale Designs has also been having fun with its six-foot beaver, which greets visitors at the main entrance to Hall 3, promoting the company’s Wild Wrendale rewilding efforts at its Lincolnshire farm base.
The very cuddly plush beaver is the subject of a competition to win a £500 voucher, along with 24 prizes of company founder Hannah Dale’s latest book A Wilding Year – just guess whether she’s named her new pal Claudia, Bertie, Cliff, Brian, Colin, Belinda, Cynthia, Beatrice or Chester, share the guess on social media with the hashtag #guesstheplush and tag @wrendaledesigns.
“We got it shipped without the stuffing to save on shipping costs and stuffed it ourselves in the office,” laughed co-owner Jack Dale. “It took 20kg of stuffing, but I don’t know what we’re going to do with it after the show though.
“I had to bring the children in on Sunday because they wanted to see it on the stand, and they’d love to have it at home but the house just isn’t big enough!

Meanwhile Spring Fair’s 75th Of Excellence awards saw event director Soraya Gadelrab take to the Inspiring Retail Stage at the end of the opening day on Sunday to present the trophies.
In the Best New Product Greetings, Party & Celebration category Paper Salad’s Alchemy Collection earned the striking trophy, while Vent For Change was the Most Eco-Friendly Brand.
Ryman owner, entrepreneur and former TV dragon Theo Paphitis was declared the Most Influential Person In Retail.
And Michael Apter, who has four Paper Tiger greetings and gift stores in Edinburgh, was joint winner of the Retail Ambassador Of The Year, alongside James Thomas, who runs Forever England lifestyle shops in Sherbourne, Sidmouth and Wells.
In the Best Longstanding Exhibitor Stand categories, Ginger Betty took the small stand trophy with Widdop And Co winning the large stand title.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen brought the flamboyance to the event as the designer and TV personality – who has a greeting card licence with Great British Card Company – opened the show on Sunday, then followed up with the first of the presentations.
Unleashing Creativity: Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen On Licensing, Art, & Designing For Retail Success attracted a good audience for insights into the art of merging creativity with commerce and revealing how he built a career turning bold artistic ideas into household names.
Championing the individuality and choice of the British High Street, he said, “I feel very strongly that we’re on a pivot point where independent retail has the opportunity to do something really different and powerfully positive; and it’s to do with the relationship between retail, manufacture and design.

“In this country the leverage, the real power, the real difference happens through independent retail. It happens through the fact that you make your own decisions, because you know who you’re selling to, because you don’t patronise your customers. This is the point of Indies, we provide choice.
“Be brave in your design choices; we have the landscape, retailscape to ourselves. The big conglomerates will never be able to get that sense of personality across to their customers as indies can. This is where the intersection between design and retail come together – pattern.
“It’s all about pattern. Because pattern is the ultimate storyteller, it’ll take your mind wherever you need it to go, making the connection between retailer and customer stronger – in the independent retail sector, pattern is something that can make an instant impression of getting people to understand who you are and what you’re doing.”

And he even managed a joke about the tribulations of his appearance on the Netflix show Bear Hunt where he got entangled in a rope and stuck underwater in a Costa Rican river before being resuscitated by survival expert Bear Grylls.
“Have you ever wondered what being given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by Bear Grylls is like – it was like being snogged by a wet bag of spanners!”
Spring Fair continues through to 4pm tomorrow at the NEC in Birmingham, visitors can still register to attend here.
