A whole host of greeting card companies, from the large to the small, feature in the extensive shortlist of contenders for the Gift of the Year awards.
Organised and owned by the Giftware Association, the Gift of the Year competition spans a wide range of gift and home product categories, including a specific one for Cards & Wrap.
The shortlisted products in this year’s Cards & Wrap category are…
3D Kids Pop ups – from Alljoy Design
Bauble Christmas Cards from Love Country
Florever – from Origamo
Greens & Greetings – from Shroot
Keepsake Art Pop ups – from Alljoy Design
Ken the Cat – from WITH Creative
Mark my Words! – from Poet and Painter
Parade – from The Art File
Plantable Seed Cards (Gifts to Grow range) – from Love Country
Pot of Gold – from Paper Salad
Reversible Crackle Wrap – from Wrag Wrap
Rocket68 Wooden Postcard Collection – from Rocket68
Say it with Songs – from Say it with Songs
Greeting card publishers’ products also appear in the shortlist in other categories. These include Cardology, whose Battersea Pop Up cards are in the shortlist in the Branded Gift and also the Pet Gift category. Crumble & Core’s Candle & Card range reached the shortlist in the Home Fragrance category which, among others, is up against Lola Designs’ Botanical Candles which features Amanda Mountain’s distinctive art which graces its greeting card collection. Lola also features in the Stationery category with its Wildlife Botanicals notebooks.
Meg Hawkins Art, known for her greeting cards, is shortlisted in the Food & Drink category for its Scrumptious range.
Rocket68’s Passion4Plants Collection (which includes greeting cards) is in the Home and Garden category. Shroots’ Greens & Greetings (as well as being feted in the Cards & Wrap category) also appears in the Food & Drink category while Wendy Bell Designs’ Colour Drops is in the Fashion Accessories category.
Chris Workman, marketing & PR manager for The GA said: “The shortlists this year reflect all the hard work and innovativeness from our industry, work that has been going on behind closed doors, with staff shortages and the years lockdowns.”
The GA was more relaxed this year on product release dates of entries submitted. As Chris explained this allowed “for products that may not have been seen at live events yet and to give a chance for those that have been experiencing shipping issues too in regards to their products not actually hitting shores in time for entry which I know a couple have just squeezed in.”
The complete shortlist was arrived at as a result of a first round of voting from a judging panel including retailers. Click here to see them in all their glory!
The finalists will be arrived at following the next round of judging with the winners being unveiled, for the first time, at a lavish awards event taking place onMay 12 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London which will also see the winners of The Greats gift retailing awards being also revealed.
Top: Shroot’s Green and Greetings innovation product range appears in the shortlist in two categories.
