Lanther Black Makes Greeting Card Blockbuster Starring 30 Cardies

A cast of 30 publishers, retailers, agents and trade suppliers star in a wonderful new film entitled ‘Send a card, deliver a smile’ released today, which rejoices in the reason to send and the joy of receiving greeting cards.

Initiated by the GCA and written and produced by Lanther Black’s talented duo Jack Parker and Dominique Miranda, the film, which is now hosted on the GCA’s YouTube channel superbly relays in verse the important role greeting cards play in connecting people and showing you care for them. To see the video, click below:

As GCA president Rachel Hare, managing director of Belly Button Designs summed up: “A huge thanks has to go out to Dominique and Jack of Lanther Black for writing and producing this wonderful celebration of the power of greeting cards. We should all be very proud to be part of an industry whose product plays such an important part in building relationships.”

Above: Dominique Miranda at the start of the film remembering days before social distancing.
Above: Dominique Miranda at the start of the film remembering days before social distancing.

Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA urges everyone in the industry to now ‘share’ and ‘like’ the film on their social media channels. “The more likes and shares it receives the higher the film will move up the search engines, enabling us to promote our industry even more.”

The poem, written by Jack and Dominique, is delivered with great aplomb by many well-known industry faces, each delivering a line.

Above: Belly Button Designs’ md Rachel Hare, president of the GCA who encouraged the film to be made.
Above: Belly Button Designs’ md Rachel Hare, president of the GCA who encouraged the film to be made.

The poem covers self-isolation, social distancing, Colonel Tom Moore, saying thank you to key workers and importantly ends by encouraging everyone to send cards to those they miss or are grateful for having in their lives, echoing the GCA tagline ‘send a card, deliver a smile’.

Having invited all GCA members to participate, over 30 came forward, with the cast including retailers Leona Janson-Smith (from Postmark), Jon May (from Mooch) and Deborah Tingay (Southbourne Cards), individuals from 17 different greeting card publishers, printer Adam Short (of The Imaging Centre), agent Rosie Trow as well as the GCA’s Amanda Fergusson.

Above: Indie card retailer, Deborah Tingay of Southbourne Cards in action.
Above: Indie card retailer, Deborah Tingay of Southbourne Cards in action.

The idea for the film was sparked by Raj Arora, md of Davora mentioning at a recent GCA Council Zoom meeting how he had been involved in a collaborative film with businesses in his local area and how a similar project could work to get across a Thinking of You message for greeting cards. Knowing of the Lanther Black duo’s film talents Amanda and Raj got in touch with Jack and Dominique, who were so excited that they wrote the poem the same day!

Above: Raj Arora, md of Davora making the point how receiving a card can lift the spirits even on the darkest of days.
Above: Raj Arora, md of Davora making the point how receiving a card can lift the spirits even on the darkest of days.

“We were inspired by the stories of greeting cards being sent since the lockdown as well as the thousands of cards sent to Colonel Tom Moore, proof once again of the important role that greeting cards play in keeping us connected even when we’re kept apart,” says Jack, whose connections to the card trade include being the son of Berni Parker, founder of Berni Parker designs.

Above: Jack Parker editing the clips that were sent in by the participants’ home filming.
Above: Jack Parker editing the clips that were sent in by the participants’ home filming.

“At first, the thought of working with a cast of nearly 30 people was a little daunting, particularly while we’re all social distancing, but the way that everyone came together in support of the project is testament to just what a wonderful and creative industry we are a part of,” adds Dominique. She plays tribute to the ‘greeting card community cast’ for “putting in so much effort into scouting for props, recruiting family camera crews (or sturdy shelves!), rearranging their houses, learning their lines, shooting, re-shooting and doing their best to follow our obscure directions! And the clips that we received were amazing, you can really see the energy and passion shining through the performances.”

The cast comprises: Raj Arora (Davora); Anna Victoria Bridle (Anna Victoria); Jakki Brown (Progressive Greetings); Marina Brook (Marina B); Emma Bryan (Emma Bryan Designs); Clemency Bunn (Citrus Bunn); Henri Davis (independent retail advisor); Amanda Fergusson (GCA); Charlotte Gale (Pictur-esque); Rachel Hare (Belly Button Designs); Sarah Jackson (Stormy Knight); Leona Janson-Smith (Postmark); Ulla Klopf (Pabuku); Sarah Lewis (Alphablots); James Mace (The Art File); Dominique Maranda and Jack Parker (Lanther Black); Jon May (Mooch); Laura Sherratt (Laura Sherratt Designs); Berni Parker (Berni Parker Designs); Adam Short (The Imaging Centre); Issy and Leonard Smith (Leonard Smith); Rosie Tate (Cath Tate Cards); Jack Thorpe and Laura Harvey (Paper Plane); Deborah Tingay (Southbourne Cards); Rosemary Tratt (Rose Madder Cards) and Rosie Trow (South West agent).

Above: The end slide which shows the entire cast holding up a card saying they deliver a smile.
Above: The end slide which shows the entire cast holding up a card saying they deliver a smile.

Here is the poem in full…

Send a card, deliver a smile

 

I used to see folks every day

everywhere I’d go,

And when I saw them on my way

I’d always say hello.

 

Who would’ve thought that they would say

that all this had to stop?

Three feet away I’d have to stay

If I saw folks in a shop.

 

At first I thought it’d be okay

spending some time on my own,

But as I passed the days away

I started to feel quite alone.

 

But just as I began to mope

I heard something at the door,

then a shiny crimson envelope

tumbled to the floor.

 

I picked it up from off the ground,

whatever could it be?

Then when I turned it round I found

It was addressed to me!

 

When I peeked into the envelope

the thing that did appear

filled me with such joy and hope

that I grinned from ear to ear.

 

A greeting card is what it was

why ever could that be?

Well, the card was simply sent because

someone was thinking of me!

 

There’s no need to wait for a birthday

or for Christmas to be near,

A card can cheer up the worst day

at any time of year!

 

So that’s when I decided

that a card was what I’d send

to a friend who should be reminded

that I was thinking of them.

 

I sent one to my Grandpa Jim

just to say hello!

To let him know I’m thinking of him

Even though I can’t go.

 

I sent one to my friend who’s a key worker

to see if she’s alright,

to let her know I’m thinking of her

as she labours day and night.

 

We all sent one to Colonel Tom Moore

to show our appreciation

to a hero of the second world war

who’s once more an inspiration.

 

Then I sent one to the post office

to thank them for working so hard

to make sure that even at times like this

we can carry on sending cards.

 

So if there’s someone you’re missing

or someone you’re grateful for

don’t just sit there reminiscing

send a greeting card through their door!

 

And especially when times are hard

it really is so worthwhile

For whenever you send a card

you’ll always deliver a smile.

As Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA highlighted: “This poem and the film perfectly epitomise all the lovely heart-warming stories we have now on our Thinking of You Week website which celebrate the importance of sending cards.”

https://www.thinkingofyouweek.cards/category/news/

Above: The film and lots of other positive stories about the sending of cards and the greeting card community feature on the GCA’s Thinking of You Week website.
Above: The film and lots of other positive stories about the sending of cards and the greeting card community feature on the GCA’s Thinking of You Week website.

More from the producers: From acting to greeting cards

Dominique Miranda, who co-owns Lanther Black with Jack Parker explains more about their acting/film making credentials….

“We met 10 years ago when Jack moved down to London to pursue an acting career. I also had a performing background having trained at the Italia Conti Academy. Jack had been making films since he was at school so it wasn’t long before we started making them together. We wrote and directed a bunch of short films which screened at festivals around the world.

We slowed down our filmmaking for a bit while we set off on our greeting card adventure although Jack continued to act with leading roles on the stage, commercials for brands like Audi and Belvita and television appearances including Emmerdale, Eastenders and Casualty.

At the end of 2019, we made a short film to encourage people to support their local independent retailers. (https://www.pgbuzz.net/lanther-black-inspiring-film-in-support-on-indies/)

The Shop Local film was shared over 1,000 times and received more than 80,000 views which demonstrated the power of film and encouraged us to use it more to share some of the wonderful stories from the world of greeting cards.”

www.lantherblack.com/

Above: Lanther Black’s Dominique Miranda and Jack Parker behind the scenes during the film’s making.
Above: Lanther Black’s Dominique Miranda and Jack Parker behind the scenes during the film’s making.

Top: The film was a collaborative effort between the GCA and the greeting card community.

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