Progressive Greetings Live 2022 opened its doors at London’s Business Design Centre to great acclaim yesterday (7 June), fanfaring the newest launches from over 200 greeting card publishers. They ranged from established names such as Rush Design, Belly Button, Five Dollar Shake, Wendy Jones-Blackett and Rosie Made A Thing to newbie companies exhibiting in the hugely popular Springboard section.
For many retailers, orders were made quickly. “I placed an order with Rush Designs in the first five minutes, and bought some beautiful cards from Springboard exhibitor Klara Hawkins who comes from Barrowford where my shop is,” enthused Andrea Pinder, owner of Presentation Cards & Gifts.
Libby Holden, owner of gift shop Lovely Libby’s in Rayleigh, was at the show with her shop manager Georgia Burnett. “When we arrived, we went straight to the Springboard section and saw some great companies,” confirmed Libby. “We also love the cards from Rush Design Five Dollar Shake, White Cotton, Belly Button and Deva Design.”
Priya Aurora-Crower, co-owner of ten Lark gift stores in South London, has been coming to PG Live for six years. “There are some great, quality cards in the Springboard section this year, as well as across the show, and there are loads of orders are in the pipeline,” she confirmed.
“As always, PG Live is a cacophony of creativity and inspiration and I’ve done my Christmas buying at the show,” confirmed Sam Gibbs, owner of three Nest gift stores in Leicestershire. “I placed orders with James Ellis, and returned to The Art File for Father’s Day cards. I also love the colourful cards from Paper Salad, and spotted an additional three publishers that I will be placing orders with.” Added Sam: “It’s great to discover companies that I don’t normally see.”
Travelling to the show from East Sussex, was Greg Rose, co-owner of Maybugs gift shops in Hailsham and Eastbourne, with a third store opening shortly in Bexhill-on-Sea. “We placed five orders for each of our three stores with publishers in the Springboard area, and also ordered from publishers across the show. We found the Springboard sector really exciting this year, and I particularly liked the humorous cards from Not At All Jack.”
PG Live closes today (8 June), with retailers able to register on arrival. Visit www.progressivegreetingslive.com
From left to right: Jo Webber, (right), owner of gift shop Jo Amor in Tiverton, spent her Greats £50 golden ticket with Rosie Harrison on the Rosie Made A Thing stand; Sam Gibbs, owner of three Nest gift stores in Stoneygate, Broughton Astley and Thurlaston Garden Centre, posted a card to the Queen; and Kirsty Hammond, shop manager at No.14 Ampthill, bumped into some colourful characters from Nikolodeon.
