94% of greeting cards are bought in a bricks and mortar store so it is important that the GCA raises the profile of cards with those working to support retailers and High St communities. The GCA recently attended a meeting of the Independent Retailers Confederation....
Highlights of the 2019 Dragons Speed Dating event.
This year is the Greeting Card Association’s centenary, and with the British love of greeting cards continuing we have a lot to celebrate: In 2019 cards are being send for more occasions than ever before, 18-34 year olds sending more cards than a generation ago,...
Festive Friday, 29th November 2019, is the special day for everyone in the card industry (and all lovers of cards) to send their personal Christmas cards. This is to create a great first wave of beautiful cards arriving in early December to get the nation in the...
Over 1.5 million people started their morning today being reminded to write and send their Christmas cards as Amanda Fergusson, the new ceo of the GCA appeared on the BBC Breakfast twice during the programme, as well as on the BBC News 24 channel. Filmed on location...
Latest Figures from the GCA Market Report 2018 The latest GCA Market Report shows that in 2017 the UK public spent £1.7 billion on greeting cards. The report, which covers sales January - December 2017, is the only research based on actual retail sales figures, with...
Greeting cards received some really positive PR when Sharon Little, ceo of the GCA appeared at peak time on Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show on Radio 2 yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 28 February). Sharon was invited as the ‘greeting card expert’ after a discussion arose on...
In May 2018 a new law come into effect in the UK. The General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, will apply to all companies which process EU citizens’ personal data (for example greeting card purchasers) and seeks to tighten up the rules relating to storage and...
After the success of the Spring Fair Debut, the scheme is coming to Autumn Fair 2018. “The feedback from Debut exhibitors at Spring Fair last week has again been fantastic, and with this area going from strength to strength I’m now really excited to be able to offer...
A short video to give you a flavour of the GCA Speed Dating events.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is urging card publishers to stop producing cards featuring images of brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds, such as pugs, French bulldogs and Persian cats on their products as part of its #BreedtoBreathe campaign. The BVA (the...
The winner of the GCA's Tagline Challenge is 'Send a card, deliver a smile’. This is the phrase that received the most votes for an industry tagline which retailers, publishers, agents and trade suppliers felt best represents the spirit of greeting card sending. ...
Our 2017 Dragons Speed Dating event has been hailed a success!
Use this unbranded lesson plan to teach a year 4 class about the importance of letter writing.
The GCA's new dedicated Thinking of You Week website is now live! Hooray!!! Spread the word!!! Here's the new address: www.thinkingofyouweek.cards This new stand alone website explains the aim of Thinking of You Week - to create a wave of love, caring and...
Spreading Happiness By Sending Cards Now in its third year, Thinking of You Week (26 Sept – 2 Oct) inspires people to create a wave of love, caring and happiness by sending a card to a different person each day during this special week. Thinking of You Week has grown...
2015 Festive Friday toolkit and photos
These projects are designed for all ages and can be used as one off craft activities or as part of a sequence on card making. Curriculum Links to Art and Design Technology Friendly Owl Make this friendly wise old owl with paper, fabrics and goggle eyes. Suitable for...
Design Objectives The card when opened should be self supporting, presentable and appealing, when on display in the shops and when it is received.It will have to fold flat into a pack or envelope for posting and open out, preferably automatically, without any...
A Fold With most papers (170 gsm and under) you can fold by hand, easier with the grain than against it. To be precise with a fold, a mark can be made with a blunt instrument, i.e. a non inking biro or rounded metal pointer, as long as the fibres are not disturbed. On...
The final working drawings are handed over to the printer who will pass the graphics to the colour plate maker to separate and reproduce in readiness for printing. The drawings of the cut out shapes (Cutter Guides) will go to the Die Maker who will make the cutting...
Creative Inspiration There are many ways to inspire creativity. The most innovative usually come from taking your starting point from outside your immediate circle of thought. For example: Natures own structures: flowers, plants, scenery etc. Amazing shapes and...
There are literally thousands of different types of papers and boards available. Some have restricted availability because of their type of manufacture, country of origin, cost size, quantity required etc. But there are ways and means around these restrictions. There...
Before paper was invented, civilisations across the world developed many different solutions to the problem of communicating knowledge over distance and time. 3000 BC Sumerians invented writing on clay tablets2000-2500 BC Egyptians invented hieroglyphics and...