The UK leads the world in greeting cards, both in design and per capita send – The Henries awards celebrate this pre-eminence.
Named after Sir Henry Cole (who introduced the first commercially produced Christmas card in 1843), The Henries were introduced by Progressive Greetings Worldwide magazine in 1996 as annual awards to shine the spotlight on greeting card ranges.
The Henries Awards are the ultimate accolades in greeting card publishing, and each year some 14,000 cards are entered! The Henries award categories span the whole gamut of greeting card publishing, from humour to cute, art to handmade and everything in between.
The majority of the awards categories are for card ranges that have either been launched in the preceding year or for new designs to an existing range. The Henries awards are open to all publishers (or UK distributors), from the largest multi-national to the smallest one-man band. Entry is totally free of charge.
All entries this year are to be submitted online (Wednesday 21 July is the entry deadline) and they will then be judged by an extensive panel comprising top retail buyers from right across the retail spectrum including specialist multiples, design-led independents, small groups, department store selectors, supermarket buyers etc.
For the first time, leading overseas greeting card distributors will also be invited to join the judging panel for The Henries 2021.
The Henries 2021 Awards ‘Big Night’
While last year’s Henries awards event had to take place digitally, this year it’s back as an ‘all singing, all dancing’ real live extravaganza that will bring the greeting card community for an evening of celebration and camaraderie. All set to take place on Thursday 7 October 2021 at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, the Boogie Wonderland theme for the event this year will add to the positive vibe!
The widespread support for The Henries 2021 from the whole industry is evidenced by the stellar line-up of sponsors, which include many leading trade suppliers, retailers, exhibition organisers and the GCA.
Hooray for The Henries 2021 – awards that do the industry proud!
Any questions? Simply get in touch with us, we would love to chat to you about being involved this year.
[The 2020 Henries had to take place online due to COVID-19 – it was not the same, we can’t wait to get back together, but you can re-live the digital night and get a flavour for The Henries by watching the video – click here)
