A window on the world of greeting card publishing and entrepreneurship

1. Gypsy Chic
magazine
Gypsy
Inside!!! Interviews with Jan Morley of Perkins & Morley, Kate
Stenner of Sun Pennies, and Olivia Goddard from Little Boat Gifts.
....
Issue 3 - 2016
the magazine dedicated to greeting card publishing and entrepreneurship
HAPPY NEWHAPPY NEWHAPPY NEWHAPPY NEWHAPPY NEWHAPPY NEW
YEARYEARYEARYEARYEARYEARA CARD
MAKING
MASTERCLASS -
RUNNING
PROFITABLE
WORKSHOPS.
Inside!!! Interviews with
of Sun Pennies, and
IN THE
ARTIST’S
STUDIO -
MEET
KARLA
GERARD.
WIN!
VALENTINES
CARDS
SEE PAGE 18
RETREATS
- the mint on
the pillow!
NINJA
NETWORKING
- THE POWER
OF BUILDING
CONNECTIONS.
Jan Morley
SEE PAGE 18

2. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
MEETUPS
NETWORKING
INTERVIEW WITH... PERKINS AND MORLEY
WORKSHOPS
INTERVIEW WITH... KATE STENNER
RETREATS
INTERVIEW WITH... OLIVIA GODDARD/COMPETITION
GYPSY CHIC QUOTES
ARTIST STUDIO
HEARTS FEATURE (VALENTINES)
PRESSIE POUCH
BIRDS
2
CONTENTS
3
28
4
5
6
10
12
15
16
19
20
24
26
2
INTERVIEW WITH... KATE STENNER
RETREATS
INTERVIEW WITH... OLIVIA GODDARD/COMPETITION
GYPSY CHIC QUOTES
ARTIST STUDIO
HEARTS FEATURE (VALENTINES)
PRESSIE POUCH
BIRDS
INTERVIEW WITH... KATE STENNERINTERVIEW WITH... KATE STENNER
RETREATS
INTERVIEW WITH... OLIVIA GODDARD/COMPETITIONINTERVIEW WITH... OLIVIA GODDARD/COMPETITION
GYPSY CHIC QUOTES
ARTIST STUDIO
HEARTS FEATURE (VALENTINES)
PRESSIE POUCH
BIRDS
INTERVIEW WITH... OLIVIA GODDARD/COMPETITION

3. from the Editorfrom the Editor
L E T T E R
Avery Happy NewYear to you!
I’ve got good feelings about
2016 and trust it’s going to be
a great year for us all. I’ve no
crystal ball (well only a tiny one I bought in
Crouch End some years back) but feel quietly
confident that all the little stepping stones I put in
place over the past two years will bring me to a good
place in 2016. I hope you feel as equally upbeat at the
start of a new year. Think positive thoughts!
Just as I’ve done in my two previous issues of
Gypsy Chic,I’ve included articles in this edition on
things card publishers should contemplate doing
to supplement income at quieter times of the year
which can do much to build brand awareness in
ways that may not be immediately obvious. I talk
about networking,building a tribe of likeminded
creatives through meet ups,and retreats. These are not
distractions – taking your focus away from the more
orthodox ways of building your card business [markets,
tradefairs,growing your list of stockists,distribution]
but things that you could consider slotting in when the
latter may not be an option. I look mainly to the US
for examples of this – you may,or may not have heard
of creatives like Kelly Rae Roberts, Lesley Riley
or Jessica Swift who are rocking the show with their
multivarious methods of generating cash.Check them
out when you’ve a moment.
I’ve paid for business mentorship more
than a couple of times since I started my
creative journey and one of the best pieces
of advice I was given came from Yvonne
Fuchs,a branding expert,and author of
“What’s the difference that makes the difference”.
As we sat over our coffee in Le Pain Quotidien in St
Pancras International,she said“Lorraine – Try not to
be a one trick pony”. She was talking to me in the
context of my designs,and income streams,and I took
that advice on board. When I looked at howYvonne
generated income,I could see that she was practicing
what she preached – running art classes,writing
books,opening her home on“Open Studio”days in
Whitstable,speaking at events,doing private coaching
etc. She was walking the talk.
I’m excited to have three great interviews to share:
Jan Morley from Perkins & Morley, Kate Stenner from
Sun Pennies, and Olivia Goddard from Little Boat
gifts. I’ve also included Karla Gerard, my Facebook
friend for a long time, and someone whose art I have
idolized for donkey’s years. And last, but not least,
I’m happy to introduce an “advertorial” for Pressie
Pouch inventor and owner, Sharon McGuillion whom
I met recently at an Export event. Here’s hoping
all of these great articles inspire you at the start of
a NewYear. Spring season has begun – and I can’t
end without mentioning St Valentine’s Day. Send
me some images of your St Valentine’s designs, and
I will feature any I receive on either my FB page or
in an article in Issue 4. By the way, don’t be afraid to
email me if you have ideas for content – I’m open to
suggestions. If I can just make one NewYear request
in return – I’d be so happy if you could share the
link to my magazine on your social media platforms.
Knowledge share helps everyone.
Lorraine Stylianou
Lorraine@lorrainestylianou.com
http://lorrainestylianou.com/
3

4. 4
l Literally anyone can start a meetup group
and it is a way of not only networking with
other likeminded business startups, illustrators,
publishers but can be a way of making
additional funds through entrance fees, and
one-to-one coaching. It’s also great fun
meeting with people from the community – an
equivalent to the Stitch and Bitch workshops
that have seen a resurgence on networking
sites. It is all about knowledge share and
lets you stand out as a key card publisher of
influence. As an organiser of meet up you will
need to do all of the following:
• Determine the direction of the Group
• Decide on the name, description, group
colours, etc...
• Schedule Meetups
• Decide who can join the group
• Make it whatever you and your members want!
Visit http://www.meetup.com/ to start your
networking group.
NO-ONE OWNS A MONOPOLY
ON KNOWLEDGE SHARE.
Meetup

5. 5
l BASIC LEVEL NETWORKING:
If you want to meet someone in person,
think of any friends you may have who are
also working in a self-employed capacity.
Suggest a get-together and chat about
your business challenges over dinner. This
is a great way to recharge your batteries.
Or attend an art exhibition. By doing these
types of activities you are surrounding
yourself with like-minded people who can
help keep you motivated and can support
you with business ideas. It also helps to
keep you connected with your artistic
vision. Meetup.com and Eventbrite.com
are excellent for targeting art and business
events near you.
l BLACK BELT NETWORKING:
Savvy networkers will always be on the look-
out to do business with one another. This
is the emphasis at many successful speed
networking events which seem to be more
and more popular. If you’ve taken the time
to get dressed and ready for a networking
event, why not try and use the opportunity
to collaborate with someone and grow your
reputation and business at the same time.
A successful event should allow you to
exchange your ideas, get inspiration and learn
something as well as talk about what services
and products you can offer. If a networking
event gives you no opportunity to do business
with each other you’d have been better off
staying at home in your pyjamas.
I don’t want to go into too much depth
on the dynamics of how men and women
do business at networking events or make
generalist statements but I think it is safe
to say that men generally expect to do
business with each other, with women less
likely to think this way - but correct me if
I’m wrong. In the US the term “rainmaker”
is used to describe someone with an
exceptionally good ability to attract clients,
use connections and increase profits. The
idea of leveraging contacts to increase
business should also be part of a card
publishers remit, male or female.
Networking

6. 6
... Jan Morley
of Perkins & Morley
Interview with .....

7. 1. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR
JOURNEY INTO GREETING CARDS AND
AN IDEA OF WHAT YOU DID BEFORE
FOUNDING PERKINS & MORLEY
lll We have been working together for
years; we met at Middlesex Polytechnic
(former Hornsey College of Art)and
were firm friends. Jill got a job designing
wooden toys in Sri Lanka and I was
doing all sorts of things; working as
a volunteer at Spare Rib, helping out
on a film shoot (check out a short film
called The Dress with Phyllis Logan
and Michael Palin – who do you think
was giving him his cigarettes cut to the
correct length)? Anyway I joined Jill out
in Sri Lanka and basically that is when
Perkins & Morley began.
We worked in Sri Lanka for a while and
then came back to the UK and started
importing our own toy designs and selling
to shops. It was going really well – our
first order was from Harvey Nicholls – and
it got to a point when we were spending
more time packing boxes and sending out
orders than actually designing so we kind
of gave the business to a customer and
licensed our designs.
We worked for quite a long time for Pier
1 in America; designing their Easter and
Christmas ranges of gifts and toys – we
were quite well known for our large Easter
papier mache rabbits!!!!
We then moved onto designing art for
tableware and had many lucrative and
exciting years of going to many gift &
tabletop trade shows around the world,
selling our designs to the likes of BIA,
Macy’s, Portmeirion, Mikasa and lots
of other big companies mainly based
in the USA. Our most enduring design
which is still selling today was for BIA
and was a vintage cheese set of 4 plate
gift set – sold by DRH Collections in the
UK; it can be found in John Lewis and
many other shops.
In 2010 we started designing greetings
cards – I think our first show was Giving &
Living in Exeter and we were terrified!
2. AS A DYNAMIC DUO HOW DO JANET
AND JILL DIVIDE TASKS AND AGREE ON
TAKING THE BUSINESS FORWARD?
lll So – how do we work together? We
have gradually evolved into each doing
different tasks in the business; Jill
takes care of packing and sending out
orders, contacting customers, doing all
the bagging up of cards & envelopes and
designing some of the ranges. I (Jan)
do all of the social media duties, dealing
with emails, accounting stuff (though I
now have a lovely virtual assistant who
does invoicing), anything to do with a
computer - so I put all the artwork onto
the computer and design the layout of the
ranges and send to our printer plus design
some of our ranges.
We have lots of discussions about what we
are going to do and what our next move is
for taking the business forward – it can F
7

8. 8
get quite heated at times; we are also quite
competitive with each other which I think
is what keeps us fresh.
3. TAKE US THROUGH A TYPICAL DAY IN
YOUR BUSINESS.
lll There is no typical day really which is
why I love my job so much but I suppose
a lot of my morning can be taken up with
answering emails, having phone calls
with Jill to discuss something, phone calls
with customers if they ring with an order.
First thing in the morning I usually write
out a to do list before I get distracted by
other things – I find it keeps me focussed
– otherwise it is so easy to go off on an
interesting tangent or a procrastinating
tangent if I have something on the list that
I don’t particularly want to do or I find a
bit scary.
Sometimes it can be doing some social
media thing or getting images and blurb
ready to put on our websites or on trade
show sites, sending out catalogues, getting
a mail out ready – each job is then ticked
off the list.
When it is time for doing new ranges Jill
and I have a discussion but usually we each
go off and come up with some ideas and
then show them. A lot of ranges are done
together – we can each individually come
up with an illustration or design but then
we add backgrounds or new bits of design
and it can change into something quite
different which is very exciting. I think we
are both quite fluid with our ideas and can

9. get bored doing the same style for every
range. We realised early on that having a
house style would not work for us so our
style is not having a “look” although as it
has gone on our ranges do sort of have a
Perkins & Morley “look”.
4. WHAT STEP BY STEP ADVICE WOULD
YOU GIVE CARD PUBLISHERS WHO
ASPIRE TO SELLING THEIR DESIGNS ON
PRODUCTS OTHER THAN CARDS?
lll Advice for card publishers who aspire
to selling their designs on products
other than cards? Well that can be quite
complicated. Licensing is one avenue that
we have tried with some success – having
your own licensing contract written by a
licensing lawyer is a must, having a trial
period of a year is also a must , making
sure that the company you are licensing to
fits in with your ideals as a company and
also supplies you with information.
We seem to do better having a lot of the
products made for us so we sell them – this
can also have its own challenges; cash
flow being one of them, keeping items in
stock but one of the biggest challenges is
getting high enough margins especially if
you are having the items made in the UK
and you are competing with products made
in China. Try out products at a trade fair
first – don’t order big quantities until you
are sure that they will sell – sometimes an
item that you think will sell can bomb for
no good reason.
Mind you – sometimes the feedback you
get from customers at the beginning is
not always true – when we first brought
out our collective noun tea towel lots of
customers wouldn’t buy it as they thought
it was too expensive – but the ones that
did buy it couldn’t believe how fast it sold
out so eventually we just said to customers
– just take 6 and if they don’t sell we will
take it back. I don’t think we have had a
customer who has sent them back.
5. THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE AND ITS
WILDLIFE FEATURE STRONGLY IN YOUR
CARD DESIGNS. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR
MOST SUCCESSFUL RANGE TO DATE?
lll Our most successful range to date
has been the Collective Noun range with
Animal Ink now coming up a close second.
6. WHAT NEW PRODUCTS CAN WE
EXPECT TO SEE FROM PERKINS AND
MORLEY IN 2016 AND ANY GEOGRAPHICAL
EXPANSION IN THE PIPELINE - FOR
EXAMPLE, A PRODUCT LAUNCH
OVERSEAS AT A TRADE FAIR PERHAPS?
lll We are always coming up with new
ideas for products but as we went a bit
beserk in 2015 and brought out loads of
new items – we need to consolidate those
sales – sometimes products can need
a bit of fine tuning after feedback from
customers. The beauty of what we do
though is that any new designs can go onto
the products therefore popping up as a new
range. We are doing a calendar for 2017
which will be out in January.
We would love to branch out to other
markets and so will be looking at doing
other trade shows in New York or Paris in
the near future.
JAN MORLEY. PERKINS & MORLEY LTD
W: www.perkinsandmorley.com (trade site)
www.perkinsandmorleyshop.com (retail site)
9

10. 10
I
f you hire some workshop space you
could soon be running small to medium
size classes teaching people of all ages
the basics of illustration, painting, Adobe
Creative Suite 6 and product creation – hand-
made, and printed cards! Not only could this
prove a profitable income stream for you, but
you can view this in a loftier way – that you are
teaching others new techniques and highlighting
income opportunities. A win-win. There are just a
few simple steps to put in place before marketing
your workshop. Pretend your workshop is called...
A Handmade Greeting Card Masterclass. You
may decide to run it over a series of weekends,
or evenings. Regardless of when a workshop
is held it is essential to give delegates a clear
idea of the course syllabus, and to be engaging.
There is nothing as monotonous as a monologue
where the group has zero involvement.
Interaction is much more productive and fun.
For starters focus on the topics that will be
covered and list them:
Week One: Gathering your inspiration, deciding
on themes, and materials to use, and creating the
physical card.
Week Two: Linoprinting, stamping, and
decoupage
Week Three: Creating a cohesive range that can
be duplicated easily for economy of scale.
Week Four: Adding decoration to your work
Week Five: Exhibition and party.
1. Refine: Teaching is very much like writing
– you have to relay the information you want to
pass on as succinctly as possible, hence the need
to edit your material. Getting a small amount of
key information across to your tutees is far more
important than information overload. Decide on
the length of the workshop – a weekend course will
appear very different from an afternoon course and
your information will have to fit the time allowed.
2. Have a structure: A structure helps you to
stick to the salient points you want to cover and
get it across clearly. Your participants need to
understand what the class covers and what their
outcomes will be.
3. Put your students’ learning experience
first: What do they want to learn and be able
to do as a result of the workshop? If it’s the first
course you have run, get their input early on. Also
ask yourself continually if what you are teaching
helps the student. For prospective students to
sign up to an art workshop the marketing will have
to be inspiring as well as self-explanatory. On
the day, practical demonstrations will work much
better if the instructor is energized and oozes
passion for their subject.
4. Course objectives: Indicate in as few words
as possible what the aim of your course will be.
5. Outcomes: What the student will have
achieved at the end.
Marketing the course is easier once you
have the above points. Of course, the actual
workshop schedule will need to be broken
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11. down in hourly chunks with ample time for
refreshments and rest breaks. You’ll indicate
registration times, coffee breaks, sessions and
course conclusion and evaluation.
l Give yourself at least 8 weeks to market
a workshop.
l Use social media, blogs, press releases and
leafleting to market the course.
l Use colourful artwork on all marketing and
advertise strategically, using a variety of cost
effective methods.
l Clearly describe the course aims and objectives.
l Show examples of the kind of cards that will be
created in the workshop.
Small touches such as a course certificate or free
gift at the end can encourage positive referrals
from attendees. Provide delegates with all
course handouts and never forget a feedback
form at the end.
If you plan on holding custom workshops on a
one-to-one basis then adapt your plan accordingly.
PRICING YOUR WORKSHOP
The objective of running a workshop is to make a
profit. To ensure this happens, make a list of all the
likely expenses before you incur them. Also have
a clear idea of the profit margin you are looking
to achieve. Cost in room hire, administration and
printing costs, advertising, travel to and from the
venue, course materials for students, any catering
costs and Audio-visual (if you are showing any
kind of slideshow, demo), also catering staff
and possible cleaning costs (I’ve been an event
organiser and know many venues will charge
additional cleaning costs if glitter/confetti are used
so beware!). Visualize some paint splodges on the
floor coverings and you get the picture.
11
LETS SAY:
1. Advertising is ....................£200
2. Room hire is .......................£300
3. Printing is ..........................£40
4. Travel is ..............................£25
5. Refreshments are ...............£30
6. What my profit will be .......£550
Add these all up and get ........£1145
If you expect 10 delegates you would
need to charge £114.50 each to meet
your costs.

12. 12
... Kate Stenner
of Sun Pennies
Interview with .....
A sample from ‘Birds of a Feather’ u

13. 1. TELLUS HOWITALLSTARTED FORYOU
ASACARD PUBLISHERWITH SUN PENNIES.
l l l I was a writer and editor for 20 years,
working on everything from the Sunday
Telegraph to corporate magazines. But then
in 2009, when my daughter was little, I was
ill for a long time. I couldn’t concentrate, so
I started painting as something to do – and
discovered that a) I could and b) I loved it!
I spent a long time looking at ways I
could make painting into a business,
and finally came up with the idea of
making very beautiful bespoke wedding
stationery. I paint things that are special
to individual clients – like their wedding
venue, or their pets, or the place they
met – and then use that painting as the
principle design for all their stationery.
Word got around and I became busier and
busier with wedding orders, but I came
to realise that the scope of the business
was restricted by the fact that it’s just me
and I can only paint one thing at a time. I
thought about making ready-made wedding
stationery too, but found that people who
like my kind of products really value the
bespoke aspect. (If they want ready-made,
they either buy it cheaply from somewhere
like Amazon or WH Smith, or they go for
a company which can personalise ready-
made designs – like Ivy Ellen).
At that point I came across the Ladder
Club, via Mark Jessett from GF Smith and
attended Day 1 in 2012, which set me off
thinking about making greetings cards as
something to provide a ‘drip-feed’ income
on top of my wedding business. But it
was only after one of the other members
challenged me to stop thinking get doing
that I made my mind up to get started – so
I booked a stand at Harrogate in July this
year, painted 70 designs in eight ranges,
built a separate website and turned up!
2. WHAT’S THE CREATIVE THINKING
BEHIND YOUR CURRENT CARD RANGES
l l l I’m very much in the process of
refining my ranges right now, in light of
what I’ve learned from Harrogate and the
card retailers around where I live. Because
I’ve had to produce a very wide variety
of different work for wedding clients, I’m
quite versatile – but that’s given me the
issue of deciding what my core identity will
be regarding the greetings cards, as I think
that’s key to being successful.
Several of my ranges have been doing
very well, so I’m concentrating on doing
more of those and phasing out the ones
that haven’t created as much interest. I
love light hearted humour, I love ‘design’
as opposed to ‘painterliness’ in cards, I
love things to be striking and different –
so I’m aiming for all those values in the
things I make. My black and white range
was inspired by the trend for geometrics
that’s been all over the place this year;
the gulls and birds arose from a delight
in coast and countryside; the fingerprints
sprang up after a project for my
daughter’s school; my pen and ink ones
– bizarrely – were a result of receiving
Tolkien’s ‘Father Christmas Letters’ last
year… all kinds of things. Going forwards,
there’ll be more of the first three, fewer
of the last two, and I’m working on new
material that will link things together into
a more unanimous whole. F
13
qWedding invitation, featuring the proposal on the beach in Cornwall

14. 14
3. SUM UP YOUR BRAND
IDENTITY, VALUES, AND
PURPOSE?
l l l I came across the term ‘sun
pennies’ in a book I was reading
– meaning the sparkles you see
on water when the sun is on it.
I didn’t know it before, and it
struck me as such a nice description. When
I was setting up the business, I thought it
summed up perfectly what I wanted to do…
make beautiful little objects that catch the
eye and make people smile.
That’s what I now judge everything
against: does every design or card or
painting have a little element of that
sparkle to it – whether that be originality,
humour, surprise, beauty or whatever?
4. YOU ALSO PRODUCE WEDDING CARDS –
SHARE SOME OFTHE MARKETING TIPS YOU
EMPLOYTO DRIVE BUSINESS YOURWAY.
l l l My best wedding business comes from
attending lots of wedding fairs – there is
nothing to beat talking about the actual
product to people face to face, when they
can look through all the ideas and choices
and see and feel the quality and get a feel for
whether they’d enjoy working with me.
Apart from the fairs though, I have two
really good ways of generating work. The
first is that a lot of my paintings are of
venues – manor houses and lovely hotels
etc – so each time I do a new one, I take the
painting to show to the manager. Almost
invariably I find that they’re happy then
to recommend me to other people getting
married there. Sometimes I even get the
hotel wanting to use the image for their
own purposes – one place put it on the front
of their menus for example, and another
turned it into invitations to an art exhibition
they were holding in their great hall.
The second way is that I send all my
clients anniversary cards in the years after
their weddings, with a special offer on any
other work they might like to get
done. The offer lasts for about six
months and they can pass it on
to other people if they choose to.
I’ve had all kinds of work from
these – paintings for people’s
sitting room walls, moving house
cards, ‘big birthday’ invitations, christening
invitations, even illustrating a book of
poems once.
5. WHATTRADE SHOW, OR MARKET STALL
EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN BEST FORYOU SO
FAR IN RESPECT OF LEADS,AND ORDERS?
l l l I’ve only done one trade show so far for
the greetings cards, which was Harrogate
Home & Gift. It went pretty well I think
and I received orders every day which I
was pleased about, as I hadn’t had time to
do much market research at that point.
Subsequently though, I’ve been finding my
better orders have come as a result of going
into shops local to me. I like people and I like
getting to know the owners, so I’m aiming
to build up good relationships in my area so
I can establish a core of repeat customers.
Then I can branch out from there.
6. WHAT DO YOU ENVISAGE 2016 HOLDS
FOR YOU IN RESPECT OF YOUR BUSINESS
GOALS.? REVEAL SOME OF YOUR PLANS
REGARDLESS OF HOW SMALL.
l l l I have two main goals for next year: to
refine my ranges further to a point where
I’m happy with my core offering, and to get
several more shows under my belt. It’s a
bit like learning to drive – you pass all the
tests and exams, but you only really learn
once you’re out on the road by yourself.
Next year will be about reducing the
wedding work gradually, and taking to the
road with the cards!
KATE STENNER, SUN PENNIES
W: www.sunpennies.co.uk / www.sunpenniescards.com
E: kate@sunpennies.co.uk
T: 01926 843073
other work they might like to get
done. The offer lasts for about six
cards, ‘big birthday’ invitations, christening
t One of the black and white range

15. A
nother way of drumming up some sales
and income is to consider running a
retreat. To start off you could approach
someone who runs a bed & breakfast
establishment and organise a small and intimate
card publishing course allowing tired,corporate
workers a chance to meet others with a shared
interested in art/illustration and design in a
peaceful country setting. Courses that inspire
others and encourage friendships to blossom are
assured to be sell-outs if marketed well. When I
worked two jobs (back to back Monday to Friday)
in London I would have loved to attend something
like this by taking a couple of days annual leave.
Instead,I often just checked into a hotel to get
away from it all.
Part of the planning will involve deciding on
1) how many you can accommodate,2) a theme
for your workshop or retreat,3) the number of
classes you wish to hold and 4) an idea of the
techniques you want to include.Each class can
build on the other.Decide the criteria for your
target group – gender, ability, age etc.
If the venue is set in a rural location, you can
combine a morning’s walk in the hills with an
afternoon of painting and printing. Having a
choice of speakers helps give the participants
variety. Who could you partner with to add some
spice to the content? Think about activities for
your students on free afternoons or evenings.
Hiring staff on an hourly basis who have, for
example, experience of head and foot massage
or yoga can really sell the course.The whole
purpose of a retreat is to de-stress and revitalise
and amenities like this can be the deciding
factor in whether a delegate books up for the
course or not.
Do all the costings for the retreat in the same
way as in theWorkshop section above. The larger
the group,the more speakers you will need to
hire,as well as an on-site masseuse,possibly a
photographer,a yoga instructor,an aromotherapist
– all services laid on by my contemporaries in this
country and abroad who regularly run retreats.
RETREATS – THE
GREAT ESCAPE

16. 16
Olivia Goddard
of Little Boat Gifts
Interview with .....

17. 1. YOU’VE BEEN PUBLISHING GREETING
CARDS FOR A WHILE NOW- DID OPENING
A NEW SHOP FEEL LIKE A NATURAL
EXTENSION OF THIS OR HAS IT BEEN
STEEP LEARNING CURVE ALL THE WAY?
l l l Although I have been working as a
greeting card publisher for a while now,
I also worked in a local gift shop at the
same time, which is the shop that I have
now taken over. When the opportunity
came up four months ago, I initially
wasn’t sure, particularly because of the
time needed to get the shop how I want
it. But I do feel that it has been a natural
extension of my business, I have always
sold a high percentage of my products
through the shop, it’s a great way to
get direct feedback from customers and
identify designs which do not sell as well.
At the moment the hardest part is
balancing my time and how I split it
between the shop and preparing for the
Spring fair at the beginning of next year.
2. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR
SUPPLIERS AND GIVE US AN IDEA OF
WHAT YOUR SHOP SELLS?
l l l I have inherited a certain number
of suppliers from the previous owners,
which has been great as I know that their
designs and products sell. I have also
started to add new suppliers; a couple I
found at trade fairs like the Autumn fair,
and others are people that I have got to
know within the greeting card industry.
As a small independent it’s important
for us to find unique products made with
good quality materials. Our customers
come to us because they know they can
get something different, this is why I
tend to look for smaller companies who
can fill this description.
We currently have extended our greeting
card range and also stock a wide range of
gifts including our new addition of scented
candles in jars. Alongside this we sell
frames and offer a bespoke framing service.
3. WHAT IS YOUR BIG DREAM FOR LITTLE
BOAT GIFTS?
l l l My current plan for Little Boat gifts
is to change the layout inside to include
a studio space which I hope will help
with managing my time and increase
the opportunity for designing. We are
also looking at expanding our range of
products from Olivia Goddard designs and
plan to add more of our own products to
the shop as we develop them.
4. TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR WORK
WITH THE PRINCE´S TRUST, MENTORING
AND SUPPORT.
l l l I initially started Olivia Goddard
Designs with help from the Prince’s Trust.
I enrolled on their enterprise course
which helps young people explore the
possibility of running their own business.
After attending the course, I was assigned
a business mentor and received a start-up
loan. Having a business mentor has been a
huge support, it’s great to have someone F
17

18. 18
there to ask questions and listen when
things are not going to plan.
The Prince’s Trust has been so
encouraging and supportive, which is why
I became a young ambassador for them.
This has been an amazing experience and
has helped to develop communication skills
that can also be applied to my business.
5. WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY INVOLVE?
l l l My typical day at the moment
involves a lot of time at the shop either
sorting displays or dealing with customers.
With Christmas getting nearer it is one of
our busier times, so there unfortunately
isn’t much time to work on any designing
during the day. Evenings are my only time
to work on new designs and other projects,
like my personalised gifts and decorations.
6. WILL YOU BE USING YOUR NEW
PREMISES TO RUN CREATIVE EVENTS
OR WORKSHOPS?
l l l We are still organising the layout of
the shop and have a lot of Christmas stock
out so there is not a lot of room available
at the moment for creative workshops.
We are considering running a watercolour
challenge in the Spring to look for new
local artists the exhibit in the shop.
Send me your No. I New Year's
resolution to enter this issue's
Valentine competition.
One lucky winner will win 6 of my
Valentine range of greeting cards
Cards. Email me at
lorraine@lorrainestylianou.com
by 7 January 2015 and a name
will be picked out of the hat!
LoveLoveLoveLoveLoveLove
isintheair....isintheair....isintheair....
Love
isintheair....
LoveLoveLove
isintheair....
Love
isintheair....
Love
isintheair....
LoveLoveLove
isintheair....
Love
lllCOMPETITION
isintheair....isintheair....isintheair....

19. x
Gypsy and Chic want to
share some of Robert
Kiyosaki’s inspirational
quotes. I’ve met Robert,
(and his wife Kim) along
with the Rich Dad team.
No other man has influenced
my life more. His book Rich
Dad Poor Dad changed my
perspective completely.
“Don’t waste a good mistake.
Learn from it.”
“Don’t let the
fear of losing be
greater than the
excitement of
winning.”
“Great opportunities
are not seen
with your eyes.
They are seen with
your mind.”
“The richest people in the world
build networks. Everyone else is
trained to look for work.”

20. 20
FROM CANVAS TO CARD STOCK. THE DIFFERENT
HATS ARTIST/CARD PUBLISHERS HAVE TO WEAR.
In the
Artist’s studio
L
et me introduce you to
US artist Karla Gerard…
folk artist, and naïve
painter extraordinaire!
Karla has been kind enough to
answer some of my questions on
how she markets herself, the kind
of products her designs appear on, and what she has
lined up in the months ahead.
[Karla] The kind of paintings that sell best for me would
be the colorful patterned landscapes.I market my art
through Ebay.They have email marketing newsletters
that I send on a weekly basis to subscribers,as well as
on Facebook and Twitter. I pay for google advertising
and I also use fineartamerica.com for selling prints,
mugs,giclees,rolled canvases,etc...I also have an art
licensing agency that manages my art image contracts
worldwide.As far as tips for folk artists going into
business,‘sell something very different and unique’.
Try different venues until you find the ones that work
best for you.I am always being asked to visit places
worldwide to do lectures,teach classes or do a show
to promote my art for a new gallery opening,or to
visit elementary school classrooms who are studying
my art.I don’t fly or travel much out of the state. I
am a home body. Warner Bros.purchased one of my
paintings which hung on the set in one of the rooms
of the farmhouse in the film“Superman-Man of Steel”,
starring Kevin Costner,Diane Lane,Russell Crowe
and Henry Cavill,which was released in June,2013.
On August 6,2012,Moscow City,Russia purchased the
usage rights to 3 of my art images which were utilized
in an architectural collaboration for three of their
government children’s swimming pool buildings on
the outside entryway cubes.I have a couple of online

21. 21
and physical shops (vendors) that
sell my images on needlepoint
canvas, Maggie Co. I have several
shops and online vendors selling
my black and white art images
as rug hooking paper patterns
and as rug hooking kits. Many
elementary school teachers have
studied me and my art. My art
has been utilized for campaigns
and ads for Belle Etoile, a jewelry
company. Recently, I was contacted
by The Taunton Press publishing
company.We are in the process of
producing “Fanciful Folk Art” by
Karla Gerard, an adult coloring
book. It is ready for print and will
be in shops and stores soon. F

22. l After a stressful
meeting, painting is
a great way to relax.
“Sheffield” -the black
and yellow design
was painted in a lovely
hotel in the city on a
girls’ day away (when
my daughter accompanied me on a business
trip, leaving the boys at home!) My 7-petalled
flower range came to fruition on a well-earned
weekend in the heart of London’s West End.
I rarely publish cards using the raw, hand
painted image. My preference is to have them
edited in Photoshop as I think they look more
refined. They are still my designs – just sharper,
brighter, and more malleable. Elements in
the design can be put
into repeat, dimensions
changed, and resized.
Once I’m happy
with the Photoshop
or Illustrator files, they
are then made up as
print ready pdfs, and
uploaded to the printers’ website. An online
order form outlining the quantity, name, and
size of the cards required is emailed along with
the files. Then the wait! Regardless of whether
the printer reckons they can be turned around
in six days or less, the reality is they won’t arrive
sooner than a fortnight after my initial order.
This delay is something card publishers have
to always try and better, and it needs one to
be proactive in researching different suppliers,
couriers and costs.
22
SHEFFIELD AND
COVENT GARDEN
Stacks of my own finished canvases are stored
in boxes under my desk, the product of many
hours of painting in either my tiny studio
under my Ikea lamp, or hotel rooms! I take a
look at them from time to time, and can pin
point when, and where, they were completed.
A lot of my surface pattern paintings have
ended up with the names of places, as I always
bring a small selection of acrylic paints, and
a square canvas or two in my holdall when I
travel. If I get a free moment, I will paint.travel. If I get a free moment, I will paint.

23. 23
l As a primitive
painter and
folk artist
painting birds
surrounded by
flowers is a style
I like to repeat.
It is hard not to
paint a canvas
with a card in mind once you’ve become
a card publisher. The finished product –
often a design with a sentiment – dictates
the composition. This is something you
have to avoid if painting for an exhibition
as most galleries and buyers expect
something more - a story, a hidden
meaning, symbolism, a landscape with
interesting details.
So whilst the
artist/owner
of a growing
card company
will no doubt
be overseeing
a multitude
of different
things from
marketing card ranges, fulfilling orders,
and managing agents, there is the
physical act of painting that we must
not neglect. Painting opens doors not
directly linked to card manufacture.
There are workshops, exhibitions,
speaking gigs, book illustration to name
a few. The objective in all of this must
surely include becoming an authority at
what we do, to earn a good living, and
to continue to appeal to our market.
RUFFLING FEATHERS

24. 24
Just 4 of my 16 Valentine’s day designs, featuring folk
inspired pattern, love birds, hearts, flowers.
Visit my website to see the full range.
ORDER FORM
ROMEO CARD RANGE. £6 for 6 cards
CODE AMOUNT TOTAL
VAL1 Happy Valentine’s day
VAL2 To my Valentine
VAL3 Darling Happy Valentine’s day
VAL4 Darling husband I love you
VAL5 Darling wife I love you
VAL6 My heart belongs to you
VAL7 To my love
VAL8 To my fabulous boyfriend
VAL9 To my gorgeous girlfriend
VAL10 Love you always
VAL11 Sweet valentine
VAL12 To my fabulous fiancée
VAL13 Love you always
VAL14 To my sweetheart
VAL15 You are my soulmate
VAL16 Will you be my valentine
Happy
Valentines

25. 25
To place an order contact
me by Jan 7th in time for
Valentine’s day.

26. xx
S
haron McGillion, in a rush to take
her son to his friend’s birthday party,
managed to pick up a present but was
at a loss when it came to the wrapping paper.
As she wouldn’t have time to return home to
wrap the gift, she went to her local shop with
scissors and tape in hand so she could wrap
the present in the car once she had bought
the wrapping paper.
It was then, Sharon explains, that she had
a “Eureka moment” – surely there is a gift
wrap product that would overcome the need
for a separate wrap, seal and label? That’s
what got Sharon thinking…. and she came up
with the idea of the Pressie Pouch.
The Pressie Pouch range is
designed so that they can
be purchased for any
occasion. Pressie Pouch
can meet all needs and
are available in 3 sizes:
small, medium, and large.
Pressie Pouch is a self-sealing gift bag
with the “to-from” label encompassed
on the outside of the bag. It’s a simple
solution where you pop the gift in, peel and
seal, and write the label. Done! Sharon
said “When I thought of myself going into
a shop and buying the product myself, I
knew I was on to something.”
Inventing was one thing, selling was
another. I knew I wouldn’t be taken seriously
if I didn’t have a high quality product and
a strong price proposition. Having come
up with the idea, Sharon, along with her
brother Seamus, began the process of
introducing the product to retail.
This has been very successful
with the securing of Blackhall
as the distributor to the
retail pharmacy trade in the
Republic of Ireland and by
Necessity
is the
Mother of
Invention
S
haron McGillion

27. the end of summer 2015 will be supplying
140 accounts with Pressie Pouch.We have
also secured Newspread who are distributors
to all newsagents throughout Ireland.We are
also supplying 60 stores in Northern Ireland
including Eason’s.
Sharon is under no illusions that she has
passed the winning post at this point.“I’m
delighted that the product has been well
received by retailers but I know we now have
to knuckle down and ensure that the product
is stocked and well presented in as many
stores as possible.”
Talking about her experience of bringing
a new consumer product to market, Sharon
admits that it has been a steep learning
curve but one that she has not regretted for
a moment. “It’s been a real rollercoaster of
ups and downs, but I believe that a passion
for the product, sheer perseverance and a
commitment to seeing things through, have
led me to a stage where my vision of seeing
myself going to a shop and buying a Pressie
Pouch is fast becoming a reality.
Pressie Pouch is sold widely throughout
Ireland. Sharon is seeking licencees and/
or distributors.
Website: http://www.pressiepouch.co.uk
Facebook: Pressie-Pouch
Twitter: @bizzistationery
27

28. 28
The Birds:William Blake
(Published by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1863)
HE.
Where thou dwellest,
in what grove,
Tell me Fair One, tell me
Love;
Where thou thy charming
nest dost build,
O thou pride of every field
SHE.
Yonder stands a lonely
tree,
There I live and mourn
for thee;
Morning drinks my
silent tear,
And evening winds my
sorrow bear.
HE.
O thou summer’s harmony,
I have liv’d and mourn’d
for thee;
Each day I mourn along
the wood,
And night hath heard my
sorrows loud.
SHE.
Dost thou truly long for
me?
And am I thus sweet to thee?
Sorrow now is at an end,
O my Lover and my Friend
HE.
Come, on wings of joy we’ll
fly
To where my bower hangs
on high;
Come, and make thy calm
retreat,
Among green leaves and
blossoms sweet

29. 29
“Hope” is the thing with
feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without
the words
And never stops - at all
And sweetest - in the Gale
- is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the
little Bird
That kept so many warm
I’ve heard it in the
chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of Me.
Emily Dickinson
IMAGES FROM
MY BOHEMIAN
BIRDS RANGE.
1.Blue bird in white roses
2.Blue Jay in yellow roses

30. Gypsy Chic magazine
A window on the world of a greeting card publisher