Gift Focus - Mar/Apr 2018 (Issue 106)

Please describe your product offering. Wishingwell is a luxury brand of greeting cards that was launched in 2016. The company, based in Belgium, supplies high quality and greeting cards to retailers. The delightful cards feature original watercolour illustrations with a small and funny twist. The delicacy, warm colours and the eye for tiny details characterise the brand. The gorgeous illustrations are made with great care and attention at every stage of the process. They’re printed on high quality, environmentally-friendly paper of 300g and 350g. Your designs are very intricate, do you hand- paint them? I’m fascinated by beautiful drawings and watercolours and the atmosphere that radiates. When the idea and the execution technique form one whole, it creates this atmosphere. And then something magic happens. That’s what I aim for in my work. I have a master degree of fine arts and I’m trained as a restorer of paintings, specialising in 14 th and 15 th century paintings on wooden panels. Due to my professional background, I prefer to use good quality watercolours because I attach great importance to the sustainability and the colour clarity of the paint. (They also try to minimise the environmental impact during the production process). I also prefer to work on high quality watercolour paper with a very fine grain. That is how I can work with such fine detail. I launched my brand in the summer of 2016 when I started to illustrate the alphabet. The drawing around each letter of the collection is build up by association. The illustrations are realistic but the composition is formal with an echo of the medieval incunabula. What challenges did you overcome as a new company? When I had my first 10 cards ready (the first 10 letters of the alphabet) I had them printed and went to a few stores to see if I could sell them. Each time I also showed the original watercolours to distinguish myself because I thought that this could increase my chances. I got a very positive response and that gave me the passion to continue with it. Where does the name come from? I wanted a name that referred to the medium that I use to make the cards (watercolours) and also something that referred to greeting cards. That’s how I came up with the idea of a ‘well’ and combined with ‘wishes’ to give the name Wishingwell. Are you planning on branching into other product areas? As well as greeting cards I also design prints for children’s rooms, labels and stickers for cards and giftwrap (which can be personalised), and birth announcements. Being based in Belgium are you looking to be stocked all over Europe? How are you finding the current economic climate? I’d really like that, but I look at it realistically, and step by step, depending on the opportunities that are offered. How do you market your business? Do you attend any trade shows? Last year I exhibited for the first time at a trade fair in Belgium; and this year at Top Drawer in London. This has resulted in a few good contacts with distributors. For now, I’m working together with a distributor in Belgium and The Netherlands and I’d very much like to find a company that wants to distribute my cards in the UK. What’s your proudest achievement to date? I’m so happy and proud that my cards are already available in many beautiful shops, both here and in the UK. What are your hopes for the future? That I have more time to make new illustrations! Martine Brodelet, artist and owner of stationery company Wishingwell, based in Belgium, has recently visited Top Drawer in London. Gift Focus discovers more about the beautiful hand-painted cards and the woman behind the business For more information, telephone +32 472 230 693 ; or visit wishingwell.be wishes can come true 106 giftfocus