Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - May/June 2020

22 Cats in hats Jo Clark from Jo Clark Design talks us through what makes her fresh, funny and charming greetings cards so popular, and her positive outlook for life post-pandemic When did you start up Jo Clark Design and why? The Jo Clark Design card business was born in 2010 after I graduated from the Children’s Book illustration MA in Cambridge. I knew that I needed to keep my drawing productivity going and wanted to get my work out into the world somehow. The idea of greetings cards came to mind as a great way to get seen by the public! I designed and produced a range of contemporary floral greetings cards as well as some cute animal character ones. So, in true ‘apprentice’ style I got ready in my smartest clothes and proceeded to show my wares at garden centres, art galleries and small shops around the UK. I was so thrilled when I got orders, and then the re-orders started to flow. I slowly grew my card design ranges and as time passed, I picked up many fabulous stockists all over the UK through trade shows and marketing. How has the company developed over the years? It’s sometimes easy to forget how much things have changed since the early days. Back then I would be cycling to the printers and loading up the front shopping basket of my bicycle with cards stock ‘hot off the press’. These were then ready to be hand folded and packed into orders by myself and my lovely Mum, who dedicated her time to helping fold cards, and keep me smiling of course, which I appreciate so much! Eventually, we passed this work onto a fulfilment centre, which has been a big step and another learning curve, but for the better of course. The company has grown and evolved over the years, going from dining room table to having international distributors supplying my products all over the world, something which a few years back I’d only ever dreamed of! What challenges have you overcome? Well of course currently the biggest challenge to all businesses is the dreaded coronavirus. All stockists are closed for business (at time of writing), which is completely heartbreaking for them, and impacts on the supply chain and their local communities. Being a creative, I have had to put that into action and keep the business moving, all be it to a limited extent by offering hand written cards sent directly to their recipient. I’m hoping to spend some the downtime being creative and putting fresh new ranges together. I hope things will get back to normal, or whatever our new normal will be, soon, and we can enjoy browsing the high street stores together once again. Tell us about your product offering. I offer cute illustrated greetings cards, gift wrap and art prints designed to make everyone smile. The designs reflect my sense of humour – there is a sense of narrative amongst my designs, and a little bit of cute cheeky fun. All of my greeting cards are printed onto recycled paper, paired with a recycled envelope and optional biodegradable cello bag. What are your most popular cards? Our very popular, pun cards, ‘Fruit & Veg’ everyday range, with ‘Olive You’ and ‘A Pea Birthday’ being some of the best sellers from the range. The recent ‘Hedgehugs’