Building a Card-munity at the GCA AGM

This years GCA AGM, held at the Leeds Royal Armoury, was truly a grand day out! The annual event held by the Greeting Card Association brought together over 180 members from all across the industry from publishing, to printing, to share their experiences, catch up on industry news and celebrate the strength of our wonderful card-munity.

The day started with the GCA’s annual market report, supported by research from Kantar, reflecting on the current state of the greeting card market and celebrating it’s continued resilience to the cost of living crisis. This presentation was followed by guest speakers Sarah Laker (Independent shop owner) Wendy of Wendy-Jones Blackett (Designer) and Adam Dury of Cardfactory. Each talk was engaging and inspiring, sharing a different perspective of the greeting card industry.

This years event also included a mixer element, with individuals from different businesses seated together for dinner, this was a great opportunity to meet new faces, discuss the days talks and connect with different areas of the industry. The Loxleys team attending enjoyed this fresh take on the annual get together and left the event feeling inspired and informed about the future of the industry.

We’d like to share our thanks to the GCA council for organising such a successful event and celebrate the friendly and inclusive community of greetings cards. If you’d like to learn more about the GCA and how they can support your business visit: About | Greeting Card Association

Hip, Hip, Henries!

The most glamorous get together in the greeting card calendar

Last week saw the return of our favourite event on the card industry calendar, the Henries. The annual award ceremony, hosted by progressive greetings, shares the achievements of greeting card designers and publishers across 20 award categories such as ‘Best Humorous Range’, ‘Best Photographic Range’, and ‘Best Diversity and Inclusion Range’.


As a print and production partner Loxley regularly hosts a table at the Henries, inviting a selection of publishers to join the celebrations. Hosted at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, this year’s Mardi Gras inspired Henries began with a buzzing drinks reception accompanied by music from The Steel Panthers – a Carribean steel drum band. Then it was time to get down to business and announce this year’s wonderful winners. As a key sponsor of the award ceremony Loxleys Managing Director, Tony Lorriman, was invited to the stage to present the award for ‘Best Childrens Range’ to the 2023 winner Raspberry Blossom (see video below).

The night ended on a high, with the incredible drag act Ruby Violet getting the 500+ guests up onto the dance floor, where the party went on until the early hours of the morning!


The Loxleys team in attendance had an incredible time and would like to send a special thanks to the GCA (Greeting Card Association) for hosting such a memorable evening! Their continued support of the greeting card industry plays a pivotal role in fostering connections among industry peers, promoting collaboration, and nurturing an exciting and forward-thinking community that we are proud to be a part of.


A special shout-out goes to our wonderful table guests who made the 28th Henries one of our favourites so far. Filled with laughter, wine, and plenty of confetti!


We can’t wait to do it all again next year!

1st Image – Table decorations, 2nd Image -Tony announcing the award winner, 3rd Image the table a few glasses of wine and confetti cannons later!