|
For
the last five years we have been making handmade cards and
selling them trade to retailers. So it is important for
us to know what's hot and what's not.
What colours are happening and what is so last year. This
is crucial to our card designs, to keep them up beat and
happening and very much in 2004 and not back in the nineties.
So
it is important to us to share this information with all
our customers.
What's hot and happening and what's so yesterday.
The current trend for card publishers at present is to use
white six inch square card blanks with a matching envelope,
we attended many shows this year and astonishingly almost
all handmade card companies favour this card blank size
and colour, only a handful remained faithful to the old
C6.
The
good old C6 size card blank, has it seems 'had its day'
with the bigger handmade card publishers, it's been replaced
by the six inch square card size.
What are the benefits to a business when upgrading to a
larger card blank size?
Well
for most it would be a profit related benefit, they can
sell their cards trade for a lot more, perhaps up to seventy
pence more per card, yet the outlay for them to use a bigger
card blank is pennies.
For
the retailer, the big square cards offer value for money,
or should that be, gives the perception of value for money.
For example two cards side by side in a card rack one is
C6 (6 x 4 when folded) the other is the big square card,
a retailer can sell a C6 card for no more than £3.50
however the average retailer can see a big square card selling
at £4.50 and upwards, he can also see that from the
end customers point of view the big square card is better
value and that is more than likely what they will purchase.
|
|
|
6
x 4, 7 x 5 and 6 x 6 cards
|
So
in the trade it's Big, white and square!
But
hold on, there are drawbacks to the small publisher when
using this size card blank, we've found with the big square
card that a lot of retailers won't stock this size as it
is not spinner friendly, most card spinner suppliers do
not cater for this size as a stock item.
If retailers have the elaborate wall mounted card racks
then it's not a problem, however if a retailer has to buy
in a custom spinner then your chances of a sale are slim.
So
how do you get round the six by six display problem?
Chop an inch off the side and stick it on top!
When
we first started making cards the popular size card blank
was the 7 x 5 inch, yet we had concerns!
Apart from it being all over the place like a rash, the
biggest problem we had with it was the quality of the board
used in production, as we now know in an effort to squeeze
the maximum profits from the product the manufacturers were
using the cheapest board available, resulting in the card
blank having a flimsy feel and a perception of cheapness
that we really did not want for our cards.
This
is probably why C6 card blanks have become so popular, manufacturers
can get more C6 size card blanks from a sheet, can use the
thinner board and still get away with calling it a "
Quality product"
It is not until the card blank size is increased that the
end user notices that the board is in fact not good quality
at all, as it tends to buckle under any weight that may
be used on it and warp easily when standing up.
Kooky
therefore have reintroduced the 7 x 5 inch card blank back
from the depths of the past.
However we have given it a Kooky quality makeover as always
using our fabulous Italian fortis board that you all love,
so you get bigger, better and quality all wrapped into one.
Using
a 7 x 5 also solves any display problems you may encounter
from some retailers as nearly all spinner supply companies
produce the required size spinner as a stock item, the card
also stands taller giving it the display edge over six by
four and the six by six square cards.
White is most definitely the new cream!
While
it is obvious to us here at Kooky that this is not true!
 As
far as the trends go the majority of professional greeting
card publishers are using white card blanks. This may not
be such a good thing as one of our retail customers was
very pleased to see our Kooky Kards which are made using
cream card blanks. The retailer complained bitterly about
the lack of colour on her shelves, and how all the handmade
cards look like they're made by the same company!
Don't be square go round.
For
so many years the square has ruled supreme but now it's
time to embrace the circle, with its soft look, it's the
fashionable shape of 2004 it most certainly breathes new
life and image to the look of a Handmade card .
|
