Merry Christmas

Best Christmas wishes to all. See you in the new year with the latest trends, design + show news, Emily x

CHRISTMAS CARD BY EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: copper foiled christmas tree card designed by emily hauck #paperlove #christmasiscoming #hohoho #stationerylove #festivefriday

Diaries 2018

There is something special about fresh stationery: the possibilities, new projects and exciting events to look forward to. New Year is steaming up fast and I'm taking out time amid the Christmas rush to get organised for 2018. I'm loving this personalised diary I ordered from Art Box. There is still time to pick up some fabulous designs. Some of my favourites below.

DIARIES 2018 | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

going round clockwise. top left: batik diary from katie leamon, acrobats by carolyn suzuki studio for papier, navucko blush pink on trouva, rifle paper coral planner from the paper palour, arden rose linen planner from ohh deer, feminist journal from anthropologie, marjolein delhaas minimalist diary on trouva, alice scott slim diary on waterstones.
#paperlove #stationerylove #diaries2018 #2018 #newyear 

Christmas Post

Well here it is, hot off the press, my newly designed Christmas card. I am in full Festive Friday mode today as I write all my lovely Christmas post, mince pies and all. After finding our favourite Christmas tree yesterday and dusting off the decs, I'm quite enjoying a quiet afternoon writing these lovelies. They'll be winging their way to you soon.

CHRISTMAS POST | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: my copper foiled christmas tree card with embossed envelopes + new business cards, exciting #paperlove #christmasiscoming #hohoho #stationerylove #festivefriday

Festive Friday

Well it's that time of year! Festive Friday is a special day for the greeting card industry to send our personal festive mail, creating a twinkly flurry of post arriving in the first week of December and getting us all in the mood for sending Christmas cards.

I am a tad late this year with my own send out but it will be worth the wait! In the meantime I have enjoyed creating this edit of favourite festive designs.

FESTIVE FRIDAY - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: love these unusual pop up cards - jurianne matter forest pop up gift cards on trouva, seasons greetings christmas card wreath from paperchase, happy christmas pear tree pack of five from caroline gardner, brushstroke christmas card from anthropologie, u studio landscapes christmas cards from paperchase, john lewis seasons greetings charity pack, origami tree christmas card from paperchase, bethlehem by paper salad, john lewis christmas bird charity packs, in the middle: jolly santa card from ohh deer.

#festivefriday #paperlove

Extract

Excitingly in my post this week is the latest collection from GFSmith, Extract. It's a paper project that I find particularly appealing, not only because it is great quality paper and excellent colours but because it has come about in an effort to reduce our paper + plastic waste.

Plastic has been something on my agenda for a little while (I'm big a fan of retailers like Buy Me Once who look to reduce disposable culture) but the issue has come to the fore this week with the poor baby whale on blue planet and an increasing number of recent worrying reports on plastic pollution.

I didn't realise that the disposable paper coffee cups that we all use daily are actually non recyclable - this is due to a plastic lining on the inside. A scary thought when we use 5000 of these cups a minute!

So it is great news to hear of a designer paper tackling this. After much development at the paper mill into finding a way to recycle these cups, we have extract. Something so positive and aesthetic too.

EXTRACT FROM G F SMITH - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: extract, available colours: flint, shell, ember, pitch, aqua, khaki, mustard, cactus, moon + coral. weights 130 + 380gsm 

#gfsmith #extract #paperlove 

Manchester's First Stationery Show

Manchester's first Stationery Show kicked off in style last week. It was one of the most (if not the most) stylish trade shows I've been to - largely owing to the fantastic backdrop of the Victoria Warehouse. The new trade venue showcased the latest stationery products perfectly. A small but neatly formed show provided a wonderful selection of publishers, seminars, workshops and a relaxing networking area by the cafe/bar under some fantastic paper lanterns. A great opportunity to catch up with friends, trends and the latest in stationery.
Highlights included a handwriting/calligraphy workshop, a seminar on high street trends by Michael Weedon and the latest releases from Go Stationery - I especially loved the Monochrome collection.

MANCHESTER'S FIRST STATIONERY SHOW - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

round clockwise from top left: fantastic original features of the victoria warehouse, catching up with friends - katie of katie phythian design & me, colour block collection from go stationery, manchester stationery show promo area, monochrome notebooks from go stationery, michael weedon's seminar on high street trends, pics of the fantastic exhibition space, on trend pastel highlighters from stabilo, larger shot of the monochrome range, pic of the paper lanterns by the cafe/bar.

First Birthday Greetings

I'm feeling inspired by the lovely cards my daughter has received this past week for her first birthday.

With their lower price points, children's cards might be overlooked by publishers/retailers making first birthday cards sometimes difficult to find. Design wise, first birthdays can be tricky to work with as they could look too babied or too much like an older child's card. There is also some debate at the moment about the gendering of products for children, John Lewis recently wading into this when removing gender labelling of children's clothes.

Despite all this, there is some great design out there. I'm loving the current fresh colour palettes and innovative character illustration. Some top picks for you here.

FIRST BIRTHDAY CARDS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top left: elephant first birthday card from paperchase, top right: gold bear birthday greeting card from ohh deer, second tier left: lion holding number one card from clintons, second tier right: circus first birthday card from clintons, third tier left: personalised girls and boys birthday card by rocks design, third tier right: party animals greeting card from ohh deer, bottom left: giraffe in hat first birthday card from paperchase, bottom right: first birthday card personalised by norma & dorothy.

Escapism

Here it is, the annual John Lewis report has arrived with the latest trends. Out is sensible women's suits or healthy eating spiralisers, that's too much reality for us. Escapism is the new key to current shopping trends. More unicorns, mermaids, rainbows, fun and fantastical please.

Thinking back on recent trends tropical leaves & pantone's 2017 Greenery colour, even these appear too down to earth for current needs (not surprising in a 2017 that's filled with full on politics and events). So the unicorn is here to stay. Here are some pink, sparkling and escapist top picks.

ESCAPISM - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top left: best birthday unicorn card by sooshichacha, top middle: unicorn garden folded notecards from paperchase, top right: rainbow unicorn card by gemma correll, second tier left: unicorn poop card by ohh deer, second tier right: unicorn happy birthday card by duke and rabbit, third tier left: orelia have a magical day gift card, third tier middle: unicorn with tassle card by meri meri, third tier right: unicorn star A5 sketchbook by paperchase,  fourth tier left: unicorn pop up card from paperchase,  fourth tier middle: star wand greeting card by ohh deer, fourth tier right: mermaid card by meri meri, bottom left: mermaid cake toppers from meri meri, bottom middle: rainbows birthday card by meri meri, bottom right: unicorn necklace by meri meri

SaveSave

The Henries Awards 2017

So we have it, the winners of the Henries Awards 2017 have been announced!

While Paloma Mother's Day missed out on the spring season award, the Paloma Christmas Packs have proved again to be a winning formula in the Best Christmas Box or Pack Category, fantastic news! I have thoroughly enjoyed designing Paloma for Belly Button Designs right from creating the initial concept through to the award winning range it is today. I am so pleased to see it continuing the winning tradition.

Congratulations to all the winners, a fabulous show of talent this year. A full list of winners can be found here at PG Buzz.

THE HENRIES AWARDS 2017 - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of winning companies and some of the collections. top left: stefanie dyment's new giftware collection - best giftwrappings collection, top right: lagom - best relations or occasions range, second tier left: hotchpotch - best contemporary trend range, second tier right: belly button designs paloma chrismas box - best christmas box or pack, third tier left: five dollar shake - best christmas counter range, third tier right: louise tyler - most promising young designer, bottom left: stop the clock design - best spring seasons range, bottom middle: redback cards - best humorous range, bottom right: art file - best male range

The Henries

Ooh it's that time of year again. The Henries Greetings Awards 2017 are this week! It's fantastic to see Paloma is nominated for two awards in Best Spring Seasons Range & Best Christmas Box or Pack. Paloma Mother's Day is one of the last collections I designed for Belly Button Designs so it's extra fab to know it has been nominated and for me to leave on such a high. Let's hope it's another winner!! Best of luck to all the nominees!!

THE HENRIES ARE HERE | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above top:  belly button designs paloma mother's day 2017 'on Mothering Sunday' - one of my favourite designs I created for the collection, middle right: henries 2017 logo, bottom middle: previous henries award for platinum, bottom right: parisian theme for this years ceremony, #progressive greetings

Thinking of You Week

The GCA's Thinking of You Week has been a great excuse to catch up with folk and get creative with the kids.

Thinking of You Week is a special week that harnesses the emotional power of greeting cards to create a wave of love, caring and happiness around the world. Sending handwritten cards generates positive feelings and wellbeing. Science has shown that receiving a handwritten card creates a lovely warm positive boost - Greeting Card Association

We had a great deal of fun creating these lovelies. Our rather large pile of post is all sent and off on its way.

INSTAGRAM THINKING OF YOU WEEK | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: instagram pics for #ThinkingOf YouWeek #SendaCardDeliveraSmile @GCAUK

Pastures New

Well it's been a lovely summer of fun and a welcome break for me. As autumn begins it's time to start preparing for a return to work. After the birth of my lovely baby number two I have accepted the redundancy offered whilst on my maternity leave from Belly Button Designs.

It's been a wonderful ten years. I have loved heading up the art studio and creating those award winning products, especially the Platinum and Paloma ranges. It has been a great experience and I have enjoyed meeting lots of people who are as mad about design, stationery and greetings as I am!

It's exciting to tell you that I'll be launching freelance shortly. I'm very much looking forward to creating all new and unique top selling designs. See you soon!

BELLY BUTTON DESIGN DAYS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: instagram days at belly button designs - henries awards, pg live, john lewis, spring fair, paloma, platinum, giftware, stationery, greetings,

Dottie's Pantry

We had a fabulous party for my son's second birthday at the weekend. The much talked about centrepiece was this amazing cake by Dottie's Pantry. There's a brilliant instagram feed showing the latest creations using their unique 'explosion style' design. I'm loving the creativity!

#construction #birthday #cake #diggers #chocolate #ganache #boy #party #2nd #oreo #party #instacakesv#manchester #heywood #Bury @carly_dottiespantry 😍😍😍

A post shared by dottiespantry (@keeley_dottiespantry) on Mar 24, 2017 at 7:33am PDT

The Great Pot Off

I'm feeling inspired this week by The Great Pottery Throwdown. It's so lovely to see such a creative show (let's not mention The Big Painting Challenge). I'm loving the enthusiasm, dedication and camaraderie of the TGPT team - it's all about creating a fantastic pot... wonder how that texture will look? what will the glaze turn out like? will it survive the firing? ....

So I'm enjoying shopping for pots this week, here are some finds.

POTTERY FAVOURITES - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top left: double monogram mug - anthropologie, top right: black and white pottery ceramic planter - catsceramics, middle left: celestial coaster - anthropologie, middle: glowing arbour coffee pour-over - anthropologie, middle right: grey geometric dot plant pot - object, bottom left: seventies sage green plant pot - object, bottom middle: trio of seventies ceramics cups - object, bottom right: handmade ceramic plate star - rockett st george

Valentine

It's that time of year - Love is in the air! Here are some favourites.

VALENTINE TOP PICKS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top left: artisan chocolate by mast at liberty, top right: valentine heart stickers from anthropologie, middle: a classic red heart valentine card from paperchase, middle right: ditsy heart tissue paper from paperchase,  bottom left: meri meri valentine confetti popper from anthropologie, bottom right: love you still card by caroline gardner

Greenery

So, we have it, the colour connoisseurs Pantone have announced their new choice for Colour of the Year 2017 - Greenery!

Green has been bubbling away in recent trends, the tropical palm leaf pattern, the faux cactus, the jungalow/botanicals style, to name a few. Pantone is highlighting a current trend moving away from multi colour, florals and brights to a simpler, greener and more refreshing palette.

GREENERY TOP PICKS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top left: 'plant lady' typographic giclee print by botanic tribe, top right: fleur de lys tumbler by anthropologie middle right: kitchen art pear print by showpony,  bottom left: 'thank you' card green by hatch, bottom right: artificial forest fern green wall foliage by artificial landscapes

"Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalise, Greenery symbolises the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose."

Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute

We are living in the presence of strongly divisive colours - think the current clashing red vs blues of trump and brexit. Green is nature's neutral, a calming reassuring colour in this era of polarised politics. Pantone's Greenery does not reflect the world as it is but as we would like it to be, something to give us some sanctuary in the intensity of modern life. 

GREENERY TOP PICKS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top left: bigso medium green media box by paperchase, top right: modern white hanging planter by catsceramics middle left: green home 01 art print by riikka kantinkoski on trouva, middle right: stationery palm leaf notebook by katie housley on trouva,  bottom left: gemology knob by anthropologie, bottom right: green grammar pencils from newtonandtheapple,

For myself, I've always enjoyed freshness of green and am looking forward to using plenty of this in the coming year.

Presently Watching... Why Design Matters

A little thought for the day from The School of Life, Why Design Matters. A mini vid about how good design is essential to society so we can be the best version of ourselves. It certainly makes me feel better! Let's shake off those January blues this week and be inspired.



above: why design matters mini video from the school of life

2017 New Year Stationery Edit

Start 2017 feeling more organised with some beautiful stationery. Here are my top picks for journals, diaries, calendars and more.

STATIONERY 2017 TOP PICKS -  IMAGES FROM PAPERCHASE ANTHROPOLOGIE URBAN OUTFITTERS KATIE LEAMON FOREIGN ROOFTOPS

top left: personalised agenzio large pink hard cover 2017 diary from paperchase £26.00, top right: free minimal printable calendar 2017 by foreign rooftops, middle left: gilded parisienne pencil case from anthropologie £20.00, bottom left: midori brass number clips from urban outfitters £15, bottom right: batik diary by katie leamon £28.00-30.00

Some important dates for your new calendar:

Valentine's Day: February 14th
Mother's Day (UK): March 26th
Easter: April 14th - 17th
Father's Day: 18th June

STATIONERY 2017 TOP PICKS -  IMAGES FROM PAPERCHASE ANTHROPOLOGIE URBAN OUTFITTERS KATIE LEAMON SODAPOP DESIGN TROUVA

top left: assorted pencil set by katie leamon £10.00, top middle: tools to live by gold & black large scissors from trouva £25, top right: free printable moon 2017 calendar by sodapop design, middle left: ohh deer green marble daily journal £16 & pink palm daily journal £16 from urban outfitters bottom left: kraft bee writing set from paperchase £8.00, get organised large notepad from paperchase £6.00, bottom right: cork tech ipad case from anthropologie £44.00,

Creator Spot - Katie Phythian Design

So excited to see the launch of Katie Phythian Design this month! A truly fabulous fun collection of cards and stationery featuring Katie's classic, colourful, painterly style.

KATIE PHYTHIAN DESIGN - IMAGES FROM KATIE PHYTHIAN INSTAGRAM

above: katie's new ranges paintbox & jewelled, stationery, new company logo & the lovely fluffy ramirez

I am naturally a bit biased as I have been lucky enough to have worked with Katie for the best part of 10 years in greetings & stationery design. Katie's work over those years has featured on many a shop shelf including the likes of Paperchase, Clintons, Selfridges & John Lewis. Katie is now launching her own much anticipated collection of designs this January, soon to be seen on show at this year's Spring Fair. A wonderful way to wish the new year in, something truly fresh for 2017!

KATIE PHYTHIAN DESIGN - IMAGES FROM KATIE PHYTHIAN INSTAGRAM

above: cards are now winging their way across the country, soon to be in a shop nearby

Visit Katie's website here and follow her adventures on Twitter & Instagram! 

New Year, New Baby, New Journal

After the recent arrival of baby Hauck number two I picked up a new Pleased to Meet baby journal for her. I previously bought one for her brother so I knew it would be a great buy.

PLEASED TO MEET BABY JOURNAL - IMAGE FROM PLEASED TO MEET

above: fold out family tree page from the pleased to meet baby journal (german edition)

I first discovered the German company Pleased to Meet at one of the UK trade shows. I was instantly drawn to their modern illustrations and innovative design style.

The playful nature of their design work makes a fun baby journal, full of inspiring ways to document those early days of parenthood. From notes of baby's first words to a lovely fold out family tree, image places for photos, pages for inky hand & footprints - there is plenty to enjoy.

PLEASED TO MEET BABY JOURNAL - IMAGES FROM PLEASED TO MEET

above: inner pages from the pleased to meet baby journal (german edition)

I like the gender neutral (very on trend) approach to the colour scheme and artwork. They also have cleverly avoided sugaring it up with cute-'isms' & baby stereotypes. It is a lovely fresh take on welcoming new people to the family.

PLEASED TO MEET BABY JOURNAL - IMAGES FROM PLEASED TO MEET

above: the english edition of the pleased to meet baby journal that I bought previously

For baby girl, I wanted a different look journal so I have bought the German edition (quite fitting for our Austrian heritage). I have found copies of the English edition both on the Pleased to Meet site and the uk shop Debbie Bliss Home.
SaveSave