Winter Break

Oh I've heard there may be snow on the way, winter is most definitely here. I'm taking a little seasonal break from the Karika Nova blog. In the mean time I'll be working on some exciting new projects, more news on those in the new year. Wishing you all a lovely Christmas, see you soon x

WINTER BREAK - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a snap i took last new year of sledgers on the hill next to our lodge in the scottish borders. i'll be taking a sledge next time! 

#winter #winterbreak

Festive Friday 2018

The studio is all a buzz today as I'm prepping for tomorrow. Festive Friday, 30 November 2018, is the day everyone in the card industry (and all lovers of cards) send their Christmas cards. This is to create a festive wave of lovely cards arriving in early December to get everyone in the Christmas card-sending mood. Following on from last year's lovely copper foiled tree, this year I've created a sparkly new Christmas card featuring iridescent hot foiling on crisp white board with matching hand embossed envelopes. The Illustration is inspired by nordic winter skies and I've hand finished each card with a crystal. Looking forward to writing and sending these lovelies tomorrow.

FESTIVE FRIDAY | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: my new christmas card for 2018, the lovely hand emboss, crystalling the cards, close up of the nordic winter sky design, can just about see the iridescent foil on this pic - hard to pick up in photos on a gloomy november day, a lovely sample pack, fab christmas first class stamps this year, my desk looking packed!

#festivefriday #festivefriday18 #christmas #christmascard #nordicskies #feelingfestive

Christmas Edit

I received our first Christmas card of the year yesterday so I thought I best get on with the seasonal shopping today especially as next week it's festive friday (when the card industry sends their Christmas post). There are some amazing paper goodies out there this year and I have found it tough to choose! Favourites for sending this Christmas are below.

CHRISTMAS EDIT - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from top left: love this bit of illustrator's humour with merry christmoose from cwillbs, inventive die-cut card gin-gle bells from raspberry blossom, the lovely snowy pink house from caroline gardner, a very merry xmas pudding from stormy knight, lily and val christmas tree card, beautiful handmade paper tassel garland from may contain glitter, for a festive rainbow fix there is meri meri's christmas concertina village, mistletoe by jade fisher at papier, possibly a bit late for shipping to uk now but i do love this christmas flowers card from redcap, love the fa la la la caption on this meri meri gift bag, also by jade fisher at papier is the lovely christmas fir card, meri meri santa fan beard,

#festivefriday #christmas #christmasshopping #paperlove #sendacarddeliverasmile

Illustrator Spot - Beatrice Alemagna (do-nothing day)

Our local book festival kicks off tomorrow. I'm getting in the spirit and thought I'd share by favourite book of the past year A Magicial Do - Nothing Day by Beatrice Alemagna. I have become a big fan of children's picture books in recent years (e.g. Jon Klassen) having spent a lot of time reading them to my two. I happily discovered this title in a lovely little family run bookshop in Wels, Austria whilst on my hols (mine is the German version). The book is set on a gloomy, rainy autumnal day. Mum is busy working and suggests that the child goes outside. Shortly after to their dismay the child loses their beloved computer game. When it looks like everything is going wrong the dark earthy skies start to open and a colourful rainbow appears. There is then a voyage of discovery excitingly retold to Mum at the end of the magical day.
It's a wonderful book about the joy of nature told through some truly beautiful illustration (the title has won the New York Times award for illustration 2017). It's a book to be enjoyed by all ages and would brighten any dull day.

A MAGICAL DO-NOTHING DAY BY B. ALEMAGNA - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: mum working, lovely illustration of the gloomy wet weather - pic here, the loss of the beloved computer game, a tumble down the hill, pic of friedhuber book shop, some lovely antique books on the shelves of friedhuber, a pic of beatice alemagna , a pic the skies parting for the rainbow, pic of the cover that i have, 

Gen-Z Yellow

Well I'm loving that Generation-Z Yellow turned up as the top colour in the annual John Lewis retail report for 2018 - sales of yellow dresses were up a whopping 401%. It's a lovely trend to be looking at on a gloomy November day.
Interestingly this sunny colour is the opposite of Pantone's choice for the colour of the year, the mysterious Ultra Violet. Thought provoking though Ultra Violet is, perhaps we weren't so much in need of more intrigue just yet and what we want is some happy sunshine + positivity. How lovely that the same JL report highlighted the Rainbow as the emblem of the year - it too is cheery and a welcoming sight after a storm (the world stage has certainly been stormy of late). Wonderful to see that a greetings company, Rachel Ellen Design, had a special mention in the JL retail report for their fab rainbow designs.
Yellow is traditionally a tricky colour in greetings (along with green and brown) and yet publishers and product makers are really embracing this. All the icons are fab, from big cats (leopard print also on trend) to bananas, bees, stars, giraffes, sunshine and lemons. What's not to love!

GENERATION Z YELLOW - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from top left: combining two 2018 trends of gin and yellow is stop the clock's lemon birthday card, golden lion card from red cap cards, smile sunshine birthday card from the positive vibes collection paperchase, thanks a bunch from papier, both trends for yellow and eco here with this water bottle from trouva, abstract paint note book from annie dornan smith, galah yellow notebook from lydia meiying, love the happy use of millennial pink and gen-z yellow in this sadler jones card, bees knees mini card from lagom, bananas for you sticker patch and card from anthropologie, citrus lemons art print from nikki strange,

#gen-zyellow #yellow #generationzyellow #sunshine #lemons #bananas #bees #colouroftheyear

Rainbows

As little miss G's birthday approaches I've been shopping for her favourite thing - rainbows. I've been spoilt for choice as the unicorn and escapism trend has rainbows firmly on the list. I'm loving the fab new caption 'no rain no rainbow' thats popping up on the shelves, Oliver Bonas making great use of this with an umbrella. Paperchase are talking rainbows too this week with a new collection of colourful stationery and for those wanting to go all the way they even have a rainbow Christmas tree! I couldn't choose which card to buy so have have bought three... ha! here are some of my favourite finds.

RAINBOW - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: art file's you're super magical card complete with googly eyes, fabulous die cut card from raspberry blossom you make the world more colourful, love these meri meri rainbow plates available on trouva, rainbow candle from postbox party, also from meri meri rainbow mobile, wendy jones blackett's rainbow card spotted in karenza paperie, personalised rainbow birthday card from house of hooray, it's a girl new baby rainbow card from paperchase, katie phythian's birthday sparkle card available in lilly and thorn, love this i believe in you card from the hidden pearl studio, rainbow mountain nursery print from rory + the bean,

I'll be having a little short break from the Karika Nova blog for half term, see you back here in November! Happy Halloween x

#rainbow #rainbowbirthday #childrensbirthday #birthday

Bodnant Garden

As October begins I'm in the thick of design for SS+AW19. I thought it might be idea to take a little break and have a look back at the summer with some floral inspiration from my recent trip out to the National Trust's Bodnant Garden in the lovely Welsh countryside.
It's one of the most beautiful gardens I've been lucky enough to visit. Filming began there in the summer for a new adaption of 'The Secret Garden' starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters. I can't think of a better setting. I highly recommend a visit and can imagine it looks amazing at any time of year.

BODNANT GARDEN - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from top left: a photo I took of the lily pond at the bottom of the garden - the classic bodnant pic, lilies on the main pool - loved these and the reflections, lovely anemones, mr j enjoying a closer look, mr j and friend exploring the many secret passageways, an open lily, a photo of the main house - love this reflection, then a photo from our walk down to the old mill. 

#floralinspo #bodnantgarden #bodnant #bodantgardens #thesecretgarden #lilies

Thinking Of You Week

It's Thinking Of You Week, a special time in the world of greetings, where from 24th to the 30th September a flurry of cards are sent to create a wave of happiness around the world.

Sending cards generates positive feelings and wellbeing. Science has shown that receiving a handwritten card is far more personal, creates a lovely warm positive boost and makes people feel far more special than receiving texts, emails or social media messages. Greeting Card Association

We had such a lovely response to the cards we made last year that we've carried on the tradition by creating new original card artworks with our little miss G. We both had a great time making these lovelies to share with our friends and family.

THINKING OF YOU WEEK  - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: some photos of our card making day with the help of rico-designs paper poetry motif paper pad 90s.

#ThinkingOfYouWeek #SendaCardDeliveraSmile #paperlove #GCAUK @GCAUK @gca_uk

Clay Studio

A little creative inspo today with some pics from my visit to Clay Studio for a ceramic workshop. I've long been a pottery fan and have wanted to make some of my own for a little while. It can be good to challenge those creative brain cells with a new skill (I so loved the ikebana classes). I thought I'd try this workshop to make a butter dish with an idea to help reduce household waste, part of a long term no plastic plan to use more sustainable pieces. I'm also embracing the slow living aspect, though this proved tricky on the day with the children doing an all nighter and a magpie stuck in the chimney...

I loved working with the clay though I definitely need more practice! I popped down recently to the studio, such a lovely place, to pick up my new celadon coloured butter dish. I look forward to booking again.

CLAY STUDIO - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: photos from my day in clay studio, bottom right is a pic of the final fired butterdish in the lovely colour of celadon.

#creativeplay #ceramic #slowliving #creativeday #claystudio 

Visit the clay studio website for the latest courses.

First Day at School

I'm a little last minute with this one as it's been such a busy summer. It's back to school season and it's my eldest's first day at school next week. In the midst of ironing labels onto new uniforms I've been shopping for a 'first day of school card'. These cards can be tricky to find (especially when shopping late on in the season!) as they are often considered to be low priority by publishers. I do feel that it's important when possible to mark those rites of passage (loving Grayson Perry's new show on just this). So here are my top picks including the one I've bought.

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: first day of school shakies card by james ellis, go get em' tiger card from oliver bonas, first day at school card by emilie rose, first day at school boy card by paper salad, first day at school card by mollymae, first day at high school card by norma&dorothy, tree and birds first day at school card from karenza paperie (think this maybe vintage cinnamon aitch), brendan badger good luck card by zellie, first day at school personalised by norma&dorothy, hello lucky great things in your future card from ohh deer, best of luck from stop the clock.

#firstdayatschool #backtoschool #goodluck #autumn18 #paperlove #graysonperry #ritesofpassage 

Chrome

In a switch from crystal, it's all things metallic this week with the arrival of new samples. Following on from the contemporary men's collection Cobalt I designed for Cinnamon Aitch, we have the stylish new Father's Day range Chrome. Named after the fab silver hot foiling, Chrome features a winning formula of natural textures, contemporary colour, heavy weight textured board and a bespoke concrete patterned envelope. New illustrations inspired by those happy memories of spending time with Dad feature a campervan, sunday morning coffee, favourite vinyl and trophies. I've enjoyed working on this project and am looking forward to seeing these fresh designs in the shops this coming spring.

CHROME - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of cards from the chrome father's range I designed for cinnamon aitch, available now direct from cinnamon aitch. 

#paperlove #chrome #cinnamonaitch #contemporarydesign #concrete #texture #geometric #foil #modern #fathersday #independentshops #exciting #independentretailer #metallic #pattern #spring19

Swarovski Crystal World

With the exciting release of the new bejewelled collection Luminaire last week it seems like a good time to talk crystals. Over the summer I was lucky enough to visit the fantastic Swarovski KristallWelten in Wattens near Innsbruck in Austria. Having worked with crystals on cards for many years and being a devoted Swarovski shopper I was very keen to visit. I have to say it did not disappoint. It is everything you would expect from Swarovski - a magical place, completely absorbing and how I imagine walking around wonka's chocolate factory might be.

With the world's largest cut crystal, works of major artists like Dali and Warhol, a giant crystal dome (my personal fave - the acoustics were other worldly), crystalline forests, a giant emerging from the hillside, there's a whole lot to see and experience. Of course, at the end of it all the most amazing gift shop ha! Lovely to spot some super cards from Five Dollar Shake in there. Some fantastic inspiration and am very much looking forward to going back sometime to see the latest works.

SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL WORLD - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from top left: lee bul's amazing light sculpture room - a personal favourite (bul recently exhibited at the hayward), mr j and miss g wandering the exhibition, me in the fantastic crystal dome, mr j with an amazing crystalline tree designed by tord boontje 'winter wonderland' (his work for lagom can be seen here), a snap of arik levy's bejewelled installation, five dollar shake's some girls sparkle card, one of a few fashion inspired installations, close up of tord boontje's crystal tree, love this installation by arik levy, another view of lee bul's chamber.

#kristallwelten #swarovski #leebul #tordboontje #ariklevy #fivedollarshake #lagom #crystals

Luminaire

Yay samples are here, hot off the press this week is Luminaire, a delightful everyday greetings collection I created for Katie Phythian Design. The range has a lovely fresh colour palette with painterly washes on a textured board. The classic illustrations inspired by Katie's travels in France feature bouquets, bistros, patisserie and sparkling champagne. The design style picks up on the traditional card making techniques of scrapbooking and paper cutting that I love. Each design is hand finished in Katie's Cheshire based studio with beautiful iridescent crystals and packed with a pearlescent envelope. It's been a lovely project to work on with Katie - lots of fun, cake and cups of tea! I'm very much looking forward to seeing it in the shops.

LUMINAIRE - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of cards from the luminaire everyday range I designed for katie phythian design, available now for trade direct from katie phythian design. 

#paperlove #luminaire #katiephythiandesign #katiephythian #contemporarydesign #painterly #newlaunches #iridescent #crystals #fresh #independentshops #exciting #independentretailer 

Alpine Adventures

Well I'm back in the studio this week after a lovely summer break exploring the Tyrol. Lots of news coming shortly on some fabulous new design. Exciting times!

ALPINE ADVENTURES - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: little mr j taking in the amazing view in ellmau, tyrol, austria. 

 #backinthestudio #alpineview

Summer Break

Oh what amazing weather we've had this past week or so, summer is most definitely here. I'm taking a little seasonal break from the Karika Nova blog. In the mean time I'll be working on some exciting new projects, more news on those in just a few weeks. See you all soon x

SUMMER BREAK - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a photo I took of the amazing view across the pool - the gorgeous casa alma where we stayed in menfi sicily, a beautiful place.

#summertime #summer #summerbreak

Cobalt

Excitingly my samples of the brand new super stylish men’s greeting collection I created for Cinnamon Aitch have arrived. The fab print quality shows off the modern colour palette and natural contemporary textures perfectly with a shot of tangerine hot foil making them extra special. I love the heavyweight board, it gives a real luxury feel and the bespoke textured envelope makes the range unique. From trend led retro geometrics to contemporary top notch illustrated icons there's something for everyone. I hugely enjoyed creating this for Cinnamon Aitch and am looking forward to seeing it out on the shelves.

COBALT - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of cards from the cobalt men's range I designed for cinnamon aitch, available now direct from cinnamon aitch. 

#paperlove #cobalt #cinnamonaitch #contemporarydesign #concrete #newlaunches #pglive18 #texture #geometric #foil #modern #independentshops #exciting #independentretailer #tangerine #pattern

MMU Degree Shows 2018

I had a fab morning out at the Manchester School of Art's Degree Shows on Saturday. A fantastic collection of work from some great new talent. I especially enjoyed the print and textiles. The show is on until the 21st of June, some favourites below.

MMU DEGREE SHOWS 2018 - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: a view of the creative practice and textiles in practice work, a section of georgia hodgin's workbook - contactable by email here - love the colour and texture, a view of fashion art direction final pieces, some fabulous on trend paper print by beth young, illustration sketch art work from hannah williams, take flight banner on the grosvenor building, love this style of illustration from sarah wilson, interior of the manchester school of art's fab benzie building.

#takeflight #MCRDegreeShow18 

Father's Day Edit

Well there's plenty to choose from in Father's Day this year - from graphic text, cars and suits to the stars + beyond. Bears in all shapes and sizes are taking centre stage in the illustrated cards. Fantastic to see Paperchase making the headlines with forward thinking captions this past week. Some top picks below.

FATHER'S DAY EDIT - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: a classic gold best dad card by katie leamon, father's day cars from paper salad, rifle paper co father's day suit card from papermash, first daddy's day bear from stop the clock, i'm awesome father's day card from paperchase, after hitting the news this card appears to have already sold out - another here from the same paperchase range celebrating single mums, tippy toe love you papa bear fathers day card from caroline gardner, lovely illustration on this i love you dad card from the hidden pearl studio, super star dad card from berin made, dad ribbon greeting card from ohh deer, love this bear from jolly awesome at papier,

PG Live 2018

Ooh what a day. Celebrating it's 10 year anniversary (can't believe it's been 10 years!), PG Live was back this week with lots of celebration and fab new paper goodies on show. I had a great day yesterday catching up with everyone and most excitingly seeing the launch of my new range Cobalt designed for the wonderful Cinnamon Aitch - more on that soon! Now time for a brew, phew.

PG LIVE 2018 - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: close up of the new cobalt range from cinnamon aitch launching at the show, view from the balcony at the business design centre, early morn start at piccadilly, cobalt looking fab on the cinnamon aitch stand, peonies from the flower stall at angel tube station, show notes and pick ups.

#paperlove #pglive #pglive18 #pglive2018 #cinnamonaitch #cobalt

The Leopard

Sometime ago I bought The Leopard by Lampedusa to read whilst away visiting family in Sicily and I am only now getting around to reading it. It has inspired me to look at a recent illustration trend for leopards. Occasionally a certain icon will capture the zeitgeist, the latest trends have seen cacti, pineapples and escapist mermaids and unicorns. From further back we had russian dolls and foxes. The leopard likely follows on from the botanicals/greenery and jungelow/tropical leaf looks. Wherever it came from there are plenty of paper goodies to choose from. Favourites below.

THE LEOPARD - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: love this leopard illustration from amber davenport, leopard greeting card from ohh deer, time for celebration card by naomi wilkinson from lagom, a cheeky cheetah snook in - cheetah birthday from redcap cards, thank you leopard card from tinsel toots, rawr! idlewild co from papier, john lewis leopard wild mug, leopard wrappings from art file, ohh deer mum leopard greeting card, fourth birthday leopard card from stormy knight, reimagined cover for the leopard by lampedusa, 

For even more choice in spotty cats wearing party hats finds head over to pinterest.

#leopard #illustationtrend #paperlove #wildbirthday #birthday

Creator Spot: Fibre Designs

I had a lovely morning catch up in the Fibre Designs studio recently with the creative Jessica Livsey. It's an exciting year as Jessica celebrates 15 years with Fibre Designs at the Manchester Craft and Design Centre. The studio is full of original textile goodies from embroidered cushions to painted artworks to hand knitted tea cosies. Jessica's lovely fabric greetings cards, Carousel, are unique as no two are the same. For me, Jessica has made a beautiful specially designed artwork for the arrival of my new nephew, baby Jack. A very happy Auntie!
Original artworks can be commissioned direct from the fibre designs website here though I highly recommend popping down to the beautiful studio shop and calling in the craft centre cafe for a lovely cuppa too.

FIBRE DESIGNS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: handmade baby booties, jessica livsey in the fibre designs studio, the specially commissioned artwork for my new nephew, embroidery artworks and knitted tea cosy, baby birth commission, fibre designs studio in the manchester craft and design centre, the carousel greetings card range - each design is individual, embroidered badges. 

#manchestercraftcentre #fibredesigns #embroidery #painting #paperlove #textiles #greetingscard

Wedding Season Edit

The weeks are flying by at moment and I seem to have zoomed into peak wedding season. It's lovely to be shopping for nuptials, especially timely with Harry + Meghan's big day this weekend. We are spoilt for choice with wedding greetings this year, I could have easily chosen two edit's worth and had a tricky time narrowing this down! From wedding cakes to beautiful fonts to hearts and confetti - here are some favourites.

WEDDING - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: wedding cake greeting card from blank inside, romantic wedding card by sweet pea sunday, woodmansterne perfect day wedding card, sara miller wedding day greeting card, mr & mrs card from sadler jones, winged hat champagne tower greeting card, halcyon wedding cake from laura darrington, smythson always and forever card, mr & mrs confetti jade fisher from papier, love life and laughter from card nest, getaway card from red cap cards,

#paperlove #weddingseason #wedding #weddingday #harrymeghan #royalwedding

One for the Boys

It's been a busy week here so I am a little late with this post. However someone who wasn't late this past week was my friend's new baby boy who surprised everyone by arriving nearly a month early. He's in good company too with royal baby Louis turning up a couple of days later. So I thought I'd share my fave baby boy shopping finds including the one I picked up for new baby Jack. Aw.

BABY BOY - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from top left: a classic pram baby boy greeting card from lagom, stork at dusk card from ohh deer, love this gold new kid on the block card from stormy knight, it's a boy card from mamas and papas, new baby boy from paperchase, woodmansterne stork new baby card, louise tyler baby boy balloon from lilly and thorn, meri meri hello little one garland card from papermash, personalised floral new baby papercut card by pogofandango, new baby koala card from katie housley, beautiful baby from red cap cards.

#paperlove #newbaby #newbabyboy #babyboy

Big Birthdays

Having celebrated a big birthday in the family this week, I thought I'd share my age birthday card finds. It can be tricky shopping for big number cards as not all publishers create these. From experience it can also be tricky designing them too. Your perfect font might have less than perfect numbers (typeface designers take note) or sometimes the house style doesn't fit well with the bigger scale that is often needed. There are however some lovely designs out there, here are some of my faves including the one I bought.

BIG BIRTHDAYS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: louise tiler 70th birthday flower bowl card from lilly and thorn, 50th birthday card '50 Today' foil concertina card by coulson macleod, 50th birthday card with 50 candle design from purpose and worth, eighteen greeting card from postco lagom, hotchpotch 30th card from john lewis, blk35 from stop the clock, 50 mini card from lagom, spotty 40th birthday card from paperchase, you're twenty one whoop from raspberry blossom, petit 60 card from katie leamon, winged hat 18th birthday girl from lilly and thorn,

#bigbirthday #birthdayagecards #paperlove 

Manchester Print Fair

I hugely enjoyed my visit to the Manchester Print Fair on Saturday afternoon. Great to see such talent on our doorstep in the amazing setting of Manchester Cathedral. The workshops curated by GFSmith featuring the fab extract paper gave us an opportunity to take part with letterpress, screen printing and portraits. With some great work on show I found some new favourites - the lovely Ding Ding design, quirky artwork by Sophie Heywood, inspirational quotes from Basil and Ford, illustration from Stephanie Cole, and pattern from Clare Birtwistle. Looking forward to the next show.

MANCHESTER PRINT FAIR - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from top left: print presses on the go, ding ding design's lovely stand, one of the papermaking events from gfsmith featuring the fab extract paper project, the beautiful manchester cathedral setting, posters inspired by the cathedral, basil and ford's stand, the print fair posters i picked up - will be framing these, sophie heywood's artwork.

#manchesterprintfair #manchestercathedral, #printlove #paperlove #stationerylove 

Space Age Birthday

Just before the Easter hols we celebrated my eldest's third birthday with a space themed party. He loved it and I also enjoyed shopping for it, thought I'd share these designer rocket finds.

SPACE AGE BIRTHDAY - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: the fabulous meri meri space cake toppers we bought - a big hit, a lovely outer space james ellis shakies card we received, fab instagram pic of the meri meri space collection, happy birthday rainbow rocket card from the strawberry card company, cosmic rocket birthday card from paperchase, instagram pic of the fantastic meri meri to the moon garland we bought, the lovely james ellis rocket up and down card i picked up, a pic of our fab trip out last week to see tim peakes space craft at the mosi.

#space #rocket #spacebirthday #childrensbirthday #partyfun #paperlove

Easter Edit

As small as it is (this may be changing), Easter is one of my favourite seasons, I love this time of year. The evenings are getting lighter, the holidays are coming and better weather is on the horizon. The Easter colour palette is especially fun to design with those bright yellows and pastel tones.
Great Easter cards are sometimes tricky to find as they can be considered to be in low demand by publishers. I however love sending cards at this time of year, especially to friends and family who live further away, it's a lovely way to be in touch about the upcoming events in the year. Some of my favourites below.
Happy Easter! See you after the hols!

EASTER EDIT - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from top left: art file easter chick greeting card from john lewis, love this clever dress up a rabbit card from clara and macy,  rifle paper happy easter floral card from paperchase, happy easter bunny from cinnamon aitch, bunny egg pal decorating kit from anthropologie, ruth jackson easter egg greeting card from john lewis, jumble hello spring card from caroline gardner, pop up egg easter card from marks and spencer, rifle co bunnies easter card from paper mash, easter bunch of flowers from paper salad,

#easter #easter2018 #paperlove #stationerylove #happyeaster #easterbunny #eastereggs

Trending Terrazzo

A little Friday afternoon creative trend treat today. Following on from the marbling look, I've enjoyed watching this new terrazzo style develop over the last year in interiors. It's great to see it now hitting the world of stationery and greetings. I'm looking forward to picking up some of these colourful paper goodies on the high street soon.

TRENDING TERRAZZO - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from top left: bright terrazzo plates from oh happy day,  terrazzo postcard set from shoptinyday, terrazzo gift wrap from the portland co, hip hip hooray cara camo pink card from oliver bonas, painted terrazzo 2 planner from leemo juniqe, happy birthday terrazzo card from berin made, terrazzo gift wrap from kind of style juniqe, terrazzo blue diary from papier.

#terrazzo #paperlove #stationerylove 

Annie Swynnerton Retrospective

I’ve been lucky enough to take some time out on International Women's Day to visit Manchester Art Gallery's retrospective of Annie Swynnerton. The exhibition is perfectly timed with equality and powerful words being a great focus for us in 2018. Swynnerton was a passionate supporter of the women’s suffrage movement. She challenged convention, promoted female power and campaigned for better opportunities for women artists. It is so inspirational to see women here in these works from all walks of life. Let's hope there will be many more exhibitions like this in the future.

ANNIE SWYNNERTON RETROSPECTIVE - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: some snaps taken earlier today of the swynnerton exhibition at manchester art gallery, some pics here on instagram too. the exhibition is open until january 2019 

#internationalwomensday #equality #powerfulwords #art #manchester #iwd2018 #internationalwomensday2018 #iwd

Mother's Day Edit

It's been a busy snowy week here with lot's on the go so I have enjoyed taking a little time out to shop for Mother's Day. Plenty of great design this year with lot's of soft pink and bold text contrasted with painterly pattern florals. Lovely to see some design's like rifle paper co's Super Mom ahead with the equality and powerful words trend. Some top picks below.

MOTHER'S DAY EDIT - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

SaveSave above clockwise from top left: james ellis stevens flowers above and below mother's day card from john lewis, the best mum mother's day card from paperchase, rifle paper co super mum card from paper mash, to my magnificent mum card by raspberry blossom, mum you're a star greeting card from lagom, pom pom to my lovely mum ducks card from caroline gardner, studio seed wonderful mum card from lilly and thorn, love you to bits mother's day card from john lewis, meadow 1canoe2 card from papier, best mum ever from stop the clock, to my wonderful mum floral card from caroline gardner.

Ultra Violet Pantone 2018

When Pantone's hot new colour for 2018, Ultra Violet, was announced late last year - half the design community cried 'Yes!' while the other half (me included) said Wait.. what, um er.. no thanks. For me the colour purple is still mired in the realms of cheap chocolate, teletubbies and some awful design on DIY shows. However after some persuasion I have to admit that I'm coming round to the idea.

Pantone explains "we are living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination" and that Ultra Violet could take our "awareness and potential to a higher lever". Having loved Pantone's 2017's Greenery colour and the ease of which we could design with it, I can see the challenges of using Ultra Violet, especially in greetings. It's going to be tricky and will need that "inventiveness and imagination" to place with those seasonal colours - valentine's red, easter yellow, father's day blue etc. It could nonetheless make for a fresh new take on the escapism and constellation trends (though we have possibly reached peak unicorn?).

We are now starting to see the work of designers who have taken on the purple. I'm quite excited to see a new light on violet and where this creative colour goes. Here are a few purple picks:



above clockwise from top left: battersea 9 square greeting card from ohh deer, pf-mb 014 from malissa brown pressed and folded, moon journal book from oliver bonas, large form gift bag from oliver bonas, my darling husband card from lagom, frida kahlo print from artisticsideoflife, happiness mothers day card woodmansterne from john lewis, elephant greeting card from lagom, you can do anything but not everything card from oh squirrel, centre: party hats design from papier.

#pantonecolouroftheyear2018 #pantone #ultraviolet #purple #stationerylove #paperlove 

my purple premonition

Equality + Powerful Words

With the release of Paperchase's new Fierce Female collection, this week seemed like a good time to talk about the latest trend appearing on the high street, Equality & Powerful Words.

It's been quite a year, the #MeToo campaign brought women together to support each other in face of sexual harassment and abuse. There was the release of the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls book creating a new wave of children's literature with girls as the focus. John Lewis then took a big step by removing gendered labelling on children's clothes and at the start of this month we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Suffragette movement.

It's great to see this forward thinking movement now arriving in greetings and stationery. Here are some favourites:

EQUALITY + POWERFUL WORDS EDIT - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

SaveSave above clockwise: she believed she could card from oh squirrel, feminist pendant flag from paperchase, that's my girl jolly awesome card from paperchase, feminist journal from anthropologie, suffragette votes for women poster from bookishly, slay all day jolly awesome card from paperchase, bad girls throughout history book from anthropologie, the future is female slogan ruled notebook from paperchase, nailed it greeting card from rifle paper co.

#paperlove #stationerylove #equality #powerfulwords #feminist #feminism

Spring Fair 2018

Well, that was a busy day at this week's Spring Fair, barely time for a brew! It was lovely to catch up with everyone and talk about exciting new projects (more on that soon!).

Hall 3A was awash with talent. I spotted a few new faves in the greetings debut area, edgy graphics from I ended Up Here, contemporary illustration from Card Nest and trend inspired cards from Meraki. Great to have the latest from Raspberry Blossom and Stormy Knight too.

A fab show all round. Let's hope everyone has a well earned rest this weekend!

SPRING FAIR 2018 - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: collage of images from the early start watching the sunrise over the m6 to roaming round the halls of the nec.

Valentine's Day Edit

There is some great Valentine's greetings design out there this year. Lot's of humour, some interesting new font styles and plenty of hearts of course. Some great illustration but sometimes the simple forms are the best for this season -  red and heart shaped! Here are a few of my faves.

VALENTINE'S DAY EDIT - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise: forever and ever card by sadler jones, forever my valentine's day card by woodmansterne, pizza time by carolyn suzuki studio - papier, love heart valentine's card from paperchase, i love you to the moon & back by lagom, mon amour by emma block - papier, word up kiss! concertina card from trouva, you make my toes tingle card by lagom, so in love valentine from paperchase, conversation hearts greeting card from ohh deer, you'll do hand lettering polka dot heart card from oh squirrel.

#paperlove #stationerylove #valentinesday #SS18

Top Drawer S/S 2018

Last week was a fantastic start to 2018 with Top Drawer. The design-led show is one of my favourites as we can see the trends arriving for the coming seasons.

I especially loved this year's Paper Awards which gave real focus to the best in the Greetings and Stationery industry. Winners Sadler Jones and Hotchpotch captured the mood of 2018 so well. I also hugely enjoyed the paper fest talks and was lucky enough to see the stationery trend session - I'll be following up on these predictions in later posts.

It was a fab day all round catching up with old friends and making new ones. I'm very much looking forward to what 2018 brings.

TOP DRAWER 2018 - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise: the olympia, paper awards finalists - pressed and folded - purpose & worth and wolf & ink, trend predictions talk with #NealWhittington of present & correct #LauraJaneBoast & #LucyEdmonds of quill london & #AudreyWoollen, products in the spotlight, a lovely sky over the show, paper awards winner hotchpotch and finalists noi publishing - lagom - scribble & daub - alison hardcastle.

#paperlove #stationerylove #topdrawerss18 #defineyourstory #topdrawerlondon