Winter Break

Though no snow as yet the weather is certainly feeling wintery this week, brrr! I'm taking a little seasonal break from the Karika Nova blog. In the mean time I'll be working on some fab new projects, more news on those & upcoming exciting releases in the new year - Tiger Lily, Cobalt & Luminaire SS20 to name a few! I will be here in January with the latest on the shows and new trends. Until then you can find me on instagram and twitter over the holidays. Wishing you all a lovely Christmas, see you soon x

WINTER BREAK | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a lovely pic i took whilst out and about in last winter's beautiful snowfall.

#winter #winterbreak #merrychristmas #christmas2019

Festive Friday 2019

It's all go here this week, the inbox and outbox are both full as today is Festive Friday! A special day for the greeting card industry to send our Christmas mail, creating a festive whirl of post arriving in the first week of December and getting us all in the mood for sending Christmas cards.

Following on from last year's lovely sparkly Nordic winter skies design that inspired the beautiful Pearl Drops collection for Portfolio Cards, this year I've chosen my favourite design from the Christmas Luminaire collection created for Katie Phythian Design. Bringing some Christmas peace and joy this little dove illustration will begin winging its way around the world today.

FESTIVE FRIDAY 2019 | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: my desk looking organised early on - not so organised now! loving the christmas stamp designs this year, the lovely luminaire dove, some samples going out this week, close up of the hand finishing, two cutie robins peeking out from the penny kennedy christmas box,  posh choc to keep us all going!

#festivefriday #sendacarddeliverasmile #justacard #festive #gca #christmas #december #fridayfeeling #friday #sendacard #post #christmascard #christmas19 #christmas2019 #festivefeeling

Christmas Edit 2019

Ooh the weeks are flying by! With Festive Friday & Black Friday popping up on the calendar for the 29th of this month it means that Christmas really is around the corner. Thought I'd get in the spirit this week with the now traditional Karika Nova Christmas Edit.

There are some really lovely relaxed colours, gentle captions and subtle finishes this year. Dulux's calming choice for colour of the year 'Tranquil Dawn' is making an appearance - I love how this is then spiced up with a zingy Christmas red. Lovely captions like 'Peace on Earth' 'Warm Wishes' & 'Joy' are especially welcome when considering the noisy world news at the moment. The shift to eco friendly materials is also perhaps creating a change from the more usual blingy festive finishes - I'm loving the natural themed prizes in the Anthropologie crackers below. I'm very much enjoying shopping Christmas this year, here are some favourites I spotted whilst out and about.

CHRISTMAS EDIT 2019 | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: magical christmas woodland unicorn pack from oliver bonas, lovely personalised christmas card set from papier - driving home for christmas emma block, seasons tweetings from stop the clock, anthropologie bespoke crackers - love that the prizes in these are honey, tea and wildflower seeds - what a great alternative to plastic! to a dear daughter by five dollar shake, bit of fun with sparkly sprouts from oh squirrel, a playful feather trimmed mistletoe snowscape gift bag from john lewis, meri meri reindeer napkins, snowscape robins gift bag from john lewis, inspired illustration and sentiment from the hidden pearl with this peace on earth card, bit of sparkle with this ho ho ho card from oliver bonas. 

#merrychristmas #christmas #christmascards #christmasshopping #christmasedit #greetingcards #giftpackaging #christmascrackers #anthropologie #oliverbonas #merimeri #thehiddenpearl #stoptheclock #fivedollarshake #papier #christmas2019

Pearl Drops Christmas

After the bonfires have finished this week we've all started talking about Christmas, a good time for Christmas samples to arrive! Following on from Pearl Drops, a delightful effervescent greetings range created in a new collaboration with Portfolio Cards this year, is Pearl Drops Christmas. The festive cards feature a unique sparkly foil on crisp white environmentally friendly board. The Pearl Drops design style uses delicate fine lines, glistening gems, beautiful foiling and fizzy confetti-like drops to illustrate those special Christmas moments. The classic icons inspired by all things twinkly feature a frosted tree, nativity scene, Santa's sleigh and starry skies. Each design is hand finished in the UK and is packed with a silver envelope and excitingly available in the shops this Christmas!

PEARL DROPS CHRISTMAS | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of designs from the pearl drops christmas collection I designed for portfolio cards, launched at pg live 2019, available to stock direct from portfolio cards. The unique foil is certainly tricky to capture in a photo - pop over to instagram to see some sparkly close ups soon. 

#pearldrops #pearldropschristmas #christmas #merrychristmas #portfoliocards #emilyhauck #emilyhauckcreative #pglive2019 #pglive #pglivelondon #greetings #greetingcards #design #illustration #paperlove

Handmade Thank Yous

A little late night post this time as its been another lovely but full week, Christmas 2020 is happily keeping me busy. I have though found time to do some fun card crafting with little miss G. We've really enjoyed making these fab heart themed birthday thank yous for us to send out. They are a little wonky and irregular but it does add to the handmade charm!
I am excitingly awaiting the samples of the latest projects going on here at Emily Hauck Creative, more news on those next week.

HANDMADE THANK YOUS | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: photos from our card crafting morning complete with hearts, gems, stickers & of course giraffes!

#greetingcards #cardcrafting #cardmaking #paperlove #thankyous #birthdaythankyous

Giraffe

It's little miss G's 3rd birthday soon so I've been shopping for her new favourite thing, Giraffes! She was spot on with last years request for Rainbows - later highlighted in the John Lewis style report. Giraffes as an icon have long been popular in cards for little ones but recently it's been lovely to see more on the high street owing to the animalia pattern & natural world trends (as seen in the Tiger Lily range & Leopard, Fish trend boards). Giraffe's also reminded me of the lovely positive Gen-Z yellow colour trend. I've certainly found some great design out there - I'm still on the hunt for wrappings! Favourite finds & ones I bought below.

GIRAFFE | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: waste not paper hello giraffes in liberty, giraffe and balloon thank you by james ellis, party animal giraffe by caroline gardner, bengt & lotta giraffes lagom, giraffe birthday by red cap cards, think this lovely special daughter giraffe is louise tiler from karenza paperie, a second entry for caroline gardner with cut out giraffe card, love this elongated rifle paper tall giraffe card from papermash, giraffe love card from illustratedbyaisha.

#giraffe #paperlove #greetings #animalia #naturalworld #greetingscards #birthdaycards #greetingscardpublishers #illustration #greetingcard #carddesign #birthday #cardshop #card  #justacard #sendacard #trendwithasmile
 

Penny Kennedy Christmas AW19

It's always exciting when new samples arrive and the brand new luxury Christmas gift packaging collection I designed for Penny Kennedy was well worth the near year long wait. Following on from the pastels wedding collection, the beautiful Christmas story has classic jewel hues contrasted with gorgeous foiled gold on quality paper. Motifs include cheerful robins, golden hearts and antique baubles. The detailed illustrations and patterns are inspired by traditional Christmas foliage.

The collection includes gift bags, a bottle bag, a nest of boxes, two tissue designs and two roll wraps. Launched earlier this year for 2019’s Christmas season and is available to stock from Penny Kennedy. Can't wait to see it out in the shops!

PENNY KENNEDY CHRISTMAS AW19 | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: medium bag with boxes and roll wrap, tissue in two designs, collection of the bags together showing the wreath and baubles artwork, close up of the large bag, nest of boxes, my fave pic of two robins together on the 'with love at christmas' wrap.

#christmas #pennykennedy #aw19 #giftpackaging #emilyhauck #emilyhauckcreative #christmasiscoming #christmas2019 #merrychristmas #christmasgift #gifting #giftideas #giftshop #giftbags #giftlove #giftwrapping

Manchester Museum

A little natural world inspo on the blog and instagram this week from our recent trip to the Manchester Museum. As the current design trend centred around animal motifs (seen in the Tiger Lily collection) and the focus on environmental issues grows it's a good time to be taking in some inspirational animal themed spaces. Manchester Museum is the perfect place with fantastic historical collections plus dedicated environmental exhibition space and real live animals - our favourites were the brightly coloured tree frogs! Great to see a mention for GFSmith's eco Extract paper and we absolutely loved the gorgeously illustrated animal themed children's books, greetings & stationery in the fab shop. Well worth a visit.

MANCHESTER MUSEUM | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: a snap of some of the fantastic shells wonderfully curated, a pic of the bodies section - absolutely love the font style of the neon signage, peace filled with origami cranes, beautiful butterflies, section of the fab card selection, british wildlife birds, a pic of the very beautiful main hall.

#manchestermuseum #naturalworld #naturalhistory #inspo #animal #paperlove 

Thinking of You Week

It's Thinking of You Week 2019. This wonderful initiative by the Greeting Card Association encourages us to send handwritten notes to friends and family members to show we're thinking of them. The new collection Aurora I designed for Cinnamon Aitch is perfect for the occasion and as is now tradition in our house, the children created some lovely little artworks to send along inside the cards. It is definitely a welcome break from screen time and great to spend a morning appreciating paper goodies.

THINKING OF YOU WEEK | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: some photos of our card writing morning with the lovely uplifting aurora range new from cinnamon aitch for AW19.

#ThinkingOfYouWeek #SendaCardDeliveraSmile #paperlove #GCAUK @GCAUK @gca_uk #TOYW2019 #cinnamonaitch #aurora #greetingcards #stationery #paperart #love #instagood #art #instamood #cards #cardsofinstagram

Seaside Adventures

Hello! It's been a packed summer for us here, happily we spent some lovely days by the sea. Little mr Js favourite was the beach, especially the rock pools. I've been back in the studio for a few weeks working through the final SS20 projects - loads of news to come on those throughout the autumn on the blog - all very exciting. In the meantime here's a lovely pic of mr J enjoying the scenery in Scarborough.

SEASIDE ADVENTURES | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a photo from our trip to scarborough beach, mr J taking in the scenery. 

#seaside #summerbreak #autumntime #backtoschool

Summer Break

Well summer is here and we've had a lot of rain so far, I'm hoping the sun will stay for August! I'm taking a little seasonal break from the Karika Nova blog. I'll be back in the autumn with news on the exciting new SS20 projects I've been working on. In the mean time I'll catch you on instagram. Happy holidays! See you all soon x

SUMMER BREAK | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a photo I took from the traunsee boat - imagine staying in this little house at the bottom of the traunstein mountain, a beautiful place.

#summer #summerbreak #emilyhauck #traunsee #austria #holidays 

Pearl Drops

It's most definitely been a packed year so far, fantastically there's even more new product news on the Karika Nova blog this week. Samples have just arrived of the latest collection for 2019, Pearl Drops. A delightful effervescent greetings range I created in a new collaboration this year with Portfolio Cards. Launched along with the Tiger Lily at Progressive Greetings Live 2019, the Pearl Drops everyday cards feature a unique iridescent foil on crisp white environmentally friendly board. The design style uses delicate fine lines, glistening gems, beautiful foiling and fizzy confetti-like drops to illustrate those special celebration moments. The classic icons inspired by all things twinkly feature heart balloons, blossom trees, bubbly champagne and starry skies. Each design is hand finished in the UK and is packed with a pearlised envelope. Soon to be available in the shops.

PEARL DROPS | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of designs from the pearl drops collection I designed for portfolio cards, launched at pg live 2019, available to stock now direct from portfolio cards.  The unique foil is certainly tricky to capture in a photo - pop over to instagram to see some sparkly close ups.

#pearldrops #portfoliocards #emilyhauck #pglive2019 #pglive #pglivelondon #greetings #greetingcards #design #illustration #paperlove

The World Exists To Be Put On A Postcard

On a recent trip to London I popped over to the British Museum to see their Postcard exhibition, the wordily named 'The World Exists To Be Put On a Postcard'. The collection focuses on postcards created by artists rather than those that just reproduce an artist's work. It's an interesting idea and I enjoyed the work shown however I would like to have seen more especially considering the very long trek to find the show in the depths of the museum! The pin board installation, designed to give the impression of an artists studio, unfortunately had the opposite effect and appeared rather stuffy. That said, it's great to see the humble postcard being given some space to shine. It has certainly motivated me to send some, I've included some artist inspired postcard top picks below.

THE WORLD EXISTS TO BE PUT ON A POSTCARD | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: susan hiller - the flying spray - composite of 12 found postcards of rough seas, a view of the exhibition space, snap of the main museum atrium, love these inspiring female artist postcards - including kusama - by emma block illustration, unfortunately i didn't note the artist of these scenic cards - i love how they play with the traditional postcard composition, a pack of vintage postcards available on etsy, these abstract geometric postcards by kate lancaster pick up on some of the themes in the show,  loved this set of art and language postcards from 1977 - reminded me of some of gfsmith's work.

#postcard #postcards #theworldexiststobeputonapostcard #britishmuseum #art #artists #artistspostcards

Aurora

Excitingly there's even more design news on the Karika Nova blog this week. Following on from the best selling Cobalt range, Aurora is a brand new lovely uplifting greetings collection I created for Cinnamon Aitch. The range, named Aurora after the Roman goddess of the dawn who travelled east to west to announce the coming of the sun, features a beautiful shimmering golden foil. The little illustrations accompanying gently positive sentiments include cosmic stars, suns, beaming medals, friendly flowers and hearts. The Aurora design style picks up on the antique lino printing and traditional card making techniques. The new collection is printed in the UK, packed with a natural fibre envelope and available with a contemporary counter top display. Launched in June at PG Live 2019 and is now in the shops.

AURORA | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection from the brand new aurora collection I designed for cinnamon aitch, launched at pg live 2019, available now direct from cinnamon aitch. 

#aurora #cinnamonaitch #emilyhauck #newlaunches #pglive2019 #pglive #pglivelondon #greetings #stationeryshop #aw19 #greetingcards #design #illustration #paperlove #contemporarydesign #golden

London Review of Books

Sometimes, especially on a rainy day, there's nothing better for the soul than a wander around a good bookshop. A friend recently subscribed me to the fortnightly issues of the London Review of Books (makes a great present for a bookworm like me) and mentioned that there is a London Review Bookshop plus tea and cake next door. With a spare hour after the busy PG Live show this month I popped over. I very much enjoyed perusing the shelves especially the art, illustration and poetry. I appreciated the well curated collection and it made a welcome break from screen time + scrolling through over stuffed amazon listings. Lovely pot of earl grey too.

LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: on the shelves of the london review bookshop, the lovely shop front, after such a busy run up to pg live I'm looking forward to working my way through my little stash of london book review issues, snap of the shop floor.

#londonreviewbookshop #londonreview  #lrb #londonreviewofbooks #creativespaces #shopspot #bookshop #booklove #paperlove #cakeshop #london @londonreviewofbooks 

Cobalt AW19

Following on from Father's Day at the weekend, it seems like a good time to talk about the latest additions to the best selling super stylish men's collection Cobalt I designed for Cinnamon Aitch. With its signature modern colour palette and natural textures, Cobalt's original style picks up on traditional paper collage techniques that I love and contrasts this with contemporary graphic lines + zingy foil.

I hugely enjoyed creating these new additions for AW19. The new designs follow on from the SS19 release and embrace our love of the great outdoors and also those lovely times together at home. The latest release features icons of landrovers, yachts, football, birthday cake and wine. Each card is packed with a unique bespoke concrete patterned envelope. The new designs launched this month at PG Live are now available in the shops and direct from Cinnamon Aitch.

COBALT AW19 | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of aw19 additions to the popular cobalt men's range I designed for cinnamon aitch, launched at pg live 2019, available now direct from cinnamon aitch. 

#cobalt #cinnamonaitch #emilyhauck #newlaunches #pglive2019 #pglive #pglivelondon #greetings #stationeryshop #aw19 #greetingcards #design #illustration #paperlove #contemporarydesign #concrete

Great to see a little mention in PG Buzz yesterday from Papilo for the Father's collection Chrome!

Tiger Lily

Hot off the press, excitingly here is Tiger Lily, a fabulously eye catching greetings collection I created in a new collaboration with Portfolio Cards. The everyday range features a rich, vibrant colour palette with accents of neon and flourishes of gold foil - perfect timing to brighten a gloomy June day. Lush illustrations inspired by the natural world portray wild, exotic flora and fauna. The design style embraces a flamboyant, elegant and painterly approach. Each design is printed in the UK and is packed with a pearlised envelope. Launched at Progressive Greetings Live 2019 and soon to be available in the shops!

TIGER LILY | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of designs from the tiger lily collection I designed for portfolio cards, launched at pg live 2019, available to stock now direct from portfolio cards. 

#tigerlily #portfoliocards #emilyhauck #pglive2019 #pglive #pglivelondon #greetings #greetingcards #design #illustration #paperlove

PG Live 2019

Ah, what a fantastic day at PG Live yesterday. It was so lovely to catch up with everyone and fabulous to see the amazing new projects up on the walls. 

Hugely exciting to find the beautiful little new range Aurora designed for Cinnamon Aitch shimmering delightfully with it's special gold foil. We have added some fantastic new designs to the Cobalt range which premiered at last year's show. In a brand new collaboration with Portfolio excitingly two wonderful new collections launched, the richly colourful Tiger Lily & the very lovely sparkly Pearl Drops. More on the fabulous newness soon, in the meantime here are some snaps from the show.

PG LIVE 2019 | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: brand new aurora cards in their fab dispensor on the cinnamon aitch stand, my lovely coordinating pink gfsmith show pass cover, a peek of the cobalt range, the view from the balcony at the business design centre, photo of the wonderful new tiger lily collection on the wall at portfolio, close up of a sparkly new pearl drops card, fantastic new cobalt designs, the fabulous show bunting by louise tiler, my favourite tiger lily card.

#pglive2019 #pglive #pglivelondon #greetings #greetingcards #cinnamonaitch #portfoliocards #emilyhauck #design #illustration

Heartwood Forest

It's a buzzing week ahead for many with the PG Live Show opening on Tuesday so I thought I'd take a moment out to share some photos from our visit to the beautiful Heartwood Forest last weekend. Admittedly it doesn't look very forest like at the moment because it is a new project set up by the Woodland Trust to reforest agricultural land. 600,000 new trees have been planted with plans for many more including an orchard. I recently watched David Attenborough's program Climate Change - the Facts (28min30 for the forests) which certainly brings home how important these reforestation projects are. It is something we are aware of in the Greetings industry. I'm always happy when I can add the FSC (non profit organisation promoting responsible forest management) logo on a new design and when using specialist eco papers. It's a double win for me, by supporting projects such as these we help the environment whilst at the same time gaining the health benefits of forest bathing. We certainly had a lot of fun at Heartwood.

HEARTWOOD FOREST | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: little miss G and mr J taking in the wildlife in heartwood forest - pinecones, poppies and dandelion clocks were definite favourites. 

#heartwoodforest #woodlandtrust #forest #reforestation #fsc #climatechange #forestbathing  

Luminaire Christmas

Just as the summer weather is kicking off I have received fab new samples of Christmas Luminaire. As quite often happens in the world of greetings whilst many are booking their beach holidays I've been having fun drawing Christmas trees! Following on from the lovely everyday range, we have added 30+ new festive designs. Here's a sneak peek of what to look forward to this coming festive season in the Luminaire collection from Katie Phythian Design.

LUMINAIRE CHRISTMAS | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

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

#paperlove #luminaire #christmas #katiephythiandesign #katiephythian #contemporarydesign #painterly #new #iridescent #crystals #fresh #independentshops #exciting #stationerylove

Spring Adventures

Well that was a longer spring break than I intended! It's been a fast paced few weeks with extra projects to fit in. Happily it does mean that there will be lots of exciting news in the coming weeks of new designs, a good portion of which will be launching at Progressive Greetings Live! Can't wait!

SPRING ADVENTURES | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: I did manage to sneak out from the desk to the great outdoors and took this lovely pic of mr J wading through flowering wild garlic. 

#spring #wildgarlic #adventure #excitingprojects #pglive

Spring Break

Ooh I'm loving all the spring flowers popping up at the moment. I'm taking a little seasonal break from the Karika Nova blog. I'll be back soon with news of exciting new releases and projects. In the meantime catch me on Instagram + twitter for updates. Wishing you all a lovely Mothering Sunday and a fab Easter x

SPRING BREAK | IMAGE EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: on a theme following lovely blue's in mother's day and fabulous blue fish, here's a picture i took on the ashridge estate of their famous amazing bluebells - pop over in late april early may to catch them, keep an eye on their bluebell watch for updates!

#bluebells #spring #easter #happyeaster #springbreak

Mothering Sunday Edit SS19

It's a late evening post this week owing to a busy few days. I've been shopping for Mother's Day cards for my Mum and Grandma. It's a great year (as last) of fab designs from on trend rainbows and figurative empowered ladies to sweet animals and classic flowers. Loving the subtle blue colours coming through. I found it very difficult to choose! Favourite's below including the ones I bought and others I would like to receive myself heh!

MOTHERING SUNDAY EDIT SS19 | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: love the colours on this floral to a special grandma louise tiler card available from karenza paperie, on trend rainbow mum card from ohh deer, lovely koala mother's day card from noi publishing, mother's yay mother's day card from oliver bonas, claire picard to my wonderful mum from cinnamon aitch, how sweet is this 90s mama card from the hidden pearl company, rifle paper's happy mothers day card available from paperchase, mum i always look up to you card from ohh deer, happy mother's day card from noi publishing, shine above the rest mothers day card ferme a papier, happy mother's day card from paper salad,

#mothersday #motheringsunday #mum #greetings #paperlove #mothersdaycards #independentbusiness

Yayoi Kusama

I've been busy organising a polka dot themed birthday party for my little son and his play group friend. It got me thinking about the work of top selling female artist in the world, Yayoi Kusama. I've long been a fan of hers and was lucky enough to visit her exhibition at the Tate Modern a few years ago - complete with a signature Kusama 'infinity room' (amazing mirrored space filled with lights). A new one of these spaces just opened at Swarovski Kristallwelten featuring a crystal chandlier. I've yet to see the film 'Kusama - Infinity' that was released last year, it's certainly on my to do list! This incredibly iconic lady will be celebrating her 90th birthday this month - I'd like to think she is having a polka dot themed party too! Some Kusama dotty inspiration here.

YAYOI KUSAMA | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

images clockwise from the top: a still from the film 'kusama - infinity' seen here, pic from her infinity mirror room - phalli's field seen here in this great article on artsy, love love this make and wonder kusama inspired art box on trouva,  fab pic of the artist at work from victoria miro gallery, pic of yayoi kusama infinity theory on artsy, image of the passing winter from victoria miro gallery, 'kusama - infinity' poster seen here on imdb, fab kusama (catsama) greeting card from niaski who asks 'what if your favourite artists were cats?'

#yayoikusama #kusama #art #dots #dotty #inspo #paperlove #greetings

The Fish Can Sing

So it's world book day tomorrow. A few years ago when I mentioned I was travelling to Iceland (loved it there - waterfalls, rainbows + the northern lights - will search out some holiday pics for instagram), a friend gave me a copy of The Fish Can Sing by Halldor Laxness and I am just getting round to reading it. Following on from The Leopard post last year, this book has inspired me to look at the recent illustration trend for fish.

We're in the month of Pisces and in the year of Living Coral so it appears to be a good time to talking fish. As an icon, Fish seem to be catching the zeitgeist - this could follow on from the escapism trend for mermaids or it may more likely come from our love and concern for the oceans after we watched Blue Planet Two (topically on the front of this month's greetings today). I'm especially loving the work of Don Fisher who creates wonderful purses/pockets in the shape of fish, with great detail even on the inside. Eira Teufel's sequinned fish are certainly something special. Whilst they are a tricky icon to use in greetings there are some fabulous cards out there. Some favourites below.

THE FISH CAN SING | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from top left: whale of a time from card nest, quite the catch from oliver bonas, the fish pisces zodiac card from blank inside, sardines from red cap cards, you got this from amy heitman, alfonsino case from don fisher, father's day fishes from amy heitman, redfish case made by don fisher available from ohh deer, lady marshmellow embroidered fish brooch from eira teufel, quirky fish gift wrap and card by katy pillinger designs, you're a keeper by 1canoe2 from papier, the fish can sing by halldor laxness.

Further reading/listening:

• A fab 'Reason's to be Cheerful' podcast out last week on Iceland here. 
• The favourite film in our house at the moment is Studio Ghibli's ocean themed Ponyo, little J and G love it.
• Fishing rather than fish themed card I designed for Cinnamon Aitch. 

#fish #fishes #greetings #paperlove #stationery #gift #iceland #halldorlaxness #thefishcansing #fishcansing #illustration #illustrationtrend #worldbookday #blueplanet #pisces #livingcoral

Living Coral Edit

With the warmest February day on record it seems appropriate to be talking summery colour this week. I thought I'd take some time out to look at Pantone's new Colour of the Year for 2019, Living Coral.

Pantone have picked up on our need for something joyful to take us away from 'the onslaught of digital technology and social media'. Described as 'an animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge' by Pantone, Living Coral offers the positive and optimistic feel of 2018's popular hit colour Gen-Z yellow but with a softer more calming vibe.

Living Coral will certainly be easier to use in greetings and stationery than last year's choice of Ultra Violet which pretty much clashed with anything seasonal. Think coral colour hearts for love captions, beautiful warm toned flowers for Mother's Day, flamingos, summery watermelon, sunsets, confectionary and more. I'm looking forward to seeing this colour trend develop over the coming year. Lovely coral hue favourites below.

LIVING CORAL EDIT | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

clockwise from the top left: rifle paper's poppy birthday card at papermash, cake birthday card from caroline gardner, sprinkles gift wrap by write sketch &, pawty frenchie card by jolly awesome from papier, A5 good karma club notebook from paperchase, katie phythian's flamingo's from lilly and thorn, love the paper flowers on this m&s sister card, monochrome balloons card from paperchase, pink and orange poster by iris lehnhardt, rhubarb and ginger chocolate from coco, coral floral birthday card from caroline gardner,

#livingcoral #pantone2019 #pantonecoloroftheyear #pantonecoloroftheyear2019 #coral #colour #trend #colortrend #greetings #stationery #paperlove #stationerylove

Luminaire SS19

Excitingly I have even more new design news! Lovely new samples for Luminaire SS19 have arrived. It's going so well, we have added over 40 new cards to the delightful everyday greetings collection Luminaire created for Katie Phythian Design.
The range has a fresh colour palette with painterly washes on a textured watercolour style board. Luminaire's fun illustrations are inspired by Katie's travels with rainbows, lovely ladies, bicycles (Katie is a super cyclist) a carousel 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 the UK with beautiful iridescent crystals and packed with a pearlescent envelope. Launched January 2019 and is now available to stock from Katie Phythian Design.

LUMINAIRE SS19 ADDITIONS | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

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

#paperlove #luminaire #katiephythiandesign #katiephythian #contemporarydesign #painterly #new #iridescent #crystals #fresh #independentshops #exciting #stationerylove 

With Love

On the week of Valentine's Day it seems timely to be talking about a heart themed story. Excitingly here is the brand new luxury wedding gift packaging collection I created for Penny Kennedy. The ‘with love’ story has elegant subtle hues contrasted with gorgeous foiled copper on quality paper. Motifs include flowering blossoms, classic hearts and champagne. The detailed pattern work is inspired by my love of modern natural lace and macrame styles.

Launched ready for 2019’s wedding season which seems especially timely as we are guests at our first wedding of the year next week. The collection includes gift bags + gift wraps and is available to stock now from Penny Kennedy.

WITH LOVE | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top: a beautiful image from the penny kennedy website showing the medium and shopper size bags, close up of the hearts shopper bag, the hearts gift wrap on the rack between the fab william morris collection and lovely sara miller, gift bags on the stand at spring fair,  a wider snap of the penny kennedy stand at spring fair,  lovely pic complete with confetti from penny kennedy, 

#withlove #pennykennedy #emilyhauck #wedding #weddinggift #giftpackaging #paperlove #stationerylove #springfair

Spring Fair 2019

I'm back in the office today after a super day out at Spring Fair yesterday. Lovely to catch up with everyone and talk all things creative - lots of exciting projects to look forward to. Having learnt from last year, I took my eco Rcup with me to ensure I had a brew I could drink on the go at the busy show!

Most excitingly the new wedding 'with love' story giftware I designed for Penny Kennedy was on show. More on that soon!

SPRING FAIR 2019 - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: me on the go with my Rcup, lovely sky on the way to the show, greetings hall 3a, wedding 'with love' story on the penny kennedy stand,  close up pic of the lovely hearts bag,  my full desk, snap of the fab lanterns on light and living, loved these birch trees on coach house christmas stand.

#springfair #springfair19 #NEC #greetings #stationery #pennykennedy #paperlove 

GFSmith Show Space

A little paper inspo this week from the wonderful GFSmith Show Space in London. After Top Drawer (which has the fabulous paper awards sponsored by GFSmith) I popped over to their wonderful gallery space on Eastcastle Street with colleagues who work in publishing at the University of London.

Described as a 'paper palace' by Wallpaper magazine the Show Space did not disappoint. The exhibition room houses a history of the company and examples of the many creative projects - I especially liked the 'Mulberry Green' paper developed for the Mulberry fashion brand. The most striking piece is the incredible Collection Wall which displays each of the papers GFSmith has created and curated. This includes one of my faves, the super eco designer paper Extract made from coffee cups.

The Show Space is a most welcome break from screen time. It is lovely to have the opportunity to spend a morning appreciating such beautiful paper.

GFSMITH SHOW SPACE LONDON | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top: a pic of #TheCollection Wall housing each of the papers gfsmith has created and curated, designer books and prints showing the best in the technology, a brand new collection of gfsmith colorplan labels available in a variety of shapes and colours, close up of the beautiful twist paper, university of london publishing team selecting papers, amazing window display of boxed papers, close up of one of the japanese papers from #TheCollection Wall.

The GFS Show Space is viewable by appointment, contact the Show Space directly on: 020 3205 0074  

#gfsmith #showspace #london #gfsmithlondon #GFShowSpace #GFS #colorplan #paperlove #stationerylove #papersmiths 

Cobalt SS19

New for SS19, so popular we’ve added some new designs to the super stylish men’s greetings collection Cobalt created for Cinnamon Aitch. The range features a modern colour palette combined with natural textures and zingy foil on a quality heavyweight board. I had a lot of fun creating these contemporary illustrations inspired by the great outdoors and lovely times together at home. The cards feature icons of campervans, golf, fishing, music and wine. The Cobalt design uses a traditional paper collage style contrasted with modern graphic lines and punchy foil. Each card is packed with a unique bespoke concrete patterned envelope. Launched at Top Drawer 2019, now available in the shops and direct from Cinnamon Aitch.

COBALT SS19 ADDITIONS | EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: a selection of ss19 additions to the popular cobalt men's range I designed for cinnamon aitch, launched at top drawer 2019, available now direct from cinnamon aitch. 

#paperlove #cobalt #cinnamonaitch #contemporarydesign #concrete #newlaunches #topdrawerlondon #topdrawer19 #texture #foil #modern #stationery #greetings #stationeryshop #ss19

Top Drawer SS19

Oh what a fab start to 2019 with the Top Drawer London show. As with last years show, I hugely enjoyed the design talks especially the colour trends session on the latest hues. I loved the PaperAwards, great to see the best in design being celebrated - personal faves were Raspberry Blossom and Hotchpotch in the Engaging Print category. I also happily found some new favourites in the greetings hall with beautiful pop up designs from Pure Alchemy and lovely colour from Mock Up Designs.

Most excitingly of all, the new additions to the men's Cobalt range I designed for Cinnamon Aitch launched. More news to come on those soon!

TOP DRAWER - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise from the top left: a pic from the fab colour trends talk, homewares hall - lots of things i wanted to take home! a snap from the paperawards featuring lagom dicky bird and meraki, a wonderful wall of cobalt cards on the cinnamon aitch stand including all new designs for ss19, fab paper installation back drop from gfsmith in the retail talks zone, a close up of one of the new cobalt designs for ss19 - more on those soon!

#topdrawerlondon #topdrawer #ss19 #outoftheordinary #greetings #stationery #topdrawer19 #cinnamonaitch #cobalt #