'I designed my own Christmas card - it's still the best way to spread cheer'

08 December 2023 , 12:12

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Maryam Qaiser and Art director Liz Ring work on a new card design at Hallmark (Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

There is something special about receiving a Christmas card through the post. The idea someone has taken the time to buy it, write it and send it to us – especially as the price of a first-class stamp has soared to an eye-watering £1.25.

But despite the cost, Brits haven’t written off the Christmas card just yet with an estimated 900 million still sent each year in the UK, according to the Greeting Card Association. And at Hallmark UK & Ireland, one of Britain’s biggest card companies, it all starts at their Bradford head office. So when invited for a day behind the scenes, producing my very own card, who would not want to see how such a vital part of Christmas is made? While their studios are bursting at the seams with colours, paintbrushes, reams of materials, paper gems, wrapping paper and 3D cut-outs, a fair bit of the process is done on the computer.

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Some of the first greeting cards produced by Hallmark (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

It takes art director Liz Ring just a few hours to dream up a design. I opt for my favourite colour, teal, for the background, golden leaves to give that luxury effect with a beautiful design of two people decorating a tree in a snow globe. My text says “Season’s Greetings”, so the card is inclusive, with an option to personalise it when ordered online.

But the process doesn’t stop there, it is sent off to the editorial team who check the wording, another department to look at material and a final one to bring my card to life. Two years ago, Hallmark removed all glitter from its products and replaced plastic gems with paper ones, making their cards more environmentally friendly. And the job of designing the cards that sit on so many mantlepieces is definitely an honour.

'I designed my own Christmas card - it's still the best way to spread cheer'

This design was one of the first Hallmark ever produced (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

Liz explains: “Editorial always come up with the most beautiful wording. [But] my inspiration comes from visuals. When it comes to Christmas, it’s the markets [you visit] because you can really see what people like. The best Christmas card I ever designed was this beautiful 3D card of the London streets. It had music and lights, but was too expensive to recreate. The worst card I made was a sprout card with sounds. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.”

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The Insights Team is tasked with looking at trends and while the theme for 2023 is still traditional there is something very different hitting the shelves. Liz reveals her least favourite colour is red and adds: “This year, we have something different. Many of the cards include ditzy floral designs, while still keeping a heritage theme. Yet traditional Christmas cards will always be people’s favourite.”

Card companies have also reported ornaments flying off the shelf this festive season, with Star Wars proving the most popular, closely followed by 3D pop-up cards. But in 2023 inclusivity is key. Cards for religious festivals such as Eid and Diwali are also being produced in the tens of thousands, with many featuring people from all ethnic backgrounds and ladies in headscarves.

Joyce Clyde “JC” Hall, who founded Hallmark back in 1910 (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

Nick Woolgar creates many of the 3D designs. He says: “I’m known as the paper magician here and I probably have the messiest desk in the office. It can take me as little as one hour to create a 3D [card], I’ve created everything you can think of.”

With Christmas just around the corner, Liz and her team have already planned their product ranges for 2024 and they are now preparing for Valentine’s Day two years away. Without giving too much away, some designs for next year will include cute polar bears, penguins and, erm, hedgehogs. I even spotted the 2025 calendar. Liz says: “I don’t think the excitement of receiving a card through the post will ever disappear. It is about connecting with someone. You don’t get that personal touch on the internet. We saw a huge surge in sales during Covid.”

3D designer Nick Woolgar at Hallmark (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

The historic tradition of sending greetings can be traced as far back as the early Egyptians, who used papyrus scrolls, as well the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of goodwill at new year. The UK’s fascination with sending cards surged after 1840, when Sir Henry Cole, a British civil servant and inventor, helped English teacher and social reformer Sir Rowland Hill establish the Uniform Penny Post, meaning you could post mail anywhere in Britain and Ireland for 1p. The first commercially commissioned Christmas card by Sir Henry dates back to 1843. It was designed by illustrator and painter John Callcott Horsley and was made of stiff cardboard with a lithograph design that was then hand-painted. The central image showed three generations of a family raising a toast to the card’s recipient. On either side were scenes of charity.

Maryam and Art director Liz Ring work on a new card design at Hallmark (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

It was one of the world’s first and was sold in 2001 in the UK for a record-breaking £22,250. Since the 1860s, companies have been mass producing greetings cards but 1930 marked the introduction of colour printing and more humorous designs which grew in popularity throughout the 1940 and 1950. Today, cards are mass produced and designed on computers, a major difference to when the first-ever card was produced by hand. Early British cards showed images of flowers and fairies and later move on to the images of winter or religious themes which are still hugely popular today.

Joyce Clyde Hall, better known as J. C. Hall, who was the founder of Hallmark Cards (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

Some of the oldest greeting card companies still running in the UK today include Johnsons, which launched more than 200 years ago, and Loxleys, established in 1854.Hallmark was founded by Joyce Hall on January 9, 1910. The 18-year-old set off on a mission to sell two shoeboxes full of postcards in Kansas City, Missouri, in a bid to overcome poverty. Later, his brother Rollie joined him and they opened a shop selling postcards, gifts, books and stationery.

But five years later, it burned down forcing the brothers to get a loan and start an engraving firm and, from there, Hallmark began. In 1921, their third brother William Hall joined the business and in 1930, the company marked their first licensing agreement with Disney and later Forever Friends. Hallmark was the first to display cards on shelves rather than in drawers.

Hallmark has produced cards for over 100 years (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

In 1958 Hallmark Cards came to the UK where it remains one of the largest greeting card companies and supports charities including Barnardo’s and the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Fast forward to the present day and Hallmark has a Future Squad, delving into what event and sentiment cards we might soon be sending each other.

But in the meantime, you can’t beat a bit “Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year”.