Press Room: 06 Jul 10
Gifts of the Year ready to ‘wow’ buyers at Home & Gift
The Gifts of the Year 2010 have been announced and the winning and highly commended products will make their first public appearance as a group in a special display to be created next to The Giftware Association’s own stand (A26) at Home & Gift in Harrogate from 18 – 21 July.
With entries 30% up on 2009 the judges had a particularly difficult job this year, particularly as the overall standard was so high. “The entry was much improved with a lot more interesting products to chose from across a number of sections but particularly in the giftwrap and card category,” Cathie Broster of the Chestnut Pavilion told giftwrap.
Extra Award announced
This view is endorsed by The GA’s chief executive Isabel Martinson, who said: “The judges were universally delighted with this year’s entrants, so much so they felt they wished to highlight an additional overall winner in terms of innovation and design. We have therefore created an additional category the ‘Judges’ Choice’ award, which was won by Interplay UK Ltd and this will be on display in Harrogate together with the sixteen other category winners and two highly commended products in each group.”.
The product that clinched the Award in the new category for Interplay UK is a four-dimensional jigsaw puzzle of the London skyline. This, together with one of New York, is the first of what will be a series of puzzles featuring different cities around the world. The jigsaws, as the name suggests are not flat and show the contours of the cityscape into which fit 3-D pieces in the shape of well-know buildings. The fourth dimension in the puzzle is time because the jigsaw is built in the same way in which it was actually created over the centuries – so that the early city is made first and the maker can watch it develop in time as each new landmark building is added.
The puzzle certainly appealed to judge Brian Wiseman of Present Times. “In times like these you have to take your hat off to anyone who is innovating and this jigsaw really is something new,” he said.
Nostalgia
So what other products caught the judges’ eyes this year? Well there was certainly plenty of room for gifts with a nostalgic feel and well-loved characters from children’s fiction took centre stage in a number of categories, with ‘The Moomins Collections’ from Disaster Designs winning the Branded/Character Award and ‘The Ladybird Archive Collection’ by Wild and Wolf taking the laurels in the Kids category. ‘The Gruffalo’ also got plenty of attention picking up two Highly Commended Awards for Wild and Wolf in the same Branded/Character and Kids categories.
Nostalgia was also much in evidence in the charming and quirky ‘Truly Scrumptious Tea Party Set’ by Talking Tables which gave a thoroughly modern twist to an old idea to win the Occasions Award, while 60’s clothes designer Celia Birtwell’s retro prints came up trumps, yet again, for Wild and Wolf, who received no fewer than five separate commendations in this year’s competition.
Humour
Humour was another hot trend with plenty of products designed to make you smile gaining the judges’ approbation. No one could fail to be amused by the Union Jack Duck Doorstop by Cake Designs which triumphed in the Home Accessories Award while the laugh-out-loud ‘ISHey’ designs by Splimple Limited gained them a commendation in the Card & Wrap category.
Design
Great design, especially when coupled with good value will, as the National Gallery’s Isabel Saiz pointed out, always triumph in the end and that was certainly true for Joseph and Joseph whose Hands On salad bowl was much lauded by the judges to win the Kitchen and Dining Award.
Diversity
“The products that have won are as diverse and as exciting as the industry they represent. There is quite literally something here for everyone and I defy anyone not to be impressed by the ingenuity, artistry and sheer skill that has gone into creating the 2010 Gifts of the Year,” says Isabel Martinson.
Find out what the judges’ had to say
One of the great perks of entering Gift of the Year is the tremendous opportunity it presents to get your designs in front of some of the UK’s most influential buyers of gift and home products who act as judges in the event.
The panel reads like a veritable ‘who’s who’ in gift and home buying and includes representatives of the big catalogue companies, major galleries and multiple retailers as well as a number of strong independent stores. Furthermore we know that these buyers much value the opportunity that judging provides for them to spot potential new suppliers and that they will frequently contact the makers of products which do not necessarily win, but which appeal to them personally, with a view to stocking them in their shops.
As anyone who has attended the judging will know the competition is always fiercely fought and can lead to quite strong discussions and disagreements about the merits and demerits of certain products. Designs are sometimes let down by just a small thing - the quality of their packaging or their supporting material or in some cases simply their pricing - and the difference between winning and losing can be very small and the judges comments would undoubtedly be invaluable to companies concerned could they be a fly on the wall to hear them.
Unfortunately it is not possible for the organisers to provide this type of feedback to the 100’s of entrants however gong forward we are considering creating a judges’ blog where we are inviting those of the panel who feel inclined to give us their own particular words of wisdom and hopefully some really useful feedback to one of two companies as to why they didn’t quite make the grade. The Gift of the Year 2010 press release is available to view should you wish to gain insight on some of the judges' thoughts (click here).
Trophies presented at Home & Gift
In the absence of a formal award ceremony, GA Chairman, Michael Sweeney and CE Isabel Martinson will be visiting the stands of those Gift of the Year winners who are exhibiting at Home & Gift to present them with their distinctive ‘Gift of the Year’ trophies and certificates.
Competition brings real benefits to charity
An extremely high proportion of those entering this year’s Gift of the Year awards have donated their entry to The Benevolent Society, the registered charity which supports needy ex-employees in our industry.
These products will be used as tombola prizes at the Benevolent Society’s Annual Dinner Dance at Christmas time, where they will not only create a fabulous display but will also raise a substantial sum in sales of tickets for the Society.
David Simons, Chairman of the Charity, has expressed his wish to personally thank all those concerned for their generosity which is particularly appreciated in these difficult economic times when many beneficiaries are facing real hardship.
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