We were pleased to be included in a lovely article on stitched cards celebrating British Crafts in last month's Progressive Greetings.
If you didn't get the chance to read it, here's what we said about the popularity of the embroidered look and our new Vintage range of stitched cards:
"I think there is a subconscious desire to counter the digital annihilation of all material things. Books, CD’s, photos and other items we used to actually be able to touch and feel are predominantly purchased digitally and I think we have a real need to feel handmade objects in our lives. They have so much more soul than computers and gadgets.
The recession has meant that many of us are spending more time in our homes and we have focused on saving money by recycling, mending and making our own things. Because of this interest in crafts like knitting, stitching and card making, sales of handmade products are booming.
Selecting the fabrics she wants to work with to create the designs for the Vintage card range Jo, my wife and business partner, hand cuts a variety of shapes and motifs which she then selects from to start building the artwork. They are all laid out on a linen base and then machine stitched on. Parts of the captions are free stitched by machine, which really adds to the handmade feel. After this the designs are scanned and laid up for printing and embossing. When they come back from the printers they are hand finished with jewels to complete the look.
With such a strong reputation for handmade cards we want to keep producing ranges that have that handmade feel and offer great value to our customers. I think scanning original stitched artworks is a natural progression for us. The designs are nostalgic and fun, but with the contemporary colourful look we bring to much of our work."
Sewing artwork for cards is a fast growing trend and the Progressive Greetings Magazine article features over a dozen greetings card publishers using the technique including Black Olive, Soul, Pootle, Inkdrops, Belly Button Designs, Lou Mills, Cinnamon Aitch, Stop the Clock Designs, Tanya Palmer, Open Box Designs, Carlton Cards, Design Hog and a new range called Freddie and Freya by CardMIX. The article excluded some of our favourite forerunners, of this current wave of stitched cards, who are also worth a mention: like Vicky King's sewn card ranges for Paper Rose, and seamtresses like Katy Kirkham, Claire Sowden and Abigail Mill.
Click here to order Blue Eyed Sun's Vintage designs for your shop.
