Blue Eyed Sun Ltd, a handmade greeting card company selling direct to retail, has been officially presented the Queen’s Award for International Trade by the Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex.
The presentation took place at their new factory in Burgess Hill and was attended by the High Sheriff of West Sussex, the Mayor of Burgess Hill, the Chairman of West Sussex County Council and the Chairman of Mid-Sussex County Council.
“We are thrilled to have won this prestigious award and were honoured that such a distinguished group of local dignitaries came to celebrate with us, along with many wonderful customers, suppliers, family and friends of Blue Eyed Sun. This award is an amazing tribute to the dedication and hard work of our fantastic team.”
- Jeremy Corner, MD of Blue Eyed Sun
Guests enjoyed a tour of the publisher’s new production and distribution facility, which the company recently acquired in Victoria Road, Burgess Hill. Founded by artist Jo Corner (from a tiny bedsit in Brighton in 2000), Blue Eyed Sun has grown to sixteen staff and sells tens of thousands of handmade cards every week in over 20 countries around the world. UK customers include Fortnum and Mason, Paperchase John Lewis, Waitrose, Fenwicks and a host of design-led independent retailers. Their international expansion has been particularly impressive in the last four years.
Jo and Jeremy attended a special Queen’s Award event at Buckingham Palace in July where they presented her Majesty the Queen with one of their 90th Birthday cards. The Queen has received over 100,000 cards celebrating her ninetieth birthday year.
The UK greeting card market leads the world in terms of design, with £1.7 billion in annual sales (up 5% on the previous year). British consumers buy more cards per person than any other country. Cards are sold in one in six retail outlets in the UK.
Read about Blue Eyed Sun's visit to Buckingham Palace