Lovingly nicknamed 'The Oscars' of the greeting card industry, the Henries awards were first launched in 1996 by Progressive Greetings Worldwide as a wonderful annual event to recognise creativity and design within greeting cards in the U.K. Each year some 14,000 entries are received and are judged by a panel of esteemed retailers including multiple stores, independents, department stores and supermarket buyers.
In 2023 Heyyy Cards were shortlisted, and finalists with 4 ranges:
Diversity & Inclusion - Two Finger Salute
Contemporary Trend - I'mPressed
Best Male Range - I'mPressed and Instant Classics
On 5th October Team Heyyy got dressed up and headed down to London by train to attend the Mardi Gras themed awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, with an evening hosted by comedian Pippa Evans, also featuring music from The Steel Panthers and drag act Ruby Violet.
Having been finalists at the awards last year, we knew that the evening would be an amazing experience and a great opportunity to catch up with friends and publishers from the industry. The standard of competition was extremely high, and our cards were up against some of the most established and talented publishers in the U.K. , so we really didn't expect to win.
Diversity and inclusion was the first category of the night. When our name was announced as the winner we were both in complete shock... somehow our Two Finger Salute range had won!!!
Dan went up to the stage to collect the award and it's safe to say he was pretty happy!!
As the ceremony went on, we whooped and cheered for all of the other publishers, and it was lovely to see in particular, awards going to smaller and newer companies bringing an amazing and diverse mix of designs.
As the 'Best Male' category approached we waited nervously as all the finalists names were called, again pretty sure that one of the other strong contenders in our class would be called... but by some miracle, our name was announced again! I'mPressed had won! We literally could not believe it!!
We spent the rest of the night grinning from ear to ear, as we danced and celebrated amongst our industry friends. Without a doubt it was one of the best moments of our Heyyy journey so far.
Thinking about why the awards mean so much to us, it's not just about the wonderful ceremony and the trophies, but it really means something to know that these awards are voted by retailers, who buy greeting cards day in, day out, and somehow they saw something in our designs that they felt was worth voting for.
The whole reason we started our company was to produce cards which people could relate to, which would make people smile, or laugh. Knowing that people from within the industry voted for our designs means the absolute world, and makes every evening and weekend spent designing worthwhile ❤️