UK Enterprise Awards 2021

116 | UK Enterprise Awards 2021 Apr21233 Best Greeting Cards Design & Print Business 2021 Founded in 2016, Squidge Face Cards is a greeting cards design and print business for a range of occasions. Following its well-deserved success in the UK Enterprise Awards 2021, we got in touch with Yvonne Bloomfield to find out more. Based on the east coast of Suffolk, Squidge Face Cards works closely with customers to create their own custom card designs. To start, Founder Yvonne Bloomfield tells us more about her firm and offers more insight into its clientele. “Initially, I started with just a handful of cards listed on an Etsy storefront but within one month I had a Valentines’ card featuring in a Huffington Post gift guide. From there, things grew quickly and led to the creation of a standalone website and an eBay storefront. An online presence has given us easy access to a worldwide customer base and allowed us to keep overheads low with the business being based in a home office. Additionally, it has been a lot easier to strike a balance between work and family life. Although the main style of our cards tend to be sarcastic or cheeky, I believe in creating high- quality custom cards at affordable prices”. Operating in the greeting cards arena can often prove a challenging experience given the current competition, however as Yvonne goes on to explain, the business are able to customise cards to suit the recipient and then deliver them quickly. “A personal message can be printed inside each card, and it can then be sent directly to the recipient to save on extra postage costs, and reduce the pressures on an already busy postal system. With the greeting cards market becoming increasingly saturated, the main challenge has been to keep our range of cards relevant but by constantly reviewing our products, we have been able to stay ahead of current trends”. Despite the recent outbreak of COVID-19 there has been an upsurge in online shopping, as Yvonne elaborates further. “With so many people self-isolating or shielding, we’ve noticed an increase in requests to send cards directly to the recipient rather than the customer. Moreover, there has also been a real demand for COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine related humour cards”. Finally, Yvonne discusses the main benefits of the firm’s location before outlining some of its future plans. “Being based in the UK gives us easy access to the world market, with well-established trade links with countries such as the USA and Australia. Good exchange rates also mean fairer prices for our international customers. “Over the last 18-24 months, there has been an increase in requests for cards for same sex couples and for those with different gender identities. Currently then, I am researching and developing a new range of cards to reflect this change in need. Moving forward, I plan to continue extending our range of cards and other products to help bring the trademark Squidge Face Cards snarky humour to the masses! Beyond this, there will be a continued focus on supplying high quality products, with the best possible customer service”. Company: Squidge Face Cards Contact: Yvonne Bloomfield Email: [email protected] Web: www.squidgefacecards.co.uk