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Noted @ *Noted Awards
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2023 Noted @ *Noted Awards

Noted@*Noted is where the best new greeting cards are honored.

Started in 2020, the Noted@*Noted Awards are a greeting card competition devoted to all NEW designs that are being showcased at *Noted. GCA hosts the competition each year in partnership with Sarah Schwartz, editor of The Paper Nerd, and in conjunction with *Noted: The Greeting Card Expo. The Noted@*Noted Awards Competition focuses on cards that are brand new (released after January 1, 2023), and winners are announced at *Noted!

The competition was only open to exhibitors of *Noted/SF NOW and one entry in Noted@*Noted was included with every exhibit space fee. To keep everything fresh, entries must have been introduced after January 1, 2023. Please remember that if you have submitted for the Louie Awards, you will use the same login information.

Submissions for Noted@*Noted have closed for 2023 *Noted. Winners have been announced!

View the Finalists & Winners Here Log Back in and View Your Submissions Here

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Timeline:

  • Submissions Open: January 9th – February 26th, 2023
  • Finalists Contacted: March 7th, 2023
    • If you are chosen as a finalist, you will be asked to send 7 samples to Sarah Schwartz for round 2 of judging to take place starting March 16th.
  • Winners Announced: April 27th, 2023

Categories:

  • Freshest Vibe (e.g., Freshest new voice, vibe, look, standout maker). A brand new year calls for brand new cards — submit your favorite standout release here. Be it snarky, sweet or somewhere in between, we are seeking one very special design of distinction that is poised to capture hearts and sales with its original approach.

  • Best New Product Line. Show us your new collections for 2023! We are seeking standout illustration and copy, as well as cohesion across the range. Please submit 3-6 images to provide breadth.

  • Best Color Combo. Nothing instantly sets a mood like color, and we’re seeking the most alluring examples. Don’t forget to include envelopes here, that is part of the palette.

  • Most Fantastic Floral. Submit your most spectacular bloom here.

  • Best Pattern. If it’s plaid, polka dots or a motif purely of your making, we want to see it here!

  • Most Marvelous Creature. Dogs, cats, llamas, frogs, lobsters … this lucky animal will be uncaged as the unofficial mascot of *Noted ‘23!

  • Wisest (e.g., Best witticism, most profound, Best hard truth, Best Message, Most Motivating). The medium is the message here. Send us your smartest designs, with every element speaking to its larger meaning.

  • Punniest. This wordy trend has taken the industry by storm — submit your most visually clever designs here.

  • Funniest. Getting a laugh through a card requires a certain finesse, but executing that well makes many a sender look brilliant. Send your side-splitting releases here.

  • Snarkiest. A bit of well-placed sarcasm can do wonders for the soul. Send us your most cynical entries here, with or without profanity.

Panel of Judges:

Questions about the awards? Contact us!

Rules:

  • In order to submit cards for Noted @ *Noted, you must be exhibiting at *Noted/SF NOW 2023.
    • *Noted exhibitors receive one free entry and may submit up to four additional paid entries.
  • There is a max of five entries per company.
  • Each maker can only submit one entry to each category.
  • All submissions must be NEW, with the first retail sale in 2023 and available for retailers to buy now.
  • All submissions must not have been entered in the Louie Awards.

Pricing:

  • GCA members who are eligible can submit for $25/entry
  • Non-GCA members who are eligible can submit for $30/entry.

Noted@*Noted and the Louie Awards

We get a lot of questions as to how Noted@*Noted differ from the Louie Awards. While the Louie Awards are focused on larger categories like holidays and special occasions, the Noted@*Noted Awards have more unique and quirky categories (like Most Marvelous Creature or Punniest). They are the awards specifically for those exhibiting at *Noted and highlight NEW releases for 2023. It’s a smaller, more intimate (and cheaper!) award competition and the winners are announced live on the *Noted showfloor the first day of the show. Each awards competition highlights talented card makers, though!