GREETING CARD ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZES “BEST OF THE BEST”
LOUIE Award Winners and Consumer’s Choice Contest Announced at Virtual LOUIE Event
July 31, 2020 – The Greeting Card Association (GCA) announced the winners of its 2020 “LOUIE Awards,” the International Greeting Card Awards Competition, at the 31st annual celebration on Thursday, July 30th. For the first time in 30 years, the event was held virtually – though friends and colleagues were able to gather and celebrate, thus bringing the spirit of the community together.
“There’s nothing like the feeling you get when receiving or sending a greeting card. And this year, cards have become lifelines for so many,” said GCA Executive Director Peter Doherty. “The past five months have reminded us how greeting cards continue to make the difference when reaching out to friends and family. Still, style and innovation continue to be important. And card companies are innovating! The wide variety of products submitted during this year’s LOUIE Awards is proof that card companies are always reinventing their products, whether it’s to address the feeling of the moment, a cultural shift, a technological advancement, or just because.”
The evening’s highest honors went to: Great Arrow Graphics (Card of the Year, $5 and Below) and Hallmark Cards (Card of the Year, Above $5). It was also announced that DaySpring was honored with the 2020 Judge’s Award for Excellence. And finally, Patent Press Greeting Cards was named the 2020 “Rising Star.” A complete list of the 2020 LOUIE Award winners is available now at https://greetingcard.secure-platform.com/a/. The winning cards will be on display in January at the Atlanta Market, as part of the IMC’s partnership with the GCA to support the LOUIE Awards.
Mary Beth Sibert, with American Greetings, the 2020 LOUIE Awards Chair said that the event was well-received by our viewers. “We knew it was important to get our industry together for an evening of celebration and recognition,” she said. “Each year, the submissions, finalists, and LOUIE winners are a reminder of how our industry continues to innovate and help people connect.”
The 32nd LOUIE Awards submission period will open in early September.
History and Judging Criteria
Launched in 1988, the “LOUIEs” honor Louis Prang, the German-born Boston lithographer and publisher known as the “Father of the American Christmas Card.” Nearly 200 companies submitted hundreds of entries in 51 categories in this year’s competition. Fifty-five companies had at least one card advance to the finalist round. The LOUIE Awards are open to all publishers in the U.S. and throughout the world. While GCA members receive a reduced entry fee, any publisher who marketed and sold cards in the U.S. in 2019 was eligible.
A panel of 19 industry experts comprised of retailers, publishers and designers judged entries against five criteria: originality, impact, design excellence, “sendability,” and value; all identifying information about the entrant was withdrawn from the entries. A Blue-Ribbon Panel of five judges selected the “Cards of the Year” and chose to honor the “Judge’s Award for Excellence” from among all categories. All judges recuse themselves from judging their own company cards.
“Our thanks to an outstanding panel of judges who gave two days of their time to review, comment and select the LOUIE finalists and winners,” said Peter Doherty. The LOUIE judges are: Gail Anderson, UPC Displays; Sarah Burzio, Hitchcock Paper Co.; Sue Charlier, J.S. McCarthy Printers; Michele Cosby, Chocolate Moose; Dennis DeWees, Groovy Cards; Melissa Foreman, American Greetings; Alan Friedman, Great Arrow Graphics; Fern Gimbelman, Designer Greetings, Inc.; Andrea Goldfarb; Vanessa Harnik, Notes & Queries; Susan January, Leanin’ Tree; Cathy Llansó, Legacy Publishing; Andy Meehan, The Madison Park Group; Amanda Raymundo, Hallmark; Sarah Schwartz, Stationery Trends; Ana Velasco, Neenah Paper; Janie Velencia, The Card Bureau; Carolyn Wasylzuk, Just Paper and Tea; and David Wilke, Leader Paper Products.
Sponsors
We thank all our sponsors for their generous support!
Platinum Sponsors – American Greetings, Atlanta Market, Hallmark, and UPC Displays
Silver Sponsor – Designer Greetings
LOUIE Supporters – Papyrus and Up With Paper
Media Sponsors – Gifts & Decorative Accessories, The Paper Nerd, and Stationery Trends
Four GCA member companies supplied materials and production for the Call for Entries. Those companies are American Greetings, J.S. McCarthy, Leader Paper Products, and Neenah Paper.
The Consumer’s Choice Award voting for 2020 will begin on July 31st. Consumers can find out how to vote for their favorite cards by visiting our LOUIE Awards Facebook page through August 14 and one lucky voter will receive a selection of the winning cards. The winner of the Consumer’s Choice Award, the final LOUIE Award for 2020 will be announced later this year and honored at the 2021 LOUIE Awards celebration. All LOUIE winners are posted at www.greetingcard.org. For information on GCA membership, contact gca@greetingcard.org. Listed below are the 2020 LOUIE Award Winners.
| Category | Company Name |
| Announcements and Photo Cards | Alpine Creative |
| Baby > $5.00 and Below | Ohh Deer |
| Baby > Above $5.00 | Seedlings |
| Birthday > General > $5.00 and Below | UWP Luxe |
| Birthday > General > Above $5.00 | Hallmark Cards |
| Birthday > Humorous > $5.00 and Below | UWP Luxe |
| Birthday > Humorous > Above $5.00 | Elūm Designs |
| Birthday > Small Company | Good Juju Ink |
| Blank Card | Quilling Card |
| Children’s Card | Paper Salad |
| Christmas/Seasonal > Boxed Set > $3.00 and Below | Waste Not Paper |
| Christmas/Seasonal > Boxed Set > Above $3.00 | Lovepop |
| Christmas/Seasonal > General > $5.00 and Below | Great Arrow Graphics |
| Christmas/Seasonal > General > Above $5.00 | Santoro |
| Christmas/Seasonal > Humorous > $5.00 and Below | Hallmark Cards |
| Christmas/Seasonal > Humorous > Above $5.00 | Paper Ephiphanies |
| Congratulations/Special Occasion > $5.00 and Below | DaySpring |
| Congratulations/Special Occasion > Above $5.00 | DaySpring |
| Everyday Boxed Set > $3.50 and Below | Inklings Paperie |
| Everyday Boxed Set > Above $3.50 | DaySpring |
| Father’s Day > $5.00 and Below | Patent Press Greeting Cards |
| Father’s Day > Above $5.00 | Seedlings |
| Friendship/Encouragement > General > $5.00 and Below | UWP Luxe |
| Friendship/Encouragement > General > Above $5.00 | Seedlings |
| Friendship/Encouragement > Humorous > $5.00 and Below | Little Goat Paper Co. |
| Friendship/Encouragement > Humorous > Above $5.00 | Ohh Deer |
| General Invitations > All Submissions (not divided by price) | Karen Adams Designs |
| Get Well / Feel Better | Karen Adams Designs |
| Halloween > $5.00 and Below | American Greetings |
| Halloween > Above $5.00 | Hallmark Cards |
| Letterpress | Backyard Paper Co. |
| LGBTQ > All Submissions (not divided by price) | UWP Luxe |
| Mother’s Day > $5.00 and Below | Elūm Designs |
| Mother’s Day > Above $5.00 | Wild Ink Press |
| Non-Religious Celebrations > $5.00 and Below | Great Arrow Graphics |
| Non-Religious Celebrations > Above $5.00 | Mozaic Paper |
| Paper Engineering and Innovation | Hallmark Cards |
| Print and Production Excellence | Hallmark Cards |
| Religious Celebrations > $5.00 and Below | Good Juju Ink |
| Religious Celebrations > Above $5.00 | Up With Paper |
| Rising Star | Patent Press Greeting Cards |
| Romantic Occasions > $5.00 and Below | Little Posy Print Co. Dist. By Notes & Queries |
| Romantic Occasions > Above $5.00 | Hallmark Cards |
| Superbly Stated | American Greetings |
| Sympathy > $5.00 and Below | KB Paperie |
| Sympathy > Above $5.00 | UWP Luxe |
| Thank You > $5.00 and Below | Great Arrow Graphics |
| Thank You > Above $5.00 | UWP Luxe |
| Valentine’s Day > $5.00 and Below | Great Arrow Graphics |
| Valentine’s Day > Above $5.00 | Hallmark Cards |
| Wedding Invitation Suite | Bella Figura |
| Card of the Year > $5 and Below | Great Arrow Graphics |
| Card of the Year > Above $5 | Hallmark Cards |
| Judge’s Award for Excellence | DaySpring |
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About the GCA
The Greeting Card Association is the U.S. trade association serving the greeting card and social expression industry. Its signature industry events include the LOUIE Awards, the annual fall Workshop and Retreat, and *Noted: The Greeting Card Expo® – an event created by and for the greeting card community.
Founded in 1941, the GCA is supported by more than 200 American and international publishers from businesses ranging from start-ups to established companies of all sizes, scopes and industry tenure — as well as suppliers that provide production services and wholesale product distribution. Read more about the GCA.