News

The Greeting Card Association’s Noted@*Noted Product Awards is now accepting entries. The fourth edition of this highly competitive design competition highlights the most outstanding new card releases of the year … and unlike the previous two editions of the awards, those for 2022 will be announced and celebrated live and in person at *Noted: The Greeting Card Expo, April 28-29, in San Francisco’s vibrant Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture. *Noted is the only U.S. event created by the greeting card industry, for the greeting card industry. This year’s *Noted will be co-located with SF NOW, offering brands, makers, and artisans an all-in-one tactile boutique setting to meet buyers, celebrate creativity, and tell their stories.

All greeting cards entered into the Noted@*Noted Awards must have been released after January 1, 2022, making the competition the first chance of the year to celebrate the freshest greeting cards, hot off the press! Maker eligibility, categories, and entry requirements are updated annually to reflect industry trends.

“We are excited to bring *Noted back in person in 2022, and co-locate with Emerald X as they launch SF NOW,” said Nora Weiser, executive director for GCA. “Noted@*Noted recognizes makers for their creativity, and gives buyers a chance to see the newest designs and trends in greeting cards.”

Judges

Judges for this year’s competition represent a range of industry leaders:

• Dan Collier, Daniel Richards Showroom (Atlanta & Dallas), as well as the retail venues Archer Paper Goods and The Merchant Atlanta.
• Chandra Greer, owner of GREER Chicago, Illinois.
• Sarah Schwartz, The Paper Nerd, Beachwood, Ohio and Stationery Trends, editor-in-chief.
• Chelsea Shukov, Sugar Paper, which produces its own luxe wholesale range and also has California stores in Brentwood, Newport Beach, and Marin.
• Audrey Woollen, Urbanic Paper Boutique, Venice, California

The deadline for Noted@*Noted submissions is March 11, 2022. *Noted exhibitors get their first entry free and then pay $25 each four up to four additional entries, for a maximum of five. GCA members who are not exhibiting at *Noted, but who sell through the GCA Marketplace, GCA’s online B2B platform, may submit up to four entries for $30 each.

Each maker can only submit one entry per category and may enter each card just once. The first round of judging will be conducted online; all finalists will then be asked to send in samples for the second round of judging. Finalists and winners will be displayed in a dedicated area at *Noted, and winners will be announced on the opening day!If you have questions about entering,  email Sarah Schwartz.