May 20, 2014

Greeting Card Association Announces 26th Annual LOUIE Awards Winners

The Greeting Card Association (GCA) has announced the winners of its 26th Annual International Greeting Card Awards Competition, better known as the “LOUIE Awards.” Winners in each of the 29 categories in this year’s competition, as well as the “Cards of the Year” in each of the two price divisions, were revealed at the LOUIE Awards gala held on Sunday evening, May 18, at Espace in New York City, during the signature mix™ marketplace tradeshow. This highly anticipated industry event drew nearly 300 guests, including finalist companies, industry retailers, manufacturers’ representatives and suppliers, as well as members of the media.

Congratulations go to the 26th Annual LOUIE “Card of the Year” winners: Sunrise, which took top honors in the $3.50 and Below category; and Hello!Lucky, which won in the Above $3.50 division. The complete list of winners is as follows:

Announcements & Photo Cards – $3.50 & Below

Minted

Announcements & Photo Cards – Above $3.50

Ladyfingers Letterpress

Birthday (General) – $3.50 & Below

Paper Magic Group

Birthday (General) – Above $3.50

Rifle Paper Co.

Birthday (Humorous) – $3.50 & Below

Madison Park Greetings

Birthday (Humorous) – Above $3.50

Emily McDowell

Blank Card – $3.50 & Below

Sunrise

Blank Card – Above $3.50

Papel Couture

Children’s Card – $3.50 & Below

Calypso Cards

Children’s Card – Above $3.50

Design Design, Inc.

Christmas/Seasonal (Boxed Notes) – $2.00 & Below

Design Design, Inc.

Christmas/Seasonal (Boxed Notes) – Above $2.00

Karen Adams Designs

Christmas/Seasonal (General) – $3.50 & Below

Madison Park Greetings

Christmas/Seasonal (General) – Above $3.50

Sugarcube Press

Christmas/Seasonal (Humorous) – $3.50 & Below

Calypso Cards

Christmas/Seasonal (Humorous) – Above $3.50

Smock

Congratulations/Special Occasion – $3.50 & Below

Madison Park Greetings

Congratulations/Special Occasion – Above $3.50

Hello!Lucky

Deluxe Wedding Invitation Suite (Classic Printed)

Ladyfingers Letterpress

Deluxe Wedding Invitation Suite (Modern Printed)

Wedding Paper Divas

Everyday Boxed Notes – $2.50 & Below

1canoe2

Everyday Boxed Notes – Above $2.50

Elum

Family Celebrations – $3.50 & Below

Madison Park Greetings

Family Celebrations – Above $3.50

Wild Ink Press

Friendship/Encouragement (General) – $3.50 & Below

Sunrise

Friendship/Encouragement (General) – Above $3.50

Rifle Paper Co.

Friendship/Encouragement (Humorous) – $3.50 & Below

Calypso Cards

Friendship/Encouragement (Humorous) – Above $3.50

Sugarcube Press

General Invitations – $3.50 & Below

Minted

General Invitations – Above $3.50

Ladyfingers Letterpress

Get Well/Feel Better – $3.50 & Below

Compendium

Get Well/Feel Better – Above $3.50

Avanti Press, Inc.

LetterPress

Blackbird Letterpress

Mother’s Day – $3.50 & Below

Compendium

Mother’s Day – Above $3.50

Elum

Most Humorous

Emily McDowell

Non-Religious Celebrations – $3.50 & Below

Sunrise

Non-Religious Celebrations – Above $3.50

Rifle Paper Co.

Print & Production Excellence

Ladyfingers Letterpress

Religious Celebrations – $3.50 & Below

Sunrise

Religious Celebrations – Above $3.50

Ladyfingers

Letterpress Rising Star – $4.00 & Below

Ornament Letterpress

Rising Star – Above $4.00

Emily McDowell

Romantic Occasions – $3.50 & Below

Marian Heath Greeting Cards

Romantic Occasions – Above $3.50

Farewell Paperie

Standard Wedding Invitation Suite (Classic Printed)

Ruff House Art

Standard Wedding Invitation Suite (Modern Printed)

Allie Munroe Superbly Stated Sugarcube Press

Sympathy – $3.50 & Below

Compendium

Sympathy – Above $3.50

Emily McDowell

Thank You – $3.50 & Below

Designer Greetings, Inc.

Thank You – Above $3.50

Hello!Lucky

Valentine’s Day – $3.50 & Below

Madison Park Greetings

Valentine’s Day – Above $3.50

Emily McDowell

Winning cards can also be viewed on the GCA website at www.greetingcard.org or by clicking here.

“The LOUIE Awards celebrate the amazing talent that continues to bring excitement and innovation to the greeting card and stationery industry,” says 26th Annual LOUIE Awards Chair Cambria Evans, creative director/founder of J.Bartyn Design. “Each of the incredibly creative LOUIE winners and finalists prove there’s just no substitute for a ‘real’ card.”

This year’s LOUIE theme, “Eye Candy: The Best Cards of the Year,” was designed by Evans and overseen by LOUIE Strategic Chair Katy Greenspan, director of the artist community at Minted . The competition drew more than 900 entries from 220 companies worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, Israel, and the U.K. All entries were marketed and sold in the U.S. during the 2013 calendar year, and each of these outstanding winners represents the best of the thousands of cards and invitations published each year.

And, for the third consecutive year, the Greeting Card Association is inviting consumers to choose their favorite card from among all the category winners announced at the gala, by logging on to the LOUIE Awards Facebook page between May 19 and May 31, 2014, and “Liking” the card they think is the best. Last year’s Consumer’s Choice LOUIE Award winner, Madison Park Greetings, received its award during last night’s ceremony.

Special thanks go to the 26th Annual LOUIE Awards sponsors: Platinum Sponsors – American Greetings; Hallmark. Gold Sponsors – Designer Greetings, Inc.; Infinity Foils, Inc.; Jast Company; National Stationery Show®/Emerald Expositions; Universal Engraving, Inc. Silver Sponsors – Avanti Press, Inc.; Neenah Paper. Category Champion – Bobst North America, Inc.; The Madison Park Group. The GCA also extends its gratitude to Universal Presentation Concepts for the generous contribution of the outstanding LOUIE Awards Exhibit and GCA Lounge at the signature mix™ marketplace – which includes the National Stationery Show®tradeshow.

To learn more about the LOUIE Awards, please visit www.greetingcard.org.To vote in the third-annual Consumer’s Choice LOUIE Award competition, visit the LOUIE Awards Facebook page.

About the LOUIE Awards

Launched by the Greeting Card Association in 1988, the prestigious LOUIE Awards recognize the most outstanding greeting cards, invitations, and announcements marketed in the U.S. during the previous calendar year. Named after Louis Prang – the German-born Boston lithographer credit with the birth of the U.S. Christmas card in the 1870s – the competition is open to all domestic and foreign publishers of greeting cards, invitations, and/or announcements, and attracts hundreds of entries annually. Additional information is available at www.greetingcard.org.

About the Greeting Card Association

The Greeting Card Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the U.S. trade association serving the greeting card and social expression industry. Founded in 1941, the GCA today represents nearly 200 American and international publishers from diverse businesses – ranging from young start-ups to established companies of all sizes, scopes, and years in the industry – as well as suppliers that provide production services and product distribution at the wholesale level. Managed by Bostrom, the GCA is committed to celebrating, promoting, and preserving the tradition of sending greeting cards. For more information, visitwww.greetingcard.org.