37th Annual Louie Award winners announced
The Greeting Card Association (GCA) celebrated excellence in greeting cards at its 37th Annual Louie Awards Ceremony. The event took place Aug. 17 at the Seelbach in Louisville, Kentucky. This year’s competition brought together over 1,000 submissions from 185 stationery brands.
Judging took place at eight hubs across the country, where 78 industry experts ranging from retail buyers to veteran publishers evaluated each card for quality and craftsmanship. From that extensive pool, 168 finalists were selected across 56 categories, showcasing the remarkable talent of 39 standout companies.
The Louie Awards celebrate the pure creativity and hard work driving our stationery community forward, honoring the exact designs that publishers and artists admire most. This year’s winners really raised the bar. Their cards stand out for their exceptional design and innovative spirit, proving that the craft behind greeting card design is stronger and more thoughtful than ever.
The ultimate highlights of the evening came with the presentation of the prestigious Card of the Year honors, celebrating the absolute best designs in the competition:
- Card of the Year Below $5.50 – New Baby: Honeyberry Studios
- Card of the Year Above $5.50 – Sympathy: Seedlings
“Congratulations to all of this year’s Louie Award winners and finalists!” said Michele Byrne, founder of paper&stuff and the Louie Committee Chair. “With over 1,000 entries from 185 companies, this year’s awards reflect the incredible creativity and talent within our industry. Each entry is a reminder of the role greeting cards play in helping people celebrate, connect, offer comfort, and feel understood. I’m so grateful to our committee, judges, sponsors, associates, and everyone who helped bring the 37th Louie Awards to life, and I hope every winner feels deeply proud of this achievement.”
Beyond the individual card categories, the evening also celebrated the incredible people and publishers driving our industry forward with several major honors. The Rising Star Award, which spotlights outstanding emerging publishers in business for three years or less, went to Barone & Co. When it came to individual creative talents, E. Frances Paper took home the Writer of the Year award for exceptional copywriting and storytelling. To round out the major honors, the coveted Artist of the Year award was presented to Sister Paper Co. in recognition of their remarkable artistic talent and design vision.
The Maker of Note Awards are all about spotlighting and lifting up the incredibly diverse creators and publishers who bring fresh energy and perspective to the greeting card industry. These annual awards highlight incredible publishers and designers from underrepresented communities within our industry. Each maker submitted five of their very best designs, and this year’s recipients were selected based on the highest average scores from our panel of judges.
2026 Maker of Note Winners:
- Asian American/Pacific Islander Maker of Note: Yuko Miki, Honeyberry Studios
- Black Maker of Note: Kristal Bell, KANDS.CO
- Latinx Maker of Note: Mackenzie + Esteban Raposo, Golden Peach Greetings
- LGBTQIA+ Maker of Note: Lindsey Warriner, Warren Tales
37th Annual Louie Award Winners:
Artist of the Year Sister Paper Co. Birthday – General – $5.50 and Below Biely & Shoaf Collection Birthday – General – Above $5.50 Up With Paper Birthday – Humorous – $5.50 and Below Stoats & Weasels Birthday – Humorous – Above $5.50 UWP Luxe Birthday – Small Company Kwohtations Blank Card – $5.50 and Below Darling Lemon Blank Card – Above $5.50 UWP Luxe Celebrating AAPI Culture Liyana Studio Celebrating Black Culture AfroTouch Design Celebrating Latinx Culture Talking Out of Turn Celebrating LGBTQIA+ Yardia Celebrating Women Sister Paper Co. Children’s Card – $5.50 and Below KANDS.CO Children’s Card – Above $5.50 Maginating Christmas/Seasonal – Boxed Set FreshCut Paper Christmas/Seasonal – General – $5.50 and Below Naomi Paper Co. Christmas/Seasonal – General – Above $5.50 Up With Paper Christmas/Seasonal – Humorous Bromstad Printing Co. Christmas/Seasonal – Small Company Golden Peach Design Co Congratulations/Special Occasion – $5.50 and Below Paper Salad Congratulations/Special Occasion – Above $5.50 M.C. Pressure Everyday Boxed Set – All Submissions UWP Luxe Father’s Day – $5.50 and Below Liyana Studio Father’s Day – Above $5.50 Up With Paper Friendship/Just Because – General – $5.50 and Below Halfpenny Postage Friendship/Just Because – General – Above $5.50 Mythical Matters Friendship/Just Because – Humorous – $5.50 and Below Starfangled Press Friendship/Just Because – Humorous – Above $5.50 Bromstad Printing Co. Get Well / Encouragement – $5.50 and Below Halfpenny Postage Get Well / Encouragement – Above $5.50 Barone & Co. Global Greetings Shorthand Press Halloween – $5.50 and Below Notes & Queries Halloween – Above $5.50 Maginating Invitations & Announcements Alpine Creative Group Letterpress Rust Belt Love Paperie Mother’s Day – $5.50 and Below Wolf & Wren Press Mother’s Day – Above $5.50 Bromstad Printing Co. New Baby – $5.50 and Below Honeyberry Studios New Baby – Above $5.50 UWP Luxe Non-Religious Celebrations – $5.50 and Below Artists to Watch Non-Religious Celebrations – Above $5.50 Barone & Co. Print, Production, & Paper Engineering UWP Luxe Religious Celebrations – $5.50 and Below Queen Fayzel Religious Celebrations – Above $5.50 Heartell Press Rising Star Barone & Co. Romantic Occasions – $5.50 and Below On the Bright Side Romantic Occasions – Above $5.50 Kwohtations Superbly Stated Barone & Co. Sympathy/Grief – $5.50 and Below On the Bright Side Sympathy/Grief – Above $5.50 Seedlings Thank You – $5.50 and Below Kim Dettmer Art Thank You – Above $5.50 Color Box Letterpress Wedding/Engagement – $5.50 and Below Fine Moments Wedding/Engagement – Above $5.50 Color Box Letterpress Writer of the Year E Frances Paper
