Apr 27, 2023

GCA names 34th annual Louie Awards winners

The Greeting Card Association (GCA) celebrated excellence in greeting cards at its 34th Annual Louie Awards ceremony.

The event took place at The General’s Residence on the campus of the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco. This year’s competition had an overwhelming response from card makers, with a 62% increase in competition entries over last year. In total, 1,016 cards were submitted in 51 unique categories.

A panel of judges consisting of 52 card publishers, retailers, sales representatives and stationery industry leaders from across the country carefully reviewed the entries to determine the finalists. After a rigorous selection process, 153 cards were selected as finalists. At the Louie Awards ceremony, 51 cards from 33 different publishers were awarded the prestigious Louie Award, with two taking home Card of Year honors.

The Louie Awards are a symbol of excellence in the greeting card industry and are highly coveted by publishers and designers alike. This year’s winners have demonstrated outstanding creativity, innovation, and craftsmanship in their card designs.

“The growth of this year’s competition truly reflects the vibrancy of the greeting card industry,” says Nora Weiser, executive director of GCA. “As the industry’s highest honor, winning a Louie Award is not only a sign of excellence but also increases winners’ visibility with buyers – and in many cases, earns them shelf space at major retail outlets.”

At this year’s Louie Awards, two cards were recognized as Cards of the Year. E. Frances Paper received the Card of the Year $5.50 and Below award (sponsored by Stationery Trends) for their outstanding Mother’s Day card submission. Hallmark was awarded the Card of the Year Above $5.50 award for their exceptional Halloween card entry.

In addition to the individual card awards, several publishers were recognized for their body of work. Twentysome Design received the Rising Star award (sponsored by NY NOW), reserved for publishers who have been selling retail for three years or less. Alyson O’Connor of Rust Belt Love received the Writer of the Year award for her outstanding copywriting. Finally, the coveted Artist of the Year award was presented to Louise Mulgrew of Louise Mulgrew for her exceptional artistic talent and contributions to the greeting card industry.

The full list of the 34th Annual Louie Award-winning cards can be found below and a full image gallery of the finalist and winning cards can be found here.

“I was honored to serve again this year as Chair of the Louie Awards committee”, says Kate Murray of Quick Brown Fox Letterpress. “With over 1,000 submissions this year, it was amazing to see the range of talent celebrated at the Louie Awards. I just want to thank all the makers who submitted for their contributions to making the Louies a success.”

Those attending *Noted: The Greeting Card Expo co-located with SF NOW, April 27-28 at Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion can view all the Louie finalists and winners in a display created by Universal Presentation Concepts.

Consumers can buy select Louie finalist and winning cards this summer at Barnes & Noble and Paper Source stores around the country, and can also vote for their favorite card as part of the Louie Consumers Choice Awards through July 31. Winners of that public competition will be announced in September and celebrated at next year’s awards ceremony.

34th Annual Louie Award Winners:

• Birthday General – $5.50 and Below: E. Frances Paper
• Birthday General – Above $5.50: Paper D’Art distributed by Notes & Queries
• Birthday Humorous – $5.50 and Below: E. Frances Paper
• Birthday Humorous – Above $5.50: 417 Press
• Birthday Small Company – Odd Daughter Paper Co
• Blank Card – $5.50 and Below: Mossy Blue Paper Studio
• Blank Card – Above $5.50: Hallmark
• Celebrating Diversity & Inclusion: Good Juju Ink
• Children’s Card – $5.50 and Below: Cheer Notes
• Children’s Card – Above $5.50: Paper Salad distributed by Notes & Queries
• Christmas/Seasonal Boxed Set: Karen Adams Studios
• Christmas/Seasonal General – $5.50 and Below: Paper Baristas
• Christmas/Seasonal General – Above $5.50: Hallmark
• Christmas/Seasonal Humorous – $5.50 and Below: Fine Moments
• Christmas/Seasonal Humorous – Above $5.50: Spacepig Press
• Congrats/Special Occasion – $5.50 and Below: Louise Mulgrew
• Congrats/Special Occasion – Above $5.50: Color Box Design & Letterpress LLC
• Everyday Boxed Set: Good Juju Ink
• Father’s Day – $5.50 and Below: Louise Mulgrew
• Father’s Day – Above $5.50: Tache distributed by Notes & Queries
• Friendship/Encouragement General – $5.50 and Below: Good Juju Ink
• Friendship/Encouragement General – Above $5.50: Dear Beni
• Friendship/Encouragement Humorous – $5.50 and Below: Near Modern Disaster
• Friendship/Encouragement Humorous – Above $5.50: Girl w/ Knife
• Get Well/Feel Better – $5.50 and Below: Amy Zhang
• Get Well/Feel Better – Above $5.50: 2021 Co.
• Halloween – $5.50 and Below: Fine Moments
• Halloween – Above $5.50: Hallmark
• Invitations & Announcements – Wedding: Bella Figura
• Invitations & Announcements – Non-Wedding: Bella Figura
• Mother’s Day – $5.50 and Below: E. Frances Paper
• Mother’s Day – Above $5.50: Up With Paper
• Non-Religious Celebrations – $5.50 and Below: Amy Zhang
• Non-Religious Celebrations – Above $5.50: Ivory Tower Studios
• Paper Engineering and Innovation: NIQUEA.D
• Print and Production Excellence: Dear Beni
• Religious Celebrations: Artists to Watch
• Romantic Occasions – $5.50 and Below: Good Juju Ink
• Romantic Occasions – Above $5.50: The Card Bureau
• Superbly Stated: Kwohtations
• Sympathy – $5.50 and Below: Fine Moments
• Sympathy – Above $5.50: Kwohtations
• Thank You – $5.50 and Below: Calypso Cards
• Thank You – Above $5.50: Seedlings
• Trends & Events: 417 Press
• Valentine’s Day – $5.50 and Below: Louise Mulgrew
• Valentine’s Day – Above $5.50: American Greetings
• Artist of the Year: Louise Mulgrew of Louise Mulgrew
• Rising Star: Twentysome Designs
• Writer of the Year: Alyson O’Connor of Rust Belt Love
• Card of the Year – $5.50 and Below: E. Frances Paper (Mother’s Day category)
• Card of the Year – Above $5.50: Hallmark (Halloween category)