HarperCollins Publishers is pleased to announce new merchandising deals with Woodmansterne Publications Ltd and Bluebird Brands, resulting in an extensive new range of Collins Gem-branded greetings cards, stationery, bags, umbrellas and mugs, due to hit the retail market during Autumn/Winter 2010.

Woodmansterne Publications have been licensed to produce greetings cards, gift wrap and tags, note-cards, and invitations featuring words and definitions taken from the iconic Collins English Dictionary. Launching with a range of greeting cards targeting the male market, designs include: ‘nuts’, ‘whopper’, ‘cheers’, ‘macho’, ‘vintage’, and ‘dude’. This range of visually eloquent cards can be used to send a birthday message to all types of men, from young and funky through to mature and traditional. Creative Director, Julia Woodmansterne, comments: “We are delighted to be partnering HarperCollins with this brand new range. What a chance it has been to try and combine imagery, and the English wit of the double entendre, with word definitions from the Collins English Dictionary – our trusted companion, through school, with crossword puzzles, and resolving those Scrabble arguments.”

Meanwhile, Bluebird Brands is developing a range of stationery, bags, umbrellas and mugs featuring a fun and inventive take on content and branding from the Collins English Dictionary range. The Bluebird collection launched at the NEC Autumn Fair (5th – 8th September 2010), and will be available to consumers from October. “We are very excited about this new Collins Gem range,” says Rachel Needs, Brands and Licensing Director at Bluebird Brands, “we always look to link our products into the personality of a brand and this new line fits into that remit absolutely perfectly. It is something completely different and Collins Gem is such a strong and recognisable brand that these products will really stand out.”

Melanie Beer, Head of Licensing and Content Development at HarperCollins, comments, “I am delighted to be working with Woodmansterne and Bluebird Brands to develop the Collins dictionary into consumer products, beyond publishing. Merging funky words with trendy designs, these licensees are designing an awesome range of greetings cards, wrap, stationery, mugs, bags and umbrellas – coming soon!”

Woodmansterne Publications Ltd and Bluebird Brands Background
Woodmansterne has been publishing pictures since 1953, and greeting cards in particular, for 25 years. Woodmansterne is the No. 1 supplier of greeting cards to independent retailers in the UK. Originally specialising in fine art, today the company publishes cards for all seasons and for every occasion, regularly winning industry design awards across more categories than any other publisher, including ‘humour’, ‘trend’ and ‘licensed’ sectors. “We are dedicated to assisting personal communication through the sharing of beautiful images - well designed, authentically sourced and meticulously reproduced” says Julia Woodmansterne.

Bluebirds Brands is a division of RSW International, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers and importers of home, stationery and seasonal ranges. Bluebird Brands was formed in 2009 and has grown to become one of the UK’s leading producers of licensed goods. The company is steadily increasing its already impressive portfolio, offering a broad range of licensed collections that are all designed by an in-house creative team and covers character, celebrity and fashion, including classic brands such as Mr Men & Little Miss and Scooby Doo.