Jelly Armchair founders and sisters, Liz and Cat, brought their much-loved illustrations and infectious enthusiasm to Harrogate Home & Gift last month, where they joined the University Games and Lagoon team to support the retail launch of the new Pundamental games and puzzles collection.
Meeting customers on the University Games and Lagoon stand, the duo proved a real draw for visitors, with existing Jelly Armchair stockists excited to discover the new games and puzzles, while many retailers new to the brand were inspired to open accounts after seeing the collection and hearing the stories behind the artwork. Now available to order, the Pundamental range has enjoyed a hugely successful retail debut, confirming strong demand for this fresh, contemporary and highly giftable collection.
Bringing together Jelly Armchair's much-loved hand-drawn illustrations, clever wordplay and Lagoon's expertise in games and puzzles, the Pundamental collection has already proved a real talking point with gift retailers. Featuring two laugh-out-loud All Puns & Games card games, a Food & Drink Edition and an Animal Edition, alongside two beautifully illustrated 1,000-piece puzzles, Cat-A-Pillar and Authorful Puns, the collection offers a fresh and contemporary gifting proposition for gift, book, toy and lifestyle retailers looking to stand out.
Adding to the excitement, Liz and Cat spent time meeting customers throughout the show, sharing the inspiration behind the illustrations and the stories that have made Jelly Armchair one of the UK's most recognisable contemporary greeting card brands.
Gemma Lewington, Marketing Director at University Games and Lagoon, commented:
"Having Liz and Cat with us at Harrogate was a real highlight. They were an absolute hit with visitors and created such a buzz on the stand. We had lots of retailers stopping to chat – from existing Jelly Armchair card stockists who immediately recognised the brand and were excited to add the games and puzzles to their ranges, to completely new customers who fell in love with the artwork and opened new accounts with us. It was also fantastic for our own sales team to spend time with the artists behind Jelly Armchair and really understand the creativity and passion behind every design. The response was incredibly positive and confirmed there's a real appetite for this beautifully illustrated, humorous collection."
Created by sisters Cat and Liz, Jelly Armchair is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The family-run business has built a loyal following through Cat's distinctive ink and watercolour illustrations and witty visual puns, growing from a successful greetings card business into an internationally recognised lifestyle brand.
Already stocked by leading retailers including Waterstones, Jelly Armchair boasts a catalogue of more than 600 greetings card designs, over 60,000 Etsy sales and more than 14,000 five-star reviews. The brand's hugely popular Guess the Pun social media content continues to attract thousands of new followers every week, while licensing activity is managed by Larkshead Licensing Limited.
The Pundamental collection marks an exciting extension of the Jelly Armchair brand, bringing its signature humour to premium games and puzzles for the very first time. Designed to deliver instant smiles and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, the range combines stylish illustrations, clever wordplay and quality gameplay, making it a natural fit for today's gifting market.