Knowing Me, Knowing You A-Ha! Home to legendary fictional DJ, Alan Partridge, the Norfolk city of Norwich is also well-known for its rich artistic heritage, particularly in the painting, literary and printmaking professions. And there can be no doubt the city’s creative legacy was colouring the greeting card stands at Top Drawer Autumn last month, where Norwich-based publisher, Art Angels, renowned for featuring artwork by printmakers past and present, showcased its exquisite stationery alongside beautifully crafted collections from Norwich and Norfolk card publishers nestled along the show’s aisles.
Pictured top: A typographic design from Mandy Doubt, a printmaking publisher heralding from Norwich.
Norwich’s deep-rooted history in printmaking and art has ensured greeting cards are entwined within the local artistic landscape, and with local publishers stamping their mark in the industry, greeting card journalist and promo filmmaker, Gale Astley, ‘presses’ a contingency of local cardies to reveal more about the city’s creative vibe and the draw of the county’s outstanding natural beauty.
After emerging from its watery landscape and the wide skies of Norfolk, Norwich was England’s second city from the Middle Ages until the 18th century. A city of ideas and expression, it became a hub for literary voices, a centre for printing and a thriving community of artists and artisans.
Imperative to the evolvement of the city’s printmaking history was the arrival of Jarrold & Sons to Norwich in 1823 (pictured below). A thriving retail business, it began to very successfully diversify into printing, stationery and publishing. Over 200 years later, the beautiful department store still stands in the heart of the city and is recognised for its greeting card offering.
Today, the city is a hotbed of creativity. It is the first UNESCO Creative City of Literature, the Norwich Printing Museum demonstrates the city’s deep roots in the craft, the Sainsbury’s Centre is home to world class art and the Norwich School of Design, established in 1845, is now a university boasting graduates who have become artistic alumni.
There are also numerous greeting card ‘celebrities’ in the area. “Norwich is quite a small city but it is full of creativity and talent. There are many card publishers based here, from new brands starting up through to well-established card companies”, shares Jan Vincent, co-director of Pavilion, which won Best New Product in Greetings and Stationery at Top Drawer A/W 2025.
With his home and studio in Norwich, Jan adds, “The city has a vibrant feel and unique vibe. There is a real buzz, which you can feel when you visit, especially in the Lanes area where there are many streets of small independent stores and local designer/maker shops. There are lots of events in the city too, bringing a great sense of community, with markets and fairs held regularly. The Lanes’ Summer Fayre runs every year in the summer and the city streets are packed all day with people shopping and enjoying the local culture.”
Pictured below: Verity Burton is a botanical artist and card publisher inspired by Norfolk nature; Known for publishing beautiful printmakers’ designs, an Art Angels die-cut card displayed at Top Drawer A/W 2025; Inspired by her Norwich city allotment plot, ‘Grow’ from Petra Base is a range of beautifully illustrated fruit and vegetable riso print greeting cards; Perfectly imperfect, a Wonky Veg design from Lottie Day; Norwich publisher, Pavilion, won Best New Product in Greetings and Stationery at Top Drawer A/W 2025 – an exquisite typeface range, includes this ‘bravo’ design; Norfolk resident, a Curlew on a card from British Craft Directory member, Papersheep. Each card is hand-finished with a little roll of sheep wool; The gorgeous Autumn Bouquet collection by Norwich-based printer, Printer Johnson.
Operating out of a Norwich garden studio, Mandy Doubt, AKA Paul McNeill, is a printmaker specialising in screen-printing and letterpress card and poster print designs that are often typographical and funny.
“Norwich is a fine city and it has rich history of print. I learnt to use letterpress at the Printing Museum and Norwich had England’s first provincial newspaper”, says Paul. “Lots of creatives escape London for the calmer life wandering the ancient streets – Elm Hill has more Medieval buildings than London. You can also easily escape to the coast in 45mins, to take in the big skies and spot the seals. North Norfolk has the ‘Slow You Down’ signs to calm traffic in the colloquial tongue but also a philosophy for life!”
Last year Petra Boase celebrated 25 years in the greeting card industry. A crafty creative with a studio in Norwich, Petra’s gorgeous in-house risograph printed designs play with colour and nostalgia.
“Living and working in a city that feels like a village is great for my creative headspace! And I can just get around on my bike or whizz around the corner to one of our finishers. Not forgetting we are surrounded by the historic Norwich Art School (now NUA), so there is a lot of creative energy in the air!”
Petra also draws inspiration for her designs from the area. “I love the museums and the Sainsbury’s Centre’s art collections for visual reference, as well as my city allotment that feeds inspiration for our GROW card collection.”
Pictured below: Lottie Day supports local makers in her Handstand shop in Norwich.
Lottie Day also produces veg greeting cards – “A lot of my work is inspired by the wonky veg that my dad grows on his allotment in North Norfolk. I love spending time there and I love how strange the produce can be!” But she’s better known as the owner of a gift shop in Norwich called HANDSTAND, supporting and selling lots of cards by local makers like Design Smith, Soodle Street, Mandy Doubt and Kate Read.
Lottie believes, “Norwich has always had a creative spark. It’s a small but very vibrant place. I think a lot of students from the art school stick around as it’s just a lovely place to be, that feeds into the creativity of the city.”
A hop (and in the shake of a lamb’s tail) from Norwich to the countryside, Sarah Heycock, director of Papersheep, lives in the centre of Norfolk in a very rural setting and is inspired by what she sees around her, especially the wildlife and flowers.
“I think Norfolk is quite a gentle place. There are a lot of artists in the county, particularly in the north, and the light and big open skies really help. There’s a good amount of wildlife, and, whilst there is a lot of agriculture, the land isn’t farmed as intensively as say, Lincolnshire, so there are more hedges and trees – all provide great things to paint and sketch”, explains Sarah.
Amongst Papersheep’s new greeting card designs – all the cards are hand-finished with a tiny roll of sheep’s wool – is a Hummingbird Hawk moth, that is attracted to Sarah’s garden in the summer. “I’m a very keen gardener and beekeeper so I plant nectar rich plants.” But Sarah admits it’s tricky to choose her favourite spot in Norfolk “as I love both Thetford Forest and the coastal birds and wildlife, such as the Curlew, they are always at the top of my list.”
Norwich artist, Verity Burton, produces botanical print and painterly designs sparked by her walks within nature. She believes it’s Norfolk’s wide-open skies, the long stretch of coast and the woodland that inspires creativity. “Geographically we’re at the edge but we’re not cut off, and that creates a certain streak of ingenuity. There’s also an established culture of independent businesses and an appreciation of the arts and creativity here. It makes it a safe and supportive place to live creatively.”
But for Verity it’s the everyday beauty. “In Norwich I love to walk the local parks and green spaces, chat to fellow makers at markets and visit Norwich University of the Arts’ grad shows. If I’m heading out of the city, I’ll go to the North Norfolk coast and local gardens or heritage spaces – like the Blickling Estate, East Runton Old Vicarage Garden and the Gooderstone Water Garden. The Scots Pines of the Brecks will always feel like home to me.”
At its heart Norfolk is a county brimming with wildlife infused waterways, golden coastlines and breath-taking vistas, and Norwich its creative pulse, but just maybe there’s something in the local water that inspires the great flow of greeting card artisans?
Pictured below: Mandy Doubt, AKA Paul McNeill, in his Norwich garden studio.
