As you may have discerned from previous posts, White Orchard has been carrying greeting cards from Berni Parker Designs for many years. They were already very popular with our customers when we took over the shop at the beginning of 2019. When it was time to place my first order as the new owner, I learned they do so much more than just greeting cards. I also learned a little about the artist and the company, which endeared them to me forever. Berni Parker has been designing cards for more than 40 years and in 2020 her company, Berni Parker Designs, celebrated 10 years of selling her fun and quirky greeting cards and gifts to shop owners throughout the UK. Her inspiration is her genuine love of her rural surroundings in Worcestershire as well as her love of life, family, and friends.
When I met her and her husband at the spring buying fair in February 2020, we began planning a day for her to come to the shop and showcase the process her designs go through before becoming the cards we buy in the shops. Unfortunately, Covid struck, and we had to cancel the event. We were both genuinely disappointed, but with any luck hopefully, we can put this event on in the future. Last year she was visiting Shrewsbury with a friend and came by the shop. Luckily, I had just restocked all the cards and gifts the previous week, so everything looked wonderful when she stopped in.
I admit, when I placed my first order with Berni Parker Designs, I might have gone a bit overboard. I had not yet learned how much product I could display in various units and was a bit delusional about how much stock I could store in our stock room. However, I loved Berni’s designs so much, and I knew our customers would love her other cards and her gifts as much as they loved the ones they had already come to adore. Now, we offer their wide range of age cards. In fact, they are my only supplier that do such a large range. Not only do they hit the big birthday like 50, 60, 70, and 80, but they also have cards for 65, 75, 85, 90, and 100. We have them for women and for men and our customers come back for them year after year. We also started offering some of the cards from her collection of offerings for new babies being born, christenings, and other special occasions such as anniversaries, retirement, and buying a new home. The Berni Parker Designs gifts we offer includes magnetic shopping pads and bookmarks, A6 notebooks, individual coasters, and fine china mugs.
This year she launched a new collection of occasion cards that our customers are enjoying as well. As part of this collection there are specific cards for birthdays and other special events that happen in our daily lives. Their floral motifs are bright and vibrant and are sure to bring a smile to anyone receiving them. As always, her greeting cards might have funny or sweet messages on the front, but they are all blank inside, ready for you own personal message. To view our full range of greeting cards from Berni Parker Designs you can click here. To view our full range of gifts from them you can click here. I hope you enjoy exploring all the fun options you find!