Gift, homewares, greeting cards and stationery company Wrendale Designs has been honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade. The announcement came earlier this week (6 May) with founder and creative director Hannah Dale naturally delighted that the company has received the award for a second time, having won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade in 2019.
“We’re all over the moon to have won this award again!” enthused Hannah. “I think that one of the toughest challenges for a brand like ours is to show you have staying power after an initial success.”
She continued: “The King’s Award recognises exceptional growth in international markets over the past five years, so for me personally, it’s a reflection of how hard we have worked to keep innovating and improving, not just in the artwork and the products but in the service we’re delivering.
“My husband Jack, co-owner of Wrendale, and myself are so lucky to have an incredible team across the world that works hard to bring our vision to life, as well as fabulous and loyal stockists. I’m so proud of the team we have, and for the loyal stockists that have supported us over the years, many of them stocking our products since I first launched Wrendale with a handful of greeting cards in 2012.”
Currently, Wrendale products can be bought in 47 different countries which Hannah said she “still can’t quite believe”, to include one of her proudest export achievements, that the business now supplies shops in every US state, including Alaska and Hawaii.
“I’d never have guessed where Wrendale would take us when I first started to design a handful of greeting cards 12 years ago,” Hannah added. “I was recently asked when I got my big break by someone who’s just getting started in the industry. When I thought about it, I realised there never really was a big break, more like a game of snakes and ladders – a series of many small steps, a few lucky boosters and a few slides backwards in a long journey. The most important thing is just to get the dice rolled, get on the board and take the first step.”
Wrendale Designs is one of 252 businesses recognised, with five receiving two apiece, in the second King’s Awards, which were renamed last year as His Majesty wanted to continue the legacy of his late mother Queen Elizabeth II who established the awards in 1965. Fifty nine were given this year for innovation, 161 for international trade, 29 for sustainable development and eight for promoting opportunity through social mobility.
Top: Wrendale Designs’ co-owners Hannah and Jack Dale.
