Paper is our Passion: the Fabulous World of G. F. Smith.

We are delighted to use G. F. Smith card stocks and honoured to supply you with luxury greeting cards to celebrate all of the special occasions in your life.  G. F. Smith's wonderful Accent Callisto is a luscious card stock, we use the heaviest weight - 300gsm - to create a truly luxurious greeting card for your every need. 

We are passionate about the card stock we use, passionate about the environment we all live in and passionate about the ethics of our supply chain so that when you receive your beautiful greeting cards you can fully trust the integrity behind their production.

In this blog we'd like to introduce you to the world of G. F. Smith, some of the amazing things they do, and let you see why we're delighted to have them as our preferred card supplier...

"For over 135 years G. F. Smith has been obsessed with the simple beauty and limitless possibility of paper. Our desire is that, through the hands of the design community, we can bring creativity to life and constantly innovate with one of the world's oldest materials."

 

A look into the history of G. F. Smith . . .

G. F. Smith was founded in the UK in 1885. That's 136 years ago! One hundred and thirty six years or 71,529,091 minutes, in any case it's a long and wondrous history.

Their first marketing campaign was released in 1926:

"The more vital the need of returns from your printed matter, the greater the necessity that it possess the persuasiveness of quality."

A marketing statement that is just as valid almost one hundred years on, we're really tempted to steal it but, being entirely ethical, of course we won't.

Quality is key to us, we love to hear that you're absolutely delighted with the quality of all of our stationery and so appreciate all of the testimonials we've received on the thickness and quality of our cards.

 Wild meadow and butterfly luxury greeting card printed on G. F. Smith card stock.

Staff Welfare is important to G. F. Smith, and to us . . .

There are only four of us here at Com Bossa Studio HQ, and only two of us are human - surely dogs can be taught to use a printer, right? Our welfare is important to us: breaks in the garden, strong coffee, choice of music  . . . and so it's important to us that we work with companies that care about their staff.

In 1968, the company started an innovative scheme to pay each member of staff a loyalty bonus in recognition of their efforts. This scheme, based on company profits, is still in place today. Well, Rudi & Pixie certainly get loyalty bonuses in treats every day!

Desert sun blush pink and green luxury greeting card, printed on G. F. Smith card stock.

We care about our impact on the environment, G. F. Smith care too, and this is what first attracted us to them as our main card supplier  . . .

G. F. Smith are committed to decreasing their environmental impact on the world with renewable and natural paper products. We have made the same commitment. All of our products and packaging are plastic free and we only use FSC Certified card stock. This means that it is made with, or contains, pulp that comes from FSC well-managed forests, and follows a certified chain of custody that tracks the timber through every stage in the supply chain from the forest to the final user. Accent Callisto is produced in the Lake District. 

"There aren’t many industries around that can aspire to becoming genuinely sustainable. The paper industry, however, is one of them; it is inherently sustainable." Jonathon Porritt, Co-Founder, Forum for the Future.

 

Celebrating Creativity, the G. F. Smith way . . .

In 1968 the first graphic design courses are introduced into art colleges. A steady stream of graduates become the first to establish new and vibrant graphic design businesses. This development also leads to designers taking greater individual control of print and paper specification, and places a responsibility on suppliers to help educate and inspire this new and ambitious audience.

In 2012 G . F.  Smith partnered with the British Council, Monotype London and It’s Nice That to stage ‘Beauty in the Making’. A free event that was held over five days, it was a celebration of the hidden skills and craftsmanship that lie behind the scenes of the creative industry.

In 2016, G . F Smith opened a fascinating new space dedicated to celebrating the visual and tactile experience of paper. Wonder if they would open another one in Scotland? 

The World’s Favourite Colour Project by G . F.  Smith and Hull 2017 was launched in, you guessed it, 2017. With submissions from over 100 countries, The World’s Favourite Colour winner was announced as a gorgeous green.

Take a look at the greeting cards we have designed and then printed on the beautiful, luxurious Accent Callisto card stock here.

 Petrol blue and blush abstract landscape luxury greeting card.