The Email I Never Expected to Receive in 2026

You know, when you run a small business, every now and then, you go through a period of time that reminds you, why you do what you do. Are you catching what I’m throwing? Oh, you are? Well, that’s a relief, haha. Between designing, illustration projects, emails, prepping for trade shows, more emails, stock management, an email landed in my inbox that stopped me in my tracks… I'd been shortlisted for a Henries Award. Here’s what made the last few weeks, a month to remember.

Shut the front dooooor! Earlier on in the month, I received an email that (in all honesty) I wasn’t expecting. I found out I had been shortlisted for a Henries award. To say it put a massive smile on my face, is an understatement. The Henries are like the BAFTAs of the Greetings Card industry. This year, I entered into a few different categories and got shortlisted in one. I’m not trying to be coy or humble, but knowing the competition, I wasn’t expecting to get in to the next round at all. There were just under 2000 entries, across 20 categories… and I slipped into one of them. Yay!

My collection called “You Matter” was shortlisted in the category, “Best Diversity and Inclusion Range”. I wasn’t even going to enter, but it was my mentor, Adriana, who gave me the encouragement to do so. They were sixteen shortlists in the category, which went on to get selected into a group of six, to make the finals down in the London. Sadly, I didn’t make it that far, but what an experience to be shortlisted! The Henries are judged by retailers and other experts in the industry, so to have them see my work like this, was a fantastic moment for MarcoLooks. Massive, best of luck to everyone in the finals. I have lots of friends who have made it and I’m cheering them on!

For any retailers interested in stocking my collection, and indeed any of my other ranges, you can find them in my Faire Direct shop link here.

Did I tell you about my recent collaboration? Since the start of the year, I’ve been working with Jennifer over at Trouvaille, on a stitchkit collab. I first met Jennifer years ago, at a market in Newcastle. We were neighbours for four days, so it was so lovely when she reached out at the start of the year with an idea to work together. Jennifer’s brand is based on celebrating the North East, so I was keen to have our collab align with that narrative. My branding is built on colours and tones that can be found within the Pride flag, so we quickly settled on one of my older prints (remember my wordy prints, from lockdown?) and of course, we agreed on the northern phrase “Mardy Bum”. What do you think? To buy one (or just the stitch pattern) you can find them here at Trouvaille’s website.

A couple of weeks back, was my one of my favourite trade shows, Home&Gift in Harrogate. I love this show so much because it’s (usually) sunny, warm, everyone’s in a good mood and as it’s so close to home, it means I don’t need get a hotel and can sleep in my own bed. Bliss.

It was so great to catch up with customers and meet new stockists too. It was so fun to be able to say to each one, “Did you see I’ve been shortlisted for the Henries?”. My logo pencil was happy to have another trip out of the studio, and this time I even crafted a drawing line across the stand. I think it’s so cool, and lots of folk mentioned it to me. Do you see it?

Each year, this show seems to get better and better for me, so I hope it continues. Now, I’m in full on picking, packing and posting orders mode.

If you’re a retailer and fancy stocking my work, firstly, thank you so much for considering it. Secondly, you’ll find my Direct Faire link here. Let’s work together! Yay!

End of May, beginning of June, I officially joined Adriana (The Card Queen), in her Designer Edit. A select number of independent publishers Adriana represents to champion, promote and represent for licensing deals. Having run her own successful greetings cards company and formerly on the board of The Greetings Card Association, what Adriana doesn’t know about cards and the industry, isn’t worth knowing. A really exciting time and opportunity for MarcoLooks. I’ve never had representation before, so it feels like a bit of whirlwind at times and a little bit pinch-me - loving all of it. I’m excited and curious about where this could go.

One of my favourite parts of my substack updates, is my self-indulgent space to share the theatre (T), films (F) and books (B) I’ve read/watched. Cul-cha! So here’s where my attention has been lately…

(T) Fun Home at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. Firstly, wow, what a theatre (IYKYK). Secondly, I’ve been thinking about this musical for days now, and I think it might be the best show I’ve seen so far this year (even more so than Stranger Things). A beautiful musical, based on the memoir of American cartoonist, Alison Bechdal (who you might know from her work on the Bechdel Test), who grew up in a Funeral Home (the “fun” home). A story of self discovery, reflection and grief. I can’t say enough good things about this show. It was also very short, with no interval, perfect! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(T) Choir of Man at the Grand Opera House, York. Oh, I joined a musical theatre choir. I don’t think I told you? Anyway, we performed Sia’s Chandelier, with the cast (it was a one night only thing). Set in a pub with a cast of nine singing men (the lack of female energy made me bristle from the get go, but hey…). I must tell you, everyone I was with adored this show. I did not. For various different reasons; the jukebox nature of the music, the non-existent and flimsy narrative, the invitation for the audience to ignore simple theatre etiquette to sing along (for much of the show, all I could hear were people around me singing, but not the actual cast, lawd help me). They also had this schtick about giving out free beer to create a party atmosphere - which, at a pub, I guess I like, but in a theatre, it wasn’t for me. I prefer to sit and listen, you know. It felt like we suddenly at Butlins (not that there’s anything wrong with Butlins per se, but it’s not for me). Anyway, I could write a much rounder review on this (if you’d like me to, for next time, leave a comment). My friends in the choir would give it 5 stars, I would give it a generous… ⭐⭐

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(F) The Odyssey dir. Christopher Nolan. Having read a couple of novels based on and in greek mythology (The Song of Achilles, Circe and who doesn’t love Disney’s Hercules), I was really intrigued by this movie. I was worried about it lasting 50,000 hours, but the time actually went by at a good pace. The visuals, the score, the cast, all of it, felt epic, and importantly for me, easy to follow. It’s not perfect, for instance I don’t think it would pass the afore mentioned Bechdel Test, but that doesn’t make it bad, it just makes me irritated. All in all though, what a movie. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(F) Toy Story 5 Disney/Pixar. I loved this and more so than previous Toy Story movies. The conflict of traditional toy vs tech, was beautifully played. I’d happily watch this again and again ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(B) Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. A story told in the first person narrative of Natalie, the most unlikeable narrator you could want to spend so much time with in a book. A very successful influencer, who’s brand is based on being a tradwife, living on her ranch, Yesteryear. However, she falls back into a time where she becomes an actual tradwife, no tech, no medicine, just the land. I saw a review describe it as a cross between the Stepford Wives and The Handmaid’s Tale. Brilliantly paced with an ending I didn’t expect. I couldn’t put it down. I’m sure I’ll be rereading it at some point in the future. Recommended! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(B) Dear Fatty by Dawn French. I’ve been meaning to read this for years. I didn’t like the format. The book was written as letters. But they didn’t feel like letters, it just felt like a regular biography with a “dear whoever” lumped at the start. Her other biography-type shows (30million minutes and the Twat files) tell her stories in much better way, I think. ⭐⭐⭐

(B) Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. I only know about this book because of my book club. I liked it. Imagine a very cosy, slow story about a woman arriving in a new city, with a mysterious past, there to set up her own coffee shop. Now imagine it’s told through the lens of Shrek. Ogres, monsters and magical creatures. It was sweet. If a cosy fantasy saga tickles your pickle, you’d like it. ⭐⭐⭐

(TV) Amandaland on iPlayer. Funny and so superbly observed. Roll on series 3. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(TV) Tip Toe on Channel4 on demand. A difficult, but ultimately important watch. Alan Cumming will surely win awards for his performance. Written by Russell T Davies, this show pulls many punches that leave you raw and hold up a massive mirror to our society in 2026. Before you watch, do check out any viewer advisory warnings and all that, then buckle in. It will stay with you for a long time. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

For the books I read, I sometimes write longer reviews on my Goodreads, so if that interests you, you’ll find my Goodreads profile page over here.

It’s been a busy few weeks, hasn’t it? If you liked reading this, it would really spur me on to keep doing more if you have time to say hi in the comments, just so I know you’re still here with me.

Have a brilliant rest of the summer,

Marc x