Meet our Creative Springboard Competition Winners

We’re thrilled to reveal the three amazing winners of our Creative Springboard Competition, and took some time to chat to them about their expectations for exhibiting at Top Drawer later this year. 

Take a look!

Emmy Lupin Studio

Image credit: Emmy Lupin Studio

First up is our awesome Spotlight category winner – Emmy Lupin Studio! A self-taught London-based creative, Emmy’s work caught our eye with it’s beautiful bold, decorative style and empowering narrative. Emmy had this to say about her big win;

‘I can’t believe I won! There were so many talented people in the competition, so I’m still in shock! It’s such an amazing opportunity for my business and I’m looking forward to seeing where it can take me. 

I’m excited to be able to create new card collections and share them with everyone – getting my work out there in real life after selling mostly online. I’m also looking forward to meeting other exhibitors, and everything I know I will learn from my first time exhibiting at a trade show. 

I’m hoping I will get some retail stockists – and this will help me to propel my business into a more wholesale, retail focused avenue. I’ve always wanted to have my products in shops, to be able to have people choose them who would not find me otherwise. It would open up a whole new audience for me!’

Image credit: Emmy Lupin Studio

Emmy was a firm favourite amongst our judging panel, with The Completist stating: ‘I love how positive and inclusive Emmy’s designs are – we all need a bit of positivity at the moment, and her designs really stand out’. Lorna Syson also described Emmy as having ‘a great illustrative style that empowers and is also inclusive’. Seasoned creative Veronica Dearly concurred that ‘Emmy Lupin Studio has created a range that I just want to have in front of my eyeballs all day every day. Sweet sentiments combined with brilliant, beautiful design.’

We can’t wait to see Emmy’s designs in the flesh at Top Drawer in September – buzzing!

Imogen Davis Design

Image credit: Imogen Davis Design

The first winner of our Rising Star category was Imogen Davis Design! Based in the South West, Imogen’s designs are influenced by nature and the outdoors. We absolutely adored her unique creative style and the sense of escapism in her work. She had this to day about her upcoming Top Drawer experience:

‘I’m absolutely thrilled to have been picked as one of your winners. At the start of this year I had Top Drawer written down as one of my business goals and now it’s all happening quite unexpectedly, which is very exciting to say the least. 

Image credit: Imogen Davis Design

Our judge Lorna Syson was particularly taken with Imogen’s application: ‘I really love the way Imogen tells stories within her work, her wild swimming collection makes me want to get out and enjoy the water! Her ‘Dive into the Unknown’ print is my favourite’.

We can’t wait to support Imogen at her first exhibition, it’s going to look awesome. 

Wild Living

Image credit: Wild Living

Last but not least, our second Rising Star category winner Wild Living will be joining us in September. This fledging business run by owner Stephanie Bertenshaw was created during lockdown, and explores spirituality, wellbeing and sustainability across a variety of stationery products. Stephanie had this to say about her expectations for Top Drawer:

‘I love Printed.com and I saw the competition so applied last minute on a whim. After seeing some of the incredible designers, I just assumed there was no chance I would get a look in. When I got the email saying I had won I was just in shock, I still am!

I have heard a lot about Top Drawer as I follow a lot of the designers who attend but never had the pleasure of visiting myself. To be exhibiting there alongside some of the incredible talent is a dream come true. It’s also great to have a focus and cause to work towards and design for. 

Having started my new business during lockdown, it has been a slow growth and whilst I have loved every minute of bringing it to life, it will be so wonderful to have a platform with enough exposure to take it to the next step.’ 

Image credit: Wild Living

Our Founder Nick Green was especially fond of Stephanie’s work, stating that: ‘In the current climate we’ve all been striving for human connection, and the work of Wild Living not only supports that narrative beautifully, but it also promotes sustainable living and the importance of good mental health’. 

We’re thrilled that Stephanie will be joining our lineup in September, and are busy organising an amazing stand celebrating all things creative. 

We’d like to say another huge THANK YOU to everyone who entered our competition this year, we have thoroughly enjoyed reading your startup stories and looking through your incredible array of designs. We can’t wait to work with our winners over the next few weeks to create a Top Drawer experience to remember. 

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