Gaby
British artist Jane Crowther began her career in 1986 after studying illustration at Kingston Polytechnic.
The money she earned as an artist barely covered living costs in London. To supplement her income, Crowther developed a series of greeting cards after noticing high demand for exclusive, handmade items.
Crowther dove into creating greeting cards, which she sold at local craft fairs.
Business took off. She designed the cards herself—selecting the paper, painting, gluing, and coloring the characters. The first products were labor-intensive; for instance, the Snout series featured a small, funny bug with a plastic nose and wobbly eyes that were attached to the cards by hand.
The cartoonish bug that started it all lent its name to the company Bug Art, which Crowther later established. Its tiny image now appears on cards across the different series.
Over time, orders trickled into a steady stream, and Crowther realized she couldn’t manage everything alone. She enlisted family members to help produce the cards from her sketches, which let her focus on new designs.
Within a few years, Bug Art had agents across much of the UK and distributors in North America, Australia, and parts of Europe. The cards grew popular, and in the following years the company sold millions worldwide.
Today Crowther is art director, crafting new storylines for the cards. Among the most popular series are Paper & Foil, with images adorned in raised gold foil, and Jewel, which uses “gem-like” foil embossing on black backgrounds. Both are bestsellers and are regularly updated with new designs.
However, despite the variety of themes and series from the Bug Art brand, we have chosen Christmas and New Year-themed cards for our gallery. We invite you to admire these designs and wish everyone the greatest miracle in 2025, which we hope will bring us Victory!
In another article, we shared the history of Christmas cards.
