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Bug Art is a small British company based in Nottingham that has been in business for over 30 years and is internationally recognized as a publisher of high-quality art cards. All cards are fold-out (folded), blank inside, and packaged together with a paper envelope in cellophane but biodegradable packaging.
The founder and artist of Bug Art, Jane Crowther, is from York (UK) and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Illustration from Kingston Polytechnic (now Kingston University).
In the early 1990s, while living in North London, Jane designed a small series of greeting cards to supplement her modest income as an artist, and initially sold them at craft markets alongside her large multimedia paintings. The postcards began to sell very well, and Jane decided to focus on designing them. That is how Bug Art was founded.
These first postcards, called the Snout series, featured a cute little beetle character with a plastic nose and googly eyes. The earliest Snout postcards were the result of painstaking manual labor—they were hand-painted, and the noses and eyes were glued on by hand.
Bug Art participated in several trade shows before the Snouts gained significant attention. There was nothing like them on the market, and agents and distributors soon began showing interest. As business began to take off—and Jane found herself increasingly overwhelmed by spray paint and glue—it became clear that she needed to improve her production methods. She was able to invest in four-color printed cards and custom-made colored noses.
Orders began pouring in, and within a few years, Bug Art had built a team of agents covering most of the UK and distributors covering North America, Australia, and parts of Europe. To keep up with demand, Jane enlisted the help of her friends and family members
These cards proved very popular, and over the next 10 years, millions were sold worldwide. This series is now discontinued.
The second series was launched in 1993, and although it differed in style, it was again a huge success. These innovative postcards were more like works of art, made from handmade paper and embellished with embossed gold foil. This Paper & Foil series remains one of Bug Art’s best-selling lines and is regularly updated with new designs.
In 1995, Jane and Bug Art moved to Nottingham. They started in a small industrial unit and soon expanded into offices and a larger warehouse in 1998. In 1999, Jane’s sister Anne joined the company as a non-executive director. Anne, a chartered accountant with many years of experience in consulting, initiated and oversaw the financial and logistical restructuring of the business.
In 2002, Anne and Chris Griffiths (CEO of Bug Art) founded A La Carte, a company providing warehousing, distribution, and credit control services to greeting card publishers—with Bug Art as its first client. This allowed Jane to focus fully on her role as Creative Director at Bug Art.
That same year, Bug Art launched the unique Jewel collection, which combines black paper with gold metallic embossing. The innovative use of “jewel” foil stamping on a black background created a classic yet modern look that has once again gained enduring popularity.
Our Story – The Present
Every Bug Art design has a tiny bug hidden somewhere in the image.
Originally, this was intended as a way to link the art collections with the original cartoon-style bugs from the Snout series. Thirty years later, it’s still happening, and some customers really enjoy searching for the bug. Every now and then, in the rush before printing, the little bug is forgotten. These rare cards become collector’s items!
Since the first Snout series, Bug Art has come a long way and is now a widely recognized publisher of high-quality art cards. Most series are printed on high-quality paper and feature various finishes designed to highlight the artwork they adorn. The design, printing, finishing, and packaging of Bug Art cards take place in the immediate vicinity of Nottingham, UK—an area with a renowned history of printing and the master craftsmanship associated with the industry. This local craftsmanship is a significant contributor to Bug Art’s international reputation as a designer of high-quality cards.
Bug Art has received official recognition on several occasions for both its designs and the quality of its production, and has been nominated multiple times for various internationally recognized industry awards.
In the UK, the company sells to independent retailers, small chains, and high-end department stores. Internationally, Bug Art enjoys continued export growth and has distributors in more than twenty countries, including Australia, the USA, New Zealand, and most European countries.
Meet the Bug Art 2022 studio team, from left to right:
Jane – Creative Director
Daisy (rabbit) – Quality Control
Truffle (rabbit) – Shredder and Foot Warmer
Mike – Studio Manager
Jan Hybler, founder of the PAPERY.CZ store, discovered BUG ART in Australia 2006. But that’s another story here.
