Stratford-upon-Avon start-up designs exclusive greetings card for Royal Shakespeare Company's Swan Theatre reopening

Newly established Stratford-upon-Avon-based River Swan of Avon has designed an illustrated greetings card for the Royal Shakespeare Company to celebrate the refurbishment and reopening of its Swan Theatre.

The hand-illustrated design of one of River Swan founder and illustrator Naomi Hands-Smith’s trademark swans in full flight over the Swan Theatre has been added to the RSC's retail range available exclusively in its gift shop in Stratford-upon-Avon and online shop at www.shop.rsc.org.uk.

The Swan Theatre reopened this month having been closed since the start of the pandemic.

Launched in late 2021 with help from the Business Start-up programme run by the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, supplying cards to the RSC is an important milestone for Naomi's ambitions to grow awareness of her River Swan brand and the number of stockists by establishing a wholesale side of her business.

Naomi said: "It's a dream come true to illustrate a greeting card to mark such a special time for the RSC, the rebirth and reopening of its beautiful Swan Theatre. The idea of River Swan of Avon was born walking along the river during the toughest of pandemic times, so this is such a positive and hopeful moment.

“I hope visitors from far and wide who visit the RSC this year purchase one of my cards as a memento of their trip to the theatre, a memory to keep or even frame.”

River Swan's greetings cards are inspired by the famous swans on the River Avon in Naomi's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, and also champion the wider natural environment and the very best of Britain. Each is taken from an original ink and watercolour illustration and professionally printed in Warwickshire.

They are already stocked locally at The Farm in Stratford-upon-Avon, Market Hall Museum in Warwickshire and at a pop-up shop in The Curated Store in Stow-on-the-Wold throughout the month of May. Naomi also sells at markets and other special events around the Midlands alongside other local artisan makers.

The Royal Collection, created as part of River Swan’s launch range to mark the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, has also been a huge success with direct-to-customer online sales on Etsy, Amazon Handmade and Thortful in the UK, mainland Europe, America and Australia. For many people the Queen is synonymous with swans due to the historic law giving the monarch ownership of unmarked mute swans in England.

New designs are regularly introduced to the River Swan range. Ahead of the King’s Coronation in May, The Royal Collection now includes illustrations of Charles III in his military uniform and poignantly hand-in-hand with his ‘darling mama', and a depiction of the late Queen as one of Naomi’s glorious trademark swans wearing a crown.

Illustrations from the Collection have also been licensed for use in The Queen: A Collection of Poems by Joanne Boyle, whose touching poem Reunited went viral following the Queen's death last year.

Naomi added: “The business start-up support I’ve had from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and the Growth Hub at no cost has been invaluable for my small and emerging business.

"It provided me with guided mentor support and workshops that progressed River Swan of Avon from an idea to a practising small business. As important to my journey are the fellow brilliant creators and ambitious entrepreneurs I’ve met at workshops, markets and other special events; sharing the challenge of getting a business up and running with them has also been a big inspiration.

“The next step of my journey is to spread my wings within the greeting card industry and see my beautiful swans and other designs available in retailers across the UK.”