Is Thortful Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Andrew Pearce pitched Thortful in season 15, offering an online marketplace where independent artists and small studios could sell their own greeting card designs directly to shoppers.
The answer is a clear yes. Thortful's site was live, selling, and processing orders when we checked in July 2026, nearly a decade after the original pitch.
What they pitched in the Den
Thortful asked for £80,000 in exchange for 16% of the business, valuing it at around £500,000. A deal was struck on air backed by Tej Lalvani and Jenny Campbell, though the exact final terms were not disclosed during the broadcast.
The idea leaned on a real shift in how people buy cards: rather than picking from a handful of designs at a supermarket till, Thortful built a marketplace model where independent illustrators could list and sell their own work, closer to how print on demand marketplaces work in other creative categories.
Are they still trading?
When we checked, thortful.com had a live product page priced at £3.99, marked in stock, with a working add to basket button, a straightforward sign of an active, transacting site rather than an abandoned storefront.
A marketplace model depends on a constant supply of new designs from independent artists, so an actively updated, orderable catalogue suggests Thortful still has enough of a working relationship with its artist base to keep new cards flowing.
Can you still buy from it?
Yes, directly at thortful.com, where cards were listed at £3.99 and available to order at the time of our check.
Because the whole model depends on personalisation and a wide design catalogue, the best way to judge current health for yourself is to browse the live site rather than rely on any single card listing, since the strength of a marketplace like this shows up in breadth, not one product page.