40-43_Greeting Cards.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 13/01/2024 17:58 Page 1
SPOTLIGHT ON… GREETING CARDS
Spreading the love
Left: A greeting card display in the RA, one of the many galleries to have appreciated the value of licensing their artworks for greeting cards.
Greeting cards have long played a leading role as the most easily accessible works of art, spreading joy both through the images that they grace as well as the messages written inside. Jakki Brown catches up with some publishers who use their creative prowess to represent all manner of licensed treasures which chime with the public’s taste, while also increasing awareness of these venerable institutions and brand
Museums & Galleries Museums & Galleries was founded in the mid1980s and right from the beginning worked with two giants of the British heritage scene, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Library, with both remaining core to the company’s activities today which spans greeting cards, gifts and homewares. M&G has added a lustrous roster of some the UK’s biggest heritage names, including the British Museum, Tate Gallery, Natural History Museum and Transport for London, as well as lauded contemporary artists Eddie Clarke, licensing manager at Museums & Galleries, highlights how developments in museum and heritage licensing are reflected in the company’s product development: “Since 2013 repeat pattern – notably the classic textile and wallpaper heritage of the V&A spanning the last four centuries - has helped drive an explosive growth in various aspects of M&G’s product output. Working with the larger museums we are privileged
Inset: Museums & Galleries’ stand at PG Live 2023 which showcased many of its licensing partnerships. Left: Eddie Clarke. Below: The V&A remains a core licence for M&G.
to have access to almost bottomless archives which effortlessly deliver just the right image to suit the current market whenever we need it.”
Shifts in attitude from the licensors/brand owners? “There are different standards pertaining to each museum, and we are fastidious about respecting each museum’s IP, and cooperate closely with the museum curators and the product development teams within the museums' licensing departments. Notably, the V&A has a founding mission to inspire, and V&AE actively seeks innovation and creativity within the products it licences, so we have broader creative parameters than, for example, a fine art gallery like the Tate which needs living artist’s (or artists’ estate’s) permissions to publish. Over the years, the larger museums especially have grown hugely in sophistication, with many actively researching and responding to commercial trends as they emerge. Licensing departments, being commercially-facing, acquire such knowledge naturally, but there is also good cross-pollination of ideas and data with museum shops.” Any new Museum & Heritage licensed ranges launching in 2024? “Yes - M&G’s foray into organic cotton products goes massive in 2024 with the launch our new kitchen textiles products and also a small range of cushions. Designs are spearheaded by our licences with the V&A and British Museum.”
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LICENSING MUSEUM & HERITAGE BOOK 2024