Total Art Licensing Summer 21

Summer/Fall 2021

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TOTAL Art

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Summer/Fall 2021

Welcome to the May/Summer online issue of Total Art Licensing.Whilst we are still living through extraordinary times, and the days when we can all meet at trade events are still a little way off, it’s hugely pleasing to hear from the art and design industry how well some companies and individuals are doing – despite the restrictions and difficulties.

With people confined to home for many months, crafting and art activities, in many forms, became increasingly popular.

The lockdowns gave a significant boost to the sales of colouring books, activity books and, perhaps greatest of all, jigsaw puzzles and games. Sales by gamemaker Ravensburger were reported up 370% during the pandemic. And jigsaws are key to many art licensing programmes, as we all know.

This issue will initially be available at the upcoming Blue Print which, once again, is virtual. The issue includes a preview of the exhibitors participating.

However, there are signs that live events are set to return. Whilst Licensing Expo has gone virtual, PG Live is set to take place in London and we are all optimistic that Brand Licensing Europe will enable many of us to meet in London this Fall.

In the meantime, we will continue with our Zoom and Teams meetings and look forward to a time when we can return to ‘normality’ whatever that means today!

We want to wish all of our readers a happy and healthy Summer. We’d love to hear about your licensing activities so do keep us up to date. Happy reading!

Francesca Ash, Co-Publisher

Jerry Wooldridge, Co-Publisher

Summer 2021 Co-Publisher Francesca Ash francesca@totallicensing.com Co-Publisher Jerry Wooldridge jerry@totallicensing.com Editorial Director Rebecca Ash becky@totallicensing.com Office Manager Helen Bowerman helen@totallicensing.com

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JQ Licensing update..................................... 4 Art Licensing news...................................... 6

TOTAL LICENSING LTD 4 Wadhurst Business Park Faircrouch Lane, Wadhurst East Sussex TN5 6PT UK Tel: +44 (0) 1892 782220

Latest from Howard Robinson................. 8 Creative Sparrow A new agency takes flight.................. 13 Inspire Art Licensing.................................. 18 London Portfolio - 36 Years Young!........ 20 The colourful world of Okie-Dokie...... 24 Blue Print - Exhibitor Preview................ 25

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Total Art Galleries...................................... 30

Advertisers Catherine Stone ............................................................ 14 China Licensing Expo ................................................... 35 Creative Connection ................................................... 32 Creative Sparrow .......................................................... 13 Elizabeth Stirling ............................................................ 30 Ginger Deverell ............................................................. 14 Howard Robinson ...........................................................1 Ian Worrall-Dutton ....................................................... 15 Image By Design ............................................................ 33 Inspire Art Licensing ...............................................18, 19 Jacqueline Wild .............................................................. 15

JQ Licensing ..................................................................4, 5 Kayomi Harai ................................................................. 31 Kaz Lammie .................................................................... 16 Licensing International ................................................. 36 London Portfolio .......................................................... 31 Meg Isaacs ....................................................................... 16 MGL ................................................................................. 33 MHS ................................................................................. 32 National Gallery ............................................................ 30 Total Licensing World .....................................................2 List correct at time of going to press.

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TAIWAN’S NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM Artistory, a specialist in cultural IP licensing, has signed the National Palace Museum as their first global client in Asia, covering North America and Europe. The National Palace Museum in Taiwan, owns, preserves and displays in rotating exhibitions, nearly 700,000 artifacts.The collections spanning 8,000 years feature beautiful ceramics, paintings, fashion and more, from imperial collections of different dynasties. Through working with Artistory, National Palace Museum will increase their licensed product offering while reaching out to a global audience.

Through their “Artifacts to Merchandise” methods, Artistory as master licensee will create annual art and cultural themes together with original design assets including illustrations, patterns and prints inspired by the National Palace Museum’s artifacts for use by licensees and retailers in North America and Europe. Key categories for development include apparel, accessories, home décor, stationery and much more which are all supported by storytelling through narrative and digital content.

“It’s an honour to announce the National Palace Museum as our first client in Asia.” Comments Yizan He, founder of Artistory who was also the founder of Alfilo Brands.“We’re already developing our design trends and themes for 2022 and 2023 and have selected several artifacts from the National Palace Museum collections for inclusion in those trends, the first to launch next year will accompany with a big celebration. We look forward to bringing the stories and history of thousands of years of Chinese cultural heritage to a global audience within truly ‘East meets West’ inspired ranges.”

The National Palace Museum states that licensing is a way to support the continued preservation, conservation, study and collection of 8,000 years of Chinese cultural history. Therefore, the National Palace Museum is happy to be working with Artistory to continue growing the licensing programme and reach out to a global audience.

FABERGE GAME OF THRONES EGG Jewellery maker Fabergé are currently selling a one-of-a-kind Games of Thrones-inspired egg.

Described as a “commemorative egg object”, the new piece was designed by Fabergé’s head designer Liisa Tallgren in collaboration with Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton.

The egg is a “one-off work of art” which “fuses our superior craftsmanship and artistic ingenuity with one of the 21st century’s most iconic TV series”.

“This one-of-a-kind bespoke creation is symbolic of Daenerys’ dragon eggs while intertwining subtle nods to her stand-out costumes which celebrate the landscape around her and her evolving story arc. The design choices are informed by Daenerys’ journey from orphaned exile to conquering monarch and her ongoing quest for the Iron Throne.”

The Game of Thrones egg features “a glistening crystal base,” and a miniature version of a crown with a pear-cut ruby, which Daenerys would have worn if she had held the Iron Throne.

The event, known as ‘The Iron Anniversary’, will mark a decade since the first episode of season one first premiered on HBO. The anniversary will see the launch of a new, interactive Game of Thrones spotlight page on streaming platform HBO Max containing Easter eggs for long-term fans, as well as “broad introductions” for fans new to the show.

Subscribers to the site will also be able to access 150 videos of cast interviews, behind-the-scenes extras, clips and trailers.

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VAN GOGH MUSEUM PARTNERS WITH ROYAL TALENS The Van Gogh Museum has partnered with the international art supplies specialist, Royal Talens to create a collection of painting and drawing materials that pay homage to one of modern art’s most iconic figures.

The new collection of creative materials, spanning brush pens, water colour sets, and coloured pencils – takes inspiration from the colour palette of several masterpieces at the Van Gogh Museum, and invites users to follow in the footsteps of the artists himself.

The Royal Talens x Van Gogh Museum creative collection caters to amateurs and professionals, and to burgeoning and experienced artists. The colours selected for the products are based on works by Vincent van Gogh, such as the iconic Sunflowers, Irises and Almond Blossom, which are all in the permanent collection at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The creative collection will be available soon at retail partners of Royal Talens and in the Van Gogh Museum webstore.

The range kicks off with the Ecoline x Van Gogh Museum Brush Pens, a set of five Ecoline brush pens for illustration and calligraphy that takes its lead from the vivid colour palette in Irises (1890). In this work, Van Gogh experimented with powerful colour contrasts. By placing the purple flowers against a yellow background, he made the decorative forms stand out even more strongly.

Van Gogh x Van Gogh Museum Water Colour Pocket Box is a compact water colour set featuring 12 colours inspired by the colour palette

in Vincent van Gogh’s dynamic Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat (1887), in which he used complementary colours. This special edition of theVan Gogh pocket box is bright orange, like the short stripes of orange paint in the halo around Van Gogh’s head in the self-portrait. Sakura x Van Gogh Museum Pigma Micron Fineliners are based on Van Gogh’s masterpiece Flowering Plum Orchard (after Hiroshige) (1887) as it marks the perfect link between the Japanese brand Sakura, which celebrates its centenary this year, and Van Gogh, who was greatly inspired by Japanese printmaking.

Van Gogh made three paintings after Japanese prints from his own collection, which gave him a chance to explore the Japanese printmakers’ style and use of colour. The four colours selected for the fineliners are inspired by the colour palette in the painting, and are amongst the most popular colours for writing and decoration. Sakura x Van Gogh Museum Gelly Roll Gel Pens sees Vincent van Gogh’s Almond Blossom (1890) ties in with Sakura’s mission to allow everyone’s creativity to flourish. The painting shows one of Van Gogh’s favourite subjects: large blossom branches against a blue sky. For this painting, which symbolises new life, Van Gogh drew inspiration from Japanese printmaking. The Royal Talens x Van Gogh Museum collection of creative materials will be available soon at retail partners of Royal Talens and in the Van Gogh Museum webstore. The Bruynzeel x Van Gogh Museum Coloured Pencils will be available in early August 2021.

ELIZABETH STIRLING DESIGNS EXPANDS With over 25 years’ experience in the art licensing industry, Elizabeth Stirling Designs Ltd. continues to expand with the addition of several new and talented artists covering styles as diverse as traditional ‘coca cola’ Santa to quirky fun kids designs.They have provided consistently commercial art to clients for greetings cards, gift wrap, gift bags, tableware, crafting and fabric, many of which can be seen in Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree. Their aim is to create on trend, innovative artwork that enables the client to make their product stand out to the consumer.

With the direction of Gillian Stirling, herself a leading artist with many years of commercial experience, the studio continues to flourish. They will be taking part in the Blueprint virtual show on May 18-20th showcasing a wide range of seasonal designs where they look forward to seeing clients old and new.

MAUREEN CLAFFY 2020Brands has announced its licensing representation of Chicago-born artist Maureen Claffy, who produces large-scale, mixed-media modern art.

“The opportunity to license my work is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream,” explained Claffy.

“Truly, for decades, I have dreamed of being the next Marimekko. I love working with Kristin Edstrom at 2020Brands. She is a true professional who shares my vision for the world being more beautiful, colorful and full of love because the products we surround ourselves with daily carry that message through art..”

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MIDDLE EAST DEAL FOR INSPIRE ME HOME DECOR

NEW EXEC AT ARTISTORY

Inspire Me! Home Décor has secured a long-term deal with leading MENA home retailer Home Centre for an extensive line of home décor and home furnishings. Inspire Me! Home Décor, the lifestyle brand founded by acclaimed designer, author, entrepreneur, Farah Merhi currently has over 6.2 million global followers, making it the most-followed home décor inspiration page on Instagram.

The deal with Home Centre was brokered by Inspire Me! Home Décor’s sub-agent for the MENA region,WildBrain CPLG, in partnership with the brand’s global licensing agent,Thrive Brand Licensing.

Inspire Me! Home Décor’s new collection for Home Centre spans every room of the house and includes bedding, curtains, rugs, dinnerware, serveware, drinkware, decorative accessories, lighting, towels and bath accessories. This collection is now available at Home Centre stores across the MENA region and online, and is part of the retailer’s ‘Ramadan is Better Together’ region-wide campaign, aimed at offering customers finely curated collections that invoke the spirit of celebration.

Farah Merhi said: “I’m very excited to launch my Inspire Me! Home Décor collection with Home Centre in the Middle East, and given my roots, this project is very close to my heart. We share the same vision, which is a gold standard of quality, reliability and honesty. Every piece in the collection is timeless, classic and intended to make a statement, whether on its own or styled with other items. I look forward to seeing how consumers and designers incorporate the range into their beautiful homes.”

Artistory has announced that Georgina Heatley has joined Co-Founders Yizan He and Natasha Dyson as Licensing & Editorial Assistant.

Artistory is a specialist focusing on cultural IP licensing with the unique capabilities of transforming “Artefacts to Merchandise”. They reach out to global audiences with well-designed merchandise that is inspired by art and culture; and aim to excite their audience with immersive retailing and storytelling via digital content and pop-up exhibitions. Cultural organisations are able to go beyond the walls of their buildings and expand their reach to a much wider audience while generating sustainable revenue which can be used to support their operation and fulfil their mission.

“We’re thrilled to have Georgina on board.

Georgina shares Artistory’s passion for storytelling, art, history and cultural heritage with experience gained in both the licensing and heritage sectors, having worked with a wealth of licensees at Historic Royal Palaces. Georgina’s role will see her working closely with the creative team researching artefacts across a range of the world’s top cultural organisations to develop design themes and assets,” commented Natasha Dyson, on behalf of Artistory.

Georgina Heatley, licensing and editorial assistant, added, “I am honoured and excited to be joining Artistory as the licensing and editorial assistant. With my background as an Archaeologist and Sociocultural Historian, and previous role in heritage licensing with Historic Royal Palaces, Artistory’s mission and values resonate closely with my own. Learning and sharing history, art and culture through stories is a skill and tradition shared globally. I am looking forward to bringing this into merchandise, experiences and creative themes and trends with a some of the world’s top art and culture organisations from museums and galleries to science centres and libraries.”

APPAREL A MAJOR GROWTH AREA FOR THE NATIONAL GALLERY PROGRAM The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London is one of the greatest art galleries in the world.

Founded in 1824, the Gallery houses the nation’s collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the late 13th to the early 20th century. The collection spans 700 years of art from early medieval Europe, to Italian Renaissance and Post Impressionists. It includes works by Cézanne, Degas, Leonardo, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Titian, Turner, Van Gogh and Velázquez.

Licensing at the National Gallery Company continues to grow from strength to strength, across major categories and in countries around the world. They are increasing awareness and expanding their reach to new audiences far and wide and developing designs inspired by their collection a new and contemporary way. One of their success and growth categories is apparel. They highlight three success stories from China, South America and Europe.

With their Master Licensee Alfilo Brands, they are collaborating with Miss Sixty creating timeless elegance with a uniquely modern style. The range includes 32 SKUs including shoes, sweaters, trousers, hats and coats. Available in 200+ stores in 7 cities in China, in-store and online at https://misssixty.tmall.com/ Their collaboration with Poetic Brands in Europe includes ranges for men and women and for S/S22 children’s and babywear. Successful listings include on ASOS and more retailers will follow.

The range includes 60+ SKUs, including t-shirts and sweatshirts.

With their agent Pepper Brands in Brazil, they are collaborating with Lojas Renner. The range has developed as demand has grown, from minimalist concepts to full painting imagery, 24 t-shirt, shirt and shorts designs, selling across Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and at www.lojasrenner.com.br For more information about joining the National Gallery licensing programme, contact Judith Mather, Director of Buying and Brand Licensing at judith.mather@nationalgallery.co.uk

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Creative Sparrow is an Agency representing creatives across all industries.

Working with clients and artists globally, the agency facilitates successful collaborations across all creative sectors.

Recent licensing partnerships include projects in Animation, Apparel, Greetings & Stationery, Home & Gift, Packaging and Children’s Publishing.

Understanding industry needs, longstanding licensing professional Hannah Curtis set up the agency and works closely with each creative, developing their style to generate a commercial portfolio of work available for license on a range of products. Hannah has a flair for art and design and a commercial eye to match, listening to publishers’ needs and reacting with beautiful artwork to suit their ranges.

Latest signings include Ian Worrall-

Licensing

Dutton, creator of Okie-Dokie, a children’s licensing brand with a purposefully generic feel and scope to span across greeting, gift, apparel, party, and toys. With extensive sales history, the agency is looking to expand the brand’s remit across all products.

Another fledgling under its wing is Jacqueline Wild whose Glitter & Earth brand explores the magic of nature and subtle change of seasons which invoke a sense of wonder and positivity.

The agency will be showcasing its outstanding portfolio of creatives at its debut show, Blue Print Live, this May and looks forward to meeting with new and existing licensees.

To book an appointment to see the full portfolios, visit: https://blue-print-live.blogspot.com/2021/05/ creative-sparrow.html

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Canadian illustrator Ginger Deverell creates enchanted and delicately wild hand-painted artwork for home & gift, fabric, greetings & stationery, and children’s markets. She makes art to carry people into beautiful and dreamy imaginary places, and is inspired by flora and fauna, vintage and eastern aesthetics, and childlike wonder. She is always excited to paint flowers, animals, people and bohemian things.

She primarily uses watercolour, gouache and digital editing, and often incorporates paper collage, acrylic and other media into her work. She has been drawing, painting and making things with her hands since she was a young girl. Her art has appeared in the TV show Impastor (Viacom Media), and was featured in 2020 on the highly regarded Print and Pattern blog. Her dream projects include a fabric collection, gift wrap, a greetings collection, children’s and babies apparel, home decor collections, and one day, a children’s picture book.

Ginger is mom to a beautiful son, and lives on the west coast of British Columbia with her family.

Ginger is represented by Creative Sparrow Art. She is available for bespoke commissions and has a lush portfolio of existing artwork available for license or purchase. https://creativesparrow.co.uk/creatives/ginger-deverell

Catherine Stone is an illustrator specialising in a delicate cut paper art style. She grew up in France and moved to the UK to study graphic design and illustration.

After graduating, she continued to develop her work thanks to online courses where she discovered the world of surface pattern design.

Her work is colourful, richly textured, and sophisticated.

She works primarily with paper, hand-painted with acrylic paint and inks, cutting it into different shapes to create lovely scenes and patterns. One of her favourite parts of the process is transforming sheets of paper into intricate elements with her tiny pair of scissors and glue. She mixes the traditional craft of cut paper art with digital collage to create her designs. This allows her to create tactile pieces that translate beautifully in print and other media.

When she’s not working on her illustrations, she loves being outdoors with her young family, where she finds inspiration from the wildlife and nature surrounding her. https://creativesparrow.co.uk/creatives/catherine-stone

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Ian Worrall-Dutton is an experienced illustrator and designer with a genuine passion for character design.

With over twenty years of experience, Ian’s work can be found on children’s apparel, plush and stationery.

Clients include all the major UK supermarkets, Mamas and Papas, CBeebies and Hallmark. Ian’s bright and cheerful characters are perfect for an array of children’s products, animation and children’s publishing.

Ian is the creator of Hello Munki and most recently children’s licensing brand Okie-Dokie, which has a purposefully generic feel and scope to span across greeting, gift, apparel, party, and toys.

With extensive sales history, Ian’s agent, Creative Sparrow, is looking to expand the brand’s remit and licensing partnerships across all product areas. https://creativesparrow.co.uk/creatives/ian-worrall-dutton

Jacqueline Wild is the newest recruit to the Creative Sparrow nest and is delighted to be part of the team. Living in Cornwall she creates whimsical pieces of art that are inspired by the magic of nature and the changing of the seasons.

Jacqueline has written and illustrated her own book of contemporary fairies ‘Glitter and Earth: Tales of Magic and Wonder, as well as having had her art work published in several magazines including ‘The Mother’ and ‘Isabella and Us.’ She is passionate about looking after the environment and her brand Glitter and Earth has sustainability at heart with it’s use of biodegradable packaging and eco friendly inks.

Projects with soul excite her along with anything somewhat ‘out there’ She is empathic and intuitive and above all wants to create something magical. https://creativesparrow.co.uk/jacqueline-wild

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Meg Isaacs is a watercolour artist based in Gloucestershire, working from her home studio near The Cotswolds. Specialising in pet portraits, bespoke artwork, wildlife and floral designs, Meg captures the intricate details of her subjects and creates endearing and characteristic paintings for her customers. Meg gains much of her inspiration from the diverse places she has travelled, particularly the vibrant birds and botanicals she admired whilst living in Australia.

After studying Fine Art throughout school and sixth form, she went to University to study Criminology. Following graduation in 2018, she gained experience working in a prison then left to travel and live in Australia. Meg regained her passion for creating when she came home to the countryside in spring 2020, enjoying long walks throughout the changing seasons, photographing and painting garden birds and flowers. Inspired by a love of nature and wildlife from growing up in the beautiful English countryside, and with her passion for sustainability, Meg’s strives to incorporate eco-friendly methods and materials throughout her business. Meg is a new Artist but has shown great potential and received considerable support and interest in her paintings. https://creativesparrow.co.uk/creatives/meg-isaacs

Kaz Lammie is an illustrator and surface pattern designer based in the south west of England.

With over 20 years experience, this has seen her design across a wide variety of products from children’s apparel, home furnishings and gift-ware to paper products.

Her designs have sold thoughout the world and she is also a published children’s book Illustrator, whose love of drawing started very young whilst watching her artist Dad paint large canvases at home.

Kaz’s style is whimsical, colourful, with a touch of fun and has always had a slight obsession with pattern and a huge love creating quirky fun animal characters, her versatility can be seen across her work and so can her love of designing for children and her inspiration from nature and her recent new love of hand typography. https://creativesparrow.co.uk/creatives/kaz-lammie

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BRANDALISED APPAREL FROM EVISU Art Ask Agency has announced the latest news on the Brandalised licensing program, in partnership with Evisu.

Iconic fashion brand, Evisu, with own brand stores in Asia, US and Europe, a successful online store and social media following, as well as in-store retailer distribution in the best fashion stores worldwide, launched their Brandalised apparel recently.

Evisu are particularly known for their jeans with a hand painted seagull motif on the back pockets and product prices are mid to high-end at over $600 USD a pair.

The collection includes T’s, shorts and bags with the most famous of Banksy’s Graffiti, gathered from the streets of the largest cities across the world, with Evisu’s own twist.

“The stand-out DNA of Evisu marries well with the DNA of Brandalised. Fabulous collab.” said Andrew Gallagher, owner Full Colour Black.

“Brandalised is really going from strength to strength in licensing and the Evisu launch demonstrates this.” added Maria Strid, owner Art Ask Agency.

Licensing

ASHMOLEAN PENS TO DEBUT Conway Stewart have worked with The Ashmolean Museum to develop the first in a series of Ashmolean Pens, brokered by Start Licensing.

“This is a wonderful collaboration for the Ashmolean, and we are delighted to be associated with such an iconic brand as Conway Stewart,” said Declan McCarthy, pubishing and licensing head, The Ashmolean Museum.

The first Ashmolean Pen is based on the Conway Stewart Churchill pen. It has been produced in Oxford University Blue with 9-carat gold trim with English hallmarks. The theme of the first pen in the series is art critic John Ruskin, who studied as an undergraduate at Christ Church and remained connected with Oxford for most of his life. He went on to establish his drawing school at Oxford in 1871.

The Ashmolean Museum houses some of Ruskin’s work, including sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, architectural structures and ornamentation. The release of the pen dovetails with the opening of The Ashmolean Museum’s latest exhibition, “Pre-Raphaelites Drawings and Watercolours” which will include several of Ruskin’s works.

“I have loved working with the team at the Ashmolean Museum to produce this pen, doing the research and learning about the amazing collection on display in Oxford,” says Alastair Adams, managing director, Conway Stewart. “I would urge all readers to visit this wonderful museum.”

The Ashmolean Pen will also feature the Ashmolean’s founder Elias Ashmole’s hand-written ‘Statutes Orders & Rules’ heading on the barrel of each pen as a further link to the Museum and its history.

The pen will be sold in a presentation box and will include a bottle of ink plus a booklet that sets out the history of the Ashmolean Museum and gives an insight into John Ruskin’s life.

“We are delighted to see The Ashmolean Museum and Conway Stewart working together,” says Ian Downes, director, Start Licensing.

“The Ashmolean pen is a unique and original product that makes great use of the Ashmolean’s collection and highlights their unique place in the Museum world. Conway Stewart are experts in their field and have developed a fantastic product. We believe the limited edition will prove extremely popular and we hope the John Ruskin pen will be the first in a series of pens from the Ashmolean.

Conway Stewart also deliver a strong marketing platform for the product and have access to a global community of pen collectors. It is a consumer group who we think will respond well to the Ashmolean’s collection.”

CAMBRIDGE PROGRAM GROWS

The University of Cambridge , together with its licensing subsidiary Fitzwilliam Museum Enterprises are planning to expand into new licensed products through UK agents The Point.1888.

The University of Cambridge curates, creates and collects archival treasures across art, exploration, anthropology, zoology, geology and scientific milestones.

After launching a line of partnerships covering homewares, art, furniture, and accessories in 2020,The Point.1888 is now looking to raise the bar for 2021 and expand the partnership roster even further.

LITTLE JOE & CO FROM MEG HAWKINS Meg Hawkins has seen enormous success internationally with her licensed home and giftware range that comes under her own name, Meg Hawkins Art. A couple of years ago, created a new collection under the name, Little Joe & Co, featuring designs and products aimed at the nursery and preschool market. The current range of the Little Joe & Co. licensed product portfolio includes cards, stationery and gift wrap. In the Baby and infant category, the licensed range includes, milestone cards, height charts, baby hats, taggies, bibs and blankets, headbands, soap, enamel pins and cushions.

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Inspire Art Licensing represents a team of very talented and hardworking designers from around the globe to create beautiful and commercial designs for your businesses.

Founded by Patrick Groombridge over 25 years ago, this studio takes great pride in providing you with excellent service with the goal of building a lasting relationship with you and your company.

They have been working with many of their artists and customers for over 20 years!

The Inspire team does extensive research on trends happening in the marketplace from colors, icons, typography and lifestyles. Then works on how to execute them into fresh, exciting and new and commercial designs.

Whilst Inspire does primarily concentrate on the US they also have an international presence especially in the UK, Europe and Australia.

Whilst most of designers are from the UK two years ago they started building a team of US designers to complement and expand their current offering.

This is where Patti Jo Smith comes into the story. “The designers have been selected and developed by me with aim of give more breath to the Design portfolio.

So why did I start working with Patrick. Well it’s a story that goes back a number of years but the opportune time came when I decided to retire from the corporate world (formerly of Stephen Lawrence and CSS Industries).

I am sure you are asking why does someone who just retired after close to 30 years of being in the Creative Field decide to go back to work with a Design Studio a few months later?

It was because of the relationship that was built between Patrick and I for almost 20 years. Inspire wasn’t just a Design Studio that myself and my team went to for designs. Inspire became one of our most important assets due to sense of partnership and dedication that Patrick and his team brought to the table.

Whether it was a tight deadline (and we threw plenty of those challenges at him) or needing designs created to specifically match certain trends. Needing “holes” filled in their presentations, Inspire was there for us. And that’s what Inspire Art Licensing means to all of their clients.”

Inspire Art Licensing has an excellent track record of producing designs for various industries such as gift packaging, stationery and paper party sectors as well as fabrics and homewares.

They specialize in holiday collections, which include, Traditional, Whimsical and fun, vibrant and colorful Christmas designs as well as Halloween, Easter and Thanksgiving/Fall. Let’s not forget All Occasion - Inspire has an abundance of birthday, baby, wedding and more!

With traveling and trade shows on hold. Patrick and his team have dedicated time to developing a website for their customers to help them keep on top of their presentation needs. Of

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Artist Sally Mountain- Produced and developed in partnership with Raz Imports. course, customers can email Patrick and Patti Jo to ask for help in sending certain design needs as well. They are happy to undertake commissions and speculative work.

In fact, as Patti Jo says, “We will take anything you care to throw at us..”

“We both miss the “buzz and comradery” of trade shows during this time of social distancing. Most of all we miss meeting with customers in their offices to review designs and talk about business and happenings in the design world!

We are counting the days until travel frees up and we can go back to having those meetings and presenting our latest art works along with all their embellishments, which are still hard to appreciate online.

Fingers are crossed that all of this comes back in the near future!

Our designers have been creating fresh new looks and developing their skills during this time. Their new work is uploaded to the website on a weekly basis so there is always something new to see.

We are always searching for new designers to come on board and help to expand the portfolio. So if you are looking to freelance with an extremely reputable Design studio please contact Patrick or Patti our email addresses are pattijo@inspireartlicensing.com and patrick@inspireartlicensing.com.”

Please be sure to check out the website https://www.inspireartlicensing.com.

Inspire Art Licensing will work with clients’ budget needs by selling our designs Outright, Licensing Limited Rights or Licensing with Royalties.

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London Portfolio was founded 36 years ago as a full service design studio.Today, under the stewardship of artist and illustrator Michael Hernandez, the studio continues to be a major design resource for key retailers including TJ Maxx and American Greetings.

Total Art Licensing caught up with Michael to find out more about the studio’s origins and about some of the artists that Michael represents today.

London Portfolio was founded in 1985 by textile designer Gillian Fullard while she was still living in London. At the time, Gill traveled to New York City about four times a year to see customers. The design collection was composed of paper works and fabric techniques for women’s wear. Her first print sales were to major retailers TopShop and Miss Selfridge.

Gillian moved permanently to New York in 1987 and established her first studio on 7th Avenue in 1988, working and selling to clients like Donna Karen, Tommy Hilfiger, Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Ralph Lauren Enjoying steady growth, London Portfolio moved to a larger studio space on 36th street and became a full-service design studio with a full print collection, antique fabric collection and service work team. Though based in New York City, the studio artists were all English designers – hence the name.

In 1991 Gillian’s husband Neil left his job in banking to join the studio, and in the mid 1990’s London Portfolio moved into paper products and home furnishings selling designs for greeting cards, gift bags, stationery and wrap. The company attended shows such as Premiere Visions, Paperworld in Frankfurt, Groot & Mislove and more.

At this point, as the company continued to

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grow, Michael Hernandez joined. As Michael explained, “I joined after finishing college in 2005 as an assistant to Neil and support to the studio, my duties were administrative at the time and then gradually grew into more responsibilities essentially doing just about everything in the studio and eventually taking long road trips and traveling with the collection on my own. In addition to the business administration and sales of the studio I am also a designer myself and have done a lot of art direction and designing. This job has taken me to several countries and most of the continental US.” In 2015, Michael received an offer to join another studio.

Neil countered this with the opportunity to purchase the business. Michael continued, “Given the opportunity to be your own boss and manage the studio on my own terms was priceless. I continue to work with Gillian but she does more fine art and paint for herself as opposed to designs for the market. Neil is fully retired and enjoys playing guitar, tennis, traveling with Gill, and speaking foreign languages. We speak every now and then to catch up as they were essentially my work parents for ten years.

I learned a lot of my design

sensibility from working with Gill and business management from Neil, together I felt prepared enough to run things on my own.

Once I started running London Portfolio by myself, I decided to keep the studio name to maintain the recognition and good reputation the studio had. The only part of the business I had to really learn was the accounting and finance side, which after years of working with Neil and understanding how the sales flow throughout the year, it was easy to plan and account for the year.”

Bringing the story right up to date, Michael has only added a few new designers to keep the collection curated and the quality standard high.

“I value the experience of my artists to help me provide the best for my customers while trying to stand out in an ever growing and competitive market. We continue to be an important design resource for major retailers such as TJ Maxx, American Greetings, Hobby Lobby, and Joann Fabrics.”

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Licensing

Some of London Portfolio’s Key Designers Marie Gully

Marie Gully is a freelance Illustrator, who started her career in NYC, and is presently living in Charlotte, NC. She creates a variety of artwork ranging from apparel, home decor, graphic design and packaging. Marie interprets customers’ visions in a clean, colorful vector style.

When not creating, she enjoys travelling, playing racquet sports, time with family and learning foreign languages.

Claire Scott:

Claire is a surface pattern designer and illustrator living in the countryside, just outside the market town of Beverley in East Yorkshire, UK. Claire loves colour, pattern and texture and takes inspiration from everyday life around her.

Kim Hinds

Kim is an illustrator and textile designer who works in various mediums both traditional and digital. With a career spanning over two decades, Kim has worked in-house and freelanced for many high street chains as a designer of home textiles in addition to several books, greeting cards, giftware, stationery and crafting products. Kim lives in the quaint fishing village of Brixham with her husband Stevie and their two dogs. She is the co-owner of Needle and Ned Ltd Embroidery kits.

She uses mixed media, hand drawn and painted elements in her work and brings them all together in Photoshop. Her favourite materials include watercolour, gouache, felt tips pens and pencil. She loves to illustrate a wide variety of subjects across a broad range of styles.

Danara Smol’yaninova Danara is a Russian born illustrator exploring the world with her little family. She loves to study visual aesthetics in each new country she lives in and add it to her personal style. Danara and her family have lived in Shanghai, Tbilisi Georgia, now in Vladivostok Russia getting ready to move to Beijing. She does not have a singular style or just one drawing technique and style, because she always wants to experiment. Danara loves to create vibrant and emotional artworks, which makes people feel cozy and happy.

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TOTAL Art Kath Leone

Kath grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. She completed her BA Degree in Textile Design & Technology at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, in 2001.

She has always loved to draw, so print design is her dream career. She designs prints and patterns for many end uses, but her area of specialisation is in ladies fashion so she is always keeping up with the latest trends. She has versatile handwriting and is always keen to try out something new to keep things fresh. Her overall design style is quite sophisticated while being happy and fun at the same time. Kath loves to make use of the wonders of Procreate on her iPad, but continues to include old school drawing and painting when it suits or if she feels like trying something completely different.

Working between Cape Town and London, Kath enjoys the contrasting energies that they both have to offer. There is always something new happening in both cities as well as a wealth of history and culture to offer inspiration.

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Licensing

Shock Pattern Design Ana and Jacco Schokker are the team behind Shock Pattern Design. Based in The Hague in The Netherlands, they combine highly crafted hand-made elements that are arranged and delivered in organized files that are ready for use for fabric, home textiles, wallcoverings and other commercial applications. They are always

experimenting with traditional watercolors, line driven pen drawings and geometrical and abstract shapes. Drawing inspiration from nature and with a keen eye for illustrating a wide range of motifs perfect for surface design, Ana and Jacco work to provide classic themes with both a traditional and modern medium. In addition to drawing and painting, they enjoy hiking, movies, art, and enjoying interesting drinks and food.

Sharon Shields

Sharon Shields is a surface pattern designer and illustrator living in Montvale, New Jersey. Sharon’s love of color and pattern is the foundation of her work. Typically her work begins with painting in watercolor or gouache. After scanning the art she brings it in to Procreate. She likes the quality of textures and brushes in Procreate and can add some great affects and finishing touches to the final art there. Sharon studied Fine Arts at Syracuse University and spent the first half of her career as a textile/bedding designer in NYC. She now works from her home studio where she happily paints with her Westy Jake by her side. She enjoys taking art classes for inspiration and to learn new techniques. Last year Sharon took a watercolor class on seascapes at a local art institute.. “it was something new and I had always wanted to try landscape painting.” Her work has been featured on many products such as comforters, shower curtains, dishes, rugs, cards, stationary, wall art and garden flags. Most recently her illustrations were featured in a tween novel.

TOTAL Art

‘High there!’ - Something ‘turtley awesome’ and ‘magical’ has arrived! Creative Sparrow agency are excited to announce the acquisition of Okie-Dokie, a bright and vibrant children’s brand with vast appeal. Okie-Dokie, created by illustrator Ian Worrall-Dutton, is available to license on a wide range of Children’s products. Character development illustrator Ian has seen proven success with his characters within the children’s market with sister brand Hello Munki. Having seen huge success on stationery and a strong and reputable social media presence Creative Sparrow are looking to take OkieDokie to the next level, initial licensing efforts are underway with the agency who are committed to grow its brand, taking Okie-Dokie into the home and giving children an array of products featuring characters who have instant likeability and longevity.

The brand consists of fourteen stand-alone

Licensing

characters, each with its own tag line to suit its personality, also featuring bright and bold patterns which unify the brand. Opportunities for apparel, toys & Games, accessories, party and more will be a focus in 2021. We are also looking to partner with publisher’s to take the characters onto the page within a range of children’s books where the characters evolve and interact with one another.

Okie-Dokie has wide appeal, aimed at 3-8 year olds, from board books and preschool toys and games to early years and with scope to extend to the tween market with characters such as the ‘utterly fabulous’ flamingo and ‘magical’ unicorn.

colourful! This is so important, so let’s make the future bright for our children (and FUN too of course!) Keep it Okie-Dokie!

This is going to be ‘roarsome’ and we’re now looking for partners that would be interested in speaking with us in relation to this absolutely ‘splashing’ new brand aimed at the commercial

Ian Worrall-Dutton, creator of Okie-Dokie comments ‘Children love bright colours and the Okie-Dokie brand is nothing without colours - Let’s make the future brighter! My ethos behind the Okie-Dokie brand was to Keep it simple, keep it fun and keep it children’s and evergreen market. With a keen interest in sustainability Ian is keen to continue the green ethos of the brand.

If you’re a manufacturer, supplier and/or retailer that would like to learn and understand more about this exciting opportunity then we have a super colourful portfolio and style guide that we’d like to share covering a wide selection of categories.

Hannah Curtis of Creative Sparrow comments ‘Okie-Dokie is set to be the next big children’s brand, the friendly and fun characters have wide appeal and already feel part of the product market, with a strong logo and corresponding patterns it offers the full package.We are looking for the right partners across all territories to bring the brand to life.’

For more information, contact Hannah Curtis. hannah@creativesparrow.co.uk.

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EXHIBITORS ZOE JO STUDIO Zoe Jo Studio is a boutique design house, inspired by a belief in the beauty and magic of the artist’s mark, it’s brushstroke, and the novel imperfection of something that is made by hand. Zoe Jo Print Studio creates a collection of exclusive artwork for the apparel, home, and paper industries. The print studio is available to create custom artwork. They specialize in listening to their clients’ needs and delivering quality trend-right artwork in a timely manner.

ESTUDIO BLOOM PRINTS Estúdio Bloom Prints is a surface design studio based in Brazil. They love to draw and paint, specially Ecoline. Their all-over prints and patterns are always in repeat and layers. They also offer some placements and all art is exclusive to their clients once purchased.They are also passionate about commission work.

They started with fashion and beachwear, as well as some homeware and cool water bottles and thermos. They love cool kids prints. Their DNA is tropical, and sunny, and colorful.

MARCIE DESIGNS This season, Marcie Designs are bringing to Blueprint high energy and bold concepts. With the return of in-store shopping, they believe this is the time to step up and get noticed.

ANSADA LICENSING GROUP Ansada Licensing Group, LLC represents talented, traditional, representational fine art professional artists who create incredible image in many mediums, and subjects ranging from nostalgia and wildlife to colorful collage!

Joining Ansada Licensing Group since the last Blue Print show are Dawn Gerety, Jhenna Quinn Lewis, Wanda Mumm, John Banovich, Crystal Beshara, Hilary Mayes, Shawn Gould, Peggy Myrick Knight, and Benjamin Hummel.

There are many images to review including traditional representational wildlife, nostalgia, songbirds, with unique and different compositions. As a licensing agency, they work on a royalty basis as well as flat fee basis.

MARGAUX & IZZY Margaux & Izzy, creates stunning surface and pattern collections for home decor, apparel and stationery gift markets. For this Summer season, collections capture vivid color, warmth and freshness. In addition they have exciting holiday collections in contemporary and traditional themes. Owner Liz O’Brien enjoys working in beautiful hand drawn watercolors and digitally drawn elements. With over 28 years of experience in the creative industry as an art director and owner Liz O’Brien has sold successful designs for manufacturers selling to top clients both in big box and boutique product lines.

Liz expresses her passion for print and pattern creating fun and fresh designs in her studio at home in Minnesota.

AMBER LORD Amber Lord is an artist who is passionate about calling attention to the beauty and joy in the everyday. She does this by using watercolor, gouache, and basically any paint she can get my hands on to create one-of-a-kind patterns, prints, spot illustrations and phrases with heart and humor. She has experienced first-hand how much difference a joy filled piece of art in the home makes on a daily basis whether as a gift item, card & stationery, tabletop, home good, wall art or accessory. She now creates art for these markets to inspire and celebrate the beauty, joy, adventure and humor in each day.

LEMON RIBBON STUDIO Lemon Ribbon Studio specialises in prints and graphics for baby to teen, boys and girls. They create unique, on-trend designs for the fashion, publishing, stationery and home industries.

They will be showcasing exclusive designs for Blueprint including both summer and winter as well as holiday.

BRANDED LICENSING Branded Licensing offers artwork that meets the demand of many industries. This boutique licensing agency is the source for a broad selection of artwork; including the fantastical

cosmic art of Lori Menna’s Cosmic Collage, the full-of-feelings messages and art from Natalie Meagan’s The Crybaby Club, the bold, bright, and beautiful abstracts from Shandra Smith, the fresh modern surface patterns from Amy Reber, the classic-with-a-twist artwork from Ana Davis, the Fearlessly Chic Living style of Khristian A. Howell’s surface pattern design, and the powerhouse pattern portfolio from Pattern Observer Studio.

BRIGHT LIMELIGHT DESIGN Toronto-based painter and illustrator Jen Lindup creates colourful designs that highlight the beauty of nature and the charms of everyday life. A background in textile design, fashion, and home decor informs the vibrant patterns often showcased in her work.

Her ever growing collection of botanical, animal, and human subjects is available for licensing and direct sales. She is also able to work on special projects and commissions.

Previous clients include Anthropologie, Papyrus, Design House Greetings, TJX/Home Sense, Dillards, Tag Ltd., and National Geographic Traveler LARISA HERNANDEZ Born and raised in El Salvador, Larisa Hernandez works for both local and international clients. She is lucky to live in the tropics, surrounded by exuberant nature, volcanoes, lakes, flowers, trees, seeds, animals, bugs, people, colonial towns, artisans, etc.

Florals, botanicals and animals, specially dogs and birds are her preferred subject to work with and she loves using wet techniques, preferably watercolor and inks and also experimenting with clay.

She spends her days as a design professor, drawing and illustrating. She also enjoys aikido and is the firsr woman in her country to get an Aikido black belt.

GATHER NO MOSS Gather No Moss’s website allows customers to buy directly from their wide range of print collections for kids, women and men.

They can also assist with design selections and commission briefs with a fast turnaround.

SUZAN LIND ART LICENSING Suzan Lind Art Licensing & Design, a boutique art licensing agency, is dedicated to helping manufacturers and retailers elevate their brand and broaden their customer base with unique, eye-catching surface designs. SZL offers a diverse portfolio of highly marketable images

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CREATIVE SPARROW Creative Sparrow is a new agency representing creatives across all print and surface design industries. Set up in late 2020 Creative Sparrow is showcasing a portfolio of fresh new artwork from debut talent and seasoned pro’s which is available to license or buy. Hannah Curtis, who has worked as an artist’s agent for many years, is excited to make her Blue Print debut and reconnect with familiar faces as well as making new connections.

Their portfolio includes surface pattern and design for all seasons and they will be showcasing new ollections for 2022 and beyond.

and designs, created by select represented artists, well-suited for a wide range of product surfaces. Their mission is to use art as a vehicle to connect, light a spark, and bring joy to people’s lives. Blending creativity with strong business sense is one of their key attributes. In a consumer market flooded with products, and even more images to cover those surfaces, SZL understands the need for a product to make a statement while still having mass appeal. In addition, recognizing that every company has different needs, SZL is committed to working with companies with an approach tailored to their objectives.

LISA LARSEN STUDIO Lisa Larsen Studio will present new artwork by a variety of artists during Blue Print.

In addition to Stephanie Peterson, they have also signed two new artists to the agency this year and have some great collections of work to share both in the greeting card arena as well as in repeat patterns for fabric, fashion, and home décor. They are also representing some curated collections of work from their art licensing portfolio workshops.

They handle licensing, outright sales and commissions and their team has large portfolios of designs for the fabric, social expression, wall art, puzzle, garden flags, children’s décor and apparel, gift, and other markets.

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MAKE MUCH STUDIOS Make Much Studios has an outstanding team of designers whose passion is to create what inspires them resulting in pieces that usher in joy. They bring fun, vibrant, story-telling, elevated, and on-trend prints and their designs range from quirky conversationals through more sophisticated florals and statement graphics. Their art can be found on apparel, totes, paper products and more.

DENISE ORTAKALES Evocative colors and rich textures are what inspire Denise Ortakales. Her work can be described as a little Boho with a touch of whimsy and maximalism. The natural beauty of New Hampshire often finds it way into her surface pattern designs and illustrations. A children’s book and editorial illustrator for over 20 years, Denise’s clients have included Consumer Reports, Scholastic, Random House and Staples. .

CLAIRE LOUISE Claire Louise is an artist and designer based in Durham in the North East of England. A high-quality brand showing a large portfolio of illustrative designs featured across a selection of products ranging from greetings cards, prints and gifts to stylish hairbrushes and home-ware.

Using a mixed media of water-colour, gouache, fabrics and machine embroidery, her inspiration originates from all that is to be seen. Clients include Huawei, Amazon, Wayfair, Samuel Lamont & Sons and more.

CINNAMON JOE STUDIO Cinnamon Joe Studio has been designing trend-driven artwork and working closely with many household names and brands since 2006.

As a studio we do a lot of their own research into trends and that is reflected in many of the prints that they currently have for sale and license. Their artists are available and ready to design any commission required going forward into 2021.

PATTERN BOUTIQUE Pattern Boutique is a surface pattern design studio based in the Cotswolds, UK. Their studio has views of gentle rolling hills and since the Cotswolds is the largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England, they are constantly surrounded by inspiration, nature and beauty that translates into their designs.

The founders Nick and Nicola are artisans of quality surface pattern design for home furnishings, paper products and hobby & craft products, and have worked in the surface pattern industry for over 10 years. Pattern Boutique clients include larger stationery and home furnishings manufacturers/retailers such as TJ Maxx, Timeless Treasures, Joann, Baum/ Windham, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Papyrus and Burton & Burton. They can be seen on screen as they have featured multiple times on Interior Design Masters 2021 on the BBC. INSPIRE ART LICENSING Inspire Art Licensing continues to bring the challenge to their group of talented designers from around the globe, who are working to create magnificent commercial designs.

Inspire takes great pleasure in providing excellent service and aims to build lasting relationships. They have been working with some of their customers and artists for over 20 years.

They have the expertise and years of experience in producing designs for the gift packaging, stationery and paper party goods markets.

They have also just taken on new opportunities in the fabrics and homeware sectors as well.

Inspire has a reputation for having an extensive Christmas collection, but also have a large portfolio of fresh and on-trend commercial designs for Fall, Halloween, All Occasion and more!

CHARLOTTE MACDONALD Charlotte Macdonald is a pattern designer and illustrator living in the Arizona desert. She uses a variety of tools in her artistic process and is skilled at both traditional and digital mediums.

She is currently in love with brush pens.

TOTAL Art Her work ranges from classically beautiful botanicals to cartoonish retro characters.

CARRIE HILLIS Carrie Hillis is an artist and surface pattern designer living in Ypsilanti, Michigan. When not drawing, she can be found walking in the woods with her binoculars. She is also an avid birder- they are her biggest inspiration and always find their way into her patterns. She loves to render realistic elements in nature and use her imagination to combine them into lush patterns with eclectic vibes and fresh color combinations. She has always had a passion for pattern design and after years of working as a graphic designer and art teacher, she is finally realizing my dream!

ELIZABETH STIRLING DESIGN Elizabeth Stirling Designs are excited to join Blue Print Live this May to showcase their collection of trend driven seasonal designs. Having built strong partnerships with many licensees and manufacturers throughout the world in the 26 years that they have been in business, they have remained busy in these challenging times and look forward to showing their portfolio of both fun whimsical and traditional designs available for sale or license.

THIS IS IRIS The Iris team have over 50 combined years of experience within the world of licensing. They work alongside our talented artists, designers and brand owners to develop collections, build stand out product ranges and help expand beyond domestic territories with international licensing programmes and partnerships.

They pride ourselves on the long-lasting relationships they build with their partners and feel that trust is at the very core of their business.

RAFALE DESIGN Rafale Design was founded in 1992 by Louise Ranscombe; it is a unique group of 15 artist, designers and illustrators based in the UK. They develop surface design for homeware, giftware, fabric, greeting cards and stationery for the US, UK and European markets. Their artwork is available to purchase or license from their portfolios, but they also love to develop and create new art to customer’s specifications.

LONDON PORTFOLIO London Portfolio are happy to showcase their new Christmas spring and summer designs and hope they can share them with visitors at Blue Print.

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MIA MOYAD STUDIO Mia Moyad moved to Ann Arbor for love and has called it her home for over twenty years.

She has always had a passion for creative endeavors and enjoyed making art for fun.

However, she felt a calling in the social work field as well. After receiving her master’s degree from the University of Michigan she continued to create art as a way of unwinding from her busy job as a manager at a low-income clinic in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Utilizing botanicals from her garden, recycled papers, bits of lace, along with oils, acrylics, water-soluble crayons, markers, watercolors and alcohol inks she creates whimsical worlds of dreamy flowers, sweet animals, ethereal angels and playful patterns.

Although Mia has been selling art professionally for several years now, she is new to the world of surface design. Since honing her skills in Photoshop during the pandemic, she feels excited to embrace this new opportunity.

LOVELY BIRD STUDIO Lovely Bird Studio is a New York City based design studio. They design original artwork for the Stationery, Home and Apparel industries. We have a wide range of artwork from handpainted to digital and some of their clients include Target, TJmaxx, Hobby Lobby, Barnes and Noble etc, Party City, Belk etc. They also have a new online gallery.

sectors. The studio offers highly original, handcrafted, trend-led designs, created with care and love by their talented team of 20 designers from the UK and Europe.

The portfolio has a focus on quality as well as a beautiful variety of different handwritings which can be seen on products and garments worldwide.

MARIA MOTTA ILLUSTRATION Maria Motta is a Colombian artist specialized in children’s book illustration.

In 2015 she received a Masters degree in Illustration from the Academy of Art University, in San Francisco, CA, and since then she has been working as a freelance illustrator and visual communicator with clients that include Starbucks, Twitter, The Flavour Nation Dubai, and non-profit organizations such as The Pan American Development Foundation - PADF/ FUPAD and HOPE - Hispanas Organized for Political Equality.

As an entrepreneur, she created a baby/toddler brand, Twibbles, where her purpose is to inspire curiosity and creativity in kids through gender neutral designs.

She currently resides in California, with her illustrator husband and her two children.

ANNA WOOLF DESIGNS Anna Woolf Designs is based in Lewisburg, West Virginia where she resides with her hus-

DENIS ROCHE Denis Roche is a surface designer, author and illustrator who lives and works in Rhode Island. She primarily works in gouache paint, because it is forgiving, squishy and smells pretty good.

Most days, Denis can be found in her studio drawing, painting or napping under her desk.

JESS GRAHAM Jess Graham has been creating illustrations and designing murals in the hills of Vermont for 15 years. Her work is expressive, irreverent, and textural. Her life as a mountain biker, snowboarder, surfer and mom-of-a-toddler influence the lines and energy of her work.

LION & LEOPARD STUDIO Lion & Leopard is a design studio specialising in surface-pattern for the baby, kids’, floral and holiday

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TOTAL Art band, two sons, and an ever-evolving variety of pets, wildlife, and farm animals.

Her work tends toward bright primary colors and her own take on vintage and natural imagery, and is usually designed with the intention of creating repeating patterns for fabric, wallpaper, and other home goods and everyday items.

Her passion for this work is rooted in the joy she finds in discovering and using products that excite and inspire her visually.

Her work is available to clients through licensing or industry specific purchase. I also enjoy collaborating on commission projects.

ALLISON COLE Allison is an illustrator and artist who never stops creating. She loves dreaming up characters, scenes, and typography that reflect a playful spirit and bright colors.

Over the past seventeen years, Allison has worked with a wide variety of clients that span many different industries, including advertising, editorial, stationery, wall art, giftware, home furnishings, apparel, bolt fabric and book covers.

ARTISTIC DESIGNS GROUP Partnership, Creativity, Integrity, Longevity these are the foundations on which Artistic Designs Group is built.

At ADG they know that developing great products requires more than great art and design; it requires teamwork, collaboration and a comprehensive understanding of today’s market.

They don’t just show art, they listen to needs.

They are proud to represent a group of talented artists and designers who share their commitment to building long-term working relationships with their licensees.

ZINNIA PRINTS Zinnia Prints is newly established Design Studio, working with experienced and emerging designers across the globe. They specialize in seasonal designs, handmade and hand drawn surfaces and can work with client briefs with a very quick turnaround time.

GROUP FOUR Group Four Design Studio is an international resource for the design of printed textiles, embroidery, t-shirt graphics and all aspects of surface design for the fashion, home and gift industries. Group Four’s products include original designs and original design development and production ready art services.

Their clients include leading manufacturers, retailers, packaging and branding companies.

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KATY DIKA Katy has poured her love of patterns into her surface designs for over 16 years, creating artwork for brands such as Pyrex, Talbots, Fabricut, Coldwater Creek and numerous others.

She has a passion for insects and has travelled the world studying these, many of which find their way into her work.

Katy also enjoys teaching others about surface design via her Rhode Island School of Design online courses and private coaching practice.

THE BRIGHT AGENCY Bright is a global agency that nurtures passionate, gifted artists. Their work can be seen everywhere - children’s books, billboards, greetings cards, films...

Always one step ahead of visual trends, they source, develop and license illustrations for cards, stationery, gift wrap, homewares and toys & games.

Clients can choose from their extensive portfolio or commission bespoke designs.

ANDREA RECINSKA Andrea Recinskais a surface pattern designer working under the name Dootwithdots. Her studio is most of the time situated in the Czech republic near Prague.

Her artwork is available to license and she welcomes collaborations, commissions and freelancer work.

ROSE MERRY DESIGNS Rose Merry Designs is about whimsical, fun and cheerful art, for party paper, stationery, kids and home decor markets. Rose Merry Designs welcomes working with clients to create beautiful prints and illustrations for licensing, contract design or commissions.

Nerissa Thomas is the founder of Rose Merry Designs with over 10 years of experience in Surface Pattern and Print Design, working on packaging, branding and signage in the gift and food industries with artwork sold to Costco, Target and Walmart to name a few.

MILKY ROSA Nina Schindlinger, is an illustrator and pattern designer as well as being a cat lover, black tea drinker and pink addict.

Nina loves everything cute and girly. That’s why she creates art for children or those who are still young at heart.

She works mostly in digital, but likes adding textures to give it a more haptic look. She licenses her work, but also does a lot of custom commissioned pieces. She is an Austrian native

but the country she adores most is Japan. She loves its vibrant colours, visible on temples and the neon signs at night.

Another of her interests is witches and magic a good thing as her lucky number is 13.

AMANDA TODARO Amanda Todaro, a Philadelphia-based surface designer, has a passion for cheerful patterns and charming prints. Amanda’s style comes from an appreciation for the animals around us, a quirky sense of humor, and a love of the simple everyday objects that bring joy. Her career as a costume designer fuels her creations, too, giving her graphics a theatrical air. Not one for gloom and doom, Amanda prefers bright hues, pastel tones, and fun patterns that make everyone smile.

THE BROOKLYN NEST The Brooklyn Nest is a group of dynamic artists and designers. They took flight in January 2016 and quickly established themselves as one of the most innovative art studios in the industry. They have become known for their quirky playfulness, their knack for predicting trends and uncanny ability to anticipate their clients needs.

PINK LIGHT Pink Light Studio is a licensing and design agency servicing manufacturers and retailers by creating artwork for their products.

They specialize in creating artwork for everyday and seasonal products, and are proud to represent 31 amazing artists from around the world.

SHELLEY ISMAY DESIGN Shelley Ismay is a vector-based surface designer and illustrator living in Toronto, Canada.

In her work, she aims to spark joy, fun, whimsy, and sometimes a dash of humour.

Outside of work she can be found baking sweet treats with she daughters or browsing Pinterest for DIY projects and home decor trends.

To attend Blue Print online live event, register at: https://blue-print-live. blogspot.com/

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JEWEL BRANDING’S SHOWCASE EVENT Jewel Branding & Licensing, the founders of Showcase, a new virtual show connecting the art and design licensing community, is pleased to announce the keynote address and a host of exhibitors signed on for the inaugural event to be held on May 20 and 21, 2021. Registration is free for attendees and includes access to a full schedule of events.

The keynote will be a Retail Roundtable moderated by Maura Regan, President of Licensing International. This must-see session will discuss navigating the retail landscape in a post-covid world with a group of panelists that include Warren Shoulberg, journalist and contributing editor with expertise in retail, Sheryl Dubitsky, retail and brand consultant most recently brand director at Bed Bath & Beyond and Greg Wyman, head of retail and business development at Jewel.

“I’m looking forward to moderating this webinar and discussing important topics that are relevant to the art and design licensing and manufacturing community,” said Regan. “With the rapidly evolving retail landscape, this will be a robust discussion on reinvention and innovation by true industry leaders.”

COUNTRY LIVING WALLPAPER Hearst UK has recently announced the next iteration of its Homebase partnership with the launch of its House Beautiful and Country Living wallpaper range, available exclusively at Homebase.

Co-created by the Homebase and the House Beautiful and Country Living Style teams in collaboration with Graham & Brown, the range of 12 exclsuive designs was made available from April 21st both online and in two Homebase Decorate centres, located in Sutton and Cheadle.

The House Beautiful collection delivers ontrend, stand out designs that offer a simple way to achieve a contemporary interior style. All designs work equally as a ‘whole room’ solution or a way of a creating a statement wall or, zoning using premium quality paper, produced in the UK. The collection includes easy application innovation such as ‘paste the wall’ for hassle free decorating.You can view the range here The Country Living collection contains beautiful, hand illustrated patterns that reflect the beauty of the British landscape. A proudly British-made high quality wallpaper that includes a sustainably made option which is produced using waterbased ink and FSC certified paper.True to Country Livings eco-ethos, three trees are planted for each tree used in the production of the wallpapers.The collection also includes an easy to hang option using ‘paste the wall’ technology. You can view the range here Louise Pearce, Director of Content at Country Living and House Beautiful said: “We are thrilled to continue to progress this amazing partnership with Homebase, with this move in to Home Décor, and specifically wallpaper. Each of the wallpaper ranges truly reflect our brand values and ethos, as well as the trends we know our readers love and are searching for.”

With more than 20 exhibitors signed on, Showcase will include a wide range of licensing agents and artists from around the globe including A Fresh Bunch, Pink Light Studio, The Brand Liaison, Artistic Designs Group and Jewel Branding & Licensing. Exhibitors will be premiering brand new on-trend art for a broad range of product categories including home textiles, stationery, greeting cards, wall art, puzzles, giftware and so much more.

Attendees for Showcase, which will be co-located with Noted: The Greeting Card Expo, will be able to enter the show platform one week prior to the show, on May 13th, to peruse booths and schedule appointments. Registration is currently open.

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TOTAL Art

Licensing

POETIC BRANDS TEAMS UP MHS MONTHLY NEW ART WITH NATIONAL GALLERY SHOWCASE In response to a growing interest in art in the licensed fashion sector, specialist apparel licensee, Poetic Brands, has teamed up with the National Gallery, which houses one of the greatest collections of paintings in the world, to create a range of adult apparel and accessories based on its impressive and extensive artworks.

Incorporating a wide range of products including adult daywear apparel and outerwear, swimwear, flip flops, beach bags and towels, adult nightwear and essentials, and accessories including caps and luggage.

The National Gallery was founded in 1824 and houses over 2600 paintings from the late 13th to the early 20th century in Trafalgar Square.With one of the greatest collections of art in the world, the Gallery displays many world-famous works, such as van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait, Velázquez’s The Rokeby Venus, Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

Anne Bradford, Director, Poetic Brands, comments: “Over the past year we have seen a significant interest in art within the fast fashion segment of the industry and subsequent demand across the High Street. The National Gallery offers us a wealth of assets from a number of artists that translate beautifully onto apparel and nightwear.

“We are also developing luggage which although isn’t hugely in demand at the moment, the time will come when we are all travelling again and this collection will provide premium, and easily identifiable pieces for consumers to be proud of on the carousel. Working closely with the team at the National Gallery, we have ensured that their art collection has in turn created a fashion collection that is already very much in demand.”

Judith Mather, Buying and Brand Licensing Director, the National Gallery, comments: “We are very excited about the partnership with Poetic Brands which will bring old master paintings to a new audience. It is amazing to bring our collection to modern life.”

Long before business as usual was interrupted by a worldwide pandemic, MHS Licensing and Consulting had pivoted to digital marketing to provide convenience to its 400 licensees worldwide through its launch of the MHS Art Showcase. The MHS Art Showcase, a monthly curated presentation of brand-new art and artists delivered via email has proven to be an invaluable tool to MHS’s customers and a welcome source of product development inspiration to its recipients.

The artists of MHS Licensing and Consulting, a 26-year-old agency representing 45 artists, scour trend resources, color forecasts and industry trade periodicals to create art and design appropriate for a multitude of product categories. With a vast library of designs, and dozens more being created each month, MHS’s partners have come to rely on MHS as their go-to source to respond to retailer requests, and internal trend initiatives. The MHS Art Showcase was designed to facilitate proactive communication to the market, making the jobs of the creative directors and product development teams easier.

The response to the MHS Art Showcase has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I really enjoy the monthly Art Showcase from MHS,” says Anna Fishkin, VP of Product Development at P&B Textiles.

“Their showcase brings us great new artwork and artists on a regular basis. We have been a very happy client for over 10 years.”

Pamela Cross, from Legacy Publishing added, “The MHS Art Showcase is a game changer! It not only helps me find new art but keeps me in the know for new colors and trends for the year. Looking for the best new art has always been something of a treasure hunt for me, and with the MHS monthly Art Showcase releases, it couldn’t be easier!

Find out more at www.mhsartshowcase.com.

MGL ARTISTS ARE BUSIER THAN EVER Despite the ongoing global health crisis and its impact on the licensing and retail industry, MGL and its artists have fortunately remained buoyant and to some respects busier than ever.

The same can be said for the Art licensing industry in general, which has never been so active with so many companies looking for art for their products that reflects growing and emerging trends.

One of these trends, likely the most visible, is the continued and rapid growth of e-commerce.

It is clear that consumers now have much more choice as manufacturers can offer a wider array of product than they could at traditional retail.

“At MGL we don’t just serve as an image ‘library’ by just licensing imagery, in fact, quite the opposite. We strive to build artists popularity

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and brand them rather than just serve as a ‘stock’ source. One of our main strengths has been the fact that we can work closely with our licensees creating illustrations to briefs, as well as developing in house designs based on upcoming trends.

In other words, we can be equally pro and reactive to market needs. We are fortunate to represent some of the world’s best commercial artists and studios, such as Aimee Stewart, Claudia McKinney, Valentina, Jodi Pedri and Sharon Turner continue to be as strong as ever due to their ever-increasing portfolio, and on trend look.

One thing we’ve realized in the last 30 years, is the importance of not only working closely with our partners to help target their customers, but also the importance of being flexible and rapid response time to art call outs.

We, as always, see the future of art licensing to be very positive, and we are looking forward to another strong year for our licensees and artists.”