Brand Licensing Europe celebrates 25 years and has much to offer the greetings fraternity
There’s just two weeks to go before Brand Licensing Europe opens to celebrate its 25th birthday, and the full agenda of conference sessions, networking programme, and fun events is now live.
“This year’s programme includes a free, inclusive three-day conference programme, valuable networking opportunities and lots of fun not-to-be missed events – all great complements to the thousands of pre-planned and spontaneous, business critical meetings taking place on the show floor,” said BLE event director Ella Haynes.
And the show at ExCeL London, over Tuesday to Thursday, 24-26 September, has much to interest the greeting card fraternity with numerous brands available for licensing as well as artists and designers offering their work for products.
Among them are Molly Mae (stand AD13), Ginger Betty (AD15), Middle Mouse (AD12), Jelly Armchair (AD02), Brilliantly Brave (This Is Iris AD06), and Nicole Elders (Larkshead Licensing A150). Here, PG Buzz features more about some of these brands and their hopes for BLE…
Tracey Colliston, founder, Ginger Betty
Tell us about your business: “Ginger Betty is a greeting card and gift company. We mainly create contemporary, cute cards with thoughtful words.”
Why greeting cards? “They’ve always been part of our careers. Before Ginger Betty we worked for different publishers, but quite recently decided to begin publishing ourselves.”
Why are your cards different? “We bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary. I like to think we’re cosy contemporary – and we’re finalists in The Henries Awards 2024 in both the Best Cute Range and Best Traditional Words & Sentiments Range categories!”
Have you signed any licensing deals yet? “This year we’ve branched out into stationery to complement our cards, which has been really well received, and we hope to expand our range further.
Are you working with any retailers? We supply independent retailers and garden centres throughout the UK, as well as The National Trust and we export throughout Europe, US, Canada and Australia.”
How has being a previous License This! winner at BLE helped your journey into licensing? “It allowed us to have a stand at BLE, which opened our eyes to the possibilities within licensing. We signed a couple of licensing deals, which have worked out well so far. In the last couple of years, we’ve been concentrating on building Ginger Betty and, now we’re more visible, we feel it’s time to revisit the licensing world and see what opportunities are out there.”
What are you hoping to achieve from BLE? “To meet new licensees, of course, and we’re open to exploring any new avenues. Ginger Betty is really versatile in that it appeals to several age groups and genres, from nursery to homewares. We can’t wait to be there!”
Stephen Davis, manager, Jelly Armchair
Tell us about the company: “Jelly Armchair was started in 2015 predominantly as a card publisher and is run by sisters Cat – the illustrator – and Liz Faulkner.”
Why greeting cards? “We’ve always loved the appeal of offering incredibly affordable art that you can send direct to someone to make them smile. We aspire to have cards on mantlepieces and our art prints on the back of as many toilet doors as possible for everyday giggles.”
Why are your cards different? “Cat specialises in traditional ink and watercolour illustrations, and she always includes lots of extra detail so you can keep coming back to the same illustration time and again and always find something new to make you smile. Most of our cards have a little extra illustration tucked away on the back of the card, too…it’s hard to stop her!”
Are you working with any retailers? “Yes, we have long-running relationships with several retailers including large multiples and small independents and we love all our stockists. We had our own bricks-and-mortar store for six years, so we really appreciate how much effort goes into running a physical store!”
This is your first time exhibiting at BLE – why this year? “We’ve wanted to exhibit at BLE for a long time. This year, we’re really confident with our offering with a variety of different IP we’re ready to license so it seemed like the perfect time.”
What are you hoping to achieve from being at BLE? “We’re especially interested in showing products that we’ve created in small quantities ourselves, such as homewares and games, to more experienced industry partners who have distribution and manufacturing expertise to see if we can work together.”
Bec Wright, co-founder, Middle Mouse
Tell us about the business: “Middle Mouse was founded in 2018 by myself and my dad, Paul Peacock, who was a gardening/cookery writer and passed away just before we launched. I’m an illustrator/graphic designer with almost 20 years’ experience working with a range of clients such as the BBC, NHS and publishing companies. I look after all the designs while my husband Darren fulfils all our orders and keeps our stock in check! We work from a 400-year-old cottage in the Rossendale Valley with a very demanding cat and a 16-year-old border collie called Pippin.”
Why greeting cards? “Greeting cards are an opportunity for me to try new styles and explore new themes, with the added bonus that the products are bought to cheer people up. What’s not to love here? Spreading a little bit of joy through paper art is a privilege.”
Why are your cards different? “Most of our cards have a little something extra, whether it’s a recipe on the back, or how to keep plants alive on our pot plant cards. All the recipes and growing tips are taken from my dad’s extensive catalogue of work, so it’s a way of keeping him involved in the company even though he’s been gone almost six years.”
Have you signed any licensing deals yet? “We have licensed to Karto Oy in Finland since 2020 and have just licensed some of our Illustrated Garden range to IC&G cards. I’d love to work with some other companies in different ways, too, such as creating patterns for homeware and illustration for children’s books.”
Are you working with any retailers? “We’ve been working with the fantastic team at Scribbler since 2020, and our cards are stocked in Waterstones and Selfridges. I’d love to work with the National Trust in some way, too, as I’m a huge fan of a UK day out to a big house!”
This is your first time exhibiting at BLE – why this year? “I’m looking to diversify my work a little more and team up with some new companies in different ways. I want to get back to more designing and less selling, as it’s where my heart is! I’ve also just completed a huge job in UX/UI design so would love to do more software design, especially for games companies.”
What are you hoping to achieve from being at BLE? “I have some exciting video game IP launching at BLE and would love to find a software team to help move this forward. I’d also love to make contact with some publishing companies as books are a huge passion of mine, as well as homeware companies that like bright, bold patterns!”
To find out more about the show and to register to attend Brand Licensing Europe, which takes place on Tuesday-Thursday, September 24-26 at ExCeL London, go to www.brandlicensing.eu.
