Austria-based greeting card publisher Pabuku is set to build on its success on the card front with teNeues joining Carousel Calendars and Ice House Books as licensing partners featuring the brand’s distinctive look.
Pabuku co-owners Ulla Klopf and Ute Baurecker appointed This is Iris as a licensing agency for the brand. The relationship blossomed following Pabuku reaching the finals in last year’s License This! competition, run by licensing trade show, BLE.
“It’s a pleasure and fun working with Sarah Lawrence, owner of This is Iris, and her team. We are excited to welcome our new licensing partners to the vibrant world of Pabuku and to see our designs spreading from greeting cards to other products and dimensions to touch people and make them smile … and there’s always more to explore!,” commented Ulla Klopf and Ute Baurecker, designers and co-owners of Pabuku.
While Carousel Calendars has the licensing rights for calendars and diaries for the UK market, the recent signing with teNeues is for the rest of Europe, the US, Japan and Australia.
Commenting on the attractions of the brand, Martin Rees-Davies, product and licensing lead of Carousel Calendar told PG Buzz: The Pabuku brand offers designs that are very different from anything on the market yet at the same time very on-trend. This is a collaboration that we are really excited about and also want to bring our environmental credentials with uncoated papers and plastic-free product to fully endorse the brands and Carousels values.”
Ice House Books, the sibling company to Half Moon Bay is also creating a gift book range.
With her own career having encompassed greeting card and paper products, having worked for the Portico Designs group, Sarah was well placed to include Pakubu alongside its other artist representations (which include Beryl Cook). “We are really enjoying working with Ulla and Ute on the new collections. They have such a clear understanding of design as well as storytelling which shine through each of their images. There is a reason for each element in their unique designs which is one of the reasons licensees have reacted so well to their portfolio,” said Sarah.
Top: Some Pabuku greeting card designs.