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Stand number AD06 Country Cats and Cool for Cats are two brand new products being unveiled at Brand Licensing Europe (September 28-30) by Oxfordshire artist Ann Edwards.
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At the same time, visitors to her stand at AD06 will be able to see Chef and Sue, another new collection, which is already being featured by Waitrose in its weekend magazine for customers.
Known for her quirky and amusing animal characters, Anns existing properties have already been snapped up by licensees with products sold in 42 countries, and now she is hoping to extend her portfolio still further.
Both Country Cats and Cool for Cats feature the adventures of her own favourite moggy Thomas, as he discovers the delights of the English countryside in Country Cats, while in the second collection, the trademark grumpy cat is transformed into a raft of different comedy characters.
Thomas is such a fabulous character and appeals to all ages, so he makes the perfect licensed property, said Ann. Hes proved very popular in textiles, tabletop and giftware and Im hoping to both extend these ranges and talk to new licensees to see what other avenues we can explore. |
One successful spin-off from Country Cats has already been the Cotswold Cats collection, which has been licensed in Japan on a whole range of products, including T-shirts, mugs, pen sets and stationery sets.
Ann will be launching the collection with a special guest appearance at the prestigious British Fair in Osaka, Japan, in October, shortly after Brand Licensing closes. The fair, which is now in its 40th year, is held at Hankyu Corporations department store in the centre of Osaka and attracts up to 1 million customers.
As part of its promotional campaign, the company has just featured Thomas in its latest newspaper, which goes out to some 4.2 million readers already making him one of the best-known feline faces in Japan. |
