Live final will take place online during Festival of Licensing at 10am Thursday 8 October

17 September 2020

Six exciting brand designers have been shortlisted for this year’s License This! final, which will take place live online during Festival of Licensing at 10am (BST) Thursday 8 October. There are three brands shortlisted in each of the Character & Animation and Brand & Design award categories.

Character & Animation finalists:

· George Mackay: Brand name: eejits: Company name: Creature Aided Design

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· Anthony Williams: Brand name: WhamBlam!: Company: Taoa Studio

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· Siobhan Harrison: Brand name: Foxglove Fairies: Company: Siobhan at April Rose

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Brand & Design finalists:

· Louise Bell: Brand & Company: Louise Bell Art

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· Danelle van Eeden: Brand & Company: Kos-Kos

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· Tracey Colliston: Brand name: Owls Nest: Company: Ginger Betty

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This year’s two License This! winners will receive a free exhibition stand at BLE 2021, one year’s Licensing International membership, PR support, and invaluable advice from the panel of industry experts. In addition, all finalists will receive legal consultation from competition sponsor Wynne-Jones. Previous entrants – both winners and finalists – have successfully signed lucrative agent and licensing deals.

This year’s judges are:

· Kelvyn Gardner, managing director, Asgard Media (Chair of the Judging Panel)

· Sarah Ward, CEO, The Giftware Association

· Kirsty Barr, Grapevine PR

· Victor Caddy, director and trademark & design attorney, Wynne-Jones

Character & Animation award

• Dan Grant, licensing director, Danilo Promotions

• Clare Piggott, managing director, Larkshead Media

• Ruth Golightly, head of buying, Asda

• Ben Woodman, commercial manager, GB eye Ltd

• Ian Downes, director, Start Licensing

• Nico Franks, editor, C21 Kids

Brand & Design award

· Stuart Cox, owner, I Like Birds

· Vicki Thomas, owner, Vicki Thomas Associates

· Sarah Lawrence, director, This is Iris

· Jehane Boden Spiers, founder, JEHANE Ltd

· Will Stewart, founder and managing director, The Point.1888

Chair Kelvyn Gardner said: “Despite the obstacles, the 2020 License This! competition once more produced a plethora of creativity and business foresight among some high-quality entries. We have six very worthy finalists from whom we look forward to live pitches to decide our two champions.”

Character & Animation category judge Dan Grant: “It’s always a pleasure to be involved in the License This! judging and this year was no exception. The event has really started to broaden its reach on an international scale with many of the entrants coming from various countries in Europe and beyond. It’s great to see ideas being created at a grass roots level, which could one day go onto be major licensed properties. The tough bit is always working out who should go forward to the final.”

Brand & Design category judge Jehane Boden Spiers: “Having been part of the judging panel for the past three years, License This! is always a highlight in my calendar. It’s wonderful to exchange insights with our panel of experts and see fresh new ideas coming through from the next generation of artists and brands. This year’s entries for the Brand & Design category impressed, as ever, with a diverse range of ideas and visual concepts. We had a great selection of proposals to judge from all around the world. It was of particular note, this year, to see that more of the entrants brought their specific personal experience and knowledge to their concepts - giving a distinct advantage and creating a competitive edge. I am looking forward to seeing our finalists pitch their concepts at the final next month. It’s a life-changing experience to take part in License This! and excellent to see how many of our past runners-up and finalists have gone on to secure significant opportunities within our industry.”