Tag Archives: ARTiSTORY

ARTiSTORY signs multiple licensees to its Gathering of the Greats theme

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Art and cultural IP specialist ARTiSTORY has welcomed new licensees Jade City Food, Ruggable, and Fashion UK. The licensees have all chosen designs from ARTiSTORY’s Gathering of the Greats theme and will launch products later this year.

ARTiSTORY researches market trends to create modern and contemporary design assets that are inspired by original artworks and artefacts from its museum partners.  Its Gathering of the Greats theme takes inspiration from some of the greatest artists and eras of our time, from Chinese landscapes to impressionist paintings. These designs are licensed to consumer brands and retailers and assist them to introduce compelling products, engage shoppers via digital marketing and offer immersive shopping experiences.

The deals with Ruggable, the first patented machine-washable rug, and Jade City Foods, a gourmet food and beverage company, were brokered by the ARTiSTORY U.S. office.

Launching in summer 2022, and in partnership with the National Gallery, Ruggable will create unique, artist-themed collections including works by Van Gogh, Monet and Turner. The National Gallery X Ruggable collaboration sees these famous artworks reimagined into bespoke rugs for people’s living rooms.

Jade City Foods will launch a collection of hot sauces and coffees in summer 2022. In partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the National Gallery, London, the products will all contain a variety of bespoke flavours and ingredients depending on the artwork that has been its inspiration.

“We are thrilled to be working with Ruggable and Jade City Foods, companies that mirror the ethos of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the National Gallery, London,” says Anna Stein, Country Manager and Business Development Director ARTiSTORY USA. “Watching historical artworks come to life is like sharing a piece of culture and history with the world. It’s not just about reinterpreting these masterpieces, it’s also about the story behind the design that now sits in your living room.”

Fashion UK will launch range of apparel in French retailer Kiabi in July 2022.  Brokered by ARTiSTORY LTD (EMEA) and inspired by the Gathering of the Greats theme, the range features iconic art from the National Gallery, London, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Natasha Dyson, co-founder and licensing director of ARTiSTORY, says: “The Gathering of the Greats theme has been our most popular theme to date. It’s fantastic to see the innovative way licensees are interpreting our designs and the art of our museum partners.”

For more information contact natasha@artistorybrands.net

ARTiSTORY launches its 2023 creatives to a global audience

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ARTiSTORY has revealed its 2023 Spring Summer global arts and cultural trends and themes to licensees, retailers and DTC brands across the world.

The online global event on 6 April 2022 presented new collections inspired by trend research and the wealth of artists and artefacts in the archives of ARTiSTORY’s museum partners: The National Gallery, London; The Brooklyn Museum, New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The National Palace Museum, Taipei; Dunhuang Inspiration, China and the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Spain.

In addition, ARTiSTORY announced its collaboration with the Benaki Museum, Greece for a multi-year, global licensing programme, and a new partnership with the presitigious Parsons School of Design at The New School. The New York based university, which provides world-class education in design and art history, will work with ARTiSTORY’s Global Artists Programme to reinterpret museum pieces for a commercial context.

As for serving the global market, ARTiSTORY announced strategic partnership with Sevens Marketing Consulting. The two entities will work together to help Chinese DTC companies build their brand and increase sales in the global markets.

ARTiSTORY’s North America office also shared news of two new deals with Ruggable, a high-end DTC rug company and Jade City Foods, a specialty food manufacturer, who will be both working with ARTiSTORY’s museum partners for co-branded products.

Four new trend-led themes were launched: ‘Marvellous Menagerie’, ‘She Created’, ‘Glitz and Glam’, and a refreshed collection for ARTiSTORY’s popular ‘Botanical Affairs’ theme.

The new collections of prints and patterns are inspired by some of the world’s greatest artists, including Peter Paul Rubens, George Barbier, Clara Wolcott Driscoll, Maria Sybilla Merian and William Morris, with their iconically beautiful designs of florals and animals. Beatrix Potter and her famous bunnies celebrate the upcoming Year of the Rabbit and Easter. John James Audubon and George Stubbs bring together our natural environment, along with stories and legends of the Silk Road.

Female focused ‘She Created’ celebrates the work of Guan Daosheng, the oldest known artist in the collections, dating from the 13th century.

‘Glitz and Glam’ features splendid headdresses made by Chinese court artists and the flappers and feathers of the 1920s, bringing these beautiful crowns and jewels roaring back to life and ready to embrace the dazzling 2020s.

The collections are now available to licence across multiple product categories and territories, supported with storytelling content for merchandising, marketing and immersive experiences.

Yizan He, Founder and CEO of ARTiSTORY, says: “The annually refreshed themes are developed in line with the global fashion trends, and inspired by the collecitons from our museum partners. Via licensing, retailers and consumer brands can work closely with ARTiSTORY to develop attrative new product lines that are appealing to shoppers.  The ‘artifacts to merchandise’ capabilty is a key competitive strength of ARTiSTORY.”

Natasha Dyson, co-founder & licensing director, ARTiSTORY, also commented: “This was our second creative launch and we were very happy to welcome so many new attendees, in additional to those who re-joined us.  As well as presenting stunning designs our themes highlighted some important issues, such as sustainability and protecting the planet and its wildlife. We hope to encourage brands and retailers to create eco-friendly and sustainable products that also match the ethos of our museum partners”.

 

ARTiSTORY partners with the Benaki Museum, Greece

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ARTiSTORY has signed global licensing rights with the Benaki Museum in Greece, adding to its growing portfolio of international cultural partners.

The Benaki Museum opened its doors in 1931 in Athens and is among the most extensive and innovative museums in Europe. Arranged across ten buildings, it welcomes over 450,000 visitors a year to its galleries and exhibitions, performing arts hub, manufacturing and research facilities and pioneering shop.

ARTiSTORY will be creating designs inspired by the Museum’s extensive collections, which include over 120,000 works of art, 200,000 books, 1 million photographs, and thousands of rare documents covering Greek and Roman Archaeology, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art, Early Modern Greek Material Culture, Modern and Contemporary Greek Photography, Architecture and Design, Music and Performing Arts but also Islamic, Chinese, Pre-Columbian American, African and Korean Art, as well as an extensive collection of toys and games from around the world.

The Benaki Museum joins ARTiSTORY’s prestigious group of other cultural partners: the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Gallery, London; Brooklyn Museum, New York; the National Palace Museum, Taipei; Dunhuang Culture & Tourism Group, China; and the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid.

With offices in London, Barcelona, Boston, Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai, ARTiSTORY, with support from its investment partner Sinofaith IP Investment Company (SIPIC), is well placed to bring this world-class museum brand to the global marketplace.

“I am excited about the Benaki Museum joining ARTiSTORY’s growing art and cultural IP portfolio.  This is a significant milestone for ARTiSTORY as we expand our portfolio to include more world’s leading cultural organisations from various countries” comments Yizan He, founder & CEO of ARTiSTORY.

“The Benaki Museum, a depository of trust for the Greek and world cultural heritage, enters with enthusiasm into this partnership with ARTiSTORY”, comments Haris Siampanis, CEO of the Benaki Museum in Athens. “For over 90 years now, the Benaki has been safeguarding and disseminating culture, heritage and education while acting as a leading agent of innovation and sustainability endeavours”.

ARTiSTORY secures global licensing rights for the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Spain

 

 

ARTiSTORY partners with the Benaki Museum, Greece

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ARTiSTORY has signed global licensing rights with the Benaki Museum in Greece, adding to its growing portfolio of international cultural partners.

The Benaki Museum opened its doors in 1931 in Athens and is among the most extensive and innovative museums in Europe. Arranged across ten buildings, it welcomes over 450,000 visitors a year to its galleries and exhibitions, performing arts hub, manufacturing and research facilities and pioneering shop.

ARTiSTORY will be creating designs inspired by the Museum’s extensive collections, which include over 120,000 works of art, 200,000 books, 1 million photographs, and thousands of rare documents covering Greek and Roman Archaeology, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art, Early Modern Greek Material Culture, Modern and Contemporary Greek Photography, Architecture and Design, Music and Performing Arts but also Islamic, Chinese, Pre-Columbian American, African and Korean Art, as well as an extensive collection of toys and games from around the world.

The Benaki Museum joins ARTiSTORY’s prestigious group of other cultural partners: the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Gallery, London; Brooklyn Museum, New York; the National Palace Museum, Taipei; Dunhuang Culture & Tourism Group, China; and the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid.

With offices in London, Barcelona, Boston, Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai, ARTiSTORY, with support from its investment partner Sinofaith IP Investment Company (SIPIC), is well placed to bring this world-class museum brand to the global marketplace.

“I am excited about the Benaki Museum joining ARTiSTORY’s growing art and cultural IP portfolio.  This is a significant milestone for ARTiSTORY as we expand our portfolio to include more world’s leading cultural organisations from various countries” comments Yizan He, founder & CEO of ARTiSTORY.

“The Benaki Museum, a depository of trust for the Greek and world cultural heritage, enters with enthusiasm into this partnership with ARTiSTORY”, comments Haris Siampanis, CEO of the Benaki Museum in Athens. “For over 90 years now, the Benaki has been safeguarding and disseminating culture, heritage and education while acting as a leading agent of innovation and sustainability endeavours”.

ARTiSTORY secures global licensing rights for the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Spain

 

 

ARTiSTORY brings together AI firm obode and the National Gallery

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Art and cultural IP specialist ARTiSTORY has brought AIoT technology eco-brand obode, a member of China’s Midea Robozone, together with the National Gallery, London, to create a smart-robot vacuum cleaner featuring designs inspired by three great artists and supported with innovative digital marketing content.

The smart robot, obode P8, launching to market this spring, will be available to purchase online at Kickstarter. P8 is one of obode’s most advanced AIoT products, and is part of what Midea Robozone calls “the new wave of tech life”, combining technology and art.

As part of ARTiSTORY’s living artists programme, Finnish designer and illustrator Janine Rewell was commissioned to create new contemporary artwork for obode P8 inspired by three masterpieces in the National Gallery: Ambrosius Bosschaert’s Still Life of Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase, Claude Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond and Vincent van Gogh’s iconic Sunflowers. The three artists shared a fascination with nature and benefitted from advances in science and technology, such as the newly invented microscope which Bosschaert may have used to study the flowers he painted in detail. Images of the new artwork will be created as stickers to be applied to the robot cleaner by the customer.

The collaboration is being supported by a digital marketing campaign arranged and led by ARTiSTORY. This includes a film shoot in the National Gallery, bespoke narrative, and interviews with the artist Janine Rewell and the National Gallery Company’s B2B and Brand Licensing Director.

“This exciting collaboration is a great example of how ARTiSTORY’s licensing programmes can bring together cultural IP with cutting-edge innovative products and immersive digital storytelling content,” says Yizan He, CEO and Founder of ARTiSTORY.

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ARTiSTORY’s Seasons of Impressionists creatives set to travel the world with uin Footwear

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Art and cultural IP specialist ARTiSTORY has licensed global creative rights excluding China to the Spanish footwear brand uin for launching a new collection in partnership with the National Gallery Company, London.

The DTC brand, known for its colourful art-inspired footwear, has chosen ARTiSTORY creatives inspired by timeless classics housed in the National Gallery, London, by the great artists of Impressionism: Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Georges Seurat and Edgar Degas. The exclusive collection, entitled “A Timeless Journey”, combines ARTiSTORY’s contemporary take on masterpieces such as Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Monet’s The Water Lily Pond  with uin’s innovative and comfortable footwear, perfectly showcasing their core passions – travel and art.

“uin Art Travel Shoes is determined to create a new category of travel shoes, combining simple but natural and comfortable products with creative artistic patterns,” says Fernando Acevedo, Cofounder and Chief Designer of uin. “We are excited to set forth on this timeless journey together with images of the National Gallery’s masterpieces.” 

Seasons of Impressionists is one of the 17 creative collections available to be licensed via ARTiSTORY’s unique “Artefacts to Merchandise” and storytelling model, inspired by the archives of its museum partners.

ARTiSTORY’s Founder and CEO Yizan He says: “We’re delighted to be working with uin on this collaboration with the National Gallery Company and look forward to joining this timeless journey with our partners, witnessing art stories travelling the world.”

ARTiSTORY appoints Markettcom to cover UAE and Saudi Arabia

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Specialist in art and cultural licensing ARTiSTORY is continuing to expand its global operation with the appointment of Markettcom agency.

Capitalising on the growing appetite for Western museums in the UAE following the opening of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi and the forthcoming Guggenheim opening in Abu Dhabi, which is scheduled for 2025,  Markettcom will represent ARTiSTORY in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to work across licensing, LBE and estate development, to gain early entry into this expanding market.

The addition of Markettcom gives ARTiSTORY representation in this new territory as well as in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Benelux, Russia, North America, China, Singapore, S. Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

Markettcom is a media and licensing agency headquartered in Dubai with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey, working closely with their partners and clients to grow their brand awareness and licensing business in the MENA region.

“I’m excited about the new partnership with ARTiSTORY,” Amer Bitar, CEO at Markettcom Limited comments. “We are very pleased with our new licensing partnership with ARTiSTORY, and we are confident we can grow the art licensing market in the Middle East. ARTiSTORY is an artistic content creator, and we will be able to utilise our strong expertise and relationships within the licensing and retail industry in the Middle East to introduce great innovative designs in that growing market.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Markettcom,” says Natasha Dyson, co-founder and licensing director at ARTiSTORY. “It’s the perfect time for us to be expanding ARTiSTORY’s business in UAE and Saudi Arabia and with Amer’s background in art history, and extensive licensing experience, we couldn’t have found a better partner.”

ARTiSTORY launches artist collaborations programme

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Art and cultural IP specialist ARTiSTORY has taken the next step in its licensing model by launching its artist collaborations programme.

The partnerships with living artists will see three-way co-branding between brands, artists and museums and gives established and emerging artists the chance to draw inspiration from the rich cultural and artistic treasures of the archives of ARTiSTORY’s museum partners, and create fresh, contemporary artwork in their own unique personal style.

By bringing together cultural IP, international artists and global brands, ARTiSTORY will further expand museums’ licensing programmes and service the rapid increase in demand for art and cultural IP through its “Artefacts to Merchandise” and digital storytelling model.

“This is a win-win for everyone,” says Alicia Chen, Country Manager of ARTiSTORY’s Singapore Office, who is managing the artists programme. “Artists get the opportunity to be associated with the world’s top museums, brands can provide consumers with access to their favourite artists via uniquely designed products endorsed by museums, and museums can engage new audiences, particularly a younger demographic who follow and support their favourite designers on social media.”

Two famous international artists, Ukrainian artist Sveta Dorosheva and British artist Laura Greenan, are working on new artwork inspired by ARTiSTORY’s museum partner Dunhuang. Dunhuang was an essential meeting point on the Silk Road for travellers passing between East and West one thousand years ago and this gathering of diverse people and cultures led to the creation of great legacies such as the world-famous stucco sculptures and the murals of Mogao Caves, which are now providing rich inspiration for artists to continue the cultural creativity of Dunhuang for a new era.

Originally from Ukraine and currently based in Israel, Sveta’s narrative art and detailed illustration reveals her fascination with myth and fairytales. Sveta has published best-selling books and has been shortlisted twice for the World Illustration Awards. For ARTiSTORY’s artist programme, Sveta is creating canopies, murals and flying images of Dunhuang, taking inspiration from the murals of the Mogao Caves.

Laura Greenan’s style has been described as “Jelly Candy Pop Art”. Her vibrant, joyful illustrations include elements of psychedelia, Art Deco and fantasy, and she takes influences from the 1960s as well as current popular culture including computer games and films. Laura has previously worked with Vogue Japan, Francis Wren Candle and The Wall Street Journal. She is currently working on creations inspired by Dunhuang’s architecture, canopies and Mojing patterns which will be licensed by ARTiSTORY for co-branded products.

ARTiSTORY strengthens UK sales team with the appointment of Caroline High

ARTiSTORY strengthens UK sales team with the appointment of Caroline High

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Global art and cultural IP licensee ARTiSTORY continues to grow its UK team with the appointment of Caroline High, of Caroline High Consultancy Ltd.

Caroline is an established brand licensing expert with 20 years’ experience working with a wide genre of brands across the globe, including preschool, entertainment, lifestyle, heritage and movie.

Having previously worked at Boat Rocker Studios, Fremantle Media and Warner Bros, Caroline brings vast experience in developing licensing and retail strategies across a range of categories, leading on global toy and publishing deals, launching soft lines and apparel collaborations as well as DTRs with major retailers and also managing agencies across EMEA and Australasia.

Working on brands such as Thomas & Friends, the DC Comics portfolio, Harry Potter, and entertainment brands including The X Factor, Caroline has an in-depth knowledge of the licensing industry and most recently developed the licensing strategies for preschool shows Love Monster and Dino Ranch, negotiating the master toy, publishing and soft lines rights with partners and agents across North America and EMEA.

Caroline will play a key role in the UK team to secure licensing deals using ARTiSTORY’s latest on-trend designs inspired by artwork and artefacts from the archives of its partners: the National Gallery, London; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Palace Museum, Taipei; and Dunhuang.

ARTiSTORY Co-Founder and Licensing Director Natasha Dyson said “Having worked with Caroline previously I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work together again at ARTiSTORY. A huge part of ARTiSTORY’s business is creating unique and exclusive designs, so having someone with Caroline’s creative vison joining the sales team is a big win.”

Caroline commented “Having recently set up my own consultancy I am delighted to work with Natasha and the team at ARTiSTORY and I am looking forward to working on the licensing strategy for their engaging portfolio and bringing their designs to market in new categories.”

Q&A: Natasha Dyson, co-founder of ARTiSTORY

Q&A: Natasha Dyson, co-founder of ARTiSTORY

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A specialist in cultural IP licensing, ARTiSTORY was co-founded a year ago by industry trailblazers Yizan He and Natasha Dyson. Over the past 12 months the company has secured major partnerships with some of the world’s leading cultural institutions, including the National Gallery, London; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Dunhuang, China, and the Brooklyn Museum, New York.

We caught up with Natasha ahead of the company’s appearance at Brand Licensing Europe this week to talk about how arts and culture licensing works in practice, and the company’s plans for 2022.

You’re a fairly new business. Can you give us a bit of background on you and Yizan and why you founded ARTiSTORY? 

We are indeed, we’re celebrating our 1st birthday at BLE.

Both Yizan and I have been working in the licensing industry for many years, gaining experience that compliments the other. I have a varied background working for agencies and brand owners, as well as my own consultancy, covering all sectors and age groups for the EU market. In fact, this year is my 20th anniversary in licensing.

Over the last 18 years Yizan has developed award-winning licensing programmes across Greater China and North America. He was voted one of the top 250 IP Strategists in 2011 by Intellectual Asset Management Magazine and regularly sits on the judging panel of the Premier Asian Licensing Awards and China Licensing Awards.

There are two key reasons that Yizan and I decided to set up ARTiSTORY. Firstly, art and culture licensing is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global licensing space at the moment.  Secondly, Yizan has spent the previous five years building multimillion dollar licensing programmes for the V&A, British Museum, National Galley, MFA and the MET in China, but his dream was to expand globally. When Yizan and I reconnected just before the start of the Covid pandemic, the idea to set up a business in Europe was born. This rapidly expanded into becoming the global business that we are today.

Can you explain how ARTiSTORY operates? What are your core areas of business? 

ARTiSTORY is a master licensee for our museum partners.  Our license provides us with an extensive range of product categories, everything from fashion to home goods, through topop-up stores and themed hotels, which we can sub-license to retailers, brands and manufacturers.

There are three core pillars to our business: creative development, licensing, and content developer.

ARTiSTORY invests in developing usable artwork that transforms “Artefacts to Merchandise” and appeals to our core target audience: Gen Z and Millennials, art fans and overseas audiences. We have an extensive team of creatives including researchers, designers, content writers and immersive experts, who not only create beautiful designs but ensure that we tell the story of each artefact or artwork though the content we develop.

Once the creative assets have been developed, we license these to global retailers, brands and manufacturers. Our licensing partners have access to exclusive pre-approved artwork that is delivered as layered files to allow customisation, and can immediately be used on products and packaging, thus reducing the time that licensees need to spend on the design and approval process.

Finally, we support our licensees by creating various forms of content such as narrative, live streaming from museums, short-form videos and social media challenges on TikTok. Licensees and retailers can break down the content to use for packaging, swing tickets, in-store POS and for digital marketing purposes. We also work with retailers and brands to create in-store immersive experiences.

Why do you think heritage licensing is such a strong sector at the moment? 

A key appeal to brands and retailers is the longevity and security that art and cultural licensing provides. The global pandemic has sped up the digitalisation of the museum and cultural sector and this digital shift is changing the way that younger demographics engage with art and culture. At ARTiSTORY we are designing digital, sharable tools and engagement strategies which are opening up the cultural world to entirely new audiences.

ARTiSTORY produces twice-yearly theme launches. Can you give us a sneak peek of what’s up and coming next year?

We have four trend led themes for next year:

Botanical Affairs – Taking inspiration from flora and fauna, the harvests from our land; bringing the outdoors in, we engage all senses, to appreciate the natural world around us.

Gathering of the Greats – With over 8,000 years of history within our museums, we catch a glimpse of some of the most creative, innovative makers of the art world.

Let’s Play – Theatre tickets ready, parties to celebrate, dancing across the floor and imagination galore… Entertainment is back, the 2020s can begin, Let’s Play!

Dunhuang – A UNESCO World Heritage site where spices were traded for knowledge, silks for imagination.

What would you like to achieve from BLE this year?

We’ve taken a stand (B219) to ensure we are visual to those who have read about us, but not yet met us. Our focus is on securing licensing partners, retailers and brands that can not only benefit from our having access to our exclusive designs, but also the content we provide for digital marketing.

We’ll be announcing our first licensing partners in the next month or so. I can’t give away too much now, but I can tell you these are multi-territory partners for us across apparel and home electronics. And we have some exciting new artist collaborations coming soon, so watch this space!