Paddington-inspired café opens at London’s Paddington Station

The Copyrights Group has announced the launch of a new Paddington-inspired café at Paddington Station.

Designed with the help of interior designers Avocado Sweets, the unique environment has been created to reflect the Paddington brand values, and features rich colours, vintage furniture, natural textures and a live green wall.

Luggage tag themed way-finding, comfortable booth seating complete with vintage luggage rack and suitcases beside an illuminated ‘Lost and Found’ sign evoke Paddington’s original journey to London where he was found at Paddington station. Playful touches have been designed to “embody Paddington’s spirit”, and include his iconic silhouetted head carefully burned into each tabletop by hand.

Peggy Fortnum’s original Paddington illustration, first published in 1958, has been faithfully reproduced as a piece of mural art on the café’s red brick wall.

The café will serve beverages and locally sourced food, including freshly baked pastries and muffins, and Fairtrade Peruvian Single Origin coffee – a nod to Paddington’s home country.

Building on the successful Paddington store located a few steps away, the Paddington Café will also offer a dedicated range of bespoke products to purchase, including adult apparel and some iconic Paddington products.

“We are thrilled to open our first Paddington Café,” says Sophie Kopaczynski, CEO Copyrights Group. “The warm ambiance, subtly inspired by Paddington, will offer a bubble for a relaxing moment and an invitation to travel, to all our customers, who will be able to enjoy carefully sourced fresh products, and premium quality coffees and teas. But also marmalade sandwiches! Everything has been designed and thought in accordance to Paddington’s main value: kindness. We do believe we’ll offer a unique Café experience to commuters, travellers and Paddington fans.”

The Paddington Café is located on The Lawn, Unit 22, Paddington Station. More information, including opening times, can be found at @PaddingtonCafeLondon on Instagram.

 

 

 

 

Barbour enlists Paddington for new Christmas campaign

Leading heritage and lifestyle brand Barbour is collaborating for the first time with the much-loved children’s character Paddington Bear for this year’s seasonal campaign, with a seasonal film that includes the original Peggy Fortnum illustration style which has never been animated before.

Barbour’s festive film follows the mishaps and adventures of Paddington Bear as he comes up with an idea for a thoughtful gift. Full of nostalgia, it celebrates the joy of giving a very special present that means so much.

Paul Wilkinson, Group Marketing Director, Barbour, says: “Paddington Bear is a much-loved children’s character who is kind-hearted and full of good intentions, even if he does get into scrapes along the way!  To celebrate our Re-Waxing Centenary, we have centred the story around a thoughtful gift from Paddington as he re-waxes Mr Brown’s beloved Barbour jacket for Christmas. It’s nostalgic, humorous and sentimental and shows just how much our Barbour jackets are loved and become an important part of the family; if re-waxed at least once a year, they can last a long long time.”

Triple Academy-Award-winning production company Passion Pictures produced the animation in hand-painted 2D. Directed by trio againstallodds, the film was created in TV Paint and aftereffects, with painstaking efforts made to faithfully bring Peggy Fortnum’s signature style to life. Every frame of the animation is hand drawn and painted with close to 3000 hours of work since May going into the design, animation and composition of the final film.

Working closely with the production team at Passion Pictures, Barbour’s integrated creative agency, Thinking Juice, were inspired by the Paddington quote “Please look after this bear” from the original story to come up with the narrative and the creative elements of the campaign.

The agreement was brokered by The Copyrights Group, a Vivendi Company which owns the Paddington brand. Rachel Clarke, SVP UK – Licensing & Retail at The Copyrights Group said: “Copyrights are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Barbour for this wonderful heartwarming campaign full of kindness, humour and fun, just like Paddington himself”.

To support the campaign, Barbour is launching a children’s Paddington Bear collection. Soft jersey sweats and hoodies in navy, red, grey and ecru feature alongside nightwear, all with humorous Paddington Bear illustrations by Peggy Fortnum  – some with a Barbour twist. Accessories include hat and scarf sets, beanie hats and cosy wellington socks.

To watch the Barbour Christmas film via the Barbour website, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paddington Bear is taking over the British Library this summer with exclusive exhibition

Paddington Bear is taking over the British Library this summer with the launch of a special, family-friendly exhibition celebrating 60 years of one of the world’s most beloved bears.

Paddington: The Story of a Bear will run at the library from July 9th to October 31st with an exhibitions spanning the 60 years since the character was first published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 1958. The exhibition will feature over 50 books, documents, film clips, and original artworks as it explores the creation of Michael Bond’s Paddington in full.

The exhibition will also feature activities for visitors to practise their hard stares, take their own self ‘pawtrait’ and follow the trail of marmalade left by Paddington, as well as a special printed guide for families. Two local primary schools in Camden – Argyle Primary School and Edith Neville Primary School – have been working with the Library since November 2020 to create new content for display in the exhibition for all visitors to enjoy. 

Paddington is a timeless and universal story of desire for home, acceptance and a sense of belonging, which appeals to all ages. Featuring books, documents, film clips and original illustrations, highlights will include, a First Edition of A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum, the original review of A Bear Called Paddington by Barbara Ker Wilson in 1958, and a selection of photographs and memorabilia of Michael Bond on loan from his family.

It will also feature clips from the Paddington movies and sound recordings such as Michael Bond talking about the process of creating Paddington’s stories, as well as original illustrations of Paddington stories by artists including Peggy Fortnum, David McKee and RW Alley.

Alison Bailey, lead curator of Paddington: The Story of a Bear, said: “Paddington: The Story of a Bear is a fun, family-friendly exhibition recalling the many faces of Paddington we’ve come to know and love in original artwork, books, and scenes from TV and film adaptations.

“This exhibition reminds us why, over 60 years on from his creation, Paddington still resonates with people of all ages, wherever they are in the world. We hope visitors enjoy following this loveable bear on his adventures and discovering his stories.”

Sophie Kopaczynski, CEO at Copyrights Group said: “As Paddington brand owners we are delighted to be working with the British Library on this fantastic exhibition. 

“The exhibition invites families and fans – old and new – into the world of Paddington, full of adventure and kindness, through a wide variety of mediums, books to original artworks, letters to objects, film footage to exclusive TV clips. 

“It is always a pleasure to be able to introduce Paddington to a new audience and to offer new and exciting content for existing fans.”

There will be a series of events and adult learning courses inspired by the exhibition, as well as workshops for families and relaxed openings for children on the autism spectrum.

School groups can enjoy exclusive timed slots including free, activity-led facilitated workshops for Primary students.

The Copyrights Group lays plans for Paddington in Benelux with License Connection partnership

Brand development agency, The Copyrights Group has appointed License Connection as its Benelux licensing agent for Paddington Bear. The outfit will represent the popular IP across classic, baby, movie, and TV for a broad range of products in the region.

Written by Michael Bond and first in print in 1958 in the volume titled A Bear Called Paddington, Paddington has become a literary icon that has gone on to sell 35 million copies worldwide. The series has since been translated in to over 40 different languages.

The Paddington movies produced by Studiocanal, with Harry Potter’s David Heyman have become the most successful independent family movie franchise ever, with more than $500m at the box-office.

This year will see a brand-new Paddington TV series designed for a pre-school audience launch worldwide on Nickelodeon. The Adventures of Paddington features a young Paddington and reaches out to a whole new generation of fans.

Franca Bernatavicius, senior international licensing manager, The Copyrights Group, said: “We are very pleased to be working with License Connection on Paddington Bear in the Benelux. This is a very exciting time for Paddington, with the rich publishing heritage and the success of the films now paving the way for the upcoming TV series and a new generation of fans across the Benelux.”

Daphne Kellerman of License Connection, added: “We are delighted that The Copyrights Group has appointed License Connection as the Benelux Licensing Agent for Paddington. We see great potential for the brand in the territory because of its heritage and the new adventures that are about to come.

“It is a well-known brand already globally and we look forward to add partners to create new products, so kids and parents can go on their own journey with Paddington.”