LicensingSource chats to Declan McCarthy, head of publishing and licensing at The Ashmolean about how its licensing programme continues to develop, challenges and focuses for 2022.
“I felt that start [of the year] was cautious in terms of licensing, as the country was still in lockdown. There was uncertainty around reopening and the proposition of further restrictions, but it has certainly started to gather pace from the summer onwards.
Certainly getting the Museum back open and seeing the joy on visitors’ faces as they enter is always a highlight. We now have school groups back in, which is great to see. In terms of launches, I think our partnership with Conway Stewart commencing with a very special ‘Ruskin’ pen was a really enjoyable experience for all concerned. I hope this will be the start of a collectable series. Another highlight was the launch of a very special boxed set of facsimile Raphael drawings. These were beautifully replicated and the box matches the leather boxes that the real drawings are stored in.
We were very fortunate that a number of really good partnerships were already in place, or about to come to fruition [ahead of lockdown], and we could rely on that for a time. We had only just starting working with Start Licensing in the January before the first closures in March, which meant we very quickly had to move to remote meetings, but Ian kept us positive. We did a lot more ‘reaching out’ and also using more digital tools to help keep the Ashmolean name out there.
For the next few months we are focused on new partnerships in co-publishing and home and garden categories. We also are working towards partnerships in fashion retail. The Ashmolean Museum is still a relative newcomer to the licensing arena, so I feel that we have so much to offer that may not have been explored before in this sector. It is a really exciting time for us.”
This feature originally appeared in the autumn 2021 edition of Licensing Source Book. To read the full publication, click on this link.
