Tracey Colliston’s Owl’s Nest and George Mackay’s eejits crowned 2020 License This! Winners at the Festival of Licensing.
Two exciting new brands have been crowned this year’s winners of the License This! competition which took place during Festival of Licensing. Lancashire-based Tracey Colliston won the Brand & Design category with her sentimental Owls’ Nest illustrations of British woodland creatures. The designs can be currently found on gifts and greetings cards. George Mackay, from Caithness in Scotland, won the Character & Animation award for his ‘eejits’: his menagerie of misfortunate misfits born in the Highlands of Scotland.
Tracey Colliston’s Owl’s Nest greetings cards and handmade gifts are currently stocked in over 80 independent retailers across the UK and she would love to see her illustrations licensed across many more categories.
‘Winning License This! feels fantastic!,†said Tracey. “I absolutely love what I do, and it means so much to me that the hard work developing Owl’s Nest into a brand has been recognised. I’m very excited about the opportunities this may bring, and I’m keen to develop Owl’s Nest into lots of other products; stationery, ceramics and homeware, baby and nursery and more gift products. The versatility of Owl’s Nest and its collectability will hopefully open up many avenues. It’s so exciting!’
George Mackay’s eejits also currently feature on greetings cards and George has equally big ambitions for reaching a much bigger audience.
“An eejit is an idiot, a fool, a gormless ignoramus,†George explained. “Born in the Highlands of Scotland, these weird and wonderful creatures are even rarer than the famous haggis. Due to their incredibly stupid nature and natural curiosity, they have now been collected together for their own safety. A curious collection of creatures gathered together for the world to see.
“The eejits are primarily aimed at 7 –12yr olds, as well as big kids (like me). Their quirky nature, the charming art style and sometimes slightly self-deprecating humour is a draw to kids, and I think they would be ideal for a wide range of products such as soft plush or vinyl toys, but the ultimate dream would be to see the brand feature in hilariously humorous animated shorts. That’s the BIG goal of mine. Seeing the eejits brand on screen would be simply awesome.†This year’s winners will receive a free exhibition stand at Brand Licensing Europe 2021, one year’s membership of industry trade association Licensing International, PR support, and advice from the panel of industry experts. In addition, all finalists will receive legal consultation from competition sponsor Wynne-Jones.
