One of my favorite aspects of trade show exhibiting is the sharing that goes on between artists, whether its tips and tricks or tape and scissors. At the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, we were surrounded by great neighbors all around! Next door, to the left, were the men representing The Comstocks. (Julie, the third musketeer, stayed back in Utah to hold down the fort.) Since Ellen and I think of The Comstocks as super heroes, I thought this picture told the story best … note the super-hero stances while at the same time displaying their designer sensibilities with shirts that coordinated with their booth. Julie, you would have been proud!
Next door, to the right, housed Two Town Studios and My Friend Ronnie, and she really is my friend, Ronnie! Here she is with her partner in work and life, Jim Marcotte. Ronnie and I are very pleased that we found two excellent Jims to balance our creative sides (not that our Jims aren’t creative in their own Jim ways!) I am happy to report that we actually accomplished a great deal of work, when we weren’t just flat out laughing. Ronnie kept us in stitches … which is why you should find her ‘My Friend Ronnie’ products to have on hand, in case you are needing a little chuckle in the middle of the day.
We met two new friends at the Licensing Show Cocktail Party, and enjoyed visiting with them in their cheery booth. Sharyn Sowell is known for her amazing and delicate hand-cut illustrations, and also introduced some new directions at this show: beautiful watercolor pieces combined with elegant calligraphy. Barb Tourtillotte creates designs for a wide variety of subjects with a masterful watercolor style. You can see her whimsical snowmen or elegant florals on so many products from soup to nuts (well not soup, actually … but fabric, giftware, greeting cards and more).
Here’s another new friend, Deidre Mosher. You can just tell she is fun by looking at this picture and the spunky booth behind her. Deidre creates images for everyone from tweens to the mature sassy woman (I think I personally fit into that last category, although some might say I can’t claim the ‘mature’ part … just the ‘sassy woman’ part.) :-)
From afar, but right across the aisle at the show, were our new friends from Puerto Rico representing Ñañaritos, a brand created around hand-painted characters with a magical story. Their slogan “When you see us, you will feel happy,” was appropriate for the group, because each morning when they arrived, they were wearing a different set of brightly colored shirts that matched their booth. It was nice to have a daily colorful view across the aisle.
I hope you have enjoyed meeting some of our neighbors and new friends from the world of licensing … or at least those I was able to photograph before the booths were dismantled, which happened very, very fast! (My helpers will tell you that our booth was THE slowest booth take-down EVER, and that we need to create a better way of packing it, so that we can be like The Comstocks, who win the award for fastest take-down of all. And, believe me, after three days of standing, showing, and selling, that is a coveted award!)
