Artistic Licensing

The area devoted to art licensing on the show floor of the Licensing Expo almost has the feel of a close-knit neighborhood. Of course everyone is there to do business and expand their brands with licensing deals but there is a strong sense of community amongst this group that stems from the fact that what is being promoted was created from a personal place and by the artist's own hand.

Ketra Oberlander strongly reflects that attitude. Oberlander runs The Art of Possibility, an agency that represents a handful of artists with disabilities, including recently signed Enid Swift, who suffers from a neurological disorder, and George Mendoza, who is blind. Oberlander herself is legally blind. "Going on disability is fine. Disability is there for the people who need it, but I just don't have the temperment," said Oberlander. "People can support us through our work. This is a social effort as much as it is about merchandising."

Oberlander has been spending the last few month refining the infrastructure of her organization and will then look to attract more artists to her agency. Oberlander works in oils and acrylics and depicts a variety of subjects from floral portraits to boxed chocolates. Two of her pieces have been featured on "Extreme Home Makeover."

Another property that is based on a strong foundation in social responsibility is Blueberry Fun, a character 14 years in the making and the brainchild of creator David Gleason. The brand's core message is centered on protecting children against abduction and abuse and also has a strong education component. In Blueberry's adventures the character is often inserted into real historical scenes with real characters, for example, working with Alexander Graham Bell.

Teachers and kids can interact at www.BlueberryGAMES.com. Games have dynamic content and allow schoolteachers to change the questions and answers within the games on a daily basis. Teachers can post daily study assignments that appear within Blueberry games. Kids can play computer games and win prizes offered by sponsors. Schools can make money for each minute that a student is logged on. The money is generated from sponsors highlighted in the games. In addition. Parents can print out coupons supplied by local sponsors.

Future initiatives include a Blueberry Fun television series and feature film and plans for a theme park. Blueberry Kids Benefit Cards have been created in a partnership with EHR Medical. Parents can store health information such as allergies and vaccination histories on the card that is double-encoded and approved by the American Red Cross.

Art Makers International was at the show promoting its line up of properties including the Vicky Howard Collection, Designs by Current and the Morehead Collection. Vicky Howard's work extends across a wide range of categories including art prints, gift items, greeting cards, stationery products, and party ware and are available at retailers such as Costco, Meijer, Target and Walgreens.. The brand recently signed a deal for a line of Solo cups.

Iku Design was touting its intricate geometric designs at the expo. Patterns are available for a variety of commercial, industrial and artistic applications, such as tile, stone, textile, paper and glass. Geometric consistency between all iku Design patterns makes them ideally suited for customers looking for a consistent, renewable series of exclusive design releases. One unique characteristic of an iku pattern is its exclusivity - once produced, it is available only on a limited basis, and cannot be exactly replicated.

Life is Crap, the company that keeps its sense of humor even when life isn't going great was on hand promoting its new line of adjustable 100% premium grade heavy cotton baseball caps with embroidered Life Is Crap logos on the front. The company was also touting a more upscale packaging for its popular line of T-shirts. The sturdy cardboard boxes are designed to hang on racks and are shaped in the form of a T-shirt.