Last Lemon Crosses the Pond

Not content with launching into the U.S. market from its base in the U.K., Last Lemon has relocated to the West Coast of the U.S. to give the launch its best chance of success.

It has been 10 years since creative duo Ralph Lazar and Lisa Swerling teamed up to start an art licensing business, which has become notable for its strategic approach and its hands-on methods. "We build the back end without the front end, which has turned out to be a very strong model," said Lazar. His words describe an appealing aspect of art licensing: You can start with a design idea, launch it online, watch to see if it gets traffic and, if it does, extend into cards and on to other products. It's all relatively low-risk and generates fast feedback.

Last Lemon has built a successful business in the U.K., and its best-known property is called Harold's Planet. The brand is well-established on cards, books and other products, and the line style that describes Harold's witty take on the world seems very suited to animation. Typically, Last Lemon has embarked on the animation of Harold itself. "We have always done stuff organically and this is no exception. This way, we can put the animation online, test it inexpensively and then market it more widely," said Lazar.

Last Lemon will now put down roots in the U.S. market and try to replicate the "organically grown" business model that has done so well in the U.K.

Last Lemon has another quiet revolution going on with The Brainwaves, some busy, inquisitive characters that it licensed to Dorling Kindersley to use in a series of factual, graphic-led reference books for children. Now that the books are well-established, Last Lemon is making The Brainwaves available to license into other product areas.