The London Studio Appoints New Licensing Manager

Art licensing and design company, The London Studio, has announced the appointment of Jess Brown to the role of licensing manager with immediate effect. She will report to Soula Zavacopoulos, founder and director, The London Studio. 

“The London Studio is an extraordinary hub of design skills whose promise in licensing and branding is enormous,” says Brown, licensing manager, The London Studio. “I’m thrilled to be helping The London Studio to fulfil that promise at what is an exceptionally exciting time for an exceptionally talented team.” 

In her new role, Brown will be spearheading new licensing opportunities for The London Studio properties, as well as sourcing new licensing deals for The London Studio’s Artists Collective – made up of more than 100 artists from across the globe and ranging from emerging new talent to established names. Brown will initially be focusing primarily on two key areas for The London Studio: greetings cards and giftware. 

Brown joins The London Studio after nearly 15 years in the licensing business, working with many major names, including Viacom, Warner Bros, Woolworth, Disney and MTV and has worked on numerous fashion and lifestyle collaborations with multiple brands and global rights owners, including Universal Pictures (“Despicable Me 3,” “Minions”), BBC (“Doctor Who”), Viacom, Hasbro and Tatty Devine. 

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At Viacom, she was the category director for apparel and home for the U.K. market and DTRs for Europe, working across multiple brands, including SpongeBob, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Beavis & Butthead, managing key accounts including H&M, Primark and George at ASDA, brokering and managing collaborations with such household name companies as Dr Martens and Hype Clothing and working with product categories that included fashion and accessories, footwear and home and giftware. 

As senior licensing consultant with Warner Bros., Brown worked across such brands as DC Super Heroes, Harry Potter and Looney Tunes. Prior to this, she was a buyer at Woolworths and Disney. 

“As The London Studio continues to build its strong presence in greeting cards and giftware while looking to diversify into new categories and initiatives, it’s important to be able to turn to someone with strong and relevant experience of licensing across many categories to help us manage that growth,” says Zavacopoulos. “Jess brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in licensing to The London Studio. We are delighted to welcome her on board.”