The final six brand designers for this year’s License This! have been chosen across two categories, Character & Animation and Brand & Design. 

Character & Animation finalists: 

· George Mackay, Creature Aided Design - eejits

· Anthony Williams, Taoa Studio - WhamBlam! 

· Siobhan Harrison, Siobhan at April Rose - Foxglove Fairies 

Brand & Design finalists: 

· Louise Bell, Louise Bell Art 

· Danelle van Eeden, Kos-Kos 

· Tracey Colliston. Owls Nest - Ginger Betty 

This year’s two License This! winners will receive a free exhibition stand at BLE 2021, one year’s Licensing International membership, PR support, and invaluable advice from the panel of industry experts. In addition, all finalists will receive legal consultation from competition sponsor Wynne-Jones. Previous entrants – both winners and finalists – have successfully signed lucrative agent and licensing deals. 

“Despite the obstacles, the 2020 License This! competition once more produced a plethora of creativity and business foresight among some high-quality entries," says Kelvyn Gardner, chair judge, License This! and managing director, Asgard Media. "We have six very worthy finalists from whom we look forward to live pitches to decide our two champions.” 

“It’s always a pleasure to be involved in the License This! judging and this year was no exception," says Dan Grant, director, licensing, Danilo Promotions. "The event has really started to broaden its reach on an international scale with many of the entrants coming from various countries in Europe and beyond. It’s great to see ideas being created at a grass roots level, which could one day go onto be major licensed properties. The tough bit is always working out who should go forward to the final.” 

“Having been part of the judging panel for the past three years, License This! is always a highlight in my calendar," says Jehane Boden Spiers, founder, Jehane Ltd. "It’s wonderful to exchange insights with our panel of experts and see fresh new ideas coming through from the next generation of artists and brands. This year’s entries for the Brand & Design category impressed, as ever, with a diverse range of ideas and visual concepts. We had a great selection of proposals to judge from all around the world. It was of particular note, this year, to see that more of the entrants brought their specific personal experience and knowledge to their concepts - giving a distinct advantage and creating a competitive edge. I am looking forward to seeing our finalists pitch their concepts at the final next month. It’s a life-changing experience to take part in License This! and excellent to see how many of our past runners-up and finalists have gone on to secure significant opportunities within our industry.” 

The expert panel of judges included: 

· Kelvyn Gardner, managing director, Asgard Media (Chair of the Judging Panel) 

· Sarah Ward, CEO, The Giftware Association 

· Kirsty Barr, Grapevine PR 

· Victor Caddy, director and trademark & design attorney, Wynne-Jones 

• Dan Grant, licensing director, Danilo Promotions 

• Clare Piggott, managing director, Larkshead Media 

• Ruth Golightly, head of buying, Asda 

• Ben Woodman, commercial manager, GB eye Ltd 

• Ian Downes, director, Start Licensing 

• Nico Franks, editor, C21 Kids 

· Stuart Cox, owner, I Like Birds 

· Vicki Thomas, owner, Vicki Thomas Associates 

· Sarah Lawrence, director, This is Iris 

· Jehane Boden Spiers, founder, JEHANE Ltd 

· Will Stewart, founder and managing director, The Point.1888 

The two winners will be chosen on Thursday @10AM Oct. 8 at Festival of Licensing, to register to attend and catch two new brands entering the world of licensing, click here.