Gift Focus - Mar/Apr 2020 (Issue 118)

87 HOT PROPERTY MIFFY CELEBRATES 65 YEARS WITH BEAUTIFUL NEW GIFT RANGES Dick Bruna’s cute, timeless white bunny will celebrate a landmark 65 th anniversary in 2020. Globally recognised for her minimalist design and fresh modern appeal, this birthday year started with the launch of exciting and stylish new Miffy gift lines at Top Drawer. In designer gifting, Magpie has launched a stunning new gift and homewares range including ceramics, tea towels and coasters, all in Miffy’s distinctive bold primary colours. This spring will see extensions into new areas, including bamboo travel mugs, plates and tin lines. And in an exciting new development for the brand in the UK, Licensed to Charm is launching a range of silver and gold vermeil jewellery for the teen and adult market. This stylish fashion collection includes necklaces, earrings, brooches and collectable charms. There will also be several new additions to Stitch and Story’s popular knitting and crochet sets, and greeting card partner Hype will launch a new range of bright, graphic pre-school cards, as well as a boxed Miffy pin badge collection. Alicia Davenport, licensing director of DRi Licensing, is certain that 2020 is going to be a very special year for this iconic brand. She said, “The popularity of this much-loved character is growing year on year. Appealing across the generations, Miffy’s simple design and distinctive colour palette is more on-trend than ever and it’s hugely exciting to see so many beautiful, innovative ranges lined up for the anniversary year.” HOUSE OF TURNOWSKY AND ART CUSHIONS ANNOUNCE NEW LICENSING AGREEMENT House of Turnowsky and Art Cushions are proud to announce their new licensing agreement that launched officially in January this year. The collaboration sees House of Turnowsky’s designs for luxury paper designs and original gifts be translated to six collections (Bellissima, Echo, FOG, Garden of Eden, Perfect Day and Paradise Garden) across a range of cushions, lampshades and deckchairs, all of which are exclusive in the UK to Art Cushions. The introduction of the House of Turnowsky collection will be the biggest album of designs that Art Cushions has launched to date, with more than 50 patterns available across the company’s luxurious home accessories. Mark Turner, owner, Art Cushions said: “We’re delighted to be working with House of Turnowsky on these new collections, which sees us shift and expand the range that we can offer to the consumer market. The classic timeless style of Turnowsky’s designs will, we believe, be widely welcomed in the interiors sector. Our cushions continue to be handmade in the UK using eco-friendly inks and ethically sourced materials – an additional benefit, and assurance to our clients.” House of Turnowsky licensing manager, Iris Parizer, said: “We’re so happy to start the New Year with our new licensing partner Art Cushions, a lifestyle and décor company that have licensed the home furnishings and textiles categories. I hope this is the start of a long and successful working relationship with productive and successful results.” The licensing agreement has been brokered in the UK on behalf of House of Turnowsky by UK Licensing Agency, This is Iris. Art Cushions is the trade name for WELOVECUSHIONS. Launched in January 2019 the new name reflects the growth and development of the business as it continues to present the beautiful art and design led collections from its licensees. For further information, visit artcushions.co.uk Iconic Snoopy col lection launches! London-based baby and kidswear brand Cribstar is delighted to announce the launch of a collaboration with the much-loved Peanuts brand. The collaboration includes two gender neutral collections – Space and Superhero. The Space collection was inspired by the 50 th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landings. The monochrome range features a signature Cribstar slogan, ‘I Need Space,’ alongside illustrations of Snoopy as an astronaut. The Superhero collection in base grey features the slogan ‘Kind of a big deal’ which was created to tap into exactly what so many kids love more than anything…superheroes! Cribstar is designed by husband and wife team, Zishan and Jadwiga Batatawala. Since it launched in 2015, it quickly became known for its striking animal prints, fun graphics and standout slogans for those who refuse to blend into a crowd. Proud to be an ethical company, the collections are all produced in factories in Poland with stock transported to the UK via road rather than carbon-heavy air travel. For further information visit cribstar.co.uk