My 1st Years’ Elicia Hicks on how a focus on imagination and education shaped the company’s Natural History Museum range

Elicia, it’s great to connect! Before we dive into your Natural History Museum collaboration, for anyone new to My 1st Years, can you talk us through what the company focuses on?
At My 1st Years, we focus on the little moments and big milestones in your little ones’ lives. We are dedicated to creating high-quality, personalised gifts made with love – and are quickly becoming the number one destination for personalised baby and children’s gifting.

Has licensing always been a key part of the business?
Our licensing category has been growing rapidly over the last few years and is something we are putting a lot of emphasis on for the coming seasons which is really exciting.

What makes a brand right for a collaboration with My 1st Years?
We look for brands to collaborate with that have values which align to our own… But on top of that, we prioritise collaborations where our personalisation can fit seamlessly and where we can develop beautiful products that speak to the narratives and sentiment of the brand itself.

That brings us nicely to your Natural History Museum collection. What appealed about working with the brand?
Working with Natural History Museum had always been on our wish list at My 1stYears. The Natural History Museum’s dedication to education and preservation aligns with our own mission to celebrate each child’s uniqueness through our personalised gifts. The Museum provided us with brilliant style guides and the creative support from Georgie Britton and the team has been invaluable. There is an enormous amount to draw upon with the Museum’s immense archives too… The possibilities are endless!

“We look for brands to collaborate with that have values which align to our own.”

On that, with such an array of items to draw from, what steered the direction of the collection?
We wanted this collection to blend education and imagination, igniting curiosity and a deep connection with our planet’s beauty and history, cultivating mini advocates for the world around us – in line with Natural History Museum’s own mission. We also wanted to ensure all lines were as sustainable as possible, so we worked with our wonderful suppliers to develop our raincoat and backpack using recycled polyester. We are proud to have become FSC certified this year, so our rubber wellies have this certification.

Terrific. And is this a collection you’ll be building on in the future?
We are committed to our partnership with the fabulous Natural History Museum team and have already set the wheels in motion for our 2025 product offering. We’re working towards signing off our AW25 collection in the coming months with some really exciting newness, as well as some new brand-new product types that we hope our customers will love just as much as we do.

“The Museum provided us with brilliant style guides.”

What do you feel is key to successful creative collaborations between brand owners and licensees?
We really want to make sure we are developing products with brands that slot seamlessly into the narrative and values of that brand or license, making products that long standing fans will notice and adore – with design details that make them unique and stand out to the rest of the market. Keeping in regular contact with our partners and building that rapport is really important to us too. Making sure we maintain great relationships so that we can get the best out of each other has always served us well… We love working with our brand partners and have so much fun developing product together. We like to think they return the sentiment!

I’m sure they do! I have last question, but it’s a two-parter! What fuels creativity for you? And what kills creativity?
In terms of what fuels creativity, I would say a really good brainstorm between buying, merchandising, design and relevant licensors. Also, getting out and away from our desks – whether that’s BLE or Oxford Street at Christmas – helps immensely to reignite creativity and can easily be slept on when things get busy… Making time to get out and about is so important to see what else is out there.

In terms of what kills creativity, I’d say not having an open mind or just thinking about and developing product solely based on what has worked or not worked before… Unique products and campaigns can change the game, especially in the licensing world!

Thanks again Elicia.