BLE tips & tricks with… Vize’s James Oddy

James, thanks for making time. When did you first attend BLE?
Gosh, seems like a lifetime ago now! I was really lucky to land a job as a product and packaging designer at Character Options after university and I went to see the latest style guide and packaging trends 20 years ago!

Across those years, what’s been your best BLE memory?
Oh that’s an easy one, bumping into The Hoff… Literally!

Ha! That’s the second time The Hoff has been mentioned – WildBrain’s Michael Ogunseitan also had an encounter! Now, what makes for a good BLE meeting?
I love meetings where we initially find common ground, it could be people we all may know, an IP we love or we may already be working together. We usually treat BLE as an opportunity to meet our friends and colleagues, but if they have a project already in mind for us, that’s a great meeting!

And what’s your key aim for this year’s BLE?
We love meeting new people and to use it as an opportunity to showcase real life examples of how we’ve helped other IPs grow through our creative offering.

Before we let you go, can you give us a BLE tip or recommendation? Could be a restaurant, pub, venue or show advice…
Tricky one! Personally I’d recommend going into town – but if you wanted to stay locally, Zero Sette is a good local Italian. If you head into Canary Wharf, you have Hawksmoor Wood (not for vegetarians), The Ivy and – for something cheap and cheerful – Franco Manca.

Great stuff. Thanks James – see you at the show!

If you still haven’t registered for BLE this year, click here to do so!

BLE 2023 runs at ExCeL London from October 4th to 6th 2023.