Artist Meg Hawkins on extending her brand into homewares, giftware and confectionary

Meg, thanks for making time. To kick us off, can you give us some background to your business?
After running my successful photography business for over 16 years while my children grew up, I was compelled to my passion for art. I started by creating products inspired by my family: children’s illustrations. I was very much a novice in this giftware space, so began very small by putting my illustrations on cards, prints and learning how to print on to mugs. It was very much a kitchen table start-up! Fast forward a few years and the business now employs myself, husband Ade and daughter Coral – together we have built the brand into the global business it is today.

Was there a moment that, looking back, really helped to evolve the business?
The turning point for us came when we took advice from The Giftware Association to start licensing our designs. Licensing took off relatively quickly for us and meant that we could significantly broaden our wholesale product offering. This in turn led to distribution opportunities. Our distribution journey started with a French company in 2018 and is something we’re only expanding into seriously now. It’s introduced a whole new dynamic to the way the business works.

Sounds like you’re a very busy team!
Yes! The business is currently built on three branches – wholesale, licensing, and distribution, each with merits and opportunities for growth. We may choose just one or two of these directions to look at in the future as our business grows, but for now, we are testing the market to see what works best for us.

How do you decide what to manufacture yourselves and what categories to develop with licensees?
We look for specialist manufacturers who can create something currently out of our remit for self-production. For example, our biscuit and confectionary range was hugely successful, but the margins to be a third-party seller simply needed to be there. Passing those costs onto our retailers wasn’t sustainable, so we went back to our manufacturers and offered a license. This has allowed the product to stay in the market and is much more attainable for our retailers.

How have you found working with licensees?
I enjoy working with licensees. It diversifies the brand and I enjoy product development. Nobody knows your brand – and what you want your business to stand for – better than you, so having creative input is vital. As your relationships grow with these companies, everything becomes more streamlined. It’s great to develop new ideas and perspectives with each licensee. You need patience, which I have had to learn over the years as I’m a fast worker!

Do you have a set creative process for working with licensees?
It varies; everyone is different. For some companies, we simply provide the artwork and a style guide and then have quarterly meetings on progress. Others prefer a more hands-on approach. We also offer the design service and work with them to achieve the final goals, giving us closer control of the final product and taking the pressure off smaller licensees. We tend to be very flexible.

What does the start of the development process look like?
We see what designs they are looking for and ask questions… Does it work on the product? Who are the customers they want to attract? Does the product fit with our brand and audience? Once these aspects have been established, we can do the fun stuff of creating the product.

Research is key. Is that similar when it comes to creating your own ranges?
Yes, it’s all about the research. We look at where we want to source it, the cost and the demand for the development and sampling. It’s a huge investment developing something now, so while the risk is involved, this is something you have to gauge – which also rings true for our licensees.

You recently started supplying the National Trust with some of your products. How this is developing?
Slow and steady! As someone who loves nature – wildlife is my greatest inspiration – I’ve always wanted to supply the National Trust. Having my designs in the shops I so regularly visit has been a dream – it was definitely a happy dance moment.

What are some of the designs in that range?
The images they chose were puffins, one of my favourite birds… Though this does limit us to the coastal areas, this is our foot in the door. It’s onwards and upwards from here!

“Nobody knows your brand – and what you want your business to stand for – better than you, so having creative input is vital.”

Absolutely. Now, you exhibit at shows like the Spring Fair. How do you measure success at trade shows?
Sometimes I wonder why we exhibit as we have licensees, but it’s all about brand recognition. My dad always said you could be anyone in the world but if you are not seen, people will forget about you and move on. Customers and buyers are essential to any business and if they don’t know about you, you’ll get left behind.

That said, I do have mixed emotions about exhibiting due to the cost of it. The prices are going so high now that they are not allowing any new and fresh companies in with a chance. But, through exhibiting, we’ve seen success… Not always immediate – it could be months later – but they are worthwhile. Every interaction can lead to something new and exciting, so we take each win where possible. We picked up the National Trust contact at a PG Live 2022, and look at us now!

Your artwork is influenced by the British countryside. How do you alight upon new design directions for your collections?
We look at what’s out there and keep up with the trends. A majority of my current work is commission based for licensing. The wildlife watercolours that you see are a combination of personal projects and requested artwork. I have an extensive range of designs from all over the world. I’m working on USA licensed project that is all about lakes and lodges and American wildlife right now – this stemmed from exhibiting at New York Now.

I also have a sister company called Little Joe and Co. This enables me to create cute and humorous illustrations for greeting cards and licensing in another direction.

Is the process creatively driven or do you think of ‘design gaps’ to fill?
Both! I work on a lot of ranges that cover the design gaps with customers but still keep it in my style. If I need a creative moment – when I have a chance! – it’s normally for my own collections. Then these get added to next season’s portfolio.

Can you share some of the current licensing highlights with us and what we are likely to see rolling out for the rest of the year?
To say just a few opportunities have opened in the past few years has been an understatement. Again, it’s not about how big the customer is; it’s all about the small wins that get you there beforehand. That trip to New York Now was one for me. I had just done a very regional show in Wales, then the day after we set up our biggest stand to date at Spring Fair… Then I stepped on a plane to head to a country I’d never been to before. ‘Why?’ I kept asking myself! Well, it’s all about growth, where you want to be and who you want to work with? If you’re not there, you’ll never know.

So that being said, highlights in the last 12 months includes New York Now where we picked up two new licensees. This is still being worked on, but I can showcase it all soon! We’ve also had year-on-year increases to our most successful licensed range, both in sales and products. We also had news about one of the new licensing companies having successfully predicted sales for the end of this year on the launch.

We currently license to companies like Widdop and Co in homeware, Nauticalia in giftware, Merritt USA and Maryland China for tableware. Then in confectionery we have partnerships in place with Gardeners of Scotland, Farrahs of Harrogate, Deans of Scotland and Gwyneth Confectioners.

All this, plus we’re working with National Trust, RNLI, Marie Curie and RSPB! We consider this just the start and can’t wait to see development in 2023.

Loads going on! That said, are there any licensing gaps you would like to fill?
Loads! Bedding, apparel, gardenware, stationery; the list is endless!

Thinking about young designers and artists who are looking to follow a similar path to yours, what advice would give them?
Do your research on what you are looking for; you’ll need much patience, it doesn’t happen overnight. Everything takes time in the license world.

Also, know what you want. If it doesn’t look right, let them know this is your brand, reputation and baby. Don’t let anyone change that for you. Not every license will be the right fit – something you won’t know until after the process is well underway. Make sure that your contract is suitable for both you and the licensee.

Finally, reflecting on other wildlife artists, who are some of your favourites?
Most would probably say famous people, but mine are those I have met along the way, from market stalls to trade shows to inspirational speakers. The ones that have started from the same space I have and worked their way up.

It’s a small world, and these entrepreneurs are pathing the way to the future and bringing new ideas, designs, and products. I have met so many people in the small number of years I’ve been in the industry, and I hope that in the future, we will be the people you are asking me about now.

Great stuff. Huge thanks again Meg.