The London Studio announces licenses for two acclaimed artist partners
Illustrations by Jesuso Ortiz and Dannyboy, two acclaimed artists represented by art licensing and design company The London Studio, have been licensed for new greeting card collections launching next year from Woodmansterne Publications.
An internationally admired artist based in Spain, Jesuso Ortiz combines his own drawings with various household objects, food, and flora to produce minimalistic artifacts in a distinctive and highly original way. A watermelon, for example, becomes a skirt, a rose can be an umbrella, and a ball of yarn turns into a balloon.
It’s a highly original approach that has already inspired five published books of art by Jesuso Ortiz. It’s also appeared in a collection of watches designed for Swatch that were showcased on the billboards of New York’s Times Square.
The other range, called Wisecrack, features a new collection of humorous designs by cartoonist and illustrator Dannyboy, displaying his fondness – and enormous talent – for hand-drawn cartoons. Dannyboy has illustrated several books, carried out a number of private commissions, and regularly works as a freelance cartoonist for a wide variety of clients.
He has also published witty, design-led humour cards since 2013 under his Cardinky brand. However, for this partnership he has designed a bespoke range of cards and licensed them exclusively to Woodmansterne for the UK market.
Both ranges are perfect for the discerning customer base of Woodmansterne, which estate manages and supplies the greeting card product and displays for principle retailers John Lewis, Waitrose and over 300 garden centres.
The two complete card ranges will be available from January 2024 through all independent sales channels. Selected cards will be available in the company’s key national accounts from February 2024. Further launches for the Occasions and Relations cards categories will be available to independent retailers via Woodmansterne’s dedicated sales team throughout the rest of 2024.
The London Studio has a strong reputation for identifying and supporting a number of highly original artists, many of whom have been recognised in greeting card, illustration and design awards – and Jesuso Ortiz and Dannyboy are no exception.
As Ian Blake, Art Director for Woodmansterne, says: “Yet again the London Studio has partnered with artists who can boast an exciting and distinctive vision that will have a strong appeal to card buyers across the UK. We’re thrilled to be highlighting the work of Jesuso Ortiz and Dannyboy and looking forward to bringing both of them to a wide UK audience.”
Founder and director of The London Studio, Soula Zavacopoulos, says: “We quickly saw the potential of both Jesuso Ortiz and Dannyboy in the greeting card market and were delighted to support both of these talented artists, whose work will, we are certain, be enormously popular with the UK’s card buyers.”
