After watching Jerry Maguire over the weekend I got a little sappy about the whole artist/agent relationship and felt the need to write about it.

What is a good agent? Obviously there is no right answer as I am sure it would be in a dictionary somewhere if it was.  It's a very personal question as in What makes a good wife, a great husband, a great Mom?  There's no right answer, but I felt the need to write more about me and what makes an agent get out of bed every morning.  Maybe understanding more about agents will give artists better insight into their business partner.

As an agent, business development is my one true love.   I thrive on looking at a brand, a piece of art, a concept and then figuring out what will this work on, which company can I see this with, what end consumer would be interested in this?  How can I make it happen?  My other true love would be the artists I work with and the designs they create.  If one of my artists send me a new collection, I will turn on my computer at 10pm at night to download it if for some reason I can't see the artwork on my phone as I literally can't wait to check it out.  I am in awe of what they create on a daily basis.  

Being an advisor, a friend, someone to bounce ideas off of, all of these roles are what agents enjoy doing on a daily basis.  Artists are celebrated for their crazy side,  what inspires them, the lengths they go for the perfect photograph, etc.  Agents are celebrated for being the voice of reason, the practical one, the business savvy one. 

The best feedback an agent can ever get is:  What would I do without you?  The best feedback to give an artist is the exact same thing, What would I do without you. 

Maybe I should just not watch Jerry Maguire anymore...

We are thrilled to say we had a fantastic show in Atlanta.  The traffic was up and the companies we met with indicated how sales are really outpacing last year's market sales.   Does this mean there is a glimmer of hope for the economony in 2012 and beyond!  Here are some pics of the booth! 

Jessie Steele had a great show launching kitchen stationery with CR Gibson, Gift products with Pavilion Gift Company and Tabletop with Magenta.

We were very excited to launch Shell Rummel at the show, an amazing artist on many levels and had a fantastic response with fabrics and wall art coming out later this year. 

Betsy Cameron, a new photographer we are working with had many inquiries at the show and rachaelhale continues to be our most successful Licensor! 

Happy New Year to everyone!  We are so looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming shows.  I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday.  Below are more sneak peaks of things to come this year. 

I am starting to get very excited for the January gift show in Atlanta.  We are getting sneak peaks from several of our artists and designers for what will be new next year and we can't wait to share it with you.  Every time I am just amazed at what my artists send through and I absolutely love their creativity and crazy ability to come up with new ideas.  We also have new artists we have just signed including Shell Rummel and Betsy Cameron! 

Be sure to check out the links!  In addition, we have so many product launches for January including tabletop, gift and kitchen stationery with Jessie Steele.  Robin Pickens is launching a new Christmas collection of ornaments, advent calendars and figurines with 180 degrees!  So, be sure to stop by and say hello at the show!

I was lucky enough to travel to Japan a few weeks ago to learn more about the retail stores and meet with existing licensees and potential new partners.  I also got to see retail placement for Izak and Jessie Steele.  Below is a special promotion we did with Collect Point for Jessie Steele.

I also went to Printemps de Ginza where Izak has been decorating their walls for several years. 

I visited several retailers all over Tokyo and really have a great understanding of the landscape for future licensing deals.  It was a whirlwind of a trip with us leaving on Friday and getting back on Wednesday.  My husband was nice enough to go along with me.  We certainly missed our kids but we had a great time!

We are so excited to launch our new web store featuring products from all of our artists!  All of us have been working feverishly the past 2 months to get artwork together, product formats, etc.!  The new website is www.LittleRedTulip.com.  Please check it out and let us know what you think.  We still have a limited product range, but don't worry we are adding new products daily!

We had a great time at both Surtex and Licensing where we met with a lot of existing licensees and new potential licensees.  We are so lucky to have the nicest group of artists and brands to work with!  See below picture of Tiffany and I standing outside our booth at Licensing Show.  

We also managed to have some fun outside of the shows which is a nice bonus for two hard working Moms! Here is a picture of a bunch of us girls out on the town in NYC. It's Tiffany, me, Amy Medhurst and my devoted sister, Jennifer. She is so nice to provide free labor and help me out at both shows with set up and take down and also help when the traffic at the booth got a little crazy which I am happy to say happened several times!

Every year, I ask my self is exhibiting worth the money and of course it always comes down to how many deals are signed after the shows, but so far I am happy with the response. 


I also add up the cost to go and visit each of the licensees we do business with and it would be astronomical and time consuming to go and visit with everyone we met with in 6 days over both shows. 

And every year after the shows, you always feel more connected and in tune with the industry and the opportunities after exhibiting. 


So, I have to say, even though I ask myself the same question each year, I always find the shows worthwhile, energizing and fun!

Yippee!  Target's new inline stationery program just hit shelves in late March and you can find four of Jewel's artists on the shelves!  Izak, Simon+Kabuki, Piddix and rachaelhale.