084 | Intro to licensing art with Jennifer Morgan, A Fresh Bunch

Jennifer Morgan is the brains behind A Fresh Bunch, a creative licensing agency where designers and clients collaborate and create something big together. Jenny began her journey into creative licensing in 2002 when she founded Hen and Barley Press, her own successful wholesale stationery business focused on personalized stationery goods.

Jennifer soon realized just how much of her time was spent on everything in her business except design, and discovered many other creative people in the industry were burnt out just like her. Inspired by the opportunity to bring designers and clients together, Jenny founded A Fresh Bunch in 2010.

On today’s episode, Jenny shares how she shifted away from wholesale manufacturing and into creative licensing. She talks about misconceptions that artists have about licensing and provides overview of how licensing works, who it is for, and how a licensing agency, like A Fresh Bunch can help artists diversify their revenue streams.

ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

How Jennifer pivoted her business from wholesale to licensing
Her steps to learning about the licensing industry
Knowing when to embrace quitting as a strategy for future growth
The benefits of collaborating with an agency
How Jennifer chooses artists to represent
Tips and pointers on how to create a strong and consistent portfolio
The best time to submit your artist application to A Fresh Bunch
How royalties and compensation structures typically work
What projects Jennifer is most proud of
Upcoming Blueprint Shows
What’s next for A Fresh Bunch

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KEY TAKE-AWAYS

“Back in the day when there was no SP inkjet, printing was still kind of picking off. Digital printing was not even a thing and really the only way to get product out into the world was to manufacture it yourself.” – Jennifer Morgan

“ I think at that time, other stationery designers and I we are all kind of scratching our heads trying to figure out, well what do we do now?” – Jennifer Morgan

“Once A Fresh Bunch found its footing as licensing brand and fit for the artists working under the A Fresh Bunch umbrella, the decision to shut down Hen And Barley Press felt very easy.” – Jennifer Morgan

“I could not have started A Fresh Bunch without having had the experience I had and making the contacts I did with Hen And Barley press.” – Jennifer Morgan

“If I could do anything over again, it would probably be that I would have embraced the notion of quitting as a strategy much sooner than I did.”– Jennifer Morgan

“It’s really about consistency and discipline as much as anything else.” – Jennifer Morgan

“In theory you should be pitching to somebody at a time when they are looking for that art, when you’re kind of new to the industry, it’s hard to know when that is. ” – Jennifer Morgan

“We’re always looking for a really unique style, a unique voice, a consistent style.” – Jennifer Morgan

“We try to provide like checklists and best practices, things that we know from experience have made artists successful.” – Jennifer Morgan

“I am super proud of our artist’s ability from all these points around the world, to collaborate online with each other to create a diverse collection of looks that is still cohesive.” – Jennifer Morgan

“As with anything at a certain point that often comes down to making the difficult choice of, ‘What I’m going to be When I grow up, am I going to be a licensed artist or am I going to run a company?’” – Jennifer Morgan

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER MORGAN

Website: A Fresh Bunch | Instagram: @afreshbunch | Facebook: @freshbunch | Pinterest: @freshbunch | Twitter: @freshbunch

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct