A selection of licensees tell Licensing Museum & Heritage Book about their best sellers in the museum and heritage space and the licensed products making their debut in 2025.
Tara Carlile-Swift, founder and md, Freckleface
“2024 saw successful new launches for Freckleface under the RHS licensed home fragrance range. We launched handmade soya wax melts and soya tealights in our Heritage range that sit at the perfect gifting price point of £10 and under. The range is based on botanical prints from the RHS archives that sit beautifully in any retail display. Our RHS range has been picked up by over 300 stockists in its first year and we are excited to expand on the range including more gifting items for 2025.”
Armelle Poole-Connor, sales and marketing director, Floral Street
“2024 was a tremendous year of growth for Floral Street in the UK with expanding distribution in major retailers as well as increased visibility on and offline for our independent, British, vegan and sustainable fragrance brand. We launched an innovative fragrance discovery wardrobe showcasing our entire collection of 12 eau de parfum for the first time and it is fast becoming a top seller.
Our award-winning Floral Street x Van Gogh Museum collaboration continues to delight and convert customers thanks to the Sunflower Pop and Sweet Almond Blossom fragrances, with exciting plans for the future to grow the franchises further. 2025 will see Floral Street launching into a new and expanding category, starting with the Van Gogh Museum Sweet Almond Blossom scent, unlocking strong in-store presence across the country. Watch this space!”
Hannah MacDonald, publisher, September (an imprint of Duckworth Books)
“Happily, we found our heritage branded books remained buoyant in sales during 2024 – despite a downturn in factual publishing sales figures in the UK retail trade. For us, necessary price rises seem to have impacted non-branded or non-essential books more than books with the highly respected museum and heritage brands.
In 2025 we are looking forward to worldwide interest and sales of our new Van Gogh Museum collaboration – Advice for the Soul: Vincent van Gogh. In tumultuous times readers are increasingly looking for inspiration, advice and hope from trusted sources. As well as escapist storytelling from other worlds and lives.”
Odysseas Constantine, founder, Art & Hue
“2024 saw a new collection of prints, in Art & Hue’s signature pop art style, created in collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, available in three sizes and 12 colours closely matched to the Museum’s paint range. Inspired by the Museum’s classical frontage and the exhibition spaces, the fun and stylish prints led to limited edition organic t-shirts, the first time Art & Hue artwork has been applied to clothing, available exclusively from the Ashmolean shop.”
Rainer Schubert, md, Burgon & Ball
“In the current economic climate, two factors are key: differentiation and value for money. In gardening, there’s no greater differentiation than our relationship with the RHS. And in terms of value for money, our high-quality RHS-endorsed products offer the appeal of two heritage brands that are experts in their respective fields. As a result, in 2024 sales of our RHS-endorsed tools and our popular RHS Gifts for Gardeners ranges remained strong.
Looking ahead to 2025, we’re very excited about the launch of our new RHS-endorsed BoronGreen range. These tools combine the advanced materials technology of boron steel with sustainability credentials that include using 80% recycled steel. We believe BoronGreen to be a first in UK garden tools, delivering both on differentiation and on value for money – so we can’t wait to get these tools to gardeners.”
Jo Bray, md – sales and marketing, West Design Products
“Last year we officially launched our first collection with the RHS. It has done phenomenally well for us, exceeding all our expectations and encouraging us to expand the range at all opportunities due to positive feedback from our customers.
“Our SS25 range launched exclusively in Hobbycraft in December before being rolled out to our other customers both in the UK and abroad. One of the highlights for me is the 12 Months of Cross Stitch kit which consists of 12 flowers – one for each month – housed in a beautiful cardboard greenhouse. It has been such a pleasure working with the RHS over this past year. Long may it continue.”
Phillippa Green, licensing and partnerships manager, The Royal Mint
“2024 saw the successful launch of our Tudor Dragon & Queen’s Panther commemorative and bullion coins developed in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces.
Coming up will be launches of two additional coins in the successful 10 coin Royal Tudor Beasts Collection which has been running with HRP since 2021. There are three remaining coins to launch as part of the collection, two of which will be in 2025. This will see the final three beasts, the Greyhound of Richmond, the Queen’s Lion and the Royal Dragon make an appearance.”
David McLagan, creative director, Ecoffee Cup
“Since 2020, the Van Gogh Museum and Ecoffee Cup have merged artistry with eco-conscious living. The licensing deal brings Vincent van Gogh’s timeless masterpieces to the forefront of sustainability, offering reusable coffee cups featuring iconic works such as Sunflowers, Almond Blossom, The Bedroom and Irises. These cups provide art enthusiasts a practical way to reduce waste while celebrating Van Gogh’s genius.
In 2025, the partnership will expand by releasing two new designs: Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette and Self-Portrait with Felt Hat. These bold additions further showcase Van Gogh’s diverse artistic range.
This collaboration is about bringing art into everyday life while promoting sustainability. Van Gogh’s work inspires creativity and reflection – what better way to honour that than with Ecoffee Cup? This partnership underscores the power of art to drive meaningful change.”
This feature originally appeared in the spring 2025 edition of Licensing Museum & Heritage Book. To read the full publication, click on this link.
