Jillian Haupt & Marilyn McSteen
Jillian Haupt & Co.
www.jillianhaupt.com
Jillian is an artist and the Director of Product Development for Jillian Haupt & Co., a design and licensing firm in Morris Illinois. As the artist for Jillian Haupt & Co. she is responsible for developing creative designs and working with manufacturers to develop exciting new products. She studied Commercial Graphic Design at Southern Illinois University. As a young artist she began painting murals in peoples homes. After the birth of her daughter she wanted to be at home, so she began to make hand painted home accessories and sold them though the Chicago Merchandise Mart. This became difficult to keep up with because the orders were flowing in and Jill was painting each piece by hand. Jill then moved into painting one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture and selling them at local craft shows. This also went well, so Jill found wholesale manufacturers of furniture and began to sell hand painted pieces into stores around the Chicagoland area. Jill's designs had always been well received, however, manufacturing everything herself left her little time to develop her designs. At this point Jill began to investigate the field of licensing. After studying the industry she decided that Licensing could give her the opportunity to focus on the creative elements of her work without being the manufacturer. So, in 2004 Jillian Haupt & Co. the design and licening firm, was born. Jill is launching her first creative works for the licensing industry at SURTEX, a trade show for artists in licensing, in May of 2005.
Marilyn McSteen is currently the Director of Licensing for Jillian Haupt & Co. As the Director of Licensing Marilyn is responsible for marketing and promoting Jill's artwork, copyrighting Jill's originals, identifying manufacturing partners, selling Jill's work into the manufacturers, negotiating contracts, and insuring payments of royalties, advances and guarantees. Marilyn has a background in sales and project management. She sold corporate meeting planning services for United Airlines and was a software development project manager for the New York Stock Exchange trading floor while at The Securities Industry Automation Corporation. Marilyn graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in Speech Communication.
Session 1: What is Art Licensing?
Art Licensing brings talented artists together with expert manufacturers to translate the art onto products that people use in their everyday life. These products range from greeting cards to home decor. Many artists have developed successful licensing programs and their artwork is helping to sell billions of dollars in products in the retail market. Come learn how art licensing is used in the marketplace today. Jillian Haupt & Marilyn McSteen of Jillian Haupt & Co., a design and licensing firm, will also discuss the launch of Jillian's first licensing program.
Session 2: What Art Careers are Available in Licensing?
Licensing is used as a marketing tool today to develop consumer awareness and to stimulate consumer spending on many levels. It is used to sell entertainment, fashion, publishing, sports, characters, brands and art. Artists play a role in product development in all of these industries. Come learn about licensing and the career opportunities that are available to artists in the field. Jillian Haupt and Marilyn McSteen of Jillian Haupt & Co. are developing their own design and licensing firm and will share some strategies and resources available for developing and launching your own licensing career.