Art Licensing: Adding a Splash of Creativity to Everyday Products with Leah Keggi

In this episode of the Product Powerhouse Podcast, host Erin Alexander introduces us to Leah Keggi, the talented designer behind CoastL Studio. Leah's modern beach lifestyle brand is inspired by coastal living and brings a touch of vacation to everyday life, even if you're miles away from the beach. She specializes in art licensing, allowing other businesses to purchase and use her beautiful designs on their products.

Erin and Leah dive deep into the world of art licensing, discussing what it is, how to get started, and how it can be a fantastic stream of revenue for artists and business owners. They share insights and tips on finding your niche, identifying potential licensing opportunities, and building relationships with companies interested in licensing your art.

Leah shares her journey as an artist, starting from her childhood love for arts and crafts to discovering her passion for surface pattern design. She talks about how she got started in licensing her designs, the role of print-on-demand sites like Spoonflower and Redbubble, and the importance of contracts and trust in the licensing process.

Throughout the conversation, Erin and Leah emphasize the importance of perseverance, dedication, and finding joy in the creative process. They encourage listeners to embrace the fun aspects of their artistic journey while also tackling the necessary tasks that may not be as exciting. Leah reminds us that success in art licensing takes time and effort, but the rewards can be significant.

Whether you're an artist looking to monetize your creations or a business owner seeking unique designs for your products, this episode will inspire you to explore the world of art licensing and discover the endless possibilities it offers. So grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and join Erin and Leah as they delve into the exciting realm of art licensing on the Product Powerhouse Podcast.

Links mentioned:
Sketch Design Repeat
Art Licensing with Mabel Tan Facebook group

Connect with Leah:
CoastL Studio website
Instagram

Transcript

0:00

Hello, welcome to another episode of the product powerhouse podcast. I am so excited to be here with you today. Introducing you to a business owner who have just had a wonderful time. Connecting with on Instagram. Her name is Leah keiki. She's the designer behind coastal studio, which has a modern beach lifestyle brand inspired by coastal living. Even when you're miles from the beach. And she designs, prints and patterns for products. To add a little vacation to your everyday. And she really focuses on art licensing. So having your artwork. Available for other business owners or other businesses to purchase and put on their own products. So we are talking all about art licensing, what this is, how to get started, how to. Incorporate this. This could be a wonderful stream of revenue for artists and business owners who are. Creating. Like patterns and artwork and. All those kinds of things. It's just a world of possibilities. Okay. Like this is something I have gotten into the niche on Tik TOK and Instagram reels. Like just seeing what's out there in art licensing. Not because I'm licensing things myself, but just because I find it fascinating. And so I was really grateful that Leah was willing to come on the podcast and chat with us and tell us how she does this. She's incredible. So let's just go ahead and jump into this interview.

Track 1: 1:24

Hi, Leah. How are you today? I'm so excited to chat with you.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 1:28

I'm good. How are you, Aaron?

Track 1: 1:30

I am doing fantastic. Why don't we start by telling everyone who you are and what you do?

Leah: 1:36

Absolutely. So I am a surface pattern designer. And also I do as well in my quote unquote day job. and what I do is I create the patterns that you see on things like water bottles and home decor. And I licensed those patterns and have them available for sale on products.

Track 1: 1:57

That is so cool. And we connected on Instagram and I've seen some of your patterns and they are so gorgeous and you are so talented. So I'm really excited to just hear more about your world of licensing.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 2:12

Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. And I do try to create kind of coastal inspired patterns. I live nowhere near the beach, but I would like to someday. So that's my inspiration.

Track 1: 2:25

I love that. I do not live near the beach either, but I love the beach. I live with the cold beach too. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so it is cold water.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 2:35

It's not like nice warm, California, like beaches.

Track 1: 2:39

No, I was so surprised. This is really ridiculous and off topic. But when I went to Hawaii, I was like, I didn't know that ocean could be warm. Like it just didn't click. I'm like, no, it's always cold. So why don't you tell us, like, how did you get started in licensing your designs? Or let's take a step back. How did you get started as an artist?

Leah: 3:02

I was always a creative kid. I think you'd hear that from a lot of artists where they're like, oh, I was, like I dabbled in a bunch of stuff, my, the running joke is my mom is she's a very fair gift giver. So my brother and I had to have the same number of gifts at Christmas and she was too short for me compared to the number he had. she gave me, she wrapped up a ream of paper and some markers that I think were already in the house. And that's all I played with that year. So I've always been, drawn to. To arts and crafts and stuff like that and I picked up an iPad in 2019. I think it was right around like procreate had just come on the market. I was getting big realize I loved drawing and the pattern side of it came from the puzzle. It sounds funny, but drawing something from just like a Hero print, which is oh, here's a picture versus putting together these pieces of a puzzle. It's a little more and I don't know something about that really just clicks in my brain. Yeah, I started that. And of course, like so many people that having all that free time during the pandemic meant that I just really got into creating patterns. And I was like, what do I do with these? This is fun, but you've got, I, just sitting on iPad and that's what I discovered. Print on demand sites and the kind of the world of art licensing.

Erin: 4:27

Wow that's really awesome. I have also wrapped a ream of paper, because nothing makes my kids happier than a ream of paper in that one dollar thing of watercolors. They won't bother me for two weeks. Maybe their future is art licensing.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 4:43

Yeah,

Track 1: 4:43

fingers

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 4:44

get them started early,

Track 1: 4:45

So Yeah, exactly. So you started drawing your patterns on the iPad, which I love. I recently also bought an iPad so that I could draw, but that hasn't happened yet. Anyways. So you take your patterns and then you started digging into print on demand and licensing, which is really fascinating because I don't necessarily think that a lot of people think about that. Like they think that they have to sell their own things that they make. And I don't think that they realize that I have this cute cup. My sister gave me, it has a floral pattern on it that someone made that pattern and they don't necessarily think about that. And if you go to the store and all these journals and all these like pillows and rugs, somebody made that design. And I just think it's so fascinating that's where you got it. So what is the beginning steps for someone who wants to dig into art licensing?

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 5:40

the first thing I recommend is thinking about where you want your patterns because, or your war prints. It doesn't have to be a true repeat. You can do a lot with, art, there's a ton of places that also license photography, paint, paintings. It doesn't just have to be digital. But really targeting that niche first to say, okay, I, as someone who's got a coastal inspiration, towels make a lot of sense for me, whereas suits don't, thinking about where you want to see your patterns and then going, okay, if I want to see them here, what companies are doing that and how can I reach out to them to say, Hey, I see this great fit for my art on your products. A lot of companies have done licensing or artist collaborations in the past. They refer like they can, you can refer to it both ways. There's company that a lot of companies have done it before and a lot haven't. And, there's always a chance to have that conversation of saying, Oh, what do you think about doing a collaboration with me? Or how do I, how do I get my art in front of your art buyer, for example. So the, but that first going, okay, here's the niche and who is in that niche that I can talk to is how to get, is how I got started.

Track 1: 6:57

Absolutely. I've also seen, and this is just me. What I've seen on TikTok is that I think just to give you guys inspiration, if you're thinking about this, people went into like Marshalls or Target and they flipped over the package and they were like licensed by and that just, for me, it opened the world up to see oh, there's not just like a stock room of Target people drawing patterns. It's artists making those things. Flip over the notebooks and look on the tags and see all these different types of products that are getting art put on them. And I think that's fascinating too, to just see how many possibilities are out there. I do love that you have this coastal niche because it's just, it's so beautiful. You on Instagram share. Some of your patterns and things you've made. So you sell on some of these dropship storefronts like, and I'm going to butcher the name, Spoonflower is one, right?

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 7:54

Yep. Spoonflower

Track 1: 7:56

What are some of those kinds of, Oh yeah. Red bubble, I think.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 8:01

Yep. Redbubble is another one.

Track 1: 8:04

So those are can you explain this in my. It's like an Etsy, but it's just print on, it's just patterned things or licensed artwork. Like you can go onto Spoonflower and you can find fabrics of, from a lot of different artists, right? You also have your own storefront on there, but you can also search it like a marketplace,

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 8:24

Yes. So Etsy is a good kind of comparison point, especially in the product world where with Etsy, you're responsible for your inventory and shipping. Spoonflower and Society6 and then, and Redbubble and those kind of platforms, they have blank merchandise. And when you're, when someone buys your product, they print your art onto the product and they ship it out and all is a royalty. So it's definitely lower energy, but to your point, it's a marketplace. So it's also lower reward because you're not, you're driving people to a storefront, but they can quickly and easily get off of that as well to go somewhere else. But where I find it really valuable is I have people who find me on one platform and then come over to Instagram and find me on another platform. Or Say, oh, yeah, I, I saw your products on society 6, but I actually want the fabric on spoon flower. And so there's an opportunity for crossover if you've got a strong enough brand for it, which is great. But also, I don't have to hold any inventory in my house, which is. That's pretty, pretty helpful.

Track 1: 9:35

Yes, absolutely. I can't imagine having to carry inventory. I had a client once who was like my entire basement is filled with party supplies. And she's and it's a huge basement.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 9:46

When I started, I was thinking about doing something that I could hold inventory, and then realized I had no space.

Track 1: 9:52

So you brought up the you brought up royalties and can we dig into that? This is how you make money, right? So can you explain how royalties work for print on or your pattern licensing?

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 10:07

Yep. For, basically, there's two different ways that you can license a pattern. a piece of art. I keep saying pattern because that's what I focus on, but 1 is flat fee. So you can sell your art or for either an exclusive or non exclusive license. To a company for a flat amount and say, Hey, I'm going to, for 600, you can print this on as many things as you want in this one category, or in any category, it's depending on the company. So that's flat fee, or you can do royalties, which. Depending on the art and the license type is much more lucrative. You get a percentage per item sold with your art on it. And so it's usually, it depends on the product category, but it can be anywhere from 5 to 15 percent of the sale price. And you get paid when someone buys, your art on that product. For things like Spoonflower and Society6, because they're print on demand, you get paid pretty much, you get notified of a sale and you get, collect that money within a month for every item sold. For more traditional licensing with bigger companies, sometimes that's quarterly, sometimes it's annually, it just depends.

Track 1: 11:29

Awesome. So who is responsible for tracking that? I would assume the seller, right? If you're doing like a bigger corporate, like a bigger kind of store where you're not, like where you're being paid quarterly, is the seller tracking that or both of you tracking it?

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 11:47

The seller tracks it because they, have access to the systems and they will agree to report in to you how much you've sold. Over a given timeframe.

Track 1: 11:58

fascinating. And this is why you need to have a rock solid contract.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 12:01

Absolutely. Contracts are super important and that trust too, which, I think where when you're working with smaller companies or companies new to licensing, that's when flat fee tends to be more enticing because you're like, you get your money up front, they're going to do, they're going to do what they say they're going to do because they've already paid you. And you're not worried about tracking that. But. Okay. I think with larger companies who do a lot of art licensing, they have a lot of systems in place, and they'll, again, put that rock solid contract together with you, and it's, you occasionally hear about issues, but for the most part, the bigger the company, the more organized they are, and so that's helpful.

Track 1: 12:42

That is, that's really helpful because I would feel. I'm a little nervous about licensing something if I had to track it, but you're right. They have that data. They have the information. They have the systems in place to track their sales and keep everything like squared up for you.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 12:59

Yeah, absolutely. And the licensing community, as you get into it, there's a couple of Facebook groups and things like that, that you can join people will vet a company through those, through, through peers before they sign a contract, if it's something, unfamiliar to them. So I've seen a couple of posts. They're like, Hey, I do work with so and you'll get someone chiming in and go, yeah, they're great. And so you've there's a. Source to check in on companies as well, if, very unofficially

Track 1: 13:27

Awesome. Okay. Yeah. That makes a little bit more sense. Cause. Sometimes I think if you're not in the business, sometimes you think, maybe I'm just putting my stuff out there and trusting someone else. I don't know. Maybe I'm like in this weird jaded mindset because I've been answering people's questions about like, how do you build trust on Shopify? Through there on, on threads. I've been answering people's questions about that a lot. And so now all of a sudden I'm like, oh my gosh, is everyone trustworthy? Yeah.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 13:56

Just the internet. And I have really only worked with us based companies partially for that reason. I feel better about it I know, they, there's a little more recourse as well. If you found, if you did find out, or, that they were that someone was. Not paying you fairly. If they're US based, it's a lot easier to manage that than someone you know potentially oversees.

Track 1: 14:21

Yeah, absolutely. So for you, Leah, is this a stream of revenue for you or is this your like main bread and butter?

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 14:30

So in my art business, licensing is my largest stream of revenue licensing and then print on demand combined. I do a day job. I like what I do and so I, I'm not looking to necessarily switch this over to my full time job, it's given me a lot of flexibility to play and explore, which is great. I also do within the Surface Pattern community, I do some education through writing blog posts for another Surface Pattern designer who has an education component to her business. So there's, a couple of different ways you can earn money. A lot of my peers and friends in the industry either have their own line of products. And so they license on top of selling their own products to retail or wholesale. So that's As well.

Track 1: 15:24

Yeah, I'm actually working with an artist right now who sells her prints through, through a drop ship company, but she also offers licensing and she's done some licensing with what is it called? Like that diamond artwork, like with the little gemstones that you stick to the paper.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 15:41

Oh yeah. I've

Track 1: 15:42

My kids have them. I've never done them, but. Yeah but I also, it opened up my eyes to seeing there's people who license artwork for puzzles. There's people who license artwork for all sorts of things. So the world is, like the opportunities for this is very wide. You just get to pick what interests you the most.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 16:03

Absolutely. And that's why that can niche is so important because being, knowing that you can put. Art on anything really makes it daunting to start because you're like, where do I go?

Track 1: 16:16

Oh this is such an awesome conversation. I'd love to know what is like a tip you would give someone who wants to get started in the art licensing? Like they haven't done anything like this yet. What's your first step in the process?

Leah: 16:32

I think beyond, the cursory Google search, which is every, should be everyone's first step. It's 2024. I think it's really identifying what, how much time and energy you want to put into as a stream of income. It's an awesome revenue stream is sometimes touted as passive and it's most certainly not because you have to create before you see any kind of return. I had mentioned, I spent a lot of time creating art before I started sharing it with companies. You've got to really hone that in. So if you're looking at starting our licensing. a revenue stream, absolutely dedicate a certain amount of time to it and then stick with that. At least that minimum to say, okay, I'm going to spend 2 hours a week creating, or I'm going to spend 2 hours a week finding companies to pitch because it's really easy. I think to get discouraged too, because you send a bunch of emails and you don't hear anything back right away. I pitched a company three different times before I got a licensing deal with them. it's, there's some perseverance that has to happen. But, if you dedicate some time and stick to it, you'll definitely start to see a return.

Track 1: 17:47

I love that. I think almost everything takes a little bit more time than we want it to. I haven't shared on the podcast yet because I started this after while I've been on a little podcast break, but I started a print on demand company in the last six months just for fun like a little passion project and it's, it takes time and it's I think we maybe sometimes build up expectations that like, if we build a store, if we build a website, people will come buy things. But there's like a whole level of marketing and a whole level of dedication. Like even for me, just spending hours creating product listings for my print on demand t shirt shop has been a lot of work. And it wasn't that. It wasn't that I didn't expect it to take time, like I knew it wasn't going to be something that just flew off the shelves, but I definitely underestimated like how much time it would take me even as a passion project, if that makes sense.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 18:46

Absolutely. I think too. It's that time up front that kind of kills you when you're excited about something and you're like, I'm going to sit down and I'm going to make I'm going to upload all of this art to make available and then you have to sit and. Wait for everything, you're marketing to kick in and all of the kind of the fun stuff that takes time. And when you're, you're really gung ho about something at the beginning and it's easy to go, oh, yeah, I didn't sell anything today, but this is a long term project or, I think the other thing that I always recommend is like, when you're feeling burnt out, focus on what is fun. And that's something that goes for any is it's so easy to go, Oh man I'm not tired of, of my business. I'm tired of the grind and then to sit down and go, okay, what sounds fun to me today? And sometimes that is product, product description. Sometimes it's that's what I want to do. And sometimes it's trying or creating art. And that's the fun thing that got you started in the first place. And then sometimes it's social media. It can, it goes any which way, but just getting to the fun thing or the thing that sounds fun at the moment is so much better than trying to force yourself to sit down and do whatever is on the to do list.

Track 1: 20:06

I'm over here nodding because I needed to hear that. So thank you. And so many others listening, I know needed to hear that, but you're so right. Like sometimes you maybe don't want to work. But you, I dunno, I get this sometimes, like I really want to work on something, but I also just want to veg out and watch the show that I've watched 10 times and that's when it's a great time to work on product listings, or that's when it's a great time to pin a bunch of stuff or schedule a bunch of stuff to Pinterest. And. Other times it's yeah, I'm ready. I want to create content. I want to, that happened to me actually on Tuesday this week, I was like gung ho to record some solo podcast episodes and my daughter was sick. And so it was just like, oh, but it's so important to think about what feels fun now. And then for me, once I do some of that fun stuff for a little bit, I can be like, okay, now I got to get these two things done that I've been putting off. So that is such a great tip for anyone, no matter what they're doing,

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 21:04

Absolutely. And I like that you followed up with then also do the things on your to do list, cause that's where I sometimes struggle as well. I'm like, I got into the fun thing. And then I'm like, I'm going to just

Track 1: 21:15

right?

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 21:16

ignore the accounting side of the business I should be doing.

Track 1: 21:19

Yeah, yesterday I I wanted to update. Some like of the accessibility things on my website. And so then I got like super deep into coding and like CSS. And then I was like, Oh wait, back it up. This is fun because that's what I love doing, but it's also okay, but what did I need to do in this moment? Because I have some accessibility issues that I needed to fix. That's another story for another day, like sometimes we do have to do the things that aren't fun, but if we kick it off with the things that are fun, I think that momentum really helps. That's something I used to do a lot. Actually, a lot of people say eat the frog, right? Eat the thing that you're dreading the most, but I always feel like do the thing that's going to take you the least amount of time or going to be super simple because then like that momentum gets you going.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 22:07

Absolutely. Yeah, we need, we needed a different phrase. That's eat the cake or whatever. Something fun. There

Track 1: 22:17

Leah coined the phrase.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 22:19

you go. Do the fun thing first. Why not?

Track 1: 22:22

Yes, absolutely. This has been so fun. I'm absolutely fascinated in this world. I remember seeing a lot of TikTok videos at one point, and then every time I was at the store, flipping over the item, looking at the tag, seeing like, all the possibilities. And now, as I start to work with, I've been working with a handful of artists. It's really fascinating to see what they've licensed, and, different places. And then I actually have, It's an artist that I love to follow, Etta V. Her name is Jessie and then I'll see her stuff and I'm like, Oh my gosh that's so cool. It's I don't know her, but I have a phone case with one of her prints on it and I had a lunch box on there and my husband bought that for me a few years ago. So it's just fun to see these little things. You'll start seeing them out in the world. If you start paying attention to it.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 23:07

Absolutely. She does some beautiful artwork too. I follow her as well.

Track 1: 23:11

She does. She also does courses, which I have purchased and not even come close to creating something as good as her, but it's fun to try.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 23:20

Absolutely.

Track 1: 23:22

Okay, Leah, this has been such an interesting conversation. I think you gave us some really actionable tips for anyone who wants to get into art licensing, doing some of that research on Google, starting to find that niche. It sounds like there's a really great community of art licensing. Business owners is there like a Facebook group or a resource that you wouldn't mind sharing with the listeners?

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 23:43

Yeah, so there's a couple art licensing Facebook groups. I definitely recommend starting, and full disclosure, I write for this blog starting with sketchdesignrepeat. com. She's, it's Shannon McNabb. She does she's got some great courses, but she also has a ton of free blog content that'll get you started with understanding the world of licensing. Different revenue streams within it. And then there's a group Facebook group called art licensing with Mabel tan. That's a great group as well. And then from there, Facebook always does its algorithm thing and recommends other groups. So you'll be able to find a lot of them. And if you're really just getting started doing something like. Looking at society 6 or spoon flower as your. Toe in the water is a great way to get, get feedback on your art or kind of start seeing something, and having something to show right away.'cause a lot of times, with like art licensing, it takes a while to get your art onto a product. So if you're starting to just share your art, being able to share something that kind of gives you a little bit more of that, like immediate gratification through something like a print on demand site is always helpful. To keep you going I share my blog post and other stuff on my Instagram as well, which is coast L studio. And so I'm always sharing resources from other friends and peers in the surface pattern design community.

Track 1: 25:14

I will link to all of those, and I'll definitely link to your Instagram because you have talked about licensing and really got me thinking more about it since I've been following your Instagram and you've been sharing things that You have licensed, but also like things that have other people's work on it. So I think that's really fascinating. So we'll have links to all of those in the show notes and the blog posts that go with this podcast episode. Before we say goodbye, can you tell everyone where they can find you, where they can see your artwork? Where's the best place to hang out with you online? Hehehehe

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 25:46

place to hang out with me online is definitely Instagram. My DMs are always open. Because I love answering questions about both surface pattern design and then you know marketing alongside a creative business but my website is also the best hub for that and it's coast l So it's this is one more tip for everyone when you're coming up with a business name Think about how it sounds out loud and then how you spell it. It's c o a S T L Studio, not the full coastal name. But coastalstudio. com is where you can find me and there's links over to Instagram, all of my art, all the places that I've got. Products available.

Track 1: 26:27

Awesome. Thank you so much, Leah. I will make sure we have links to those in the show notes and in the blog post that goes with this episode so that everybody can find you, see your artwork. And I don't know if you're, I assume you're open to sharing this since you put on Instagram right now, you're decorating your nursery using some really fun pattern products. And so it's just really fun to see behind the scenes of stuff in the works.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 26:52

Yes. Thank you. Yeah. It's been a lot of fun to decorate a nursery with your own art and then also some art from other awesome artists as well. It'll be a fun little transition. But we're looking forward to it,

Track 1: 27:04

Yeah, I'll tell you one day you will be you'll be with your kids or something and they'll see something that you designed and they'll be like telling everyone they know my mom made that or my 10 year old, she likes to tell everyone my mom could design this way better than you did. That girl could get me some clients, I'm telling you, cause she is honest, but sweet as can be. But I just, I remember the first time I designed a, for a local theater, like a little mermaid poster. And she knew I had made it because she was like at the office with me or something. So she was like telling everyone, my mom made this. And it was like, So embarrassing, but also adorable. So one day you'll have that too.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 27:46

be a little bit before she's telling people, but

Track 1: 27:49

It'll be there. Anyways, thank you so much for sharing your story, sharing behind the scenes of how to get started in art licensing and just being here with us on the podcast today. It was really great to chat with you. And I am just so grateful for your time.

squadcaster-1e3g_1_03-07-2024_130059: 28:03

absolutely. Thank you so much for having me and giving me a chance to talk about something that I love to talk about for hours and hours.