British Ceramic & Textile Design Studio Hinchcliffe & Barber
Debuts in Japan with Licensed Ceramics from Huayu

• Licensed Product to Launch at Tokyo International Gift Show 2nd to 4th September
• Licensing Agents Partnership, ZenWorks and Brandog, to Expand Program into Home Interior and Personal Lifestyle Categories

Tokyo, Japan, 21st August 2015 – ZenWorks Co., Ltd. and Brandog Co., Ltd., the joint licensing agents in Japan for Hinchcliffe & Barber, the British ceramic and textile design studio, announce that Huayu Co., Ltd., a Yokohama ceramics manufacturer, will launch a range of licensed table porcelain at the Tokyo International Gift Show, 2nd to 4th September at the Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Centre (booth West Hall 4166). Huayu’s product range marks the first licensing foray into the Japanese market for Wendy Hinchcliffe and John Barber’s characteristic craft-based British designs.
Huayu’s range will target the wedding, celebratory and personal gift markets, and then later expand into select retail store chains. The products will be available in two popular Hinchcliffe & Barber designs, Resist and Summer Garden, and comprise of two mug sets (RRP: JPY2,000), two mug and plate sets (RRP: JPY3,000), two pasta plate sets (RRP: JPY2,500), three storage container sets (RRP: JPY3,000) and five bowl sets (RRP: JPY3,200).
Wendy Barber of Hinchcliffe & Barber commented, “I am delighted with the Hinchcliffe & Barber range from Huayu. It has been wonderful to bring all the colour and exuberance of the English Summer Garden to market in Japan and the graphic and cool Resist has delivered a totally different look from our archive.”
Joyu Wakata, president of Huayu Co., Ltd., commented, “We are very pleased to launch Hinchcliffe & Barber design products. We have begun by releasing two patterns of products that fit in well with various types of daily use. We welcome the trade to visit our booth at the Tokyo Gift Show and see the products for themselves.”
Roger Berman, president of ZenWorks remarked, “Together with Pochi Kusama, president of Brandog, we are both hugely excited to launch Hinchcliffe & Barber licensed product into the Japanese market, especially at the Tokyo Gift Show which attracts nearly 200,000 trade buyers and is the largest trade show of its kind in Japan. Our plan is that the Huayu license will be the catalyst for further licensed products across home interior and personal lifestyle categories in the coming months.”
Jane Evans, of master licensing agent, JELC added, “We are delighted that our agency in Japan has found such a fantastic partner in Huayu to launch the Hinchcliffe & Barber brand in Japan. Huayu have delivered on everything that has been asked of them during the product development process and we look forward to a great success with these ranges in their market.”
 
For further information on Hinchcliffe & Barber licensing opportunities or about this press release, contact Roger Berman, ZenWorks Co., Ltd. at rmb@zenworks.jp.

• About Hinchcliffe & Barber www.hinchcliffeandbarber.com

Hinchcliffe & Barber’s work is firmly rooted in the English craft tradition, with a well-proven track record of translating studio designs into commercial products sold around the world: UK (Harvey Nichols, John Lewis Partnership, Next); USA (Barneys, Lord and Taylor, Bloomingdales, Macy’s); Japan (Isetan); France (Printemps); Australia (David Jones). Their work features in many public collections including the V&A London, Crafts Council, American Craft Council and the Ulster Museum. A series on Printed Textiles was also developed for British public TV channel, BBC2 and their work led the way for other successful home design brands such as Cath Kidston, Orla Kiely and Emma Bridgewater. There is an extensive design archive suitable for ceramics, fabrics, stationery, outdoor living etc.

• About ZenWorks www.zenworks.jp

ZenWorks is a Tokyo-based licensing consultancy and lifestyle brand licensing agency that delivers specialized license consulting, brand sales development, communications, media, trade show, and licensing education services to content creators and IP owners entering Japan and East Asian markets as well as Japanese companies expanding internationally. ZenWorks was founded in 2010 by Roger Berman, an established licensing professional in the Japanese and global licensing industry, with the goal of helping clients develop sustainable and long-term licensing programs.

• About Huayu huayu.co.jp

Yokohama-based Huayu is a Japanese manufacturer of ceramic ware with a 100% owned manufacturing facility in Jingdezhen, China, an area that is known as the “Porcelain Capital” pottery production dating back 1,700 years. Huayu is recognized for the high quality of its products utilizing Japanese ceramic manufacturing know-how, and its ability to deliver a full packaging solution for products within a clean room environment. This reputation has enabled Huayu to establish sales into a diverse range of retail channels including department store chains, specialty stores and wedding halls.