British Library projects LCF graduate business

by Myriah Towner

The British Library is seeking to interact with more creative practitioners in addition to Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion in an effort to inspire them to make new products and commercialise ideas.

They are hoping to attract the attention of creatives in fashion, graphic design, illustration or even typography with its extensive collection of unusual and inspiring material.

This year, the Library held its first Spring Festival aimed at designers, allowing them to be stallholders and sell their products at the market.

One of the 12 stallholders included London College of Fashion (LCF) Product Design and Development graduates Emma-Jayne Parkes and Vivianne Jaeger. The market’s panel included Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz creator and illustrator Quentin Blake.

Emerging talent

Emma-Jayne Parkes and Vivianne Jaeger started their company, SquidLondon, with the help of the British Library and were able to successfully market their product.

“The British Library has put a lot of events on and have been extremely helpful. They have been the best source for help and information,” said Parkes.

The British Library plans to build expand to more creative organisations with relationships already formed with the BBC, Central St. Martins, and London College of Fashion.

Valuable Opportunity

The Business and IP Centre located within the library has helped 250,000 businesses develop since its launch in 2006, with a quarter of users being entrepreneurs from the creative industry.

Frances Taylor, Marketing Manager of Creative Industries for the British Library, commented on the role the library is taking in reaching out to creative practitioners and designers.

“The British Library has a lot of things for creative practitioners and the Business Centre offers a designer the equivalent of what corporations would give them for free," she said. "We run events and series like Make It Sell It!, where people get to network with experts and get advice,” said Taylor.

The centre also offers advice sessions for people who actively want to work for themselves where they can book confidential sessions with a library expert.

The sessions offer creatives with ideas the advice needed on how to develop, protect and market their ideas.

Taylor added: “We want the British Library to be a place where creative practitioners can feel at home and feel inspired.”