Museum of Carpet in Kidderminster has an extensive collection and associated archive of internationally significant items, including original Japanese designs, Arts & Crafts designs, ‘oriental’ carpets and associated documentation. The museum was keen to understand the commercial viability of its collections and how it could work with licensing partners to bring these to market, but they needed additional expert support.
As part of a Museum Development Midlands programme, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and Museum of Carpet commissioned Naomi Korn Associates to identify collection items with commercial potential, followed by a short report to assess the viability of the commercial licensing of its collections.
Our senior consultant for Commercial Licensing visited the museum to meet the trustees and view and discuss a cross section of 50 collections items that the museum had identified as having commercial potential based on criteria outlined by Naomi Korn Associates.
Ahead of the visit, the museum supplied Naomi Korn Associates with images and associated collections information to enable an assessment of any copyright or other legal issues that would be potential obstacles to commercial licensing.
After conducting the audit of the collections, Naomi Korn Associates drafted a report that provided an assessment of the viability of the Museum of Carpet developing the commercial licensing of its collections as an income stream. This included outlining the likely costs for the museum in terms of the resources required and the potential income that could be realised.
As a result of the support provided by Naomi Korn Associates, the Trustees of Museum of Carpet were able to make informed decisions on whether to invest in developing its commercial licensing activities.
“The Naomi Korn team delivered both inspiring insights and practical advice, enabling the Museum to be clear-eyed about the opportunities and challenges of the world of commercial licensing.”
Museum of Carpet
