Gwyneth Campling

Gwyneth Campling is an experienced licensing and product development expert, specialising in promoting the commercial potential of heritage brands and collections. She now works as a freelance consultant, with clients including Hampshire Cultural Trust, West Dean College, Chawton House and the Royal School of Needlework.

Over the past thirty years Gwyneth’s journey has seen her manage brand and image licensing programmes for the Royal Collection and Tate, and set up licensing programmes from scratch for the Natural History Museum and the Royal Opera House. This has involved licensing brands to high street fashion retailers, toy manufacturers, publishers and luxury jewellers. 

As Head of Brand and Image at the Royal Opera House, Gwyneth was involved in a collaboration between The Royal Ballet and Boodles luxury jewellers, in a partnership of two iconic British companies. Inspired by the contemporary productions of The Royal Ballet, Boodles created the exquisite “Pas de Deux Collection”  an expressive, abstract collection of fine jewellery.

Gwyneth also developed the Natural History Museum’s first branded collection of model dinosaurs. Working with the Museum’s palaeontologists and the manufacturer in a painstaking process to achieve accuracy and attention to detail, Gwyneth oversaw development of eight authentic, hand-finished, museum-approved model dinosaurs, which are still bestsellers almost twenty years on.

Brand licensing specialist

Expertise

  • Brand + image licensing

  • Product development

  • Retail planning + buying

  • Commercial business planning

  • Intellectual Property Rights

  • Digital Asset Management systems

Where Gwyneth works

In spring the view from my office was dominated by glorious blue skies, the rhododendron was blooming and the clematis was gearing up for a spectacular display. OK, we were in lockdown but at that point it felt finite and that by summer we’d be getting back to normal. Now, it’s Autumn. We are not back to normal and the view from my office looks like this.

We are building an extension. It’s a process that mirrors my approach to work at the moment. I am confident, optimistic, excited even, that one day the work will finish and be beautiful but on some days the relentlessness of drilling, building supplies arriving, scaffolding moving higher and higher makes it hard to see that day. But, though the challenges continue, our learning, adapting and planning is setting us up for a bright future, stimulating excitement and suspense at what is to come.