In further licensing news, Collaborate has become an official contributor to the Studio Ghibli license! In collaboration with Chronicle Books, our talented artist Helena Wu created a gorgeous My Neighbor Totoro stationery set featuring characters and scenes from the internationally beloved movie. Helena collaborated with Chronicle art director Neil Egan to create carefully crafted illustrations for a sticker sheet, 6 letters, an envelope, and the exterior packaging of the stationery set.

In order to get the work approved by the official Studio Ghibli licensor, we had to exhibit a high attention to detail in keeping with their existing brand look and feel. Helena did an amazing job in creating these stylized images in keeping with the original movie aesthetic, with minimal notes on each pass! Both Helena and Flora, Helena’s agent on this project, are avid Ghibli fans who rewatched My Neighbor Totoro prior to starting on the project in order to best capture the spirit of the film.

“As a lifelong Ghibli fan, I grew up watching Totoro on VHS, so it’s been a huge honor to be able to contribute to the magic world of Totoro.” – Helena Wu, illustrator

Sr US Accounts Manager Flora Rees-Arredondo and the Collaborate team specialize in finding the right copy artist for several well-known licenses like Studio Ghibli, Sanrio, Disney, Mattel, and more. If you’re looking for a specific copy artist, designer, or packager for your next licensing project we’d be happy to help!