Caithness illustrator says London event has opened new doors to his world of eejits

Caithness illustrator George Mackay has been raising the profile of his quirky collection of eejits at a prestigious industry event in London.

The 44-year-old says his trip last week to Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) 2021 has "opened a few doors" – and taken him closer to achieving his dream of an animated TV series based on his weird and wonderful cast of characters with their chaotic way of life.

George, from Thurso, was allocated a free exhibition stand in London's ExCeL centre as part of his prize package for winning the character and animation section of the 2020 License This! awards hosted by BLE.

He was accompanied by his wife Tracy at the event which brought together retailers, licensees and manufacturers for three days of networking, deal-making and trend-spotting.

George has created around 300 eejits over the past 15 years. Aimed largely at the seven to 12 age group, his madcap creations can be found on stickers and prints and in a popular card game, Bahoochie. He is planning a series of books and would love to see the eejits become TV stars.

“I was absolutely delighted with the stand – it's probably the best-looking thing I've ever put together," George said.

“I was getting a lot of good feedback and comments, people just loving the name.

“Before the event, Brand Licensing Europe had an online forum where I could have my own page and from there I could send out invites and also people could ask to meet me.

"So before the event I had 16 meetings scheduled over the three days, and during the show a lot of people were just walking up and commenting on the stand and what I had set out.

“I was blown away by the generosity and the helpfulness of people with their time and knowledge about the industry. They were just so lovely – it was amazing.

“A lot of people came up asking for my advice, being somebody who had entered the competition, and I tried to help them as best I could.

“It has opened a few doors. I have a lot of contacts now and a lot of follow-up to do.

“I've got people that are interested in representing me in the toy industry and potentially board games.

“I did speak to a couple of companies about animation. There is nothing concrete there yet, but it's something that can be followed up. My ultimate goal is getting an eejits animated TV series.”

George has begun collaborating with comedy writer Dean Wilkinson, who has worked for Ant and Dec as well as Disney, Cbeebies and Nickelodeon.

The eejits' homeland is a place called the Glen, where some locations have Caithness-inspired names.

“It has been hidden away for hundreds of years,” George explained. “In the Glen there are five clans trying to live harmoniously together but with disastrous results because they're so stupid they keep causing absolute havoc.

“I've spent a lot of time developing the brand, so instead of just being a collection of characters there is now a back story and there is a world for them to live in.

“Rather than making new characters, basically I've spent the last year after winning the competition developing the brand into a property that can be pitched towards animation studios and licensing companies."

George is developing a new colouring-in book by popular demand after the last one sold out, and he is hoping next year to start a series of five children's books based on the eejit clans.

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