Nelson De La Nuez to License his Lifestyle Brand with the New Management Team

Nelson De La Nuez, a world-renowned, contemporary Artist and designer, will build further on his luxury Brand and Market momentum through strategic category expansions beyond his consistently in-demand and collectible artwork via his new Forward Strategies brand management team. The new De La Nuez collections plan to include but are not limited to luggage/travel items, decorative pillows, kitchen/entertaining/tabletop, giftware, paper goods, beach accessories, and more.

In order to properly execute and manage these initiatives, De La Nuez has engaged a team of industry veterans for his licensing brand management, led by Dick Kunkle and Jayson Score of Forward Strategies LLC. Kunkle formerly held senior Management positions at Lenox, Hartmann luggage, and Waterford Crystal. Score is a management consultant and held senior management positions at several industry leaders including Lenox, Syratech, and Boston Warehouse Trading Corp.

The new licensing partners will collaborate with De La Nuez's design and marketing teams to create unique product collections. Each partner will be responsible for the marketing and distribution targeting upscale department and specialty stores across the US and Canada. The new collections expect to launch in Spring 2024.

"De La Nuez has established a huge audience of collectors and fans over many years through his artwork. We intend to carry through the voice of his brand with its sophisticated, yet fun, luxury-driven art," stated Score. His art has become immediately recognizable and is sold in many prestigious galleries internationally from Palm Beach to the Hamptons and Nantucket to DC to Hong Kong, as well as in private and corporate collections such as Delta Airlines VIP Sky Club /Delta One lounge throughout the US. The artist also has a strong celebrity and entertainment industry-driven collector base.

"Retail and licensing are critical steps for the De La Nuez brand as we aim to connect more broadly with the targeted consumer. Any products and brands we decide to work with will be within the luxury lifestyle categories and feel to stay on brand with his art. The artist will be very hands-on to be sure everything remains his vision," Kunkle explained.

"I am constantly hearing from my collectors that they want more from my brand; for example, they want to be able to travel with the luggage with my art on it to express themselves. How people decorate their homes and what they wear is an expression of who they are. People show a few their true selves through my art and what they choose to hang on their walls. Now they can take it outside of those walls and expand it within. The new licensing agreements with experienced partners will deliver on these consumer's needs,” said De La Nuez.