Golden Goose is a European brand licensing consultancy established in 2002 to help corporate brands develop best-fit licensing opportunities. Based in London the company balances a strategic approach with a professional execution, offering a range of services from brand strategy development through to full service licensing representation. Other clients represented by Golden Goose are Mother and Baby, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Aunty Acid, Mother & Baby and Oasis.

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Andrew Ainsworth – Shepperton Design Studios

In 1976, Nick Pemberton, a successful scenic artist and puppeteer and Andrew Ainsworth, a recently qualified Industrial Designer from Ealing Art School, lived a couple of buildings apart on Twickenham Green, England. They both worked from their premises which were Victorian shops with out-buildings at the rear. Nick was approached by the Star Wars 'buyer' to make various helmets and ancillary items for the film. As Nick recalls, 'the film was just another ‘no hoper'; he was also very busy at the time on a large puppetry job for Tyne Tees television in Newcastle. Nevertheless he took the job on, with the intention of convincing Andrew to produce the characters as Nick was impressed with the plastic moulding techniques that Andrew was developing, just a couple of doors away. Andrew's task was to take his friend Nick's clay model and Ralph McQuarrie's concept drawings and sculpt the moulds which would form the iconic white plastic helmets worn by the Stormtroopers in Star Wars (A New Hope). Andrew recalls "The concept drawings from Ralph McQuarrie suggested that the Stormtrooper was a futuristic being that had evolved through continuous genetic modification, and perhaps able to operate in adverse pungent climatic conditions. The helmet would therefore be able to filter noxious gases and the armour would be so flexible that it could have actually grown on the character that way - much the same as an armadillo has natural armour." It was obvious to Andrew that no joins or fabricated parts should be seen, the character should be homogeneous and so the head must flow into the body and be undercut to disguise any suggestion of an actor inside the costume. The surface of the character was to be hard and protective, but flexible with a smooth, slick finish. The drawing suggested a silver, metallic look. Producing a prototype with all these features would be a challenge, given the non-paying, speculative nature of the job. Andrew made 50 sets of armour in all and as they were quite versatile in fit, they were used over and over again for not only the first movie, but also the sequels.

For more information visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12910683