About ITSme

Ed is the CEO of ITSme and author of the E.F.E.C.T.S charter! He has been instrumental in bringing the world’s top Agencies together to join the ITSme Society and follow the progressive practices they aspire to, from carbon net zero to diversity and inclusion. Ed started as an illustrator in 1988, later founding Advocate Art in 1992. He has been on both sides of the Agent management table understanding what it is to be a freelance illustrator as well as being an agent through to running a global Artist Agency. He has been a senior manager or on the board of eight prominent artist-related businesses in his career of 35 years, but now devotes his time to helping support Artist Agencies with business advice and support finance. “Im always happy to share my experiences of the industry to help new or established illustrators further their careers, I am especially passionate about seeing our E.F.E.C.T.S. charter make a real difference and leave a lasting legacy.”

Natasha was appointed to the position following her role as HR Manager at ITSme.She remains heavily involved in the Human Resources aspects of her new role. Having experience in working within, and alongside, the ITSme Society agencies....Previous roles include Global Manager at Advocate Art, Senior Sales Agent at Illo Agency and Head of Sales at Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency. Natasha has worked in the Industry for over 10 years, after completing a BA in Illustration, an invaluable qualification that has heavily aided her positions since graduating. Natasha works closely with the CEO to collaborate in implementing and driving organisational vision, hiring needs and quality control. She oversees employee productivity to build a highly inclusive company culture to ensure the highest success of the team and company. She continues to be creative as an Illustrator in her spare time, and recently became a new Mum which she is loving.

She takes pride in training, developing and guiding an international team of Agents.To reach their highest sales achievements.Her extensive background in award winning customer service paired with her proven sales.Management success led her to join the team at Astound. During her time at Astound, she grew her agency’s reach into celebrity and NY Best Seller projects.Following success with Astound, Alison took on the role of Global Manager at Artistique International. While managing a territory of over 14,000 clients and a global team of agents, the company saw a 173% overall revenue growth with the introduction of contracts with high profile clients. During this time, she assisted with managing the North American territory for Illo Agency, growing their revenue by 262% in a year.

Emily is responsible for directing each of the ITSme Society agencies in achieving a unique global presence. Emily also leads production and concept creation for ITSme Learning and academy. Prior to ITSme, Emily was the Global Manager at Astound from its inception to late 2020. At Astound, she helped innovate their marketing strategy, rising to one of the top illustration agencies in the USA in just a few short years, growing the agency into a multi million dollar business. She agented countless titles, including #1 NY Times Bestselling picture books and celebrity series, and was named one of the top 100 literary agents in the USA. She brings her unique ability to understand marketing and PR needs from an agent’s perspective, and her PR experience within the film industry; having assisted on major press events for award winning films at top International Film Festivals (Cannes, Venice, and NohoIFF). Emily is passionate about bringing attention to artist and agent achievements via foundational and innovative methods. In her (rare) spare time Emily enjoys visiting local bookshops, galleries, cuddling with her cats, going to the movies, and riding horses.

Vicky reviews the thousands of illustration submissions sent to us every week. She identifies the top talent.Organizes their portfolios to promote their strongest work And directs them to the agency that best matches their unique voice. Vicky graduated from London College of Communication, UAL with a degree in Illustration and Visual Media , incorporating both traditional and digital media.Her practice extends across fine art painting and illustration . She has exhibited in group shows across Europe (UK, Greece, Poland) and later moved on to interning for Advocate Art, starting her career as a talent scout. As a freelance artist herself, Vicky is highly attuned to the current market and illustration trends. Vicky has an in-depth understanding of the artist’s role, as well as the difficulties that can come alongside the artist’s journey. Vicky is passionate about guiding artists towared the best possible representation, expanding our creative community, and meeting with the artist’s that create it. In her spare time, you will find her strolling through art galleries or spending time with her two enormous fluffy sheepdogs at her father’s farm.

Bhavi is our Learning Academy’s Creative Director. Her experience in all things illustration began with with Advocate when interning in university, where she studied Illustration. After graduating with a 1st Class Honours, she spent 2.5 years working at the Royal Academy of Arts as an Exhibitions & Art Sales Coordinator, before rejoining Advocate-Art as an Artist Agent. Having worked with Publishing and Licensing clients across the UK over the last 5 years, she now works as the company’s Senior Art Director and Licensing Manager, where her main focus remains with working with clients on a range of projects across Greeting Cards, Picture Books, Middle Grade Fiction and Chapter Books. Having built a strong rapport with artists, it’s equally important to Bhavi that she has a hands-on approach with our artists, helping to develop their portfolios to bring a range of commercial, on trend styles to the Publishing industry every year. She brings this relevant development knowledge to her role here at ITSme. Her client list now involves working with big publishing houses such as Walker Books (Bestsellers of Dinosaurs Don’t Have Bedtime), Harper Collins, DK (World of Trees), Scholastic (Unicorn Don’t Love Sparkles,) Arcturus and Wonderbly. In recent years, she’s developed strong relationships with the Trade Team, working on bestselling titles Friends Are Amazing and 3 Lions. Whilst Bhavi is a top selling Children’s Publishing agent, she also works as an agent with leading Greeting Card Publishers such as Paper Rose, alongside developing new product concepts with Gibsons Games. She still holds her position as Art Director at Advocate Art, and is excited for this partnership with ITSme, and sharing her knowledge with artists from all industries and locations.

Aurora Barlam assists our mentees and students for ITSme courses so they can learn new skills that will transform their careers. She also manages the administrative side of ITSme Learning and promotes our content to a wider audience. Prior to ITSme, Aurora was an agent at Astound agency for six years. During that time she brought in millions of dollars of work by negotiating deals for the artists she represented to illustrate New York Times bestsellers and titles by celebrity authors. Some of these titles includeThe Seed of Compassion by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (illustrated by Bao Luu), The Way Champs Play by Naomi Osaka (illustrated by Kamala Nair), and Gorgeously Me by Jonathan Van Ness (also illustrated by Kamala Nair). Aurora uses these experiences to give rising artists a professional perspective on how to break into a creative career. She previously worked as a freelance designer and art instructor, after graduating with a degree in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, so she can use an artist’s eye to give on point feedback. Aurora lives in Brooklyn with her son, her husband, and a fluffy little cat named Midnight. In her spare time she enjoys reading comics, another passion that informs her work with comic book artists and writers.

Florenza is a graphic designer and illustrator. She specializes in creating a wide range of graphics, from artist portfolios to across-the-board presentations and everything in between for the ITSme Society agencies. With a degree from Central Saint Martins, she combines her passion for design with a keen understanding of storytelling to produce innovative and visually compelling work. Aside from being a graphic designer for ITSme, she is also a represented illustrator working with various clients internationally. Her attention to detail and collaborative spirit enable her to work effectively with artists, staff members and clients alike.