In Focus: Modern Collectibles Ltd - Excitement & Passion Captured Forever

fcbusiness chats to Mark Brough about how his love of sport, music and live events led him to set up Modern Collectibles and the creation of a bespoke range of products that capture the excitement and passion of these events for fans across the country.

What is Modern Collectibles?

I wanted to design and produce a product that would capture the excitement and passion I experienced at sporting and live events that make a connection between the fan and the club, team or group. For the past three years I have been developing a range of high quality artistic frames utilising different materials and trying to break down barriers to printing techniques including raster and vector files.

What are people looking for in sports memorabilia?

Fans and collectors want something that is unique to their club, something that commemorates a special success like a league or cup final win, a promotion, a special player or an anniversary. Sports memorabilia is often centred on something that the club and supporters can celebrate together and have that connection. 

What products do you provide?

We provide a range of collectible, high quality artistic frames made from slate, wood, acrylic, stainless steel and copper plate, which can be displayed on a wall, table top or display cabinet. We are starting off with three frame designs – rectangle, shirt and helmet for motorsport – in three materials – slate, acrylic, wood – and in two sizes – medium and large. Each product will be limited edition, come with certificates of authenticity and feature the added bonus of a QR code that links to specially selected videos making them highly collectible items.

What are the benefits to the club/player in having a product like this?

We want to work with each club to create bespoke products tailored to their sporting identity. This is one of the great advantages of these products – we can design the artwork to exactly what they want to commemorate. A club or player can tell us what the theme should be, and throughout the design stages we will work with them on each step until they are completely satisfied. We know if the clubs and players are happy with the final products then so will the supporters. We are producing these as collectibles, so as new designs are brought out and we introduce new materials and products, the supporters will want to add to their collections.

What type of fan would buy these products?

The products will appeal to fans of all ages and because we are using different materials I have found people have their own preference. They are visually appealing because of the artwork and style, plus tactile with the different materials used. When I was designing the products I wanted the artwork and background designs to blend into the base materials and thus draw the viewer closer to the product. Ultimately, I have not seen anything similar on the market which is bespoke, colourful, artistic and as unique as these.

What are your thoughts on sports memorabilia market in general?

There is strong demand for sports memorabilia and merchandise from supporters, which is growing year on year. Clubs have seen this growth and are building their retail operations to match. There are some new products on the market but I don’t think the memorabilia industry is keeping up with this increase in demand, which is why I think now is the ideal time to launch the new product range from Modern Collectibles.

What are your next steps in the market?

The next step is to meet with clubs and individuals to gain their direct professional feedback on the prototype samples we have. By working in close collaboration we can create bespoke products based on their suggestions that will add value to the club and provide fans with something they can treasure. Additionally, I’m looking for business partners with a similar passion in producing high quality sports memorabilia to build on the positivity I have experienced in the industry to date. 

Modern Collectibles are keen to speak to clubs and individuals about the opportunities and the range of products they have to offer. For more information or to arrange a meeting contact Mark Brough on email: mark@moderncollectibles.co.uk or phone: 078686 43676 or visit: www.moderncollectibles.co.uk