DESIGNER Ingrid Sylvestre stuck her neck on the line when she adopted a giraffe theme for her artwork.

But, such has been the interest in her distinctive creations, she is now surrounded by everything and anything connected with the long-necked mammals.

She is even starting to see giraffes in the living room of her County Durham home, all in preparation for a, hopefully, lucrative trip to London this week.

Ms Sylvestre, whose Giraffe World greeting card concept has already proved a success, hopes to attract marketing bosses from some of the many big merchandisers at the Brand Licensing 2004 Exhibition, at Earls Court, London.

Determined to make a big impression, Ms Sylvestre has commissioned eight of her giraffe family characters, including one reading The Northern Necko, into 6ft figures, produced by Edward Rutherford Design, of Ushaw Moor, County Durham. Ms Sylvestre, who has even made a Lycra giraffe skin body suit for the event, said: "There will be merchandising buyers from all over Europe at the exhibition.

"They will be scouring more than 150 stands hoping to spot the next big thing that they could use on goods, everything from lunch boxes to multi-million pound cinema features.

"Because I'm up against big companies, with established characters such as Bob the Builder, Batman and Barbie they want to license, I've got to make an impact."

Ms Sylvestre's cut-out family includes characters Ralph G Neckmann, Necky Becky and Girth, which have featured in much of her previous work.

Ms Sylvestre said: "Last-minute preparations mean I've been up until 3am some mornings and I've now got giraffes standing around the living room.

"It really brings the characters to life and I'm even starting to talk to them."

Published: 25/10/2004