Zoe Gilmore

What do you do for a living?  

I am an Account Manager at Ikon Images, the curated stock illustration agency.

What does that mean day-to-day?  

Being a small business, we all need to pitch-in in lots of different areas. As well as the sales and licensing side of the business, I also keep on top of bits of the marketing.  

I love the variety of my job, especially dealing with our lovely clients’ needs and also creating our newsletter. The newsletter runs every couple of months and showcases our newest releases – there is nothing I love more than popping the kettle on and emerging myself in all of Ikon’s beautiful new illustrations for a couple of hours.

What do you love about magazines?  

I come from a family of readers, and ever since I can remember there has been a New Scientist, Observer Magazine or a Which? magazine available to thumb through whenever I might find an idle moment.

I was a fiercely loyal collector of the Beano as a kid, progressing to Just 17, Smash Hits and the NME as I grew up. I have always thought of my choice of magazines as an expression of my identity, the same way one might rep a t-shirt from their favourite band – proudly showing the world what I am consuming (within reason – we all have our guilty pleasures OK?). 

My love for magazines has not wavered over the years, but now a busy mother of 2, a magazine is very much a treat. Since the start of the pandemic, I have found myself mostly craving a long train journey on my own with a large frothy latte and a selection of some of my favourite glossy magazines. Bliss. *Googles TransSiberian Railway tickets*

Why are you supporting the International Magazine Centre?

I was introduced to the International Magazine Centre by a mutual connection on LinkedIn, who complemented the illustrations in the Ikon collection and suggested the International Magazine Centre and Ikon would be a great fit.

I looked on the website and immediately saw some of our longstanding clients were Patrons. It was clear that our audiences were pretty much the same people – outstanding magazine publishers with a passion for content and editorial design. What’s not to like? We are delighted to be part of such an innovative group, as mad about magazines as we are.


Here’s three of Zoe’s favourite images below – take a look at more of the beautiful images available from Ikon on their website.

Connect with Zoe on LinkedIn.

Illustration by Robert Hanson
Illustration by Paul Daviz
Illustration by Mitch Blunt
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