Spring!
Yesterday was the official opening of the Spring! Exhibition with Princess Maxima.
We had a little chat about my work and yes, I was very nervous ;-). She was very
lovely though and said my Instant Comfort Pocket Boxes would make great gifts
(and that my style was so sweet)! The exhibiton was beautifully designed and I feel
so very honoured to be part of it. The wall at the back is designed by Nike and I love
how beautiful and stylish it looks. Also great thanks to Designer Marjolein van
Puffelen of Nike (in the first picture on the left) to invite me to join her in this
exhibition as a 'young talent'!
There's also a little video on YouTube here about the princess' visite to the DDW
(and check me out at 2:34 minutes!).
One more thing I feel proud about: my house and work is featured on Bloesem!
Paper
Yesterday, I bought this beautiful paper at Vlieger, my favorite paper and supply
shop in Amsterdam. The ones on the left and in the middle are by Sanna Annukka,
the right piece is from the Grafika series, all from nineteenseventythree.
Newsletter!
Something new... you can now subscribe to my newsletter! I'll keep you posted
on nice deals, treats and new scoops about my work and goodies. I promise
not to spam you (honest!) and only send an email to you bi-monthly.
And in case you don't want to receive the newsletter anymore, you can
unsubscribe by sending me and email, easy peasy lemon squeezy (hey Amy,
I'm using that phrase)!
So don't hesitate and click that newsletter link on the right to fill in the form! ---->
Morran
As mentioned before, Camilla Engman is doing an open call for portraits of Morran,
her cute little dog, for a new book. All profit goes to charity, which idea I love, so of
course I had to contribute! Fingers crossed my illustration (the picture above is a
detail of the whole picture) makes it into the book!
5 Questions to... Leah Duncan
It was so pretty that I couldn't get myself to use it so now it's in a frame on
my wall. I've been following Leah's work ever since and am very proud to
announce that now you can read this interview with her on my blog!
Can you tell a little bit about who you are and what you do?
I’m an illustrator, surface pattern, and textile designer. I live in Austin with
my husband, our dog Oslo, and our two cats Prince and Mr. Lucy. I sell my
work online as well as in boutiques internationally and work with other
retailers to produce goods using my work. I love pink, sweet tea, sunshine,
and anything that is 100% linen.
What or who inspires you?
I am inspired by nature, my surroundings in east Austin, the smaller moments
in my life, and relationships. I’m also an animal lover, so I often use them in
my work. I love giving them personality and relating them to each other, their
environment, and life in general. Color is also a huge inspiration and may be
the single most important part of my compostitions.
What does your work process look like, any specific techniques or
combination of techniques you prefer?
My work always starts on paper with an ink pen. Then everything is scanned
into illustrator for coloring. I sometimes use collage or gouache if I’m in the
mood for something a little more organic. I also machine stitch my work from time to
mood for something a little more organic. I also machine stitch my work from time to
time to add a little bit of texture.
How do you promote your work and do you have a 'best tip'?
The best thing I’ve ever done is join Etsy. It’s been the single best way for
people, bloggers, and editors to find my work. I do craft shows from time
to time and have just started to attend larger tradeshows for licensing my
work. Other than that, I think the most important tip I can give is to just
keep at it, find your style, and don’t be afraid to put yourself ot there.
What would be your dream assignment?
I’d love to illustrate an album cover for Arcade Fire! Other than that, my
dreams are coming true every day. I’m very lucky to make a living doing
what I love and I’ve had so many “dream” opportunities come my way. Just
seeing my work out there puts a smile on my face.
or Etsy shop!
Thanks so much Leah, for your time and for making such lovely work!
Printing
Since I hand printed the fabric for the little chair with stamp technique, I'm hooked.
Today I did this pillow case for the bedroom.
There're also new ICPB's in the shop (christmas and 'normal' versions)... And now,
I'm finally going outside as I've been indoors all day and the weather is sunny and
lovely autumny (is that a word?).
Rob Ryan - Book
Yesterday my a new book arrived: 'You can still do a lot with a small brain' about
the work of Rob Ryan. Although in the beginning I was nog particularly blown
away by the lay out design, I'm very excited about Ryan's work and the peek into
his studio and way of working.
About the christmas cards, thank you all so much for your helpful comments!
After ready every comment it suddenly struck me: I'm not happy with either of
them! The why was well pointed out by jamie says dream (thanks!)...I want it not
to be traditional looking but somehow it is, and that's not what I'm looking for...
I'll start over... :-)
What do you think?
Which version of these two christmas cards do you think is best, A, B or C?
I've been looking at it all day and just can't make a decision!
Pine
Working on christmas cards...
Camilla Engman has an open call for Morran pictures for a book about Morran (her
cute little dog)!
Hurray!
Before the weekend I promised to reveal some big news (no, it's wasn't the post
about chirstmas). Well... Before you guys get all excited, this is mostly big news
to me but I want to share my excitement about it with you...
Here in Holland, there's a big event every year around october called
The Dutch Design Week. It's an international exhibition and alround design event
in Eindhoven. Because it's celebrating the 10 year anniversary, there will be an
extra exhibiton called 'Spring!' (which means 'Jump' in dutch) in the Designhuis.
15 International well known designers will show their best work but... they were
also asked to recommend a young designer to exhibit with them. And now the
big one: a designer at Nike recommended me, woooohhaaaa!!! I'm so excited and
feel very, very flattered! My porcelain china and Instant Comfort Pocket Boxes
will be there, 'live' on display! (I've been producing my ass off last weekend!)
The opening of the Spring! expo will be on the 24th and guess what, Princess
Maxima (who's married to the future dutch king) will open the expo :-) Hurray!
Christmas on my mind...
I know this may sound a bit premature but I'm preparing for christmas! This is the
first christmas-themed Instant Comfort Pocket box of many, available in my Etsy shop
around the end of this month!
Kids china set
This kid's china set will be available (soon) at Monoshop, one of the new online
shops that'll sell my work.
I've also got some great news to tell you guys (I'm quite proud about it), but...
after the weekend! Have a lovely weekend everyone :-)
Chair
This chair used to be covered with an ugly blue pluche fabric... I re-covered it with
my handprinted fabric made last week! (Apologies for the crappy picture. The light
in my house was quite dark today and as I'm a bit ill, I didn't feel like taking it
outside... but I wanted to share it with you anyway!).
Pikaland workshop
The four week workshop at Camp Pikaland has finished (but no worries... you can
still subscribe, from now on it'll come in self-study form). The picture above is
one of the results of the second 3D assignment in the course (don't worry I didn't
ask my students to build a house, it's about the illustrations on it ;-). It's made by
Denise and I wish I had a garden house like that!
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