Behind the scenes: Printmaking // New Under Water World summer fabric collection 2017

Last week we released a new series of designs we have been working on. Our new Under Water World collection with over 25 different prints is now available as fabric and wallpaper and we would love to show you a little sneak peak, a little behind the scenes of making this collection.

Yeah yeah, I know, you know. I love traveling and I adore being in and on the water. When I travel I try to make boat trips and look for places to go snorkeling and have a little peak into the colorful world of sea creatures and coral. I have seen quite some amazing things with my face in the water and my ass catching a nice sun burn. Tiny colorful fish, beautiful coral reefs, sharks, yeah, not my fave! And I love the textures and shapes. So very inspirational. Unfortunately I could never capture the beauty of all this n my prints but for these new ocean series I tried to make some joyful colorful designs.

We originally designed these series for our own production and shop in The Hague. But since we were partnering with someone that decided to step out of this process we are now releasing the entire series at Spoonflower as well. Our own production is on hold at the moments and these prints are too cute not to share right? For the print making process I started out making some a quick list of all sea life I have witnessed while traveling to tropical places. There were so many creatures but there were a few which I thought were most fascinating. The Octopus, turtles, the sea horse and the colorful corals. These were the base, the foundation of these new series.



Corals
From here I started making some sketches. For the first stage of sketching I use a fine pen with black ink, usually a sharpie or a micron. For this series I used both since I did not only draw outlines but texture as well. I started off making a whole bunch of different illustrations, a variety of corals, leaves, plants. And after filling several pages of my sketchbook with drawings I try to select the most interesting shapes. For the corals I choose three completely different shapes that make a wonderful series of abstracts by there own. I turned these into three different designs. These three designs all have a different quirky shape and texture, eventually these are put into the Under Water World color scheme so the prints are easy to mix and match with each other, or with some of the creatures. But not at this stage. I just focus on shape and how to get a strong repeat with basic elements. After that we started with the creatures.

Under Water Creatures
After sketching a whole bunch of ocean creatures we had to make our pick. We decided to skip the fish designs since we already have some cool dolphins, sharks and whales up in our Spoonflower shop. So after eliminating these three main characters stood out. The octopus, turtles and sea horse.

The Octopus, which I keep calling Jelly, stubborn as I am, since the characters are a little mix of both, has two variaties. The small ones; that are all slightly different and make a great print for kids fashion items and home textiles for the nursery. And then the large ones; for the older kids, these illustrations have a nice texture filling with dots and stripes and is also available as home pillow. Making the shape larger gives the illustration more character. The image looses a little of the cuteness that makes is more suitable for a slightly older audience. I wanted to make one illustration suitable for both babies and slightly older kids. But I could not figure it out. So instead of choosing one, there are two versions of these awesome creatures. Hope you like them.

The Ocean consists of so many amazing and colorful creatures. But most interesting are the shapes and textures down there. The Sea Horse has always fascinated me. Such a curious face and funny shape. We added some sea horse designs to the collection. I just couldn’t resist. I love the shape of these creatures. So beautiful! We could not leave them out. To complete these series we made one design with all corals and creatures combined. We are so curious to figure out which of these designs will pop up in our feed first. We are so curious to seeing what our customers will make from this fabric!

Home decorations & Paper art
Finishing up a series of prints means I can use them for all sorts of products. Our new series of designs has also been translated into a bunch of colorful posters and wrapping paper. For now these will only be available via our shop in The hague. We also added some pillow patterns to our Spoonflower portfolio so you can make your own cool jelly or sea horse pillow. I am looking forward seeing these babies pop up in nurseries and kids interiors! Hopefully you like our new summer series as much as I do. Click on the link to check out all our new designs over at Spoonflower. Select your favorite fabric or try out a swatch for some unique wallpaper.

SHOP NEW UNDER WATER COLLECTION

Top 10 New Year Resolutions from an artist // Happy New Year

A brand new year! Hopefully you have had an amazing NY eve, did some partying, cocktail drinking with friends or cuddle up with your family or loved ones. After weeks of making lists and taking time to reflect on the past year it is now time to make room for a new year. Make plans, start new beginnings and of course: new year’s resolutions!

I know every year I have a bunch of silly ones. Luckily enough I am pretty content with my life so usually my new year resolutions are not very strict, life altering or sudden. For this year I have made a series of illustrations to remind myself to stay close to who I am and what I want. They say visualizing your goals makes it easier to work towards them right? The past months have been pretty hectic, so many new things, a demanding new business, to worry about, I have to keep reminding myself to be a little more kind to myself. Add some things, remove some habits, balance my time. Here are some of my favorite new year resolutions for this year.



1 // Create something every day
As a designer this might be a little obvious but the past 6 months my days were filled with contacting customers, searching for the right people for our studio renovations, being busy learning new things to set up a new business, meeting with lawyers, trying to get money back on fabric orders, trying to resolve a ‘water’ issue, fighting for justice with a company who is handing out my designs to anyone. Well, I can go on for a while. But all this meant creating was not an option. An artists day only has 24 hours so for the new year I need to sit down and create again. Do what I love most. Start my day with a pencil in my hand. Definitely my number one resolution for the new year.

2 // Don’t work for assholes
Well, as I already mentioned above, working as an independent artists means having to deal with shitty things sometimes. Every year I try to let go of those who take advantage, are disloyal or just behaving like complete ignorant assholes, mind my vocabulary. I am pretty easy going and if you do something stupid and apologize I am pretty forgiving. Unfortunately saying sorry is a little hard for some companies. I have to remind myself: I will be fine without the drama. I rather work with people that have a heart. Bye bye!

3 // Travel
The most important thing in my life is my freedom. Starting a new business might come with some extra strings but I have to remind myself to take time to travel, soak up some new impressions. I am a worthless human being when I am trapped in a routine. I want to experience new things, challenge my own perspective. It keeps me sharp, clear, focussed and most important: inspired to create new things.

4 // Eat more ice-cream
I know right? Such a great goal! No, I don’t want to lose weight, or eat healthier. I pretty much exercise twice a week and eat pretty healthy home made food, fresh veggies, start the day with smoothies, you name it. But this past summer I went out for ice cream once! Seriously! So I do need to eat more ice-cream, treat myself a little. Don’t forget to spoil yourself sometimes!



5 // Write more
I love creating, I am not a very good writer though but I like how it organizes my thoughts and experiences. We do not take enough time to let things in. To experience to the fullest. I love writing down things to sit down and reflect. It is like taking pictures of moments. They will stay with you a little longer. I love sitting down to write blogposts but I am too busy to make them as in dept as I would like. So yes, write more, and take time to write.

6 // Go for walks
I don’t spend enough time in nature. And I love wandering around the forest, take a walk on the beach. Go out and clear my mind. So important! I do not have a significant other special peep to talk about and share my day with over dinner and I know that my mind will go get busy if there is no room to digest things. A walk in the park can do wonders. I should. I will go for a walk. Once a week. With or without company. So doing this!

7 // Smile to strangers
Don’t you hate it when someone looks at you and they try to ignore seeing you? they cannot look away any faster. Especially irritating when they know you personally. What the hell? Such a weird way of treating someone. Sometimes I can feel very lonely, I walk down a busy street. No one interacts with one another. That is definitely not me. I started smiling at strangers, just a second, a short connection can make a day a whole lot lighter. A simple smile makes such a difference. It even releases endorphins, natural painkillers people! Let's give it a try!



8 // Eat more Cheesecake
Cheesecake is my guilty pleasure. I used to meet up with my best friend over cheesecake to talk about life, and love and everything that would keep us busy. Eating more cheesecake means: spending more time with loved ones. Sit down and listen. Quality time with friends. Let's make it a priority again!

9 // Quit buying shoes
And suddenly I was and accidental shoe addict. I don’t like shopping, I don’t like trying on clothes, I don’t like brief trends and I am not someone you’ll catch shopping on a Saturday afternoon. But as a human being I kinda have to cover myself, with clothes. Somehow I always go home with new shoes. I should definitely stop buying shoes instead of clothes!

10 // Get a new kitty
Or make some room in my life for something cuddly. I have had a cat for 22 years and I miss a soft purring creature that makes my house a home. But I am also a little anxious to commit. I might have some issues with commitment nowadays. Hmmm. Get a new kitty might be the first step to healthy commitments again.

Saying goodbye // celebrating life // make it count

Today I got some sad news: a dear friend of ours has past away this morning. He touched the lives of so many people all around the world. These prints were inspired by your kind heart and your fight for what is right. Safe travels to the rainbows my dear friend.