websites

my shop!

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I've finally launched my own little online shop! I'm going to Japan this summer for a mokuhanga print residency, and to help with funding it I've decided to try and sell some prints. There's a new small cat + jug print, exclusively and for the first time on sale:A new version of my Meyer Lemon print, this time with gold pigment in the lemons:And a selection of my San Francisco Snowdome prints...Please go and take a look and let me know what you think. Happy shopping!

wood paper box website

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The collaborative printmaking and book arts project I've been working on with my friends Katie Baldwin and Yoonmi Nam has finally got its own website!It chronicles our two complete projects, the titular 'wood paper box', our most recent endeavour 'alabama california kansas', and our brand new project '(un)fold'.There are links to process blogs for each project,where you can read in depth about each artwork, and see photographs of shows we've put together and the meetings we've held. The chapter illustrations are my very own pen drawings, of our work and our portraits. Hope you'll take the time to visit and let us know what you think!

women who draw

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I'm very proud to be a part of the women who draw website, an open directory of female professional freelance illustrators, artists and cartoonists. It was created by a group of women artists in an effort to increase the visibility of female illustrators. You can read all about it here and in this VOGUE article and in this one in the Huffington Post. This is my little lady illustration (recognise her from the Miss joker playing card?) that represents me on the site.ladyShe was even featured on the BBC news website this week, in an interview with the women who set up the site. I hope it will be a huge success. Thank you Wendy and Julia!

Christmas cards

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Something I've been thinking about for a long while is opening a little online shop to sell some exclusive Mariko products. I'm often designing for other brands and companies (which I love doing!) but I'd also like to start my own little personal brand. I'm going to start slowly, with paper products like greeting cards, and then try to develop in an organic way. robin-1-smallerI'm working on my shop, which I hope to launch later this year, but in the meanwhile, here are some pics of my very first specially designed Christmas cards for sale.robin-2-smallerPlease contact me directly if you're interested in ordering them, either for yourself, or wholesale! They are sold in packs of 5 cards with envelopes.

kapok 10 year anniversary

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kapok, the hipster boutique lifestyle store in Hong Kong had their ten year anniversary this weekend, and they've been building up to it with a variety of events. I designed and illustrated a map for their #kapok10 anniversary launch, and they've used elements from it throughout their stores, website and social media.kapok 10 productsI've never created a map from scratch before, by which I mean that it's an imaginary place, not a real one. I was asked to create a country that embodied everything kapok stood for: creativity, fun, fashion and a truly international flavour. I could start anywhere! And of course a new country needs a crest: kapokland's features the pink dolphin of HK and their new motto: 'future classics'crest Here's the full map, showing an archipelago of different exotic fantasy islands, covering all seasons at once, with both tropical and arctic lands.kapoklandThe reverse side of the map also featured a close-up of the main town in kapokland: Kapokville. The town had shops and museums, but also global embassies, a castle and even pedalos!town mapThis is how it was used on the kapok website...kapok homepageThey even had a stand at a local design market with fun illustrated props for customers to interact with...stall...and also used some of the animals as a banner on facebook...kapok banner copyI especially liked how they used details from the map on the store windows...kapok wholw windowand inside...kapok10 in windowCongratulations kapok! Here's to the next 10 years of fabulous!

botanical pattern

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I've  designed a pattern of coral and seaweed for Spoonflower's fabric competition. The brief asked for designs reminiscent of those found in a botanical sketchbook.seaweed patternI based my watercolour drawings on seaweeds I'd seen at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, and references from various old illustrated botany books, like this one.print vintageHere are a few of the original sketches, including some that didn't make it into the final design. I added pencil calligraphy to the sketches, in a variety of styles, and developed a repeat pattern in soft shades of red.scan The design has now made it to the semi-final round, hurrah! This round is open to public vote, and voting is open until the 2nd of September, so please vote for it here. I'd love to see this made into a fabric, and to develop it further into a collection you can actually buy.

social media update

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Hello! I'm finally upping my social media presence, and am now on twitter and instagram, as well as facebook. Tweet me, follow me, and let's all be online more together. Here's a sample of what you could be seeing on instagram every day...insta 2 I'll still be blogging, I've grown to love this weekend ritual, but there'll be extra treats to see mid-week on other platforms, hurrah!

kokeshi

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I've been trying to do more mokuhanga, and recently completed this print of Japanese kokeshi dolls for my new collaborative project with Yoomni Nam and Katie Baldwin.kokeshi 2 c;eaned This time we're calling our project alabama + california + kansas. You can find out more on our blog. We'll again be travelling to visit each other in our studios in these locations, and sending work to each other. Here's a pic of the wood block for this print, as I was carving it.

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Talaramba Reef website

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I've recently done a little bit of work for the nice people who run Talaramba Reef holiday villas in Sri Lanka: I did some calligraphy for their logo and website,I created little icons of local flora and fauna for the website & for use inside the villas, and also created a map of their location.I think it must be holiday time very, very soon...