Christmas drinks

I drew some festive line decorations around seasonal wine bottles for Waitrose supermarket's free Christmas drinks guide this year.I created a green-on-green patterned wallpaper for the background, so the white lines would pop, and the lovely rich colours of the wine bottles would sparkle.You can pick up the guides in any Waitrose around the UK!

yoga journal

Here are a few nice white line illustrations I did for Yoga Journal a while ago. They are sort of back-drops, but more atmospheric than realistic. I just love the fish and coral!I tried to get a nice rich white chalky line quality, and did all sorts of sea creatures to follow through the underwater summer theme.

Jenny's wedding

I created the Save the Date and wedding info card for Jenny and Randy in Hong Kong this summer. Their Save the Date was interesting, as they asked for a map showing all the places that meant something in their lives, especially Okinawa in Japan, where they got engaged. They requested three colours: brown, pink and champagne...I then made a more detailed map of Bali, where the wedding was taking place, showing all the various wedding event venues. It featured little pictorial icons of some of the surprises in store for their guests.They also printed tote bags featuring the Save the Date map as favours for their guests. Nice! Congratulations guys! What a cute couple...First photograph is by Jada Poon Photography, and second is by Johnny Productions.

interview blog

I did an interview this week with lovely Hong Kong lifestyle blog shoebox living... Be sure to go to the actual blog to catch up on all sorts of other wonderful Hong Kong news too...

London toile dinner plates

I'm in London, and I've just received some samples of my London toile dinner plates. They're super cute!They're made from fine bone china, blue on white, in a set of 6, and each plate has a different London icon in the centre.I have to say that I have a soft spot for the corgi...They're available to buy online and instore from faux and tree, in HK.

New York collection

Here's a beautiful jigsaw puzzle I illustrated for Galison in New York. It features the big apple and all its wonderful sights. Really fun!In the same collection, there are also magnetic bookmarks, and sticky notes.You can buy all these things on amazon!

Topsy-Turvy

I did some line illustrations for this fun knitting book in the US recently.I drew several different frames that were used for chapter headings throughout the book:and created little background scenes for the knitted creatures to feature in, some as double pages, some as single.I've never been that good at sewing or knitting, but I may just give these a go! The book is available on amazon.

thank you

I designed some thank you cards that matched our wedding Save-the-Dates and invitations, to send our lovely guests. The illustration features the watercolour leaves from the wedding, but small pink flowers have been added to the design, to show love blossoming...The leaves were printed in HK (my friend Sandy at Lui & Co handled this for me) on specially chosen thick soft paper, and these were then sent to my friend Katie Baldwin in the States, who letter-pressed my calligraphy and flowers by hand. This created the effect of softness and crispness, in one beautiful package. I hope it's a special way to thank everyone who shared our wedding, and those who sent us gifts from far away...

BEYØRG

I worked with organic cosmetic company Beyørg (Beyond Organic) in HK this year, to create images they could use on promotional products, supporting the Breast Cancer Foundation charity.I drew pandas (cutest of all Asian animals) interacting with various ingredients from the cosmetics, such as acerola fruit, ginseng root, and white lupin flower. The illustrations also featured a farm element, as the client wanted to emphasise organic farming. I tried to make the pandas cute, but not too cute. They were used on packaging, and promotion for the brand.I  created a repeat pattern with the pandas along with some extra elements, and this was used on a patterned white umbrella. I love it! The umbrella is a limited edition gift item for customers in the shop, and will only be available until the end of August. There's also a cuddly panda...The products have been featured in various local magazines, along with a little about me. How nice!

London toile

My London toile collection launched this week. There's a teaset with a perfectly pouring teapot...and I love these wider teacups and saucers, perfect for afternoon tea with a cucumber sandwich.The design is in blue, and made up of all my favourite London things: phone boxes, bobbies, corgies, fish & chips, teatime cakes, cabs, the Albert Hall, and more! I tried to include a few things that you might only get to know if you spent a little time there...There are also napkins and teatowels featuring the toile, and coming soon, some fun dinner plates. They are currently available exclusively at faux in HK. If you know someone who might like to sell them in London (ideal, really), please let me know!

Juri's Cotswolds tea shop

I did  some work recently for a lovely little teashop in Winchcombe in the Cotswolds called Juri's. I did a hand lettered version of their original script font for their logo rebrand, and added a classic typeface for their house font. I created 4 watercolour and pen illustrations for their home-blend tea pack labels, basing the illustrations on the blue and white china they use, and the delicious cakes and jam that Juri makes. There's a dotted line at the bottom of each label, for Juri to write in the particular blend of tea in the pack by hand. I also added one of the teacup illustrations to their shop information card. If you fancy a delicious cake and cup of tea, this is the perfect place...I worked with my dad Nick Jesse on the layout and type for the project.

mindful magazine

I recently did some illustrations for mindful magazine in the US, and have just received a copy of the current issue. My illustrations are delicate calligraphic line drawings in white, over photography.The article was about listening out for everyday sounds. I tried to listen, and capture those little noises that I usually don't hear.I really enjoyed doing different sorts of lettering to match the kinds of sounds.They also featured a little sketch and mini interview with me on their contributor's page...

wedding (mine!)

I'm getting married tomorrow, hurrah! Here's our Save the Date.I kept to a simple colour palette of greens, pinks and browns, on white. This runs through all the stationery and the decoration at the reception. We're having a Quaker wedding, so I drew two of the founding members for the invitation,and a little vignette of me and my fiancé for the cover. Congratulations us, happy days!

Conde Nast Traveller map

I've just seen the April issue of Conde Nast Traveller UK and am super happy with my illustration. I tried a fun, loose and brightly-coloured style for this map of Amsterdam.

South Side interview

I was featured recently in South Side magazine in Hong Kong. I grew up in Stanley, which is 'South Side' so I was happy about that! You can see the interview online here or click on the image below to see it full size.

chocolate packaging

Chinese New Year is just round the corner, and I've designed some exclusive packaging for Hong Kong based personalised (you can create your own flavours!) chocolatier chocoyou. The special new year red and gold sleeve is wrapped around a gift box of 5 chocolate bars. 2013 is the year of the snake, so I've based the illustration on a stylised Chinese papercut snake. When opened up flat,  it also works as a fai chun (lucky sign) you can put up in your house. The shiny gold brings good fortune, wishing you a prosperous new year. Here are some of my sketches for the project...I also designed a sleeve for a special Valentine's Day set.The pretty watercolour floral illustration is a romantic Valentine bouquet.You can order both these box sets here, the perfect gifts.

Lane Crawford gift card

Another of my drawings has been featured on an e-gift card at Lane Crawford in Hong Kong. They're special personalised ones that you can add a little message to...

map of Mull & Iona

I create maps quite regularly for the travel section of the CSMA Club magazine in the UK. They feature places to stay, things to see, and often lovely local edible specialities. Here's a map I did for them of a Scottish walking tour.

happy 2013!

May you all have a wonderful and delightful year. Can't wait to see what exciting things will happen...

Three Good Things again...

I've just seen this lovely little video of Hugh, talking about his new book. You can see some of my illustrations as he flips through the pages, and there's even a nice close-up of the endpapers. Enjoy!I've been cooking out of this book for a while now, and have to say it's superb. Might make a good gift for a chef in the family!