Mischief Meets: BerinMade

I can't believe how fast this week has flown by, I've been so busy I've not had chance to write any posts but I am at least leaving you for the weekend with this great interview with the quirky and very talented illustrator and calligrapher Erin, founder of Berin Made : Illustrated Paper Goods. I first came across Erin's work when one of my friend's used one of her beautiful DIY wedding stamp designs at their wedding last year and I have been a fan ever since. I don't need to give her much of an introduction, once you begin to read Erin's interview you will be completely taken in by her magic. 

• Who are you? What is the essence of your business? What do you do?

I'm Erin, the illustrator and founder of BerinMade Illustrated Paper Goods. BerinMade is founded upon a love of whimsical illustrations and finely-crafted lettering. I have a collection of greeting cards, social stationery and prints for the home.

I also have a wedding collection which was launched in May this year. It celebrates fun-loving creativity and a feminine aesthetic for the spirited bridal couple, offering a full-range service from Save the Dates to On-the-day accessories such as menus, escort cards, and everything in between. 

We also love DIY here so I do a lot of DIY tutorials (and write regularly for Green Wedding Shoes in the US and Love My Dress here in the UK), as well as DIY wedding stamps for my clients who love a personal touch on their stationery!

• What is your background? Have you always been creative? How & why did you start doing what you do?

I've always been creatively inclined. I think that means that I've always been an "ideas" kind of person, and loved to make things. As with many creative people though, I drifted from hobby to hobby (I danced and played the piano when I was younger) then drifted across disciplines in art college-- I was classically trained in Fine Art at Byam Shaw which was a part of Central Saint Martins- where I made sculptures, played around with photography, then finally settled down into painting huge canvases. 

After I graduated from my degree, I somehow took a small detour in working in Contemporary Art in an auction house. Although it was art-relate, I felt dry and uninspired- and also a bit like a glorified sales person. During that time, in the evenings and the weekends, I started doodling and sketching again, and became obsessively interested in lettering, and I realised that I must put it to use because I couldn't stop thinking about it. My Etsy shop started picking up attention also, and when I came to cross roads at my day job, I made a quick exit, dived straight into here and never looked back!

• Where do you work? Describe your studio

I work from home in my studio in Central London. I have three worktops- one packing station, one digital desk (where my computer resides) and a painting/sketching island which faces the window with lovely sunlight. Sometimes, when it's so busy it looks like my studio has had a tornado ripped through it, I think about going out there and renting a space, with filing cabinets (and also hiring an assistant who will diarise for me) but then I realise that I love working in my fluffy slippers and randomly bursting into song a little too much and may possibly never give that up, so I've stayed put in the privacy of my own home!

• What is a typical day for you?

Everyday is a little bit different, but starts quite similarly. I'm not really a morning person, and prefer to work at night, so I don't really start working until 9:30. It always starts with coffee, emails, sometimes more coffee when the emails are crazy! Then I get through my list of admin to-dos for clients such as drawing up quotes, doing timelines, sending out proofs, speaking to my printer, ordering supplies, and try to finish that before lunch.

In the afternoon, sometimes I do product shoots, DIY tutorials, other times I make more new products, and sometimes personal projects. It all depends on my calendar, but it's my peak hours and creative time! 

Then my late afternoon is spent battling the post office queue before it closes! I then spend some more time working on whatever project I have on, stop for dinner with my amazing husband, and start again later on in the evenings I wrap up whatever email threads I had going on during the day.

• What do you find most satisfying about the work you do? What are your biggest challenges as a creative?

I love that this is mine and I get to call the shots and make the big decisions. It means that I can carve the path the company takes, and I can push it along in a direction and pace for me. I do have big dreams for this little business, so reaching those small milestones along the way definitely feels like a much bigger accomplishment than anything I'd ever done in my day job. 

• Which 3 things couldn't you live without?

Coffee, gold glitter, and good design. 

• What is next on the agenda?

A rebrand in the new year, expanding my greeting cards collection, and possibly taking on a person or two to help out.

• Where do you find your inspiration? Do you have any favourite books, magazines etc?

I love print: books, stationery, posters, etc, but really try to stay away when I'm looking for inspiration. My sense of colour is actually derived from my background in Fine Art-- it's just what makes my heart beat faster. Some great colourist I love are Peter Doig, Patrick Heron, Turner, Francis Bacon, but mostly I'd say, inspiration is an unexpected thing, and happens when you're living life. I guess life is design. I'm sometimes hovering over old shop windows checking out their weathered painted sign, or the pattern from an old sofa. It's mostly a feeling rather than a conscious decision.

• Blogs are taking over the world, which are your favourites?

Are they? Yes, probably! This is terrible to admit but I read just about enough to get by and to know what's going on out there. I think some bloggers have great voices but if you're not careful, you end up being kind of drowned in them and lose yourself in all the things other people are doing...

I love Shini's fashion and lifestyle blog Park and Cube, she makes me laugh out loud and her photography is amazing. I've known her since our university days and I've always been blown away by her talent.

Will Taylor's blog Bright.Bazaar is my daily hit of colour, and he is mostly responsible for my list of beautiful household items that I want but can't afford! Will's a lovely person as well, and just so kind and supportive of the blogging community.

The one blog that I read obsessively before getting married was Green Wedding Shoes. It's great because now I work with the editor Jen sometimes for DIY tutorials, and she is the sweetest. But yes, her blog pretty much encapsulated everything I love about weddings in its creativity and quirkiness.

Of course, since I started working in the industry, I have loved working with Annabel from Love My Dress- she is amazingly resourceful, not to mention kind and authentic. I think that at the end of the day, there are a ton of blogs with glorious images to look at (and Love My Dress has archives and archives full of them), but it's the voice and person behind the blog that makes people want to keep coming back. Annabel does that so right.

• What advice would you give to someone wanting to start their own creative business?

Prepare to work your butt off! It's great, you're going to love it.

Erin has designed a range of very special personalised Christmas cards with your own name and message written in calligraphy. 50% of the proceeds from these Christmas cards are given to Via Design (a UK-based charitable company) to help towards their work with vulnerable women in India, rebuilding their lives by equipping them with craft skills as a sustainable means of living. Hurry to order yours now as time is running out! If you are interested in learning more about the work of Via Design, you can read her interview with CEO Jane  Rogers on the blog. 

You can find out more about Erin and her work here and visit her shop here. She also writes a lovely blog where she shares her inspirations and some of the weddings and projects she is involved in. 

Hope you enjoy and have a lovely weekend!

All images are courtesy of Berin Made. 

Bookmarked Blog : The Fresh Exchange

One of my favourite blogs lately is The Fresh Exchange written by Megan of Hitch Design Studio. If asked which bloggers I aspire to be like, Megan would most definitely be one of them. Not only does she seem like a really loveable girl I'd like to meet (and a big dog lover too!) but she is an extremely talented graphic designer with a unique and elegant style which is portrayed throughout her blog. 

She says in her bio how she 'believes in simplicity' and it's this simplicity I love about her blog. It is a prime example of how very simple use of graphics can really inject personality onto your posts. Her photography is so dreamy and she brings each image to life with a little piece of handwritten typography . The power of a few little words! How beautiful is her hand lettering?

The blog shares her inspirations as a designer, stylist and blogger, she advises and gives tips to other bloggers while sharing her own thoughts and ideas. Her latest posts have been following her travels and documenting her recent trip to Europe. How fun are these images? (You can see an image from each day of her trip here.)

All her posts are completely original and unique to her, she features in most of them herself and even using her own handwriting in a lot of them. Her whimsical style collages are so cute and I love her weekend suggestions simply overlaid on a great photograph. 

If that wasn't enough to engage you, she also makes the cutest little videos of snippets of her life with her family and friends. She certainly seems to have the perfect life!

What really amazes me is how Megan finds time to create such a beautiful blog and do all the things she does. She also runs Hitch Design Studio, check out some of her fab design work,  and she is the co-founder of the wonderful Blog Brunch an online collaboration by bloggers for bloggers which holds a monthly chat and question time on Twitter. 

So, hurry over and check out The Fresh Exchange, I'm sure you will love it as much as me and it will give you heaps of inspiration. 

Mischief meets...Wit & Whistle

Some of you may know that I am currently taking Holly 'Decor8' Becker's e-class 'Blogging Your Way'. As part of my homework this week I am starting a new regular column here on MFP&Me 'Mischief meets....' (name to be confirmed, any thoughts?) where I will interview creatives, designers and artists who have caught my eye. I'll be finding out how they got to where they are now, what inspires them to be the creative, and all about their design processes and working environment.

First up is one of my fellow BYW students, Amanda Wright of Wit & Whistle. I first came across Amanda's work whilst doing my 'homework' and getting to know my classmates. I loved her style as soon as I landed on her home page and I knew she was a girl after my own heart. With my plan to set up an online stationery shop one day, Amanda has inspired me so much. She is 'a self-proclaimed design nerd' as she states on her website and the designer and illustrator behind a range of witty and fun stationery. Here's what she had to say about what makes her tick.....

• What is the essence of your business? 

Stylishly, quirky paper products -witty and whistle worthy (and soon home goods too)! 

• How did you start doing what you do? What made you decide to start up on your own?

I studied graphic design at the NC State College of Design. After graduating and working at a design firm for a few years, I felt like I was squandering my creative juices on clients with limited imaginations. My husband loves his job in the video game industry, so he repeatedly told me to quit and find a career I love too. Finally I took him up on it, and I launched Wit & Whistle in 2009.

 • Where do you work? 

My studio is in the basement of our home. (A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'm including one!)

• Do you do everything yourself or do you have a team?

The first few years I printed, folded, and cut each and every Wit & Whistle product by hand. This year I've started having many of my products printed at a local printing company. Now I can spend less time manufacturing and more time designing new products. I'm working on a line of tea towels right now, and I'm excited that my mom will be joining Wit & Whistle as my seamstress!

 • What is a typical day for you?

I wake up and lay in bed while checking my email on my phone (which I occasionally drop on my face). Once I'm dressed and ready to go, I make my morning commute down the steps to the basement. One of my dogs, Mabel, accompanies me and spends the day supervising from her pillow on the corner of my desk. I spend my mornings shipping orders and replying to emails, and I reserve the afternoons for drawing/designing/blogging—all the fun creative stuff! I don't follow a very strict routine, because a little variety keeps me on my toes.

 • Which materials couldn’t you live without?

My sketchbook, a Pilot Precise V5 Rolling Ball pen, and Adobe Illustrator.

 • What is your design process?

It involves a lot of trial and error. I sketch and re-sketch things over and over until I come up with something good. It takes tons of experimenting and tweaking before I get to the final design, and I sure wish I knew a shortcut! :)

• Are there any designers/artists you particularly admire? 

Lately I've been crushing on Molly Jacques and Rifle Paper Co.—what stationery designer isn't insanely jealous of Rifle?!

• Which are your favourite blogs?

The Life and Times of the Plume

Oh Hello Friend

Elephantine

Thanks so much for sharing Amanda! One more question, is your studio always that immaculate?!! I'm so impressed.

You can see more of her work on the website and check out Amanda's blog too where she talks about her life behind the scenes. Stationery isn't her only skill, she is a pretty awesome photographer too!

All photos are courtesy of Wit & Whistle. 

Interior & Type love: Camberwell Beauty Wallpaper

Butterflies are one of my biggest loves in life so you can imagine how completely in awe I am of this new range of wallpaper from Mini Moderns. The new Spring Heart Home Magazine came out today and I just happened to turn the first page and there it was, the most beautiful mix of calligraphy and butterfly AND it's available for my walls. OMG! Swoon!

The wallpaper print is inspired by the rare species of butterfly the Camberwell Beauty and is the first in new range 'The Buddha of Suburbia Collection' launching in 2012 by Mini Moderns (based in Camberwell!). The decadent design reflects the Biba and Bowie era of the 1970s in a more modern, urban London. 

All images taken from Mini Moderns. Butterfly image from here.

Typography Love: Kate Forrester Hand Drawn Lettering

Oh blog, I am a terrible friend, I have totally neglected you lately. I've barely had time to read other people's blogs, nevermind post on my own! There are so many things I am missing out on, I need to get back on the inspiration wagon and fast. 

March is here already, can't believe how fast this year is going. Anyway, I have found the perfect subject to get back in to the swing of things and to welcome the spring. As you probably know, I am a little obsessed with calligraphy and hand lettering so I have a few posts lined up which are going to be about just that! First I am starting with hand drawn typographer and illustrator Kate Forrester.  

I have come across Kate's work many times in the past, as many of you will have done as well. Her clients include Marks and Spencers, Tiffany, John Lewis and Penguin Books to name a few,  however, it was only recently that I discovered the designer behind it. I gained a new follower on Twitter this week, the creative lifestyle blog Jackie Magpie of which Kate is the founding member (there are some other very talented ladies on here as well). I was immediately drawn (excuse the pun) by the gorgeous hand drawn logo and went straight over to have a look at the blog, which I have to say is great and now added to my top 10 daily reads! It was here I was introduced to Kate and ventured across to her beautiful portfolio of work. Her designs are so intricate and detailed. Just the kind of pretty feminine design I love.

I am even more determined than ever to add that calligraphy course to my to-do list. You are one talented lady Kate and I'm so glad Jackie Magpie started following me!

These are just a few of my favourites pieces of her work but you can see much more on her website here. You can also follow her blog here.


All images are borrowed from Kate's website.