Commissioned collaborative collection designed for Brighton based concept store Family Store for their second Projects 2 where they release a full collection of artist based collaborative prints, accessories and apparel. I had the honour of joining them this time as one of their main collaborative artists and designed these items for them.
The concept brief was:
ALXNDRA - Guide to Happy Living
It was an autumn release date so the client wanted a “Summers over but stay happy” vibe to the whole collection. Also a lot of people have this view that my work is often very positive and they wanted me to keep to that theme.
I kept this simple by sticking to key words while I was sketching the designs.
I also did a little interview for them and explained the inspirations for this collection which they released in a small zine that they gave away with purchases in store (while stocks last). Below were the answers to my questions.
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Being miserable seems quite trendy at the moment-We have called your collection 'a guide to positive living'- how do you feel your work has reflected that and why did you want to go against the grain and down this happy route?
This is a pretty hilarious question because I guess I haven’t really noticed that being miserable always seems to be a running trend in illustration! I definitely didn’t plan to go against the grain with my work but it just seemed to evolve naturally. I actually suffer pretty badly from anxiety, panic attacks and since my uni days have gone through bouts of insomnia from time to time too. I think I started to simply create art that either made me laugh or smile to combat any small stresses I had. I noticed more as time went on that others also seemed to relate to this cheerful side to my work and helped brighten up others peoples days so it seemed pretty instinctive to keep to this theme. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty hard to seem so positive all the time but when you find out you’ve helped put a smile on someones face and combated their crappy day, that’s pretty awesome.
Could you comment on what each design means to you/expresses for you (pin/hat/tshirt)?
Pin design - “Pet Love”
This one is really simple, we love our pets! Whether you are a cat person (oh hi, it me) or a dog person, it has literally been proven that petting your cat or dog is stress relieving! Don’t believe me? Just google it.
Hat design - “Tourist”
This design was a funny little idea I had while I was on holiday recently. I mean, who doesn’t love going on holiday? As much as you don’t want to accept it, when you go abroad, YOU become the tourist so embrace it! Memories are not made while sitting behind a desk so go and experience as much as you can...and take this hat with you ;)
Tshirt deisgn - “Chill Vibes”
This design I feel is also pretty self explanatory. Being chill and what makes you feel chill pretty much varies from person to person but there are lots of things that you can relate to, watching movies, drinking tea, late mornings binge watching your favourite anime show... this design in particular picks up on just chilling at home in your favourite knitwear, pj bottoms and listening to your records. #perfectsunday
Riso print -“Tokyo Dreaming”
This one is a little bit more personal to me I feel as if you checked out my work before, you will know that I am heavily inspired by Japan and it’s culture. I visited it a couple years ago which was a childhood dream come true and I’m aching to go back soon. This design reflects that really. Just chilling out and chatting with people about their trips to japan, dreaming about all the yummy street food we tried and daydreaming about how and when we can experience it again.
how do you find being a self-employed artist?
Not easy! I think you would be hard pressed to find another artist that doesn’t feel the same! There’s still a lot of stigma about being an “artist” for a living, with people you barely know often asking when you’re “going to get a real job” etc. However, despite all its downs, the ups are super satisfying. There’s a massive sense of achievement when you overcome hurdles that a few month prior you may have thought was only a pipe dream. And it keeps evolving so it always keeps you on your toes and challenges you to think in new ways.
how have you found the progression from drawing to creating products and now more high-end items?
It’s been really interesting actually, I guess you could say the first time I turned a drawing into a proper product that I was genuinely proud of was when I created my first ghost pin (which has since become my logo). That morning when I received the package of perfect little metal ghosts was so exciting but not nearly as exciting as sending out 2/3rds of them out in the post only a week later! It was like sitting on a skateboard for the first time as a kid and bombing it down the largest hill you could find not really thinking about where it would take you. Since then it’s been an unusual series of peeks and pitfalls trying to figure out what I like to design most. I have really enjoyed the process of all this experimenting but I do really feel I should start to pin-hole it to only a few things soon. These things take time though and it needs time to evolve without forcing it I feel. Jewellery has been a huge learning curve but something I would like to push the most. It’s been beyond doubt the most engaging thing to see my super flat sketches and pretty rough drawings of ideas turn into something more than a flat metal pin, but a legit 3-dimensional piece. I’m a massive magpie too so shiny beautiful silver and gold seemed like a must for me. It is definitely more towards the high-end but I’m really enjoying it and I work hard to create long lasting pieces of art that are incredibly good value for money considering the materials used and the process it has taken me to get here with it. Not to say I will stop drawing though, that’s still my number one.
What is the winner for you- digital creation (procreate/wacom etc) vs the mighty pen/pencil?
I hate to say it but I think I have to say my new Procreate tablet is the winner! It really helped me clear up a pretty bad art block since you can go from sketch to finished drawing all in one sitting. Sounds lazy but I love it and I don’t even feel a little guilty! No rubbers, no mess, no prep work, no getting up to faff with your scanner/printer that you still haven’t got around to replacing for a better one! *and breath* It’s reignited my love for using colour in my work too, I was feeling down about not being able to put decent colour palettes together and stuck to black, white and red for a little too long so that’s been refreshing. I had my Wacom tablet for quite a while before owning my iPad and that was a complete game changer so it’s no surprise that I have jumped so willingly into using something like Procreate more. Despite that, still attempting #inktober this year the proper way with real ink and sketches has been really nice. It’s not that I don’t like using the mighty pen and paper. It definitely still has its place in my heart... it’s just that my heart is looking for time saving devices right now!
