My first Henries experience.

Me and the lovely Penny and Frank from the excellent Tache Crafts

The Henries was an amazing experience for me and I Drew This, this time last year I had so wanted to go but decided that I would only go if nominated so you can imagine my pure delight when Mischief was nominated in the best Cute category, up against stiff competition, I am friends with Eleri who created Tiddly Poms for Paper Rose and I had already fallen in love with Pippi & Me's designs so I decided to stay cool and just enjoy the evening as it happened.

I stayed at The Lancaster Gate Hotel where the awards were being held which made the whole experience even better and around 6.30 decided to head to the Windles cocktail party where I was immediately met by a friendly face, Bex from Bexy Boo, who was also up for a couple of awards.

We then all made our way down to the hall which had been decorated with a fun 1920's theme.

Wow 700 people from the industry all under one roof, there was such a buzz as everyone sat down for the evening which began with a few words from organisers Jakki Brown and Warren Lomax some fab 1920's dancers.

The food was delicious and the conversation flowed around our table, I was sitting with representatives of Five Dollar Shake, Belly Button and Simon from Wraptious (a fellow Ladder club member) also nominated for an award.

Once everyone had finished the amazing desserts it was time for the awards, compere comedian Mark Watson was the perfect host and before I knew it we were flying through the results, I was sitting close to the Paper Salad girls and it was really inspiring to see them celebrating with their teams who have helped them get to this point, Belly Button too had great success on the night.

When my category was announced I did my best to stay calm but my heart was beating so fast in my chest it was such an exciting feeling.

After the awards the band came out and dancing and fun continued, I went on to have some really good conversations and again fully appreciate the greatness of the industry that I am now so very proud to be a part of, there were so many people there that I didn't get to see but I am determined that I will be there again so see you next time.

This just leaves me to say a huge congratulations to all of the nominees and winners and to see a full list do click here.

Henries finalist 2015!!!

Wow 2015 is turning into such an amazing year for I Drew This, so much going on and the company is steadily growing with so many positive and exciting things in the pipeline.

An absolute highlight for me has to be being a finalist in the Henries, last year I dreamt of going, anyone can go but I decided that I wouldn't unless I was nominated so you can imagine my absolute delight to see Mischief in the best cute nominations especially as there first illustration I did for the range was of a little Olive, what seems now like a long two years ago when I first began putting my greeting card catalogue together.

Today I found my outfit for the award ceremony, phew and now just have a couple of months of excited belly nerves about the big night to go!!

To read a bit more about the awards click here.

So those of you who have been following me since Olive arrived into my life may not have seen her for a while so I thought I would finish with a happy photo of her.

 Olive starts school in September so we have been trying to cram in as many mini holidays and special times as possible before we both start new chapters :)

Interviews and two weeks....

So preparations for PG Live are well under way now the proofs have been ordered and the stand is getting planned, lots of new designs have been added to my ever growing Mischief and Little Tweets ranges and Umami has had an overhaul, looking forward to seeing the reaction.

In amongst show prep I have been shipping out Pavilion prints like there is no tomorrow, I am delighted it is being so well received and one of the stockists is the lovely Caroline over in Present in the Laine, I love popping in convenient as its just down the road from my office, and hearing the great news that more and more have been selling.

Caroline also asked me to do a quick interview for her gorgeous blog which you can read here.

My second interview of the month has been for Claire over at Just Daydreaming, Claire is also the fantastic organiser of The Fairy Tale Fair which I am sure you all know by now is one of my favourites to take part in, click here to have a read and I will be in touch soon with PG news!!

2015 so far...

Wow 2015 is now well under way and I don't know where the time is going, although I realise that I seem to be saying that every year these days and in all honestly I pack so much into my days its no surprise that time is flying by and what an amazing year it has been already and so many cool things to come :)

So far I have tackled public speaking for the first time in a long time...twice...once with Jess Hogarth back at Staffordshire University where I studied Surface Pattern many moons ago.

 It was lovely to meet all of the students and share some of our experiences since graduating and going freelance and the second was at a talk I organised for BIG ( Brighton Illustrators Group) it was great to have Jeremy Corner MD of Blue Eyed Sun and James Emmerson from 1973 ( and me) speaking about what makes a good greeting card design and sharing our thoughts, you can read more from Jeremy about the evening here. 

My cards went into the flagship store of Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road which has been fantastic for I Drew This, I have signed up with a fabulous new textiles agency whose name I can't reveal just yet but it is really rather super!!!

I have taken part in two markets, both with The Fairy Tale Fair organiser Claire never fails to create a wonderful environment for shoppers and stall holders alike.

My giclee pavilion print has been greatly received and has been flying out of stockists around Brighton and I am in discussion with the Brighton Pavilion shop for some exciting plans too which is wonderful.

Not forgetting to mention I am currently on a business course which has so far proved to be brilliant although intense and I have had labyrinthitis which I must add I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, it is awful, for anyone not sure what it is see here, it really has been horrible and couldn't have come at a worse time but luckily it seems to finally be easing off, yay :)

So what is next for I Drew This?

 So up next up is the House of Animal Conciousness Open House in May and then we get straight into PG Live 2015 which I have heard is going to be a stormer this year, can't wait and not long after that I am really looking forward to the arrival of the one and only Lilla Rogers in Brighton with her Make art that sells event at the Dome.

 Phew I think thats enough for now eh...?? I need a holiday just thinking about it ;)

All images copyright Ilona Drew or Candyfloss and bow ties.

Busy times...

My blog has officially been neglected due to massive busyness of the last few months! 

I am still in shock that it is soon to be Olive's 4th birthday and another Christmas, this time last year I was busy preparing for Top Drawer.

What is now a distant memory was a fantastic trip to Barcelona in October for my birthday and our first anniversary. 

It was amazing, we went to a gorgeous spa called Aire de Barcelona and I would highly recommend a visit if you are looking for a heavenly peaceful and relaxing time.

Since coming back I have been caught up in craft fairs, four craft fairs in Patcham, Brighton Open Market and Lewes, all went very well for I Drew This.

I have just finished a new range for I Drew This and have been working on a number of commissions and projects for the Open House next May, so lots of planning for 2015 which is most exciting including my first spot of public speaking which I am really looking forward back at my old university, Staffordshire University in front of 80 students :)

Above I have posted pics of my have stall of the Christmas season at the Open Market in Brighton, my peacock print which has been selling really well, my Christmas cards for 2014 and of course Olive this morning in the nativity, she was a little star x

Ps. To win a set of 6 of my Christmas cards pop over to my I Drew This Facebook page here!

Blog Hop.

I have been asked by Anna of Anna's Drawing Room to take part in Blog Hop, it was just the little nudge I needed to do a blog entry too!

 Anna creates lovely nature inspired lino prints and illustrations and we met whilst doing a craft fair and have stayed in touch since.

 Following on from me I have asked two of my favourite talented ladies Jessica Hogarth and Lisa Stubbs of Lil Sonny Sky.

So here goes...

1. What have you been making at your desk this week?

My weeks are very choppy at the moment I have to admit ( see question 3!) so at my desk this week I have been preparing files for a recent licensing project  (above).

Working on a new range of cards for I Drew This :)

 I always take photos of my work and then scrutinise them when I get home, something about seeing them off my computer screen helps me to see things differently, and then I make notes for the next time I sit down to work on them...

...and I am currently using the table of the 9.25 Brighton to London Victoria to write this!

I am on my way to the BLE exhibition at Olympia as I am considering exhibiting there next year.

Yay, caught up with some friends at BLE, left- Jo Rose from Deer Little Forest, her gorgeous work is magical and her characters are soon being made into an animated kids TV show and right lovely Libby McMullin and Kali Stileman of The Square Card Co. such talented wonderful ladies.

2. Where am I currently finding my inspiration?

Brighton in general is really inspiring I love looking at what kids/teenagers wear and do with their hair etc.

I have also been working in a friends shop called Small Folk Run, its down on the seafront which is immediately a different and atmospheric place to be and is filled with fab stylish kids clothes from brands like Toots & Macginty, Mini Rodini and Beau Loves.

This has been a great place to observe what both parents and kids are drawn to design wise.

3.How important is being creative to you and how do you blend this with your work/life/family balance?

My mom and dad were both artists, I spent most of my childhood with my mom at her space in art college, lived in a house full of art students, being creative is pretty much ingrained in my life, there is no other way!!

Being freelance means that I can slot my work in and around my daughter and luckily I have in-laws who live in Brighton and a very supportive husband who totally believes in what I am doing so I do spend a lot of time either at my studio, meetings about creative work or meeting fellow local illustrators.

There isn't a single day when I am not doing something creative and that I know will never change, since going freelance nearly 6 years ago I have also had Olive and I didn't take any time off even then, I remember gently putting her down so I could get back to my desk, it all feels pretty intense sometimes but I really believe that you get back what you put in and that the work I put in now will pay off later in life, well, that's the plan!!

Fig Taylor.

BIG organised for Fig Taylor to visit on Tuesday this week.

She was great, she has so much information in her head about the industry, well all different industries really and after a quick Q & A about how to present your portfolio we all split into smaller groups and did mini portfolio reviews, it felt a bit like Dragons Den on hyper drive trying to get all the words about what I am doing and where I want to be with my work but the feedback was great and has given me lots to think about and do with regards to approaching book publishers.

Of course after I had left I thought of a million other things I wished I had asked so I am pretty confident that I will be visiting Fig at Somerset house soon.

The lakehouse, Hamburg.

The little one and the lake house, she was my best helper...

Its been too long since I last posted, I have been totally caught up in summer and these photos show just one project I was thrilled to be asked to help with when we were away in Germany visiting our good friends and their new and beautiful baby, paint the lake house...

I mixed paints galore and in the baking heat whilst batting away horse flies I began painting light blue next to the bright blue sky...

 We had to keep it pretty simple ( didn't want to go too crazy and scare the fishermen ) but they seemed to like it and I am hoping that it is now settling in since we left, it was a magical place to be and gather my thoughts before heading back to a totally crazy Brighton...

So now summer continues down here on the south coast and with the little one back at pre school its back to focussing on work and I Drew This. 

Having now done three trade shows I have a much better understanding of what it takes to get the business going and ask myself whether this is the route I want to take with my work, my prints have been proving very successful and I am still on the quest to find a book publisher to begin working with, with lots of new projects in motion Autumn is looking to be an exciting time...

Love print studio interview 2014.

I was very flattered by Louise from the love print studio blog to do an interview about my inspirations/life and days as part of her etsy shop finds feature.

To have a read come over here.

Happy Monday everyone its crazy thunder/lightening down here today!!

A map of Brighton.

Nearly two months on from PG and I feel like I am only just coming up for air.

Been really busy with orders and commissions which have come off the back of the open house and fairs, I cannot rate doing these fairs enough for making contacts and generating interest in your work.

In amongst the card work I was asked to do a map to showcase my style with some editorial in mind.

Happy to do something different here is my first map, I had to do Brighton and could have made it super detailed the amount of key places around the city but this time I stuck with the big ones.

Only two weeks until a well earned break, I Drew This is off to Germany for some rest!!

PG LIve 2014.

Hallo from the other side of my second PG Live...

May has really turned into a whirlwind of fun events what with the Open House ( which is going really well and last weekend coming up) and the trade show which was really positive for I Drew This.

Many interesting conversations with buyers and future projects in the making.

After the success of last year I opted for a larger stand this year with great location just as you enter the last aisle of Springboard. I had always known I would add some colour to my stand and am really proud of my choices.

I was surrounded by lovely people (as always!) and every day was called to photoshoots, the first day was for a project organised by the lovely Lynn Tait raising money for Action Medical research, a charity who help children with life threatening illness's.

The project ran last year and raised a whopping £13,000 for the charity so our aim is to smash it this year. Here is all the artists and organisers on the first day.

After setting up and settling in on the Monday I went over to Pulse to check out what was going on over there and catch up with Jo Rose who is currently having huge success with her brand Deer Little Forest and also to have a look at the Timbergram stand.

We met in January at Top Drawer and Timbergram now have many I Drew This designs on their wooden postcards, they looked great and are proving very popular which is great news, certain designs will soon be available over at my etsy shop.

So I am now feeling on top of orders and and excited about creating lots of new designs and what the future may hold for I Drew This…

The House of Animal Consciousness.

Here is my work in our Open House.

Having not done an open house before it was bit of an unknown how it would first time round and so I was thrilled when the first sale of the house on Sunday was two Matryoska doll A3 framed prints.

What is interesting about the Open Houses is that is it a different audience to the craft fairs and as a result my creative brain is already whirring with ideas for new prints I can work on for next year and there is still three more weekends of The House of Animal Consciousness to go.

We have been so lucky that professor Anil Seth has been kind enough to let us use his beautiful house and if you would like to see some photos of the other artists taking part you can pop over to my Facebook page here.

Open House 2014.

After living in Brighton for eight years now the time has come for me to take part in my first Open House, a month of artists all over Brighton coming together and throwing open doors and offering tea, cake and art, the perfect combination and also a great way to have a little nose inside some of Brightons lovely buildings too.

Studio Greenhouse was lucky to be offered the use of a house on Montpelier Street and will be showing the work of fellow studio mates Tiffany Lynch, Emma Brownjohn, Edwina Roberts, Rachel Fuller, Paul Reed, Geraint Hughes and jewellery from Bella Hamilton.

Happy Easter.

Happy Easter Sunday, its a quiet and rainy one in the studio today, I am working on bringing some characters to life and thinking about chocolate and stories to capture the imagination.

Flower Power.

With PG galloping towards us again (can't actually believe it has been nearly a year, time never ceases to amaze me!!) I wanted to post some photos of one of my new ranges. I have called this one Flower Power and is inspired by flowers and vases, there will also be A5 co-ordinating blank notepads coming to the etsy shop soon, in the meantime there are 2 designs available to buy here as gorgeous giclee prints.

I would love to know what you think….

How is everyone? Its officially crazy time over at I Drew This headquarters at the moment planning for PG and the Open House that I will be exhibiting at for the first time this year so Saturday over at the We Made This in Lewes was a welcome bit of light relief, fab stall holders, it was great to see David from Custard cards there and my I Drew This prints got a brilliant reaction and I am pleased to say they will be on Etsy VERY soon!!

Happy Monday everyone! x

Mischief GIVEAWAY!!

Where do the weeks go…I cant believe it is friday again and the weeks before PG Live 2014 are whizzing by, I Drew This will be launching 2 new ranges which I am very excited about and am in the middle of making decisions on proofs etc along with creating some more Mischief characters and in celebration of the weekend I am doing a giveaway over on my Facebook page which will be drawn by my little helper, Olive, next friday. Pop over HERE to take part, have a fab weekend all!!

BIG meeting February 2014.

We had a really good turn out last night at the first BIG meeting of 2014 held at The King & Queen in Brighton, no less that 40 artists and illustrators came along to pick the brains of our key speakers, Peter Greenwood, Tony de Saulles, Sean Sims, Penny Dann, Jo Moore, Sophie Joyce, Rachel Fuller, Sue Hendra and partner in crime, and Sophie Giblin, young entrepreneur and owner of 
the Kollektiv gallery.
We kept it small and personal and the conversation flowed from how do you price for jobs to why do we do what we do, we were so delighted that so many came along and we are already in discussion about the next meeting.
Attached are some examples of the work of these fabulous and talented peeps!!

© Sean Sims

© Jo Moore

© Sophie Joyce

© Rachel Fuller

© Sue Hendra

© Tony de Saulles

© Kollektiv Gallery

© Peter Greenwood