Thought Catalogue & Brianna Wiest
It's been a busy old time in the studio working on lots of top secret projects, however I'm really excited to share with you some new work which I have created for Brianna Wiest's book, The Truth About Everything.
I was commissioned to create the new cover for the books re-release, published through Thought Catalogue.
It's been a busy old time in the studio working on lots of top secret projects, however I'm really excited to share with you some new work which I have created for Brianna Wiest's book, The Truth About Everything.
I was commissioned to create the new cover for the books re-release, published through Thought Catalogue.
"Life is an uncertain morphing of the beautiful and devastating, the reckless and ordained, the inconsequential and cataclysmal. In this first compilation of her work, Brianna Wiest writes about her own experiences uncovering the life's greatest truths. The selected pieces are ones you'll turn to when you are in need of answers, comfort or a little tough love. Brianna writes from a place of solace and understanding, as "The Truth About Everything" asks you to challenge what you thought to be true, take the spiritual journey, and come out on the other end with your own story to tell."
You can pre-order Brianna's novel through Thought Catalogue, or purchase earlier copies of the book through Amazon.
Deborah x
Adios Amigos!
As I write to you this week I'm taking absolute pleasure in writing every kind of list as we pack to head off on our honeymoon!
Avnish and I will not only be celebrating our 9 year anniversary together, but our 2nd wedding anniversary whilst in the balmy heat of Cancun, Mexico. This trip is actually going to be our honeymoon, a vacation that has been 2 years of planning and saving in the making. We haven't been on holiday in 3 years so needless to say we're extremely excited to be getting some sun and sand for 2 weeks.
Because I will be off adventuring this is just a little post to let you all know that my Etsy and Notonthehighstreet.com stores will be closed from Friday 29th April until 12th May. All orders must be placed on or before the 28th, especially if you want to make the most of my Spring Sale which has been going on over in my Etsy shop.
I also wanted to keep you all up to date with some really exciting projects that I've been working on this month:
Collaboration with Mr Panesar Design
Fittingly enough the first of my new projects has been a collabotayion with my husband Avnish - together we've created gig posters for legends Led Zeppelin and of course The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. These designs are available as prints in Avnish's shop.
New Pattern: A Llama Folk Tale
You may have seen my vibrant llama pattern at the top of this post, which I'm really excited to say is now available to purchase on products in my Society6 shop. I've loved creating this new summery pattern as it's pushed me out of my pencil drawing comfort zones to dabble with painting; a medium I'm not usually too confident in.
Submission for the Spoonflower x Sprout Pattern competition
Last but not least (and this is kind of my favourite) a Japanese Garden inspired print for Spoonflower's April design challenge! Voting closes tomorrow 6pm EDT (10pm GMT) and what's better you can vote for more than one design! I voted for 10 because there is just so many lovely designs!
I'm excited to share with you all my Mexican experience when I return next month, perhaps in a bumper visual blog post! If you can't possibly wait till mid May then be sure to follow me on Instagram (@deborahpanesar) and Snapchat (dbillustrations) as I'll be documenting some of our adventure.
Until next month!
Deborah x
Draw it, Print it, Ink it Publication
It's been pretty exciting here in the studio this weekend as I received my own copy of Draw it, Print it, Ink it by Pepper Baldwin, a new temporary tattoo book which features one of my custom temporary tattoo illustrations!
When I opened my Etsy shop back in 2010, temporary tattoos were one of my first initial products to hit the shelves, and you guys have been loving them ever since! Whilst launching and running my own lines, I have worked on a few temporary tattoo designs for other companies such as Pepper Ink, run by Pepper Baldwin, one of which you can now see in her latest publication!
It's been pretty exciting here in the studio this weekend as I received my own copy of Draw it, Print it, Ink it by Pepper Baldwin, a new temporary tattoo book which features one of my custom temporary tattoo illustrations!
When I opened my Etsy shop back in 2010, temporary tattoos were one of my first initial products to hit the shelves, and you guys have been loving them ever since! Whilst launching and running my own lines, I have worked on a few temporary tattoo designs for other companies such as Pepper Ink, run by Pepper Baldwin, one of which you can now see in her latest publication!
Draw it, Print it, Ink it helps is a fantastic resource and guide to help delve into the world of temporary tattoos - from using templates to figuring out size and placement, as well as giving step by step guides to creating your own tattoos at home. The remainder of the book is a beautiful source of inspiration, broken down neatly into different categories.
And here is my little illustration! These herb illustrations were commissioned by Pepper last year and I'm so excited to now see them make the pages of her new publication.
If you're interested in creating your own temporary tattoos and fancy having a copy of Pepper's new book, you can purchase it through Amazon and it's publisher Octopus Books.
You can also view my own range and collection of temporary tattoo designs which include mermaids, unicorns, foxes and ships, through my Etsy Shop.
Happy Sunday!
Deborah x
1st April - New Things!
April is finally here which means a lot of things here in the studio; Firstly, that today is the day that I launch my first ever downloadable wedding invitation range on Etsy, and secondly that it is exactly one month until my husband and I fly to Mexico for our 2 year delayed honeymoon!
Needless to say it's a very exciting month ahead, but today I am most excited about my new wedding stationery range which has been 5 months in the making.
April is finally here which means a lot of things here in the studio; Firstly, that today is the day that I launch my first ever downloadable wedding invitation range on Etsy, and secondly that it is exactly one month until my husband and I fly to Mexico for our 2 year delayed honeymoon!
Needless to say it's a very exciting month ahead, but today I am most excited about my new wedding stationery range which has been 5 months in the making.
All of my wedding stationery designs are fully customisable, and once edited are sent as digital files so that the happy couple can print from the comfort of their own home. In designing this new range I really kept in mind all the things I learnt (the hard way) when I got married with the hope that I can help make a couples wedding as stress free and beautifully designed as possible.
I also wanted to create designs that were not only fun, but also adaptable to the couple at hand. My Woodland range is a neutral and less frilly design that hopefully caters to couples who aren't looking for the typical overly feminine wedding stationery designs.
The entire collection is now available in my Etsy Shop available in Deluxe and Basic sets as well as individual listings should you just want an invitation or just a table number.
To celebrate the release of my new stationery I am also hosting a Spring Sale on some of my other lines in my store! You can 30% off select lines until the 29th April when I will be closing my shop doors for my Mexico trip.
What's more, as an EXTRA treat for any of my newsletter subscribers, I'm sending out an exclusive additional 10% off coupon code in today's e-newsletter. Sign up here if you would like to be informed of any future promotions & discounts, and also for weekly new blog post updates.
I hope you like my new range as much as I have enjoyed designing it! As always please feel free to leave any feedback or comments - your support is always greatly appreciated!
Happy Friday
Deborah x
5 lies you shouldn't tell yourself as a freelancer...
Working for yourself is an absolute dream. It can be all of the stereotypes that people associate with it such as working in your PJ's, having your own schedule, being able to get up whenever you want but it can also have it's downsides like any good job.
I've been freelancing for 6 years now and these tips are just my own observations and experiences, all of which I've learnt to work with in order to thrive. I hope they help you too!
Working for yourself is an absolute dream. It can be all of the stereotypes that people associate with it such as working in your PJ's, having your own schedule, being able to get up whenever you want but it can also have it's downsides like any good job.
I've been freelancing for 6 years now and these tips are just my own observations and experiences, all of which I've learnt to work with in order to thrive. I hope they help you too!
1. "Everyone else seems to have it sussed out..."
Ever thought you'd spend a good half an hour browsing Pinterest to get inspiration for a new client or project only to feel like a complete failure after those 30 minutes are up? Yep, happens to me at least once a month! Trouble is we are all just seeing the highlight reels of everyone's lives, and the real truth is that nothing of what they have achieved came quick or easy. Take the analogy of the road, the journey - your freelance career is just as such. It might all seem straight and clear, but there may be forks in the road or winds and bends that take you to places you weren't expecting...that's the joy of the journey. It's the experience. You will suss it all out too one day, and if not, take comfort in knowing that someone out there is looking at your work and painfully pining that you have it all sussed out....
2. "I should say yes to every project"
This is a massive temptation especially when cashflow is dry, but ask yourself some simple questions and you should never really go too wrong:
- Does this project align with my own ethos and working ethic?
- Does it actually pay my time?
- Are they asking for my creative talent, or for someone to copy someone else's work?
I've had many experiences where I've been quite desperate for money to pay rent that I was considering getting paid a pittance, to copy someone else's style, to maybe pay a quarter of said rent. In the end I knew it was wrong and not what I wanted to be associated with. I politely declined the work to the client (albeit thinking I was an absolute lunatic at the time) but within a few weeks a dream client came along. The universe knows and will always balance itself. Never sell yourself short.
3. "I should be working like [Insert amazing designer/illustrator/freelancer's name here]
Working like this will only bring you down and make you feel like a fraud. Live genuine and work genuine! If a client doesn't like your style and wants you to work like another illustrator/designer/freelancer, then they aren't your target market. Think about that for a moment, because the world is crammed full of 7.4 billion people and within all those bodies there will be someone who aligns themselves with the product you're offering. Sure, said amazing designer who you think you should work like is raking it in and has the big clients, but that is their story, not yours. Carve your own path and see what trails you can blaze.
4. "I need to be working X amount a hours a day."
Did you know that the 9-5 working day was only introduced during the Industrial Revolution to prevent people working 15 hour days? Since then this has stuck, but there are people in the world who only work 4 hour days and still achieve a lot. There is no hard and fast rule for how you should work but only you know how you work best. If you know you can only do your best work in the AM then get up early and hustle. We're all individuals and we all function differently.
Studies have shown that people tend to work best in 90 minute work cycles, so if you are struggling to get work done but not burn yourself out, try working 90 minutes then break for 20, and repeat. I personally work better when I set myself a target time to work to and see it as a challenge to see how much I can complete in that time.
5. "When I'm not doing client work I'm not actually working."
This one I am the WORST for. We all need to remember that we work in creative fields as freelancers. Our jobs need to be nurtured with development and inspiration. So you think that visiting a museum or reading a design magazine isn't working? I'm here to tell you to try and see it differently because this is essentially visual nourishment for your brain.
How can you evolve and grow as a creative if you don't stay ahead of the curve? How can you bring innovative and exciting projects to clients if you don't go out into the world and drink in all it has to offer? Staying inside and furiously scanning the internet is one tool to finding inspiration, but you will find nothing better than out in the wild, on the streets, in a conversation with a likeminded friend or within the pages of a book you never thought you'd read. Most of my ideas have come to me when I'm not trying to be in work mode, when I'm relaxed and exploring.
So give yourself a break. If drawing can become a paid job, that defies peoples perceptions of what a job is, then research is just another facet of that gem.
Now it's over to you guys! Have you made any realisations within your self-employed or freelance career? Feel free to share them below or tweet them to me @deborahpanesar using the hashtag #freelancelies
Deborah x
The Revenant
The Oscars goes live this weekend on the 28th, and all I keep thinking is that I sincerely hope Leo get's one because I truly feel it's long overdue.
Most of my favourite films are ones he's starred in; Shutter Island, The Great Gatsby, Inception...I mean come on, Titanic. But, last month myself and Avnish went to see The Revenant and that then booted all of these off the top spot. Everything in it captivated me. The cinematography, the story, the filming style, the colours. My mind was quite creatively blown when I left the cinema, so much so I felt like I had to create a pattern to release some of that creative overflow.
The Oscars goes live this weekend on the 28th, and all I keep thinking is that I sincerely hope Leo gets one because I truly feel it's long overdue.
Most of my favourite films are ones he's starred in; Shutter Island, The Great Gatsby, Inception...I mean come on, Titanic. But, last month myself and Avnish went to see The Revenant and that then booted all of these off the top spot. Everything in it captivated me. The cinematography, the story, the filming style, the colours. My mind was quite creatively blown when I left the cinema, so much so I felt like I had to create a pattern to release some of that creative overflow.
Only using the weapons and animals featured in the film, I wanted to create a simple and stark design to mirror the film. I know this is far from capturing the sheer beauty that The Revenant provides, but I love it none the less.
I'm hoping to have this up in my Society6 and Etsy shops soon, so be tuned for more updates!
If you're tuning in this weekend for the Oscars, I hope you'll be joining me in sending out all those positive vibes to Leo - I don't think the internet could cope with another year of Poor Leo memes.
Deborah x
Keeping that fear 'edge'
For the past week or so I've been working my way through my HUGE box of business cards which I've been collecting for 4 years, inputting each and every one of them into a new spreadsheet database. You might think I'm a little mad for doing this time consuming, and let's be honest, inanely tedious job but it's all part of the process I've started since reading Alex Mather's e-book How To Get Illustration Clients.
For the past week or so I've been working my way through my HUGE box of business cards which I've been collecting for 4 years, inputting each and every one of them into a new spreadsheet database. You might think I'm a little mad for doing this time consuming, and let's be honest, inanely tedious job but it's all part of the process I've started since reading Alex Mather's e-book How To Get Illustration Clients.
I've been working on creating, nurturing and building my database of contacts, one business card typed into Google Docs at a time. BUT, I'm not writing this post to subtly promote Alex's book, or brag at my awesome patience (which isn't that awesome, I promise) but, to tell you about a discovery I made that really struck me whilst going through these business cards;
All of this can end at any moment.
Now, I don't mean in the morbid sense, although you wouldn't be wrong with making that connection too. What I'm on about is freelance business, creative business, art careers, that can all come to end in a quicker fashion that it may have taken to create. The amount of cards I went through who either were no longer doing that line of work (illustration, surface design, tailoring, design etc) or simply did not exist on the internet any longer took me quite by surprise.
It had the same tang of when you discover an old school friends-father's-long-lost-cousin had died - you don't know that person at all, in fact you probably never met them, but you acknowledge there is a loss there and that someone was somebody's something; Aunt, Uncle, Niece, sibling whatever. For me, it's the same thing. These people's business cards don't hold much sentimental value in my life, but I can't help but wonder what's happened to these people. Are they ok? What happened for them to no longer be doing that line of work? All those long hard years of working, just gone. They were someones illustrator, photographer, designer, copywriter.
I can see how this may seem a little dramatic , however when you work for yourself you sometimes can forget that in the midst of the hard slog of seeking out clients, networking, marketing, generating work and still trying to earn a regular bit of money, some creative or freelancer, somewhere, had the plug pulled on their dream of a creative career. And that's a sobering thought.
I have no idea what the circumstances are for these creatives who I met many years ago - they may possibly be on to bigger and better things, situations that suit their circumstances better, but I can't help but feeling immense gratitude for still hanging on to my dream, even if sometimes it feels like I'm just hanging on from my fingernails.
One day, I may find myself in a situation where I need to make a hard decision and I cant stop myself from imagining someone, somewhere, finding my business card after 4 years, Googling me only to find that I exist no longer on the internet. The very thought makes me a little sweaty because I absolutely refuse to let that happen.
But that's the feeling you want. Really!
If you're like me and still hustling your career then I think it's healthy to have a little fear to keep you from being complacent. I tend to work 1000% harder, doing things that I find uncomfortable and loathsome, when I'm low on clients and money. But what if I applied this fear edge to when I'm actually ticking over nicely? Imagine the work generated!
I have a lot of business cards left to wade through, but I can tell you that I'm getting through them faster than ever before now that I remember what I need to do to prevent my future business card self ending up in a recycling bin graveyard.
Before I head off for an evening of Walking Dead and pizza (because Walking Dead gives me another type of fear and pizza is my comfort) I want to leave you with a question: If you saw your career as your lifeline, how tight would you hold onto to save yourself from drowning?
As always, I'm keen to hear your thoughts! How do you keep yourself from being complacent in your career? How does it make you feel to imagine never doing your dream job ever again? Feel free to drop your comments below or tweet me!
Deborah x
New Kitty Pattern!
Back in December 2015 I decided that it was long overdue to draw up a cat pattern! I find cats have such individual personalities that it seemed so wrong to just draw from getty reference images - so I did an international call out on my Instagram to which I had an unprecedented influx of tags as people sent me photos of their gorgeous kitties!
Back in December 2015 I decided that it was long overdue to draw up a cat pattern! I find cats have such individual personalities that it seemed so wrong to just draw from getty reference images - so I did an international call out on my Instagram to which I had an unprecedented influx of tags as people sent me photos of their gorgeous kitties!
Roll forward to January 2016 and I am so pleased to say that the kitty pattern is now finished, named Le Chat Toile de Jouy for all it's Frenchy vibes. I wish I could have included all the wonderful and beautiful cats that were sent my way, you should have seen them!
I'm so extremely pleased with how this design turned out, and now it is available in my online shops!
Purchase tees, leggings, mugs, shower curtains and even duvet covers with my kitty pattern through Society6
Le Chat Toile de Jouy is also available as a downloadable art print in my Etsy shop! Simply purchase, download, print and frame!
This design is also coming soon to my Spoonflower page where you will able to purchase it on fabric and wallpaper.
As always, I love to hear feedback! What do you think of my latest pattern? Is there a particular animal you would like to see illustrated next?
Deborah x
Top Pin Picks - Wall Art
There's something really satisfying about seeing illustration being translated onto different forms and surfaces; textiles, pottery, metal and wood are some of the surfaces that you will find illustrative work on today. But, when it's transformed by size, then it becomes something more exciting!
There's something really satisfying about seeing illustration being translated onto different forms and surfaces; textiles, pottery, metal and wood are some of the surfaces that you will find illustrative work on today. But, when it's transformed by size, then it becomes something more exciting!
I've always loved creating wall murals for clients, and theres been something quite thrilling about people seeing your process and being able to interact with it, a crucial (yet forgotten) element that sometimes gets lost in your studio whilst you polish up your work before anyone can even see it.
So, I wanted to share my top 5 picks from my Wall Art & Murals Pinterest board; a collection of some of the most inspirational wall art ideas and artists around at the moment, and hopefully an inspiration for you should you wish to take on your own personal wall mural!
Ever taken on your own wall art project? Leave a link in the comments below!
Have a great Monday!
Deborah