One of our fave design blogs – Fancy – has an interview today with our newest artist, designer and children’s book illustrator Erica Harrison. Click here to check it out.
Are your walls in need of some super cute art? Take a look at Erica’s limited edition prints.
Made From Scratch is an incredibly gorgeous lifestyle blog, created by New Zealand baker and homemaker Rachael McMahon. Several times a week, Rachael shares all the sweet things that make her smile – from drool-on-your-keyboard recipes to amazing styled weddings. A true blogging success story, Rachael has been able to bake her passion into a sure-to-rise business, as her wedding cakes and at-home baking classes are in hot demand.
Tell us about yourself first Rachael – what do you do for work, and for fun?
I’m lucky enough that my passion has become my work, my days are filled with blog posts, wedding cakes, baking classes and networking with some of the most wonderfully talented people in the business.
My days off are spent with my husband and puppy, catching up with our amazing friends over a delicious brunch or simply pottering in the garden!
The beautiful Made From Scratch blog, and blogger Rachael McMahon
How did you come to start the Made From Scratch blog and how has it changed since then?
I found out about blogs while we were traveling through America, when we got home I started planning our wedding and baking again after being out of the kitchen for two years.
Ben said that it would be fun for me to blog about our upcoming wedding and share the recipes that I make – by the time I’d finished making dinner one night he had designed and built Made From Scratch for me.
After posting everyday for about a year my gorgeous sister in law rebranded Made From Scratch to what it is today, it’s since grown into a daily lifestyle blog while I do baking classes and wedding cakes on the side – something I could never ever have imagined possible.
Always baking. I want to live at Rachael’s house!
Rachael teaching at one of her very popular home baking classes.
Who inspires you?
My husband, family and friends – without them none of this would be possible, their support has been beyond amazing. I get inspired by lost of different things, it could be as simple as brunch with a friend, wandering through the hardware shop or admiring other beautiful blogs.
Tell us something we wouldn’t guess about you.
I used to do triathlons and long distant running while at high school – it feels like another life now.
What are some of your favourite blogs that you think we should go and visit?
I’m a huge fan of Adore, The Velvet Doe, What Katie Ate and The Big Day. They’re all so gorgeous and I always find something new and inspiring.
Just some of the recipes and ideas you’ll find on Made From Scratch.
Whats the best thing about being a blogger? What are the challenges?
The connections and friends that you make, they’re incredible. As well as being able to share work that inspires others, I’ll never be able to get used to knowing that so many people enjoy my work, it’s beyond an honour. Being your own boss is hard at times, as you don’t have anyone to answer to but yourself if something goes wrong.
Like everyone, finding a nice balance between work and life is always tricky – especially when your life is your work. I adore what I do, so the challenges don’t seem too hard to deal with.
YUM!!
Finally, do you have any tips for start-up bloggers to get them over the global average 3 month lifespan?
Stick at it, even if you’re not getting a large readership to start with, someone somewhere will be following your blog and will absolutely adore it. Above all love what you do, if you’re genuine people will admire you for it.
For sweet styling, baking, weddings and more,
visit the Made From Scratch blog, or join Made From Scratch on Facebook.
iThink (or, as his mum and dad named him, Jaime Robertson) is not just a talented artist, he’s also a professional graphic designer and DJ, passions that have seen him create some of NZ’s best gig posters and album artwork.
One look at his studio space and you can also see he’s most definitely a type nerd…
Two of the art prints from iThink we have at endemicworld.
Hi Jaime! Can you tell us a bit about your process… How do you tend to get inspired? What are the steps to creating a finished piece?
Inspiration for me comes a lot from popular culture. I am a big collector of things; Vinyl, Movies, Fonts, Shoes… You name it! And these things help to inspire me and give me ideas on where my art works go. Of course this lovely country or ours is also an endless inspiration to me. I really do wake up everyday and feel blessed to call Aotearoa my home. And finally my beautiful daughter gives me an abundance of drive to create, make, succeed and basically be a better artist/creator/person.
All this inspiration helps me to channel ideas from the dark recesses of my brain and into my computer. I have had a Mac in my home since I was 7 (and I ain’t that young anymore) and it has become a very comfortable tool for me to use, so my designs/artworks always start in my head, flow through my fingers into my computer and then the fun begins.
iThink’s home studio – stacked with cool vintage signs and design books.
I am a type fanatic, and I feel my work needs humanity and nature in it somehow, and the computer (obviously) lacks that, so I often create a clean typographic composition and then begin the enjoyable process of ageing/distressing/roughing up the composition to try and give it that imperfect feel and help endear the idea to the audience, almost try to include the viewer in some way, because we are all humans and we all have imperfections so hopefully we can relate more to it this way.
Tools of the trade
What’s the favourite piece of work you’ve done?
I am still working towards my best work. I am just a rookie in the art field. I would say i am a graduate of design but am still learning the art of art making.
So far my favorite works to create have been my hand painted, one-off, text based pieces on ply (image below), because they are fun to work on and say a lot about me and my language but also about our NZ vocabulary and the funny quirks that only us kiwis would understand. I like to call these our coloquialisations. This is an area that I’m really enjoying investigating and am looking to delve further into this idea for future works!
We want a wall like this at home – with one of each of iThink’s typographic works on it!
Besides street art and graphic design, what else do you love to do?
As i mentioned i am a hardy collector!
And music has for a long time been a huge passion of mine. I have been DJing since I was 17 (and again, I ain’t young anymore) and still love playing records and still play out regularly.
A professional DJ for many years, Jaime collects vintage vinyl
And as I now live on Waiheke Island I am well into the outdoor lifestyle that comes with that – Beaches, Fishing, Swimming, Walking… Its a hard life!
What’s coming up for iThink this year?
The next phase for me as an art maker is developing my 3D typographic works. I am looking at incorporating clever tools like computer controlled router and 3D printers to try and push my ideas to that next plateau. Whether it will work or not is another story. But I am going to continue to push myself, try new styles and techniques and see what I can come up with.
As I mentioned, I consider myself a rookie in this and am just enjoying the art of making art!
What would be a dream commission to do?
I would love to create 3D words in a variety of sizes and uses like customised light boxes or large scale building signage.
That would be pretty cool!
Yip, we love Type too.
Tell us about a person who inspires you…
I have already told you about my daughter who continually inspires me to push myself. I am also a big fan of anybody out there doing their own thing! Swimming against the rest as it were.
Internationally, I love the work of Mitchy Bwoy and Steven Bonner, type sites Hype for Type, You Work for Them & My Fonts, and type designers Alex Sheldon & Schizotype.
Locally, I admire the work and work ethic of Askew and Component.
There are so many inspirations in life and i could be here all day listing them. Anyone who resists the mainstream and does their own thing in life is an inspiration to me!
We couldn’t agree more, Jaime.
To check out all of iThink’s art prints on endemicworld, click here.
Cush & Nooks is a New Zealand-based blog dedicated to interior design. Behind all the colour, pattern and style is the lovely Vic Bibby, who – off the back of the blog’s popularity – has now also opened a Cush & Nooks online homeware store, and recently launched an interior design business with one of her girlfriends!
Tell us about yourself first Vic – what do you do for work and for fun?
I’m one of those really lucky people whose work is fun! I’m pretty passionate about all things interior design. I have an interior based blog called Cush & Nooks where I write about and feature all those things that I’m inspired by daily. I have an online homewares store by the same name, where my products reflect what I’m loving at the time. And I write for several magazines, including Homestyle and Napier Life.
As if that doesn’t keep me busy enough, I have just started an interior design business Bibby + Brady. My partner, Dael, & I work with clients, both residential and commercial, to design spaces that they love, and are a reflection of them. We are successfully working with clients all around New Zealand with the help of technology – email, phone and skype. Our aim is to be accessible and approachable to everyone, and for our clients to know upfront what costs they’ll be facing. To do this we have broken our design process into simple-to-follow steps. You can hire us for just step 1, or all 3 – whatever suits you.
Outside of work I love hanging with my husband and three beautiful girls. I also love all the standard stuff – eating out with friends, reading, movies, running with my dog, and, of course, shopping.
Vic (left) and her business partner Dael
How did you come to start the Cush & Nooks blog and how has it changed since then?
I started my Cush & Nooks blog when I was still working as a graphic designer. Things just weren’t clicking for me at work anymore, and the blog was a creative outlet for what I had become most passionate about – interior design. Initially it was simply somewhere for me to store all the things that inspired me. Essentially, it still is, but it’s also a tool to promote people, products and businesses that I believe in. And the blog will be ever-evolving and changing as my tastes change, in much the same way as the interior of your home changes over the years.
Working from home – bliss!
Who inspires you?
To be able to get up every day and do something that you love is amazing. I’m inspired by people who have found a way to do that. It sounds glamorous, but it takes dedication, passion and long, long hours to make it happen. Top of my list are Emily Henderson, Anna Spiro, Lucy Feagins, Holly Becker and Bri Emery, but there are so many more.
Some of the bloggers and interior mavens who inspire Vic
Tell us something we wouldn’t guess about you!
Before interiors came sports! When I was younger I played lots of different sports, but my favourite was hockey – I represented Wellington for many years. Now all you’ll catch me doing is pounding the street with my dog and my iPod, and occasionally biking to the cafe on my Electra Cruiser.
What are some of your favourite design and style blogs that you think we should go and visit?
Once again, there are many. I like to visit international blogs to get a feel for what’s happening out in the big world. Emily Henderson always inspires me and often features awesome ‘before and after’s'; Desire to Inspire never lets you down; and SF Girl by Bay is another fav. In terms of NZ blogs you can’t go past Fancy! New Zealand Design Blog, Studio Home, The Design Chaser, and Milo & Mitzy.
Pics from some of Vic’s favourite blogs
Whats the best thing about being a blogger? Whats the suckiest thing? The best thing is the friends you make. I’ve met like-minded people from all over the world through blogging. And all the amazing things you discover when sourcing content for the blog. There’s not a lot of sucky things for me when it comes to blogging – maybe having to sit at my desk for so many hours a day. Sometimes I envy those pilates instructors whose work is a work-out too! Pic of Home Office
Finally, got any tips for start-up bloggers to get them over the global average 3 month lifespan?
Really, is that the average blog lifespan?! Well, I would say if you want to start a blog, make sure it’s a topic that you’re super enthusiastic about. You don’t want it to become a chore, but if you’re writing and featuring things that excite you, how can it? In saying that, it is a lot of work, so make sure you take some time out for you. I enjoy my weekends off blogging – that’s my family time – and like any job, you need to take a break from time to time. As long as you let your readers know you’re on holiday, they’ll be fine with it. And you can come back feeling refreshed, and hopefully, with some new ideas for the blog.
Born and raised in Canada eh, Holly Roach now calls New Zealand home. And maybe she also calls New Zealand her muse – our native birds and plants are the subject of many of her prints. Holly’s lovingly screen prints each original work in her own home studio…take a look:
Art on display in Holly Roach’s home studio. (Love that handmade Be Kind woodblock.)
Tell us about your process – how do you come up with ideas, what are the steps to a finished piece?
Most of my artworks start life as an unreadable doodle on loose sheets of paper. My scribbles are often inspired by some shape or form that is part of something bigger that I have come across on a site, blog or in a book.
I will then loosely redraw my sketch to final art size and trace down to my chosen surface. No image is firmly fixed in place, allowing for the design to change as I go along- mistakes often dictate a new path!
Holly needs plenty of paint on hand. Doesn’t it make you want to get your hands dirty and create?
I then screen print layers of colours and form using hand-cut stencils. I use anything and everything to make ‘marks’, spatulas, knives, rollers, chopsticks. It helps to work close to my kitchen. Or in it at times.
There’s a lot of love and time in every print – Holly screen prints each one herself.
What’s the favourite piece of work you’ve done and why?
I was lucky enough to be tutored by the very talented John Pule many years ago when I studied Fabric Design at AUT. We were to tell our story using the architecture of a Nuiean Tapa cloth. It was equally enjoyable and draining at the same time. It’s nice to have the outcome of this exercise hanging in my lounge for anyone to see, but only I know the secret codes in it!
Holly’s favourite work, her autobiographical Tapa cloth; a corner of Holly’s creative space.
Besides art/design, what else do you love to do?
Walking. Drinking coffee. Being in beautiful places. Drinking coffee in beautiful places. Christmas. It brings out all my joys…sewing, beading, crafting, cooking, wrapping and giving.
What has been the coolest experience/highlight of your creative career so far?
A recent cool thing was finding out that two of my works are hanging in the Auckland Town Hall. I knew the city had bought the paintings but didn’t know where they went.
Two of Holly’s art prints for sale at endemicworld: Sunny Days and Out The Back.
What would be a dream commission to do?
I think it would be great to create a homeware series for a company like IKEA. Swedish inspired designs on ceramic, wallpaper, textiles, etc. I have a relatively short attention span, so mixing it up would suit me.
Tell us about a person who inspires you…
A lot of different people inspire me for lots of different reasons. These days I would have to say kind people and people living their truth. Often strangers, so I couldn’t name names.
The beauty’s in the details…
Endemicworld’s Holly Roach prints are reproductions of Holly’s original screen printed artworks. They’re available in 3 sizes (right up to big A2!) and from only $49. Click here to check out all our Holly Roach art prints.
Over the years, endemicworld has enjoyed loads of coverage and support from Studio Home – a blog that focuses exclusively on creative talent from NZ and Australia. So we were stoked to be able to ‘give back’ a little recently, when we helped Julia Atkinson – the brains behind Studio Home – head to New York for an inspiring blogger’s course. Now she’s back on home turf, we asked her to answer a few questions for us…
A daily dose of design and creativity from Studio Home
Tell us about yourself first – what do you do for work and for fun?
Hi! Aside from many things like skiing, water skiing, watching movies, wines with friends and adventuring I really really like to blog about clever creative kiwis and aussies on my site, Studio Home.
How did you come to start Studio Home and how has it changed since then?
Studio Home was originally the name of my interior design “business” (use that term loosely as businesses are meant to earn money!) that I set up in 2007. I discovered the world of design blogs very early in 2008 and immediately felt that I had something to contribute with a desktop overflowing with bookmarks of cool NZ and Australian products I hoped to use. It also felt like a great way to channel traffic and potential work back to my biz….which happened only a little…but I became completely addicted and dedicated to the damn thing!
The content hasn’t changed at all as I started with a very narrow focus which I surprisingly stick too ( I am not good at sticking to other things…like mountain biking, Zumba etc) In 2010 I was almost about to chuck the whole thing in as I had picked up a full time job in marketing at a ski area and was hopeless with my time management. But for some reason I couldn’t quit the addiction so I got my friend Mickey to redesign the site on a wordpress platform and I got tough with myself to write and schedule 2-3 posts daily (Mon-Fri). That wavers sometimes when real life gets in the way, but my personal favourite blogs post regularly and I LOVE that – so feel very motivated to match the expectations of my readers.
Julia Atkinson, alongside a vignette from her home.
Who or what inspires you?
Every single creative person, business and endeavour I post about! I only ever post what I truly personally love and get a kick out of!
The bloggers that I follow and religiously read every morning and the three smart and savvy headmistresses of The Blogcademy I recently attended in New York.
What’s been the biggest highlight of the Studio Home journey so far?
My recent trip to New York. Thanks to my very clever friend John Jo Ritson I won the scholarship spot to attend a two day course in NYC called The Blogcademy headed up by mega online babes; Gala Darling, Kat Williams and Shauna Haiger. The trip suddenly kicked me into gear and I arranged a series of interviews with creative kiwis and aussies doing their thing and called itFly the Coop: NYC. I was then super privileged to have three NZ brands; Citta Design, endemicworld and Triumph & Disaster partner with me to help this happen. So between the course and the week spent exploring the guts and ambition of others, I arrived back home with some kind of blog ADD. My laptop is smoking!!
Snaps from Julia’s recent trip to New York
What’s your dream for Studio Home?
My absolute dream is for Studio Home to become a household name in relation to Down Under daily inspiration for readers and a place that creatives strive to be part of. I also have plans in motion for it to leap out of the interweb and start being more than just a blog. So many plans, so many!
Tell us something we wouldn’t guess about you…
I am uncontrollably messy. Keeping a tidy bedroom or desk is like asking me to swim Cook Strait. Seemingly impossible.
What are some of your favourite design and style blogs that we should go and visit?
Design Love Fest
Cup of Jo
A Merry Mishap
Miss Moss
Gala Darling
Nubby Twiglet
Love and Ginger
Head on over to Studio Home for some ‘down under’ creative talent…
It’s no secret we have a soft spot for street art, and Cinzah Merkins (also known as Seekayem) is one of New Zealand’s best writers. He’s also a champion of the local scene, and together with some friends is putting the finishing touches on a full-length documentary on NZ street art – its culture and its characters. How he does it all we’re not sure – because he’s also a full-time illustrative artist, working on commercial projects with Watermark, and in his spare time creates works for exhibitions… and now, a series of prints for endemicworld! And despite how much he has on his plate, when we asked him to tell us a little more about himself and show us around his studios (yes, he has two of them – one at Watermark and one at home) he couldn’t have been more stoked and obliging…
Cinzah in his home studio
Pitter Patter art print – limited edition of 80, available at endemicworld
Arctic Fishing art print, Advance & Attack framed mini print, and Peace Call mini print.
Can you describe your process for us with these prints – from where the inspiration came from to how you worked them up into finished digital works?
Sure thing… In general I always start in my sketchbook. Everything i do that translates to a finished digital illustration, or painted original starts in the sketchbook. I’ll usually scribble a really loose, rough sketch/ thumbnail of the general idea and story I want to tell, follow that with a couple of other slightly more thought out sketches, taking composition more into consideration. Then when i’m happy with one of these sketches, i’ll scan the sucker in, and Mac it up.
These works available on endemicworld were created in Adobe Illustrator using a wacom tablet. Sometimes i’ll scan found/photographed textures, and different mark-making images for effect. I quite like having an organic feel to my work. Flat digital generally bores the hell out of me.
‘Pitter Patter’ – was created originally as part of a larger group project I worked on with a handful of other illustrators in the collective i’m part of at Watermark. The image is a visual representation of the onomatopoeic title – ‘Pitter Patter’. I was trying to portray a mood / emotion and sense of nostalgia through use of minimal colour and tone. It was also a nice experiment for myself to create something with a geometric ridged approach, rather than my usual flowing line-work and forms.
‘Arctic Fishing’ could be inspired by a number of different things. A cute story exploring the relationship between a fisher man and a polar bear. Nature, and mans place within the natural world…. Maybe a response to proposed drilling in the Antarctic? Who knows – take what you want from it. Too me, its cute, fun, and childish. But also has a slightly darker/ heavier message somewhere in there. Will the fisherman be mauled by a giant wild animal? Or will the Polar Bear help the little dude catch some kai?
Cinzah begins concepting in one of his many sketchbooks…
How and when did you make the decision to dedicate your working life to your talent?
Kind of a long, and unplanned journey as to how I got here. Not quite sure how it happened myself! A few key moments and turning points in my life I guess. I always new I wanted to make cool shit for a living, and didn’t think i’d ever be able to survive an office job, or working under some big boss man. When I was in primary school I wanted to be an archeologist (basically because I was infatuated with Indiana Jones), then I found out you don’t really get to fight zombies and run around ancient ruins. I was always drawing. I was a bit of a gumby kid when it came to sports so avoided all that and hung in the library and sketched pictures out of comics, then one of my teachers told me I should be a cartoonist. That sounded pretty cool until I realized what cartoonists actually did.
Cinzah’s home studio is chocka with toys and treasures – like his awesome 80′s stereo collection…
I went to ELAM for one year then dropped out. I did really well and got great grades while I was there, but constantly questioned if it was right for me, I got sick of having to constantly justify every image I wanted to create, and back things up with crazy amounts of thematic research, so jumped ship and went out on my own trip. After my short stint at art school a whirl wind of events took place in 2006 – which ended up me canning University education altogether, crushing a vertebrae and being hospitalized for 7 weeks flat on my back – having my first art show at the Depot in Devonport – setting up and running a gallery space on Queen St (Treehouse Gallery) – curating a number of NZ and international based exhibitions – Meeting some rad illustrators – traveling – painting copious amounts of walls – traveling some more – then getting offered a spot with Watermark.
…and his studio at Watermark is a home-away-from-home.
I work as an Illustrator full time with these guys now, and curate exhibitions / paint murals and teach youth art workshops in my spare time. It’s a good balance between commercial and personal projects, but It’s taken me about 7 years of hard work to get to where i’m at now.
I’ve worked a bunch of cafe jobs here and there, as freelance work can be a bit up and down sometimes. I’m still new at this game, and am constantly learning.
You’re also a seriously talented street artist – where in the world would you most like to put up a mural? Ha thanks! Best spots for me would be somewhere discrete or the complete opposite and in the publics eye. I quite like places where the viewer has to go exploring to find it, a nice hidden secret spot - adventure painting is fun. Anywhere were the artwork really engages and adds to it’s environment… Mexico looks fun, San Fran would be fun, Indonesia maybe? Either a massive multi-story building in the heart of a city, or a decrepit abandoned building in a jungle.
A piece-in-progress.
Do you have a favourite piece/work of all time?
I think my best work is still to be created.
Tell us about a good movie to see, a book to read, a website to check out, a place to visit…
‘Moonrise Kingdom’ – Wes Andersons latest flim is great! I also hear theres a really awesome documentary coming out on NZ’s public art scene – ‘Dregs’… haha. www.dregs.co.nz
Thanks, Cinzah! Get yourself a piece of his amazing work here.
Not a week goes by that we don’t dip into our reader to get a dose of blog goodness, so we thought we’d have a chat to some of the people behind them.
First up is Alana Broadhead, the curator of one of our favourite design blogs, Fancy. We’ll let the blog describe itself to you: Awesome design from New Zealand. And around the world. But mainly New Zealand.
We’ve been reading Fancy for a couple of years now. When did you start blogging?
Fancy’s been going for about 2.5 years. I’ve just checked now, and I’ve done 990 posts!
One of our must-reads every week, Fancy! NZ Design Blog
At what point did you go ‘ah, my blog is popular, people are watching it’. Did it make you change your style?
Good old Google Analytics let me know when I had more readers than just my mum. (Hi, mum!) Yeah, I guess my style has changed a little. I used to swear a lot more when I got excited about something, but someone commented that they thought my swearing was lazy. I hate the thought of being lazy, so I went for a power-walk in my shape ups, then decided to minimise my filthy curse words in future. Aside from that, I try my best not to be anything but who I am. Perhaps there is an expectation that my blog should be filled with clever and creative prose because I am a copywriter in real life… but I write and concept all day long, so Fancy is my chance to just enjoy the visual side. Seems to work.
Whats the best thing about being a blogger? Whats the suckiest thing?
I love discovering new New Zealand work and sharing it. Make more please everyone!
It’s also great that new opportunities and projects have started opening up for me. I’m meeting wickedly inspiring and ridiculously talented people, and together we’re starting to work on projects or talk about things we could do.
The suckiest thing is not (yet) being able to be full-time with Fancy and related projects. It wunt heppun overnoit, but ut difunutly wull heppin. That’s my joke from 1997.
Whats your fave blog….
…Of all time
Swiss-miss, and I would like to buy Tina Roth Eisenberg a nice Italian meal.
…Right now
Design Love Fest, oh yes.
…For interiors
Seriously too many to mention! Lemme pick two – Design Sponge for real lived-in looking homes, Nordic Design because I’m freaky for Scandi style.
…For design
There’s nothing like a fresh identity to get my heart racing, and September Industry and Identity Designed both serve up the quality. Friends of Type are friends indeed, and Designspiration is a good eye candy too, with a scrapbook flavour.
So what’s up for Fancy in 2013?
A complete re-design (at long last) and more content, as I plan to give Fancy a lot more time. Ooh, and some other exciting things which are about taking the Fancy brand offline – one of which is printed, the other an event.
Finally, got any tips for start-up bloggers to get them over the global average 3 month lifespan?
Only blog if you would do it for free for years, with no recognition at all. It’s not glamorous, unless you think New Zealand’s Got Talent is also glamorous. On the same note, pick a niche that you personally really love, even if it’s a photo blog of awkward office party dancing. It doesn’t mean you can’t evolve into awkward family reunion dancing, but at least it’ll keep you going when it feels like no-ones reading.
Chances are, Fancy is already in your bookmarks. But if not, check it out here.
