ABOUT

I love wonder and wildness and all things delicate and pretty. I’m a surface designer and illustrator known for my ethereal and whimsical style and my soft, dreamy colour palettes—recently featured in Uppercase and In Her Studio magazines. My art has been licensed for stationery, gifts, fabric and décor in Europe, Canada and USA, and I also enjoy freelance projects and commissions. 

For me, inspiration comes from flora and fauna, vintage and bohemian aesthetics, Eastern cultures and childlike wonder. I work from my bright attic studio in my early 1900s home on the outskirts of Vancouver, Canada, surrounded by fabric swatches and paper products, ornate treasures and bits of nature. Beyond my studio, I adore travelling abroad, sewing with my mom’s 1940s Piedmont, and reading and cooking with my son.

STORY

Amidst quiet and beauty, I am at my best. This comes in part from growing up on a rural farm. As a child, I lived in the country. I spent my days wandering through my mom’s giant flower gardens and tucking under a tree to make things with my hands. With physical space. Mental space. Room to live in my imagination. With no material distractions, I learned to be creative, live light and make time for meaningful relationships. This is still me.

I went on to live urban, work corporate and travel around the world. I found beauty in historic buildings, designed spaces, eclectic fashion and artful food. All this added colour to what had already become my spirited yet minimalist approach to life.

Eventually, I began my own boutique graphic design company, which I lived and loved for over ten years—while finding my home and starting my family. This design business became the point of inspiration for the artistic path I’m now on.

TODAY

The flora and fauna that surrounded me in childhood, and in my own garden where I paint today, have become themes of my artwork as a pattern designer and illustrator.

Now, each moment is about discovering and expressing joy, beauty and femininity. I find my way through colour, texture and pattern. I have always loved beautifying the things we use every day. Whether it’s fabric you are sewing with, elegant paper you’re wrapping a gift with, a card on your favourite person’s birthday, the floral feature wall in your living room, a puzzle spread out on your dining table, or the delicate sweet jumper you’re dressing your child in, there is delight in having beauty around you.

I seek beauty in the natural and urban worlds, looking for ways to experience them from the inside out. I then set to work in my bright attic studio, surrounded by art and inspiration, to create something that feels beautiful and honest.

FABRIC & PAPER LOVE

I design fabric because I love everyday beauty that gets passed down and reused—collecting memories along the way. I grew up with a sewing machine whirring in the background. I remember using scraps to make doll clothes as a child and altered fashion to express myself in my twenties. Now, as a mom and artist, the sewing machine is whirring again. My love for the stories that live in fabrics inspired me to become a fabric designer so I could create beautiful patterns for all the sewers and makers. 

Paper in its many forms has been a companion of mine for as long as I can remember—beautiful notebooks tucked in my purse to capture thoughts, gifts wrapped in sophisticated floral papers, patterned boxes storing my treasures, greeting cards so beautiful they deserved a place on the mantle. And it all began long before, where as a child I created bookmarks with paper and pressed flowers, and later collaged beautiful papers together into artworks. And today I delight in designing these paper products for paper-lovers to adorn their lives with. 

HOW I WORK

I create my artwork from pen and paper starts, a dash of watercolour and gouache, and I carry these beginnings into the digital realm to complete—using Procreate, Photoshop and Illustrator to refine and weave the stories together.