Dream Large!

Happy Monday!

We hope you are dreaming large today & feeling motivated!

Rachael & Kelly :)

Sarah Walsh

Recently Rachael announced that she is now a proud member of the Lilla Rogers Studio. For the next few months we have decided to feature a regular weekly showcase from Lilla's esteemed group of designers & Illustrators. Today we bring you the lovely Sarah Walsh.

Sarah Walsh is an illustrator based in Kansas City, USA. Sarah is the newest member of Lilla Rogers Studio. Sarah's illustrations are quirky, colorful & unique.  Sarah likes to stay traditional with her illustrations using pencil, pen & gouache but tends to use a bit of Photoshop towards the end. Sarah stays inspired by almost everything but believes a good nights sleep is key. But she does find mid-century illustrations, art & design extremely inspiring. Sarah has many clients including Crayola, Hallmark Cards, Jennifer Betrand Designs & more. Enjoy, Hannah.

More about MaJoBV!

Good morning creative people!

Welcome to a Beauty morning with me, MaJo :) This week though, Rachael gave me the chance to tell you guys a bit more about myself, so my weekly Beauty Breakdown will be posted next Tuesday afternoon (a one time exception). 

This quote really helped me feel better on a sad day… you can read more about it here.

You already know the basics about me: I'm a Colombian living in Milan, Fashion, Textile and Surface Pattern Designer in L♥VE with whimsical, bright, quirky, fun design, nail-art, dogs and fake eyelashes :) So far 2013 has been a great year for me: I was chosen as one of the Top 10 designers to participate in REPEAT(ed), became an Artscase artist, was chosen by Rachael to be one of her guest bloggers, and have some more great news in the boiling pot :) I'm just really thankful for all the amazing things that have happened so far, and I'm very excited for the road I'm paving for myself: I'm sure it'll take me far… I just have to believe it!

Anyway… I would like to take advantage of this free post I was given to also talk more about my life in Europe and why I'm here. I can't really explain why, but ever since I was little I wanted to live in Paris. Life works in different ways, so I ended up moving to Milan instead. I love travelling and learning from new places and cultures, I also like change, so I don't think I will stay here forever… I would like to experience long term stays in other European cities too, so I might move to Paris someday in my life, who knows, right? 

People wonder why I choose to be here instead of choosing my own country and family and all the comforts I could have there… well, I guess the quick answer is: I like creating my own success, even when there is an easier way to choose. I miss my family A LOT! but I was taught to be independent and to work for what I want, and all I want is to prove my family I'm strong and capable enough to do so :) 

Il Duomo di Milano - I literally cried the first time I found myself in front of it. It is just stunning and every time I see it I realise how lucky I am to be in such a historical city. 

Searching deeper, there are many more reasons why I like living here: Europe is filled with art, history and culture… everywhere you go, everywhere you look you breath in years and years of inspiration. Europe is a really small continent, but so culturally rich it seems huge. I love travelling, and moving around Europe is very easy and also cheap if you find the right offer. I love the fact that I can take a plane and be in Berlin, Paris or Madrid in an hour or so. I have over 25 countries with their own language, culture, traditions at the palm of my hand… I feel I'm on the World's bellybutton, and I love it!

I took this picture one day while walking to work… it is the courtyard of a beautiful old building in downtown Milan, and I just found everything about it beautiful. So many architectural motifs to be inspired by. I wanted to show you an example of how easy and simple it is here to find things that just take your breath away :) 

I don't know where life will take me, I don't know if I'll live the rest of my life in Europe or if I'll eventually move back to Colombia… I might, so I'm trying to soak in as much inspiration as I can while I'm here. One thing is true though, inspiration is everywhere… even in the tiniest of places, even in front of wherever you are now sitting reading this post. We all just need to learn to observe, and we'll be able to find beauty everywhere!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read this personal post. I hope you've enjoyed getting to know me a bit better. I leave you with some of my newest work (and a couple of oldies) hoping to still inspire you today. Have a great day, MaJo.

Also my beautiful country (Colombia) serves me as inspiration… actually, it is always present in my work even if not always as literal as in this design which was inspired by the colonial architecture and colours  of the gorgeous city of Cartagena. 

Allison Cole

Recently Rachael announced that she is now a proud member of the Lilla Rogers studio. For the next few months we have decided to feature a regular weekly showcase from Lilla's esteemed group of designers & Illustrators. Today we bring you the wonderful Allison Cole.

Allison is an illustrator based in Rhode Island, USA. Each of Alison's illustration are hand-drawn traditionally particularly with inks and then manipulated on computer with Adobe Illustrator. Allison participates in gallery shows and lecturing. She also designs and creates comics, surface design and cut-paper collages. Allison has several clients including Alternative Comics, Swindle Magazine, Tiny Showcase and many more. You can follow Allison on Twitter @allison_cole and read her blog. Allison also has an online Etsy shop selling prints, stationery and tote bags. Enjoy, Hannah.

Designer Charity Doodle Wall - Day 1!

Here are some fantastic photos of Day 1 of the exciting live event 'Designer Charity Doodle Wall', that ran from the 16th-18th September at Top Drawer London! Day 1 showcased designers & sisters, Monica Escobar & Ximena Escobar, the lovely Louise Gale & the talented Jessica Hogarth! All three have such a lovely illustrative, detailed style that contrasted well with Rachael's signature, doodle style.

A huge thank you goes to Wallpapered.com for kindly sponsoring the event! We hope you enjoy the post - Kelly.

The lovely Louise Gale (above)

The talented Escobar sisters (above)  

Jessica Hogarth & Rachael doodling

Jessica Hogarth drawing with Rachael

A HUGE thank you to everyone who took part & you can still donate to this cause by visiting our Just Giving Page! Look out for day 2 on Monday!

Typography Served

Happy typography Friday!

Something very special for you today, in the form of illustrated lyrics to the well known Beatles song 'Hey Jude'! 'Typography Served' is an online site of curated work from the leading creatives of Behance.  The site therefore lets talented designers, illustrators & artists showcase their work, such as Italian Stefano Agabio who drew the beautiful, hand-drawn typography below. The project was created in April 2012, & follows the song line for line.

To see the illustrations to the rest of the song click here. You can visit the Typography served website & see more talent, here!