March Meet The Maker

Today I stumbled across a hashtag on Instagram that sounded like it might be just right for me to get involved with. Let me explain - over on her blog, illustrator Joanne Hawker (http://www.joannehawker.co.uk/) decided to create #MarchMeetTheMaker 

She writes; After getting a little frustrated that I couldn't find an Instagram Challenge that I wanted to take part in, I decided to make my own instead! This is how #MarchMeetTheMaker was born. 

This challenge is to help small businesses such as myself to tell the story behind the brand. It also aims to give an insight into the face, process and hard work that goes into creating all of the beautiful products we have to offer.

(see it all here)

So, for the month of March, she has suggested the following:

http://www.joannehawker.co.uk/2016/02/marchmeetthemaker-instagram-challenge.html

Being a brand new small business I thought it might be a really useful exercise for me to participate in. I'm not sure how far I'll get but here it goes! 

1. Brand Image

I have chosen to use my hand lettering, using my dip pen to write 'Alice Draws The Line' and my illustrations of cones to be my brand image. This works best as my website header (above) and e-mail footer when I use it in full like this...

It is a little Larch cone, a Black Pine cone and a Douglas Fir Cone (working left to right from the left!). These I drew at Christmas for one of my Christmas Card designs (which you can see here!) and I like the fact that it combines my love of both the woods and illustration.

However, the long thin brand image doesn't suit all formats so, on my shop image there is a reduced-cone version! I'm working on a version for my Instagram and Twitter accounts. 

Joining the dots

I can vividly remember sitting in the careers room at school, being asked what job I'd like when I was older. I wasn't sure. I was told to have a look at the helpful A-Z of Careers poster on the wall above the desk and say which ones appealed...

I looked through them all and read out three that interested me. The careers man asked me to go away and have another think.

After A'Levels I did an Art Foundation course, I loved Art and it gave me some thinking time before making a career commitment in the guise of a University course. At the end of this great year my tutor decided I was destined for Mixed Media Illustration... I decided Education was where I was heading, and that I'd keep Art as a hobby (although I was very tempted by a degree in Calligraphy, my favourite wild card at the time).

I'm now 11 years into my career in Education, more specifically working with children, young people and adults in woods through Forest School. I love it. Being outside is part of me. It doesn't feel quite right if I haven't had my daily dose of fresh air. Checking in on what is happening outside, where we are in the year, what is growing, blossoming, coming into leaf or going over. 

Illustration has remained a hobby throughout. I have done a Drawing a Day for several years now as regular blog readers will be all too familiar with! Now however, with a change in my hours at work, I've decided to see where the illustration can go. 

So, I'm going to join the dots and combine the two... here goes!

And finally... I'm braving the world of Facebook, do 'like' my page