Name, Location, Occupation
Elizabeth Olwen, Toronto, Surface Designer
Please describe your workspace:
I
have a beautiful, bright studio in my home that I'm completely in love
with. It's got nice big windows that look out onto the very cute street
we live on. I've tried to fill the space with things that inspire me… I
have a wall of floral prints that occupies the wall in front of my desk.
I have a shelf with my favourite collectibles (I love thrift shops and
antique stores). My favourite thing in the studio is my nice big desk
that was a DIY project. I found the legs on a table destined for the
dump which I painted teal, and repurposed an old tabletop which I
painted white.
What are you working on right now?
Right now, I'm preparing for my first art licensing trade
show in May (Surtex! Booth 752!), so my walls are plastered with my
pattern collections, along with mood boards and doodles for new
collections. I'm working on developing new work as much as I can.
What has been your most rewarding project to date?
Definitely
my notecard set with TeNeues, a global publisher and well-known in the
art licensing industry. They saw my work on the Print & Pattern blog
and contacted me about doing some stationery with them and I was
ecstatic. It was at the very beginning of my surface design journey and
was a major boost for me. It made me realize that maybe my pattern
dreams just might be attainable. The most thrilling experience was
walking into an Indigo here in Toronto and seeing the cards for sale… It
was an out-of-body experience and I cried some happy tears. I've also
got a few new projects coming out soon which I'm really excited about…
stay tuned on that!
Which designer and artists inspire you?
I
have always loved Matisse. His work is so joyful and is a celebration
of life. The world is already so complex, sometimes it's nice to just
have something that's simple and uncomplicated that exists simply to
make the world a more beautiful place – a nice escape from the crazy
world we live in. I also love Marimekko, Sanna Annukka, Orla Kiely, Leah
Duncan, Emily Isabella, and tons of others!
Has there been a defining moment or turning point when you realized what you wanted to do for a living?
A
few years ago, my boyfriend and I decided to take a creative sabbatical
in Berlin. The whole idea was to just get away from our regular life,
and give ourselves the time we'd never really had to play around and
work on whatever we wanted to work on. I am a graphic designer by trade
and have always loved patterns, and when I was in Berlin, I quickly fell
into the groove of getting up every day and making pattern after
pattern after pattern. My head was swimming with ideas. I was
continually lost in daydreams about patterns. I came back to Toronto
with big dreams and set to work trying to figure out how to make them
happen.
What do you think is the most difficult aspect of working in design?
My
background is graphic design and I have to say the hardest part has
been achieving creative fulfillment. I think a lot of designers struggle
with that. We're creative people, but our jobs are often highly
practical and ultimately, sales-driven. It's a challenge to find a way
to merge the two. I'm feeling really lucky right now — lately, clients
have been contacting me because they saw my personal work somewhere and
they're interested in licensing it, which is amazing! Best of both
worlds!
What are you reading at the moment?
I
just picked up Sanna Annukka's beautifully-illustrated book, The Fir
Tree by Hans Christian Anderson. Apart from that, I've been pretty
focused on preparing for Surtex so my reading list reflects this — I've
been researching art licensing, looking at old pattern books, flipping
through Elle Decoration, and reading blogs.
What websites do you visit for inspiration?
Print & Pattern blog, Oh Joy, Design Crush, DesignLoveFest, Creature Comforts, and Retro to Go
What are your simplest daily pleasures?
A cup of tea and something sweet! And sunshine, precious sunshine.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Well,
right now Orla Kiely is my idol. She started out with patterns and has
worked them into so many areas of design… wallpaper, fashion,
housewares, designer collaborations, you name it. If I could accomplish a
sliver of what she's done, I'd be over the moon.