Carolyn Gavin’s world sure does look colourful. The designer and owner of Canadian sustainable paper goods brand Ecojot finds inspiration in the colours, patterns and shapes she sees around her. I especially love her floral work – so beautiful!
Follow Carolyn on Instagram and check out her Etsy store too.
If you’re looking for a splash of colour to brighten up your Insta feed I suggest you follow May Designs. They make these really cute and colourful personalised notebooks, agendas and stationery. The patterned covers are so bright and being able to choose custom features is such a great way to get exactly what you want. If you’re a notebook fiend like me be prepared to spend ages scrolling through their pretty pictures! Follow May Designs on Instagram. You can thank me later.
Yas Imamura from Quill & Fox has long been one of my favourite designers. I’m not sure what it was exactly that drew me to her work, but it is so sweet and endearing. I have a few of her prints and I just love her illustrations. Not only is she super talented, she’s also super sweet too. Follow Yas on Instagram.
Helen Friel would have to be one of my very favourite paper artists. I’m captivated by everything she creates. She calls herself a paper engineer and I think that description is spot on. Her work is so precise with lots of sharp lines and angles and pieces that fit together perfectly. Her work appeals to my fussy, orderly side. She creates these amazing paper replicas of things like lobsters and old gramophones and they look amazing. I wonder how long it takes to create them – from imagination through to fruition? Helen uses paper in a unique way and I think it is beautiful. Follow Helen on Instagram and while you’re at it, follow me too!
Andrea Lauren is a super-talented illustrator, printmaker, and textile designer originally from England but now living in the States. She creates these intricate designs from hand carved linocuts and the results are pretty amazing.
She also has an awesome book out at the moment called Block Print which is full of tips and tricks for printing with lino blocks, rubber blocks, foam sheets, and stamp sets. Grab her book (just in time for Christmas – yay!) and follow her on Instagram.
I’ve featured Kurt Pio’s gorgeous work on the blog before and I was so enamoured by it that I had to follow him on Instagram of course (wow that sounds creepy!) If you’re not familiar with Kurt Pio, he is an artist from Cape Town and he does these amazing abstracts and gorgeous oversized faceted gems. I’ve found over the years that I like a particular style of art – kinda abstract, bold colours, especially black and white – and Kurt Pio’s work falls pretty much smack bang in the middle of it. Enjoy!
Who should I follow on Instagram? Leave the details in the comments.
This week I’m sharing the ‘gram of A Beautiful Mess. I’ve been reading Elsie’s work for more that 10 years…which is just crazy. I remember back then she was really into scrapbooking and she created some fun embellishments and stuff that I loved. Now she and her sister Emma have created a lifestyle blog – A Beautiful Mess – that is a little different than the others. I love their quirky, hands-on approach to creativity. Yep, I’m a fan.
This week’s Instagrammer – Blonde Baking Mama – is from my neck of the woods (Western Australia) and while her feed has nothing to do with paper/planners/stationery it is one of the most mind-blowing, creative Instagram accounts that I’ve seen. Ever.
Kate is the self-taught queen of extraordinary cakes and cookies and I guarantee that you’ll be gobsmacked at her brilliance. Oh, by the way, it’s probably not a good idea to view her feed on an empty stomach.
Britt Bass Turner is a painter from Georgia who loves working with colour to create unique works of art. I was drawn to her work because of it’s simplicity. All of her work has this easy-going, endless summer vibe going on. If you want more colour in your feed definitely follow Britt.
When I was in primary school I had ridiculously neat hand writing. I was obsessed with being neat. I borrowed the creatively titled Lettering Book (this is a more modern version) from the library to learn different typefaces and I’d spend ages making sure each letter was spot on. I was at the top of my hand lettering game as I transitioned into high school. Unfortunately I soon learned that bubble writing and swapping full stops for love hearts was frowned upon in high school. It was heartbreaking to realise that legibility was more important than creativity. Five years of scribbling notes killed my creative game and I never hand lettered again. So when I see the work of someone like Noel Shiveley I get super jealous and I ponder what could have been.
Noel is an amazing hand letterer from Colorado Springs who creates pin worthy pieces of art including those that fit into my favourite subgenre – poignant-and-inspirational-phrases-over-grand-landscapes. Follow Noel on Instagram and prepare to be wowed.
(How’s your hand lettering game? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook)