Hi Jess! Tell us a bit about yourself, where you're from and what you do!
Hey!
I’m Jess, a freelance illustrator and designer living in the beautiful city of Bath, in the UK. My business started around 3 years ago after graduating from my Illustration degree at Falmouth University. I always knew I wanted to have a career in the creative industry but I was never really sure how to get there. After graduating I was lucky to have been approached by an agent who has been supporting me and my work since then, it has been fantastic to have them represent me!
What sort of art do you focus on?
I use both physical and digital mediums to create my illustrations, but painting is really my passion. I work with gouache heavily in my paintings due to its bold and playful nature and the character it gives to everything I create. For my digital illustrations, I work on my iPad, creating fun patterns that I use on my products and throughout my work.
I love painting plants, flowers, and all things botanic, so nature inspires my work a lot and I enjoy experimenting with colour and scale within my illustrations. When I’m not working with floral styles I also love to illustrate people. My characters are simple and fun and I really love adding personality to each and every one. I find the juxtaposition of fun colours, shapes and real-life situations are what really bring my work to life and give it lots of character.
I enjoy what I do because I want to make people smile and feel happy when they see my work. When I make products I want them to brighten up someone’s day.
Take us through your home studio set up
My studio is a really important space to help inspire me in my work, I have colourful artwork all over my walls as it really helps to keep me positive and focused. Creating a comfortable workspace has been a vital part of the journey of working for myself and building a business, so when the amazing team at Flokk offered to send me one of their chairs it felt like the perfect fit for my colourful working space.
You’ve been with the HÅG Capisco chair for a while now, tell us about how you’ve found it so far
For a while now I’ve suffered from a bad back, mainly due to bad posture, which is something anyone who sits at a desk all day will understand! When you’re sitting all day it’s so important to have a chair which provides both comfort and support, so I picked the gorgeous HÅG Capisco in the most wonderful coral colour fabric from Norwegian fabric designers GU.
The concept of the HÅG Capisco is inspired by a saddle on horseback and encourages a multitude of different seated positions which really helps me feel supported and comfortable with long days illustrating at my desk. The way you can adjust it to fit your body and adapt the sitting height perfectly gives me a chair that works with me.
My Flokk chair is a fantastic addition to my studio, enhancing my vibrant and fun working environment whilst also helping to improve my posture!
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Thanks to Jessica for taking the time to answer our questions, you can find her on Instagram at @jessica_smith_illustration.
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