The Card Designer Highlight is a collection that includes unbiased makers whose greeting playing cards you’ll find in Paper Supply shops. Meet and be impressed by a brand new designer each month on our weblog!
This month we wish to introduce our card designer Lichia Liu of Gotamago. Learn how Lichia makes use of her platform as a illustration of private id whereas that includes motifs like meals to diversely join folks and share her greeting playing cards nation large.
How did you start your card-making profession?
I’ve saved journey sketchbooks most of my life, documenting what I see in international environments. After one significantly lengthy interval away from dwelling, working and travelling in Asia and Europe, I started sharing a few of my sketches on-line – first simply with household and pals, after which extra broadly on social media. To my delight, I started receiving inquiries from strangers on the place to buy my artwork. To start with, I made them into artwork prints and bought them on Etsy. It wasn’t till a retailer requested if I’d take into account making them into greeting playing cards for consignment that I realised I’ve came upon one thing thrilling. I spent the subsequent few weeks educating myself tips on how to create a wholesale stationery enterprise, and shortly after, launched Gotamago with eight card designs at a neighborhood artwork market.
Over time, I’ve come to know that playing cards are a particularly democratic strategy to share artwork. Whereas unique work will not be reasonably priced for everybody, a greeting card makes for an accessible and versatile piece of decor. When our prospects share their photographs of playing cards framed on their partitions, I’m heartened to know that my artwork is part of their on a regular basis lives.
The place do you draw inspiration from? Meals? Pop Tradition? Timeless Motifs? Playful Puns?
I all the time begin from issues that I like: cultural change, city sketching, and phrase play.
Once I first began designing playing cards, I didn’t see any of my Taiwanese-Canadian id represented within the playing cards out there on the North American market; so, I made them myself. Meals is among the best methods to attach cultures, and so Asian meals is a outstanding theme in lots of my designs.
City sketching was a pure development from my journey sketching days. I’m part of a world artwork community known as City Sketchers, whose mission is to doc the world via sketching. I’m fascinated by the methods folks work together with their environments, and might sit for hours sketching on website, absorbing the city panorama round me. It’s my favorite strategy to uncover new cities.
And eventually, wordsmithing is a strong pressure behind my creativity. Typically the phrases come after I’m strolling the canine or doing dishes, and I’d be so excited that I textual content my husband Christopher and see whether or not he laughs. If it’s unique and humorous, it’s a winner.
What does your day seem like as a card maker and designer?
After dropping off my youngsters at college and daycare, I head to the studio to begin my work day. We function out of a small constructing in a sleepy neighbourhood in East Toronto; on the entrance of the studio is our flagship retail store, Silver Antelope. I make espresso, and spend a little bit of time basking within the quiet earlier than the crew arrives. That is my inventive time, and I’ll generally draw, or do some planning and strategizing, relying on my temper.
Our crew begins filling the studio round 10am. I examine in with Heather, Kelly and Ellie about our present workload, wholesale and retail order fulfilment progress, and all of us snigger over the newest reel that Amy’s made concerning the mysterious googly eyes which are popping up everywhere in the studio. Rowan and I focus on new window shows and issues which are low on the retail cabinets. I seek advice from Lauren and Amy about newsletters, social media posts, upcoming design releases and artistic workshops. Christopher takes away the day’s order deliveries and provide lists, and I ship out buy orders for merchandise which are working low. We don’t print something in-house, however we work carefully with our native printers and producers at each step of the method, one thing that I’m very happy with.
Within the afternoon I attempt to ignore emails and social media, and sort out bigger inventive tasks. Then it’s off to do college pickups and make dinner! After the children are in mattress, I could curl up on the sofa to do bookkeeping in entrance of the TV.
On a regular basis looks like a whirlwind, however we’ve got an unimaginable dream crew, and I really feel very fortunate to have the ability to spend a lot time with my household whereas doing what I like.
What’s your most popular medium?
Although I’ve all of the digital devices, I nonetheless love drawing straight on paper the perfect. Most of my illustrations are executed with ink and watercolour, and lots of of them are taken straight out of my sketchbook. Although not as refined as work executed within the studio, sketchbook drawings convey a sure “within the second” feeling that may’t be duplicated.
Extra not too long ago, I’ve been experimenting with direct watercolour – that’s, spontaneous watercolour portray with none ink or pencil outlines. It’s difficult and runs opposite to all of the methods I’ve labored prior to now, but it surely additionally provides me a rush of freedom and pleasure. I’m a planner by nature, so studying to embrace the unpredictable aspect of watercolour has been a humbling course of.
What does your inventive course of seem like?
When concepts come to me, I jot them down in my sketchbook, irrespective of how arbitrary. Typically the smallest doodle will soar again at me years later and turn into a good looking design; it simply wanted incubation time! As soon as I’ve settled on each the illustration and the greeting phrase, I begin making ink drafts.
I’ve a lightpad, which I take advantage of as a information to attract the ink outlines time and again with a purpose to develop muscle reminiscence and nail down the correct expression. (I used to be delighted to be taught that Quentin Blake makes use of the identical methodology.) Once I’m glad with the define, I transfer on to my favorite half – including watercolours and seeing the illustration come to life.
Lastly, I scan and edit the illustrations digitally, after which hand write the greeting with my Apple pencil. I used to do that half with fountain pens and scanners, however shifting it onto the ipad has sped issues up significantly. As soon as all the pieces is edited, we will transfer to structure and formatting for the printer.
What are you most happy with as a creator and card maker?
Seeing my work remodeled into merchandise which are shared and loved around the globe is the perfect feeling. Over time, I’ve obtained letters from great strangers, telling me how my playing cards have touched their lives. There are tales of my playing cards utilized in marriage proposals, in private correspondence to presidents, and as phrases of encouragement throughout robust occasions; I acquire these tales like pearls on a necklace, and revisit them after I want a reminder of why I make artwork.
I’m additionally extremely happy with the enterprise we’ve constructed collectively as a crew; we’ve created not only a studio and store, but in addition a neighborhood hub, with a powerful custom of giving again. When my daughter tells me she desires to be like me when she grows up, I really feel like I’m doing one thing proper.
Any private tidbits? Particular skills/enjoyable details?
During the last yr, I’ve been educating myself seen mending, largely as a result of my youngsters hold tearing their garments, and I can’t bear to ship them to the landfill. It’s splendidly meditative, although perhaps not essentially the most sensible inventive outlet; because it seems, my youngsters adore the visibly mended garments and can put on them much more vigorously after they’re mended, leading to…yup, extra tears!
Discover Gotamago Playing cards, reminiscent of Lager Than Life Birthday Card, and Rarest of Them All Father’s Day Card at our native retailer or on-line at papersource.com. For extra inspiration and behind-the-scenes motion, observe @go.tamago on IG.
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