STOP PRESS: HAPPYDESIGNER HAVE MOVED! As announced in our September blog, we are pleased (and VERY relieved) to announce that we are now settled into our new home, and the studio is back to full operation. The move proved to be far more problematic than we ever anticipated, but, in hindsight, we should have expected…
Autumn is here with a bang – and we love it!
Oh boy, do we love autumn – and here it is, in all its colourful glory. This year, more than ever, there seems to be a rich abundance of autumn colours and autumn produce. Wherever we walk, we are bombarded by conkers, acorns, and spectacular hues on the trees. We’re always looking for inspiration for…
Words without images – like bangers without mash?
We all have children’s book illustrators who we particularly admire. Some may be childhood classics, or we may be drawn (pardon the pun) to illustrators of more modern children’s literature. Many are both author and illustrator, and there’s no finer example than Beatrix Potter, whose series of stories based on animals are so loved by…
And the winner is… Happydesigner!
It may not be the Oscars, the BAFTAs, or the Oliviers, but we are thrilled to bits here at Happydesigner to have won an award for our children’s book illustration business. We have been named Illustration Studio of the Year 2022 in the annual Prestige Awards. These awards were set up to recognise the hard…
Happydesigner and the Chelsea Flower Show
We are proud as punch to announce some very exciting news, here at Happydesigner. We have branched out (pardon the pun) and been commissioned to illustrate the design for a garden that will be on show at no less than the Chelsea Flower Show. Garden designer Jamie Butterworth, who runs Form Plants in Windsor, is creating a garden…
Seasons of mist… autumn is on its way
It was just over 200 years ago, in 1820, that John Keats published possibly his most famous poem of all, Ode to Autumn. With the opening line ‘Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness’, and then referencing everything from apples, to bees, to swallows, to hazels, it’s a beautiful poem, all about this bountiful season. Poignantly,…
Introducing… new children’s books from the pen of Happydesigner
As children’s book illustrators we like to think we know a thing or two about what makes a good book for youngsters. We’ve illustrated books for children of every age, from 0, to pre-school, to primary, to teens, and we have learnt a lot along the way, from working with many wonderful authors. So now…
Making a career from a love of drawing
Meet children’s book illustrator extraordinaire, Happydesigner’s Sarah-Leigh Wills – lover of the great outdoors, who draws for a hobby as well as for a living, and who is probably named after a dessert! When did you start drawing and what was the first drawing you ever did? That’s a hard one. I have been drawing…
Not rock, paper, scissors but… trees, paper, books!
Trees. There’s nothing Marmite about trees. We’ve not come across a single person who doesn’t love trees. Even those who are pretty much wedded to being city dwellers love the fact that there are parks and green places dotted around, all with trees in them. We have an additional reason to love trees at Happydesigner….