What do you listen to while you work?
I like to switch it up depending on what’s going on in my day. If I’m in regular work mode without any crazy deadlines, I mostly keep it in the indie rock/pop genre with a slight lean towards beachy/summer vibes. If things are getting busy and I need to crank for some tight deadlines, then I’ll put on some hardcore or metal to get me going.

How do you listen?
I use Bose desktop speakers for my home office. When I’m on the road I use Bose noise-cancelling headphones, which are great for planes, hotels, coffee shops, etc.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers?
I use iTunes mostly.

Does music influence your work?
Music is definitely a huge influence on my life, but I’m not sure it shows in my work visually. I got an advanced copy of “Phantom Pop” from my buddy’s band Wild Party and listened to it through most of my work on “A Better World Report” for Herman Miller (below). There might be a correlation there somewhere.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste?
I mostly get recommendations from friends, or a few blogs like Pitchfork, Gorilla vs Bear, and I Guess I’m Floating. I also like YouTube for rediscovering old favorites.

If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be?
Weezer during the “Blue Album” era. Perfect blend of catchy hooks and powerful guitars.

Ideal place to sit and listen to your playlist is in the Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair Outdoor (white base/frame and cool white Outdoor Weave fabric) on a deck overlooking the beach. It’s all about leaving the work world behind and getting some nice relaxation time in the sun.

What is your experience with Herman Miller?
I use the Eames Aluminum Management Group chair at home and love it. It’s great for long hours working and looks amazing as well. I also have the Eames Molded Plastic Side Chair with Wood Dowel Base for our second desk. I still want the classic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman but that’ll have to wait till we actually have room in our apartment.

Brent’s Playlist:
1. Surf Wax America, Weezer
2. Night Swim, Frankie Rose
3. Suki and Me, Alex Calder
4. Killin The Vibe, Ducktails
5. À tout à l’heure, Bibio
6. Top Bunk, Gauntlet Hair
7. I’m Not Ready, Surfer Blood
8. Atiba Song, Panda Bear
9. The Town, Little Racer
10. Teeth Grinder, Mike Krol

Photos: Brent Couchman

How much creativity can be produced within one co-working space? Plenty, if you consider that this personality-packed workspace — courtesy of illustrator, art director, and artist Will Bryant — is within a stone’s throw of the desk of Kate Bingaman-Burt, an illustrator who gave us a look around her office digs just last month. Get a new perspective on their shared studio (also the headquarters for three other illustrators/designers) in this newest tour from Portland, Oregon.

Tell us a little about yourself and your background. I am an easygoing, light-hearted Southern gentleman with a knack for goofing around. I work as an independent illustrator, art director, and artist in Portland, Oregon. As an artist I work in sculpture, events, drawing, painting, and printmaking.

I grew up in a small town in East Texas playing sports, trying to charm my neighbors, and obsessing over Michael Jordan. My family is all from Mississippi, so I spent summers there and eventually attended Mississippi State University. I had no clue what graphic design was or that I was going to major in it. I am very fortunate that Kate Bingaman-Burt, long-time friend and mentor, was starting out her teaching career there. She, among other faculty members, had a huge impact on me. Being in a secluded Southern town with very few design agencies and resources, I developed the ability to display my personality on the internet. I made friends! (Not in real life, but was in dialogue with contemporary designers and illustrators.) I was making piles of work and trying to figure out what I wanted to do.

I began throwing themed dance parties under the persona “The Hooded Deer,” which brought together an amazing community. What started as a DIY house party quickly exploded into a collaborative production with a huge stage and professional lighting and sound. It was an over-stimulating, excessively visual bombardment of positive energy and healthy dancing. It was about sharing music, having a positive attitude, and creating the opportunity for people to have a good time, frat brothers and art students alike.

After graduating, I married my childhood sweetheart and we moved to Austin, Texas. There, I expanded my style and voice at Public School, a studio composed of designers, illustrators, and photographers. For almost three years I learned about the business side of freelancing and worked on numerous collaborative projects with some amazing folks.

In 2011, we moved to Portland so I could pursue an MFA in Contemporary Art Practice and teach alongside Kate at Portland State University. For two years I immersed myself in unfamiliar territory (Contemporary Art) and tried to once again find myself, but in a new way. I tried to experiment, absorb, and challenge myself in this new territory. What I discovered was that there isn’t much distinction between my work and me as a person. At first I thought of having a split studio practice of commercial work and exhibition work. But it’s not really split; it’s mashed together, blurring the lines between the two.

My work stems from Push Pin Studios, Space Jam, Memphis Group (especially Sottsass & Shire), Saul Steinberg, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, Geoff McFetridge, Andy Warhol, Talking Heads, and Hannah Barbera/Looney Tunes cartoons. Lately, I’ve been into the work of Matt Connors, Brian Bress, Julia Dault, Wendy White, Alex De Corte, Ben Medansky, and Anna Lomax.

I have just completed my MFA, so what’s next? I am easing back into full-time freelance work and will also continue teaching and working on personal projects (in and around the art world). I hope to do more installations, pattern-based projects, and sculptural work.

Tell us about your studio space. What’s the aesthetic? What do you like or dislike about it? My space, aka “Will’s World,” has beautiful light, high ceilings, and great energy from wonderful people. The aesthetic is a “controlled color blast hyper field”—think Pee Wee meets Jock Jams meets the trippy star gate scene from “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

In response to my space, my friend Nicole said, “I am looking inside your head, or your inbox, or your bookmarks folder: this is perfect!” There’s a lot happening on the walls, but my desk is relatively clean. Everything has a place. My wall is covered with inspiring things that other people have made and some things I have made. At Public School, I had it mostly tucked in flat files or in boxes. Now it exists above my head as constant hovering confetti. It makes me so very happy! What would I change? I am planning on investing in an even nicer task chair and would eventually like to replace the desk itself with a custom table with brightly powder-coated legs from my talented friend Eric Trine.

My secondary space is at my home — upstairs next to my wife’s office. I have a beautiful George Nelson Swag Leg Desk that I use for reading, correspondence, and drawing (no India ink!). There’s not as much personality going on up there, but I’ll likely make some changes since I am finished with school.

Today, Patrick splits his time between illustrating for clients like The New Yorker and Nike, and running his own venture, Chester Wallace, in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Named after his two grandfathers, the company creates bag designs that find inspiration in Portland’s bicycle culture and a need to easily cart things from Point A to Point B. The versatile totes and carryalls, popular since their introduction, are locally hand-cut and -sewn — an important factor to Patrick. “That way, you are immediately able to change things and pay attention to details and to relationships,” he says. “You get the sense that you are forming a community out of it. You become a little team, and you do your utmost to make sure everybody wins. That’s really satisfying.”

Patrick’s unique way of seeing the world (not to mention his impeccable taste) drew the attention of the Herman Miller team, who asked him to help style the Herman Miller Pop-Up Shop in New York City in 2012. “The space was really fun to fill out. We wanted it to be like the ‘home’ of Herman Miller, with rooms containing the furniture and the things that that person, that spirit, would live with,” he says. “We sourced a lot of ceramics and art. And since designers Charles and Ray Eames were interested in collecting things, we also included lots of collections.”

Since being part of the Pop-Up shop team, Patrick has continued to share his eye and his talent with Herman Miller, including styling for the healthcare division as well as additional retail projects. “I am so impressed with the creative bunch of people at Herman Miller,” he says. “I feel really fortunate to have crossed paths with them.” And we feel fortunate, too. In fact, today’s clue in our “Everywhere in Your Day” contest is inspired by the artist. Check out the Herman Miller Store now for your chance to spy Patrick’s creation — and for your chance to win the grand prize: an Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Good luck!

Photos and image: chesterwallace.com and patricklong.net

Can you give us a little info on your background? I graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2002. I work as an illustrator and pattern designer in Brooklyn, New York. I do editorial work for newspapers and magazines like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, and Bloomberg Businessweek. I also make patterns and have a range of products like wallpaper, stationery, and fabric and make patterns for companies like Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and Crate and Barrel. I authored and co-authored The Where, the Why and the How, Farm Anatomy, The Exquisite Book, and Drawn In and am currently working on a book about New York City that will come out next year. I’m also part of a three-person company called ALSO with designer Jenny Volvovski and animator Matt Lamothe.

Tell us about yourself and your work: what you’re passionate about, what inspires you, and where you’re going. Lately, I’ve become more interested in working on self-driven projects. Whether it’s a book project or a set of patterns, I like doing work that generated from my own ideas because it gives me complete freedom to do what I want. I’m currently trying to experiment with new mediums, too. I’ve always drawn with a tight pen line so lately I’ve been switching to a thicker brush and trying to loosen my work up a bit. I’d really like to push the handmade quality of my drawings and use the computer as little as possible.

Describe your studio space. What’s the aesthetic? What do you like or dislike about it? How is it different from your home office? The studio is great because it’s completely different from my home office. At home, I have a tiny room that’s basically closet-size and it’s always a complete mess. Sometimes you can’t see the floor because there are papers and drawings everywhere. I decided to have this second space because I wanted a cleaner place that I could go to to work on bigger projects, away from my computer. I bring my laptop to the studio, but mostly I come here to paint and draw. It’s about a 35-minute walk from my apartment in our Park Slope neighborhood to the studio in the area of Crown Heights. I like that it gives me an excuse to walk a little bit, especially now that the weather is getting so nice.

The space has really high ceilings and great light. There are two enormous windows and they look out over subway tracks. The train runs right outside the window every 20 minutes, only a few feet away. The first few times it happened I gasped because it comes so close.

Before Caroline and I moved in here, her boyfriend, designer Joel Speasmaker, shared it with Meredith and another designer. Joel left some of his stuff behind for us to use which includes shelves, flat files, and a giant ladder that they found. He has great taste, so we’re lucky that he’s lending his furniture to us.

The floor above us has another studio of our friends, illustrators/designers Josh Cochran, Mike Perry, and Jim Datz. It’s great to have them close by to visit or get coffee with.

Tell us about your studio mates. What are the advantages of sharing the space with Caroline and Meredith? What’s a typical day like? Do you influence or inspire each other? Caroline Hwang is an amazing illustrator and artist and Meredith Jenks is a super talented photographer. But honestly, we don’t see each other that much. We have such different schedules that it is pretty rare that all three of us are working here at the same time. The day we took these pictures was an exception.

Caroline is here nights and I get to see what she’s been doing when I get in the next day. Lately she’s been indigo-dying fabric which looks like a crazy science experiment. There are tubs filled with colored liquids lining one side of the studio. Her results are stunning, rich blue fabric pieces and color-saturated clumps of yarn hanging around the studio drying. She’s preparing for a big show coming up at Beginnings, a gallery she, Joel, and some other friends run in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Sometimes she’s working on illustrations in studio and she uses embroidery in most of her work. Her desk is full of string of every color and there’s bin under her desk full of hundreds of fabric pieces. I’m always peeking at her desk to see what she’s been up to, whether it’s a drawing for a New York Times article or a little zine she’s put together.

Meredith keeps absolutely tidy and it’s rare that I can tell what she’s been working on since it goes straight from her camera to the computer. The other day, though, I found a stack of gorgeous test proofs from a shoot in our recycling bin and had a hard time throwing them out. She’s able to really capture stories in her photos and they all have such beautiful bright palettes. One of my favorite photos of hers, that she hung behind her desk, is a photo of an abandoned ice cream cone that had fallen to the pavement. Caroline asked her if she set the whole thing up because it seemed to be such a perfectly captured moment, but Meredith said she just found it that way. It takes a really good eye to notice that something like that would make such a striking picture. Currently she’s traveling for a big editorial photo shoot of some famous chefs.

You have a few vintage Eames molded plywood dining chairs in the studio. Which chair is it, and why did you choose it? What do you like about it? In the middle of the studio, we have a little common area that has a table and a couple Eames molded plywood chairs. These we also got from Joel and were all in place when I arrived at the studio. I asked Joel where he got them and he told me he found them at a small furniture store in Richmond, Virginia, many years ago. I always eat my lunch at the middle table; they’re pretty comfortable.

Photo: Meredith Jenks

What do you listen to while you work?
I have a pretty broad taste, but when I really need to bury myself into a project, I usually have something electronic or ambient playing. It helps keep me focused.

How do you listen?
I have the studio to myself all day, so I pretty much just blare the computer speakers.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers?
Designers.MX, Pandora, Spotify, Daytrotter, and Audiotree are some of my favorites.

Does music influence your work?
It sure does. When designing anything tech related, I listen to a lot of Kraftwerk and Underworld. One example is the playing cards I did for Bicycle [above]. I also do a lot of illustrations based off of Morrissey lyrics. A lot of great things to work with there.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste?
My friends are constantly sending me songs on Spotify. Other than that, I usually find new artists on Daytrotter or Audiotree.

If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be?
I would have to say Bruce Springsteen. I have been a really big fan for some time now. I love the stories he tells with his songs and I try to do the same with my design and illustrations.

Ideal place to sit and listen to your playlist is: the Goetz Sofa in Walnut Veneer, Neon Messenger Fabric, and a Night Crush Fabric for the accent. (My favorite piece has always been the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. I shall own one someday.)

Luke’s Playlist:
1. One Million Lovers, The Growlers
2. The Sky is Black, Window Twins
3. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Santa Esmeralda
4. Well I Wonder, The Smiths
5. Wrecking Ball, Emmylou Harris
6. Midnight Confessions, The Grass Roots
7. How Long, Ace
8. Born to Be Wild, Steppenwolf
9. In Dreams, Roy Orbison
10. The Partisan, Leonard Cohen
11. Solitary Man, Neil Diamond
12. City of Night, Bruce Springsteen

Photos: Luke Bott

Tell us about your background. As a kid I grew up drawing logos, cartoons, and Nintendo game characters with my older brother, Brad. I was always more attracted to simple graphics. Along with drawing I was always taking something apart and trying to rebuild it or re-purpose scrap components for something else. Every day I was making some type of Rube Goldberg machine or drawing in my sketch pad (an 18″ x 24″ spiral bound).

I got my BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD. I moved back to Cincinnati after graduating and got married to my wife Jennifer. We considered moving somewhere else, but made the choice to stay and invest in the city and continue to grow the amazing friendships we had here.

Most of my inspiration comes from word puns, strange human interactions, and the overlap between Art and Design. Some of my favorite artists include Henri Matisse, Charley Harper, Saul Steinberg, M.C. Escher, Paul Rand, René Magritte, and Josef Albers.

I have always wanted to build our own house. I love the concept of the Eames House, Case Study House #8, and the environment it created for their work.

Tell us about your space. Any special considerations that influenced its set up? The studio is the top floor of our house.  I used to have my studio downtown, but after we moved we compressed our residence onto just the first floor to allow for a studio to be combined. The setup is great because I have all my workspaces on one floor.  There is a main studio where I make most of my work, a workshop with all my tools and materials, a music room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The space is very efficient. I can walk downstairs at any time to see my family, eat a snack, hang out, and head back upstairs to work. The idea of the home studio is extremely appealing and I would love to have it also function as a guest house for friends and other artists.

You have a few pieces by Charles and Ray Eames in your office. Why did you choose them? They are just as nice to look at as they are to sit in. Every line is so simple and beautiful. They are easily the best chairs we own.

Photos: Andrew Neyer

How long have you worked from home? I’ve been working from home full time as freelance graphic designer for 3 years, I’m working mostly in the fields of institutional and culture communication in France. I am also an illustrator, which I enjoy most and I try to post a sketch as often as possible on my tumblr blog. I would love create children books now! I’ve always had a place to draw where I lived as long as I can remember.

And where is home? Our home is in Lille, in the north of France, between Paris, Brussels, London and Amsterdam. I really enjoy living in one of Europe’s cross roads. We bought our house 2 years ago from one of my partner’s former architecture teachers. I like the idea that the place where I spend most of my days has been a home office for a long time.

Describe your style? How would you define your aesthetic? The house was built in 1930, we are furnishing it slowly with furniture found in jumble sales or vintage stores from the 30′s to the 50′s. The home office is the place where I feel free to stick any pictures I love anywhere on the walls just because I want to be able to see them all the time (and take it away when I’ve had enough of it). It is full of tins, old books and toys I find everywhere.

How do you keep your office organized? I’m thinking here of the physical space but also your computer. I organize myself with a pen and a paper – everything starts in my big blue notepad (they are always the same, I only change the colors of cover when I buy a new one). All my lifework is in there. I once threw one away by mistake, and had to have a look in the street paper recycling bin to find it… my neighbors thought I’d gone mad that day. When my notepad’s closed my workday is finished. Also shelves! Plenty of them –  so that books, magazines etc. can stand vertically, instead of horizontally in piles. Filling the shelves with the books I love when moving in, it is always a great pleasure.

Are there any particular programs you find really useful? I use Skype everyday, it changed my way of working in team with other freelance graphic designers, they became kind of colleagues in a way!

When you were setting up your home office what did you keep in mind? When we moved into this house the ground floor walls, where I work now, were already covered with bookshelves which was ideal, and the former landlord had given us a beautiful old “double desk”. We just had to refresh the white paint, sit down, and work. We added a big old workshop table where I like to draw because it is far from the computer and a big “cat-approved” sofa to make the place warm and comfortable, friends are always welcome to sit down and have a drink and a biscuit.

Is there any piece of home office furniture you covet? Honestly not really…  I might need to find a place on the walls for a proper inspiration board to avoid flyers, articles and post cards everywhere, that’s all I am thinking of for the moment.

What is a desk accessory you can’t do without? My “gigantic” screen, I miss it when working away from home on my portable computer.

What would you change about your own workspace? My workspace is a bit dark in winter, I need better lighting.

What do you most love about your space?  When the sliding glass windows are wide opened in spring and summer I feel like working outside and I love it.

What inspires you? I receive the Grain Edit newsletter every day. I love art and graphic design from the 50′s, I love the clear, simple and efficient style. I admire the way artistes use subtle and bright colors. Charley Harper is one of my favorite illustrator. I also admire japanese illustrators such as Yoshitomo Nara, for the same reasons I guess. Apart from this, I think that if you pay attention around you,  everyday life is always very inspiring.

1. How long have you worked from home? And where is home? I started doing freelance illustration upon graduating from Pratt Institute in 2007. I have an apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, that I share with my wife, Morgan Elliott, who is also an illustrator. I typically do editorial and print illustration for clients like The New Yorker, The New York Times, or McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, though I have also done work as different as designing billboards for Puma or drawing patterns for dishware.

2. Describe your style? How would you define your aesthetic? That’s tough! I probably need a few drinks to answer this accurately. I’m typically attracted to an essentialized aesthetic, which is what I aim for in my illustration as well. I try to make every line count; no decoration or superfluous marks are allowed. The same goes for my living and workspace, I suppose!

3. As an illustrator with multiple clients how do you keep your office organized? I’m thinking here of the physical space but also your computer. Are there any particular programs you find really useful? Living in New York, I (along with everyone else in the city) am forced to make every square foot of my apartment count. My poor office shelving is working overtime to help me keep supplies, sketchbooks, papers, and everything else in order. A system that works for me is: whatever I’m not using at any given moment immediately goes back into storage. This helps me keep everything organized while at the same time opening up my workspace. As for my computer, I have developed a system where work is categorized first by client, then by year, then by assignment. Each assignment folder has all the reference, sketches, versions and finals.

4. Is there any piece of home office furniture you covet? I’ve always wanted an Eames Storage Unit. It would make organizing papers and supplies so much easier. I also need to bite the bullet and get a laptop at some point soon!

5. What is a desk accessory you can’t do without? I have a vintage Dazor drafting lamp that I’ve come to depend on. It’s a classic, the same kind that illustrators have used since the 1940s. It gives off the crispest light that is perfect for keeping my eyes focused on the detail of what I’m drawing; it’s also articulated in such a brilliant way that I can get light from any direction.

The other office item that I can’t do without is this turn of the century drafting table, which was manufactured at an engineering school in Worcester, Massachusetts. The angle of the top is adjustable, as is the height, making it perfect for every medium. Mine was a gift from Morgan’s father, who remembers his father (an illustrator) working on one exactly like it. Back in the 40s and 50s, there was a resurgence of interest in this kind of classic drafting table; apparently, all the young illustrators in New York and Westport, Connecticut would use them and refer to it as “working on the board.”

6. What would you change about your own workspace? I’m actually pretty satisfied with my workspace; I think that in New York, once you spend a few years doing paintings while sitting on your bed or hunched over the kitchen sink, you’re thankful for even an empty corner! But if I could change anything, more space would be nice. And yes, I did once spend a year in a studio apartment doing paintings over the kitchen sink.

7. What do you most love about your space? I get great sunlight and fresh air through two big windows. That makes such a huge difference when I’m working! It also allows me to have plants in my work area, which makes the space more inviting.

8. What inspires you? Oh, anything, everything… mostly drawing in my sketchbook or reading fiction and philosophy. Going out for long walks in the city never fails to inspire me, too.

How long have you been working from home? I’ve been working here for two years now. Over the last fifteen years I’ve worked in a variety of  studios as well as home workspaces, and I’ve got to say this is the best situation yet. Berlin apartments are huge and this one used to be three apartments. So the “commute” from home to work is, if not actually long, at least noticeable… but I can still easily start at 5am or have a mid-day nap if the mood takes me. (Below is a billboard illustration Alexander did for Australia’s Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.)

What’s a typical day like for you? Drawing at my lightbox while consuming a steady stream of radio documentaries from NPR, ABC and BBC. I have just spent a week in Italy and am itching to assume my favourite position at the drawing table again. It’s an addiction. Of course once the drawings are done I need to scan them over on the “computer desk”. It doesn’t have the drawing table’s sunny window position – so I make a quick retreat as soon as possible.

What do you like most about your space and is there anything you would change? I love that it’s a space all to myself, but that I can go to the next room for feedback/input/conversation from my husband, who is currently converting his space into a painting/sculpture/music studio. Our dog, Mr Tom shares his time between us – usually switching studios depending on who has the most food. I also love being surrounded by books. The only thing I would love to have is a view to the beach, or a tropical rainforest. Moving from Australia to Berlin does has some downsides.

I notice on your desk you’ve got lots of interesting objects. Can you share some of your favorites with us? Above my desk you can see the edge of a poster for Jacques Tati’s Mon Uncle – which, like so many things from Europe, I actually bought in Japan. Tove Jansson’s Moomins, her books “Who will comfort Toffle” and “The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My” and the box set of stop-motion animations from Film Polski are always within reaching distance. She is one of my greatest inspirations. You can also see a Porcelain Elephant money-box (designed by Luigi Colani for the Dresdner bank) and a ceramic jar from Nymolle – a Danish company that Bjorn Wiinblad designed for before he began to work primarily with Rosenthal. The Nymolle pieces are my favourite examples of Bjorn Wiinblad’s work – I’ve always been drawn to mono-coloured design and illustration – and I love that his work which would probably now be dismissed as “for children” is for everyone.

Do you have any tips for organizing your home office space? Feeling comfortable and cosy is very important to me – and surrounding myself with furniture and objects that inspire and excite me, makes me want to be in my studio more than anywhere else. The more teak and porcelain, the more likely I’ll stay. If only I had teak desks…

British illustrator Kate Banazi’s career as an illustrator began in a small, London studio but now happily occupies a home in Sydney, Australia, where she has lived and worked for the last three years. Kate shares her home with husband Alistair and 12 year old son Milan (also a talented illustrator.) Kate’s illustrations have appeared in Business Week, Australian journal Meanjin, Financial Review, Telstra, DT Digital, Future Living and in the last issue of Herman Miller’s very own Jugglezine (below).

How did your career in illustration come about? I originally freelanced in menswear design working on a tiny label with a friend, but after Milan was a born I couldn’t have as much fun in the fashion business, and that led me to freelance illustration.

How did you end up in Australia? I met my husband while I was on holiday here, on a blind date no less. We returned to London for four years where we decided to move to Australia, as we thought it would be great for Milan to grow up in the sunshine. Milan loves to go camping, mountain biking and snorkeling and the climate certainly helps for all those things.

Who do you illustrate for? Anyone who’ll pay me! It’s a varied, eclectic client base really and that suits me as its not straightforward illustration that I do. My clients include magazines, editorial, fashion.

What inspires your work? It could be anything. Sometimes nothing for months, then overload! I’m sucker for a piece of shiny orange plastic and a bit of brown corduroy. The brain works in funny ways!

Where is your home office and how much time do you spend there? It’s downstairs underneath the house in a quiet leafy setting. I’ve worked there for a year. It used to be in the house, but the space I have now is much more practical. I’m there for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I do try and keep some structure.

Which items in your office can you not do without? A scalpel and my drying rack. Two infinitely useful things to an illustrator.

Do you share the office with anyone else? No. It’s my space.

How do you stay organized? I don’t! It’s a constant work in progress. I do have method behind my madness and I constantly say that “I will get it done” but real life gets in the way. Even though it’s not tidy I know where everything is. Anyone moves my stuff and they die!