graphic design Archives - Ellen Vesters Illustrator

Life and such

januari 8, 2013/4 Reacties/in graphic design, inspiration /door Ellen

I am in the middle of a huge baby boom.
More than a dozen babies are expected in my circle of friends this year.

Can you hear Joey Lawrence going “Whoa!”?

I guess that’s what being over 30 is all about (okay, maybe not about Joey going “whoa”…).

One birth announcement I received at the end of 2012 was so special, I just had to share.

Of course it was designed by a proud graphic designer dad:

Speaking of life and such…

Many of you know by now I used to be a psychologist.
Some of my best memories of university include the first year classes ‘Theory of Personality’. We got to watch the Up Series!

Of course as a just out of high school student I was very happy about the video part.

But also this documentary was, and is, so incredibly fascinating.

The Up Series is a series of documentary films, directed by Michael Apted, that follows the lives of fourteen British children since 1964, when they were seven years old. The documentary has had nine episodes spanning 56 years (one episode every seven years). The last one has just been released.

The series is in no way of scientifical value (of course the participants are also influenced by being portrayed) and most participants are very critical of the documentary.
That just makes it even more interesting.
So many facets there.

A must see!

The truth about The Woonbeurs

oktober 16, 2012/1 Reactie/in art, business, graphic design, illustration, inspiration, urlaub /door Ellen

So. The Woonbeurs.

The truth about the Woonbeurs…is that after all the craziness and mania that is called Woonbeurs, for a week I lived like a zombie.
From different sides I had been told that this was completely normal post-fair behaviour.

Wowza!

“Never mind”, I told myself, “the enjoy-your-succes-part will soon arrive”. Unfortunately when the end of the zombie era came in sight there were some nasty family circumstances to deal with. And well… at that point in time super-grumpy Ellen kicked in.

My recipe: a nice night with friends and a walk with Mr Rockstar through the always welcoming city of Antwerp. My clearer head told me: circumstances can’t be changed and no one wouldn’t want me to enjoy my success.

So. I gave myself a good kick in the butt to have a little Woonbeurs blog party tonight.

Even though the Woonbeurs is a subject that’s already long gone in blog country.
Even though everybody has already moved on to write about autumny stuff.
Even though I really have to start working on me OD’ing you guys on exclamation marks.

I’m turning back time two-and-a-half weeks, when:

I got to build my own little living room together with friend Kim Welling.
I got to work together with a very talented designer I admire: Femke Veltkamp!
I got to meet so many online friends, which for me, always is the best part of events like these.
We were a huge success with people calling us a fresh breeze after all the hardcore designs out there. Woohoo! Exactly what we were hoping for!
The whole reason I dreamed of having a shop was to see for myself how people react to my work, to meet and interact with like minded people. That was exactly what happened. We had such fun!
My favorite magazine published an interview with Urlaub on their blog!
And then afterwards… over 15 blogs rewarded our hard work with lovely pictures and words about the shop! (check http://www.immerurlaub.nl for links)

Yaaaay for The Woonbeurs! Thanks everyone! ;)

Check out these cooooool pictures (and the nice blogs they originate from)!

A good friend of mine was just there as this nice lady bought three of my prints all at once:

Enigheid:

And for the Grand Final a big thank you to the friend that was watching me the whole fair and offered a welcome little break every now and then. (Look at it! I so so so wanted to take that gorgeous thing home!)

A shout out for holidays*!

september 13, 2012/10 Reacties/in business, inspiration /door Ellen

I am so sorry for being so quiet these days, peeps.
Things are quiet for a reason however…

No, it’s not that I am enjoying yet another holiday…
(although I have spend an awesome time on a Dutch island enjoying a festival… more on that in another post)

Nonono, I am actually working my bloody behind of to get ready for the Woonbeurs!

The Woonbeurs is the largest interior design fair in the Netherlands.

Attentive readers will know that I am opening up a shop! Now that I wrapped up the process of writing a businessplan, making up moodboards and having delicious lunches with inspirators, it is time to get things going!

At this moment all the focus will be on finding a good space. For the time being you can check out the one page website just to give you a sneak peek of the feel of the concept and to give you the opportunity to subscribe to the newsletter, so you’ll be the first to hear when Urlaub will open!

Another sneak peek will be carried out at the Woonbeurs. Not only will Urlaub be selling lots of products (hence the hard labour!), you will also find me and some fun colleagues in live action: screenprinting and teaching cool workshops.

Now… for the word Urlaub…

Urlaub means holiday*!

To me the core of being on holiday is enjoying little things everyday, feeling excited, being open to new experiences.
This is exactly the kind of spirit I encounter in being an illustrator and in working together with other creatives.
And, this is also the feeling I want to transfer to all of you, the Urlaub customers!
You will hear all about it in the near future… (*mysterious music in the background*)

For now:

Check the website here. Via the website you can subscribe to our newsletter. Urlaub will inform you about our search for a space and the eventual opening. Fingers crossed for a permanent offline residence!

You can also check Urlaub out on Twitter and Facebook.

Or, just come to The Woonbeurs!

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