The following is my story of patience, determination against the odds and possible insanity. It’s the story of how I published my first book. 

It’s difficult to know where to start as there is a lot I could say about the creation of Mr. Buttonman. He’s a character that keeps popping up in my work for the last 10 years. Every time I say, “Ok, no more Mr. Buttonman, I’ve gotta move on to something else” he pops his little head up again with some new ideas. Some people have asked how I got a book published. It seems this is more interesting than the creation of Mr. Buttonman as a character. So even though I personally think the creation story of the character was the more important part, I will skip to the part that most people ask about. And by people, I mean about 3 people. Let’s not go thinking there is huge interest in my book career just yet 🙂 

I made my first version of the Mr. Buttonman book, the “dummy book” in 2014. I had just moved to Germany, was learning the language, had no job, and few social engagements since I didn’t have a lot of friends yet (sound familiar to any of you right now?). This meant I had lots of time to sketch and think. If it hadn’t been for this year of unemployment, lack of commitments, and asking some big questions about the future, my book may never have been created. So it seems to me, times like this can be good for creativity even though they are hard. 

A friend I met in Berlin, who is a fellow children’s book illustrator and author, gave me the wonderful advice to sell some belongings and buy a ticket to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Thankfully this wasn’t necessary quite yet, but I decided to go for it and booked the trip. It was a risk, but Joe was happy to go along with it and eat pizza while I chased this dream of publishing a book. At least we would get a nice vacation out of it, if nothing else.

When I first introduced Mr. Buttonman to publishers at the Bologna Book Fair in 2015, he was met with various responses. One publisher told me that children would not be able to relate to this character because he has no face.  (Side note: This is true that faces are very important to characters. BUT…kids should also not be underestimated. My daughter talks to all kinds of inanimate objects and even disciplines them for being naughty. K)

Another publisher told me they had already tried a series of embroidered books and they had sold horribly- so that was a no. Then the next one thought it was interesting and cute, but unfortunately my portfolio was too slim. Fair enough, as I was just starting out and did have only a few examples of finished work. I was starting to feel dumb for coming and ready to pack up and leave. But Joe said I should stick it out and keep talking to more people.

On the very last day I met with two publishers who were potentially interested in the book. There was hope! One of these publishers was Simply Read Books, who I knew from Vancouver. Funny enough I had met the publisher during a panel interview at Emily Carr University during my studies 3 years prior. Talk about small world!

Turns out, he was very interested in Mr. Buttonman, though the story would need some work. I was overjoyed that he was open to working with me, a new artist, with a very unique style. I left that meeting grinning from ear to ear and swimming in dreams of my bestselling embroidered children’s book. 

Of course things never go exactly the way we expect, and I could not have anticipated then the many round of revisions and hard work ahead of me to get the book to where it ended up. But after many revisions of the story and going back and forth with storyboards and ideas, we finally settled on a storyline and layout. This was happening!

The process of embroidering the final artwork was the funnest part, though also hard. 

Around the time I started working on the art, I had a 1 year old crawling around home, destroying everything in her path. At one point, she drew all over one of my canvases costing me about 3 hours of work. I almost cried but told myself she was little and probably trying to help. I doubt this was true, but sometimes as a parent you have to lie to yourself about the innocence of your children.

Working with a small kid at home wasn’t ideal. I would spend the day entertaining her, feeding, going for walks, and then put her to bed and start working around 8pm until midnight. By this point I was exhausted and not able to work at my normal pace. Then I would get up and do it again. Joe was able to help watch her a few days a week and a friend helped once a week for a couple hours. This was a help. But most of my book was made while juggling full-time momming. I don’t say this to brag. But I mention it because there may be a few of you in this position right now. It was really hard. Most days my brain felt like a fried egg and my hands would shake while stitching from too much coffee and not enough sleep. I had to steal time whenever I had a chance. But somehow, I made a book made this way. Slowly, but surely. 

And now, my book is out and it’s June 2020.  We are in the middle of the Coronavirus where people have to wear masks when they go into bookstores and publishers are pushing back their spring programs. Into this chaos has emerged my first book, which is not at all the book launch I expected but if I have learned anything throughout this whole process it is to remain hopeful! 

As to be expected, I haven’t heard much feedback yet. But the little bits I have heard, have brought much joy.

Ellie brought the book to daycare (before all the closures) a few months ago. As it is a wordless book she was able to “read” the book to her friends. After she was done showing it, one little girl asked if she could hold the book. She picked it up as if it were breakable and gently ran her hand over the pages trying to figure out if it was paper or fabric. Her quiet attention to the details in the book almost made me cry. I was hoping to make a book that would spark children’s creativity and imagination. In that moment, I got a small glimpse of that. 

And of course, at this point I put in a little shameless marketing. If you haven’t seen a copy of my book yet, I encourage you to request it from a local bookstore. The shipping is faster when you order through a store and bookstores need support right now. There is also a super crazy amazing book trailer that Magic Button Productions created as a teaser, check this out!

Here is a photo of my book as well. Thanks for reading 🙂

This is a really exciting post. Are you excited? I’m excited.

The artwork of my first ever, one-of-a-kind, completely hand-embroidered, 32-page picture book IS FINISHED. And I’m dancing in my studio because holy cow that was a lot of work. Publication dates are not yet final; there will be another post about that, along with details on how you can purchase the book. All I can say for certain is that the book will hit the shelves by APRIL 2020.

Hundreds of hours went into stitching the illustrations.  And of course there were many revisions to the sketches, story-plot and colour plans before it came to the stitching phase.

The book is wordless, with the exception of a few sound words that have been incorporated in a comic-style. The story of Mr. Buttonman and the Great Escape is told through its’ embroidered illustrations, and is a new, unique approach to the picture book format. My two goals in the creation of this book were:

1. To inspire children and parents through the creativity and humour of Mr. Buttonman.
2. To demonstrate that embroidery is not only a craft or hobby, but it can also be a medium for illustration. There are few books created in this medium, I hope this book will help change that. We shall see!

I’d love to throw up a few spoilers for you (other than the one above),  but unfortunately you’re going to have to wait a few more months for that.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this book happen, through encouragement, babysitting help, equipment-lending, professional tips, moral support…you guys are the best.

If you have been following me on Instagram or Facebook, then you will have already seen that I’ve released my first Fall embroidery tutorial last week. It features a squirrel with a little leaf crown drinking a tiny cuppa’ coffee (or hot chocolate or black tea, however you want to interpret it). I had a pause from working my children’s book a couple weeks ago and used this time to whip up the tutorial. The most exciting part is it is also available in German. My husband and I worked on the translation together, but I was able to write about three quarters of it without his help. This feels like a huge accomplishment considering that 3 and a half years ago I could only say “hello” and “how are you” in German.

The tutorial costs 5 Euros and is available on my Dawanda or Etsy shop. It includes a digital PDF pattern that can be printed at home, a materials list, step-by-step photos, a stitch guide and some helpful links if you are not familiar with the stitches being used. This pattern is suitable for stitchers with a beginning knowledge of embroidery and also for those who are interested in trying out applique.

I’m hoping to release a few Christmas tutorials as well, so if you are into stitching, stay tuned for those!

Thanks for reading, once again 🙂

Well folks, this is it. September.  Summer is coming to an end, and crisp, Autumn weather has arrived in Berlin this week. I’ve spent the past couple weeks organising my work space and preparing for the crazy storm of stitching which is about to descend. It’s a small corner in our bedroom, as that’s what makes the most sense right now with having a 1 year old who isn’t in Day care yet. But I’m pretty happy with how it’s shaping up. I’ve decided to share a photo of how my desk usually looks, as opposed to how it would look if I kept it clean all the time.

A good friend built me this beautiful custom desk a few months ago. There is a light table built into the surface (hiding under that keyboard and sketches) which is already getting much use. Check out his Facebook page Leise Möbel; he does beautiful work! My husband and I worked on designing the shelves together, and still need to install one more that will go along the top. I’m also happy to report that my button supply has doubled in size thanks to some recent button donations. Thank you! If anyone else is looking to get rid of buttons, I’m your woman. You may even find your buttons on the pages of a book next year 😉

The Mr.Buttonman book is coming along, slowly but surely. Thankfully Joe (my husband) has been able to juggle his hours so that I can get some good work hours in during the week, and the little Miss is enjoying the extra time with her daddy.

As to the embroidery patterns I talked about in my last blog post. I will be releasing a few new ones for the Fall this month, and will post on here again once they are finished. A couple weeks ago my Sushi Roll Pattern was featured on the Feeling Stitchy blog. Thanks for the sharing the embroidery love Floresita!

That’s all for now, have a great week!

qI have an exciting announcement to make on this week’s blog: As of this week, I will be designing and selling downloadable and printable embroidery patterns through my Etsy and Dawanda shops.

This idea has been in the back of my head for a while. But last year it became a reality when I was approached by the German publisher Droemer-Knaur to create some patterns for their “Stitch-It-Yourself” book. Through this project, I realised that I really enjoy creating tutorials. I’ve also discovered in the last year that there are hardly any artists selling embroidery patterns in Germany and there is a steadily growing interest in it.  So, my plans is to make patterns in both English and auf Deutsch, but to especially focus on Germany and creating materials that can be distributed here 🙂 Don’t worry, my German husband will be proof-reading everything I write, to make sure it is makes sense and is error-free!

That being said, my first two tutorials I am releasing this week will only be available in English, as they are my English versions of the patterns I created for the Stitch It Yourself book. You can get the German translation by buying the book online, and it’s more worth your money because you will get tutorials from 14 other artists as well!

The patterns will be 100% my own designs and designed for different levels of skills. These first two patterns are intermediate, so if you’ve never stitched before I wouldn’t suggest starting with these. One pattern is for an adorable Sushi Roll Hoop and the other a Safari Animal Canvas, that looks great in a kid’s room. I will be creating a simpler beginner’s tutorial in the coming weeks.

I’m excited to be starting something new, and will be continuing to work on other commissions and my children’s book at the same time. The grand dream would be to grow a bigger community of stitchers in Germany and also turn this into a fun side business and possibly a publication one day. But I’m starting out slow by only releasing downloadable PDF tutorials at reasonable price and we will see how they do. As a thank-you to anyone who purchases a pattern, tests it out and provides feedback, I will gift you a 20% Coupon Code for my Etsy shop. I want them to be as clear and helpful as possible, so any feedback is GOLDEN.

Also, you may be wondering why I wrote this blog in English when a bit part of this plan succeeding will rely on my German skills. Well the fact of the matter is, my husband just doesn’t have time to proof-read all my blogs right now, and writing in German takes much longer for me than my mother language. Until I’m at a point where I can write faster, the blog will remain in my  mother language.

The first patterns will be up and available by this FRIDAY, JULY 7TH, just in time for some weekend stitching fun 🙂

It’s now been a year since I announced my children’s book contract with Simply Read Books on here, and I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the book. Rather than answering all of these questions over and over again I decided to write a blog post. I haven’t written a blog in 6 months and it’s about time!

Question #1: How is the book going?

Answer: It’s going a little slower than expected, but I’m learning this is the nature of the industry.

The story has also gone through many revisions, and this has slowed down the picture-making process. I am now working on a storyboard for a 4th version, which will probably still need changes and from there I will move onto final colour sketches, which will also still need changes. So safe to say, it may still be a while until I get to stitching the final art.

Question #2: When and where will you be able to buy the book?

Answer: The book will be distributed in all English speaking countries and available online on Amazon. As to when, I wish I could say this coming Fall, but realistically it won’t be until next Spring at the earliest. It may even be next Fall 2018. I realize this is a long time to wait, but I promise, it will be worth it! I will announce the release date on here when it gets close to that time.

Question #3: Is the book going to be made of fabric?

Answer: No, it will be a regular 32 page children’s picture book.  The illustrations will be embroidered and then photographed for print.  We are, however, discussing ways to have at least a little real stitching in the final books, but I won’t say a lot about that (though it’s going to be AWESOME).

Thanks to everyone who has been asking about the book and who cares. It has been such an encouragement to know that you are excited about this project with me. I will try to get better with posting more updates on here, so that you can be more a part of this journey. When this book finally does come out, there will be a big celebration!

I will never forget my first real “commission”. I was 16 and fundraising money for a trip to Bulgaria. In exchange for support, a family friend commissioned me to draw a portrait for them. I was very excited and felt like a real artist for the first time. Ever since then making portraits has been a part of my artistic practice.  I even once painted a portrait of the well-known Indian-born Canadian chef Vikram Vij (definitely one of my most nerve-racking projects!). If you doubt me, you can go to his restaurant, eat some of his delicious food and ask him about it 🙂 My style has changed much since my first portrait as a teenager (hopefully improved too!), but I still get the same thrill of excitement when asked to do one. I find them challenging because the clients will always notice if I’ve not done my best work. Although I always make a disclaimer that this is my artistic interpretation and not a photograph, if they don’t see a resemblance in the drawing, they will most definitely complain. This challenges my artistic skills and holds me accountable.

This month I had the pleasure of illustrating four portraits for a couple who connected with me through my website. Each portrait portrays them in a different setting and without knowing them personally,  I think it’s safe to say that they share a love of travel and nature. The final illustrations were drawn by hand with ink and then digitally coloured in photoshop.

Next month, I will be working on some more portraits and starting an exciting food packaging project. Thanks for reading again and happy October! P.S If you are interested in an illustrated portrait you can find more examples on my Etsy shop here.

First of all, I have to admit that I’ve been very bad at updating this blog in the past 3 months. Until May I had a good rhythm going on, but a certain life event happened and I haven’t been able to post anything new until now.  I am happy to share the news that I am now a mother to a super cute, baby girl! Her name is Ellie Rae and she was born end of June. We can already tell she’s going to be full of stories. Here is a photo of Her Cuteness.

The next big piece of news is not quite so life-altering, but still very exciting. The ‘Stitch It Yourself’ written by Petra Harms and published by Droemer Knaur is now out!

I received my copies in the mail last week and have already seen it on the bookshelves of some local shops here in Berlin. It is a beautiful book, filled with a great variety of embroidery projects from 14 international artists. I’m proud to say I’m the only Canadian.  The book is written in German and is the first of it’s kind in Germany. There are already many DIY books, but none that focus solely on embroidery. Hopefully this will open up the market for more of its’ kind. I’m looking forward to trying out some of the tutorials myself, especially that cute little bear by Indonesian artist Ria Paramita that you can spot in the top left of the cover. Here is a look inside the book of the 3 projects I created and photographed.

A couple weeks ago, I was asked to answer a few interview questions for a book coming out this fall with Droemer-Knaur. (You can read more about this project on my previous blog post). Naturally, I was excited to talk about embroidery and my work with it. I realised after answering the questions, that I’ve never written on my blog about my reasons for using embroidery as an illustration medium. It is something I’ve put a lot of thought into over the last 4 years.

All art is difficult, but making illustration with embroidery is particularly challenging. Here are a five reasons why it’s difficult:

1. It’s slow. I have figured out ways to speed up the process by mixing applique techniques with embroidery, but there’s no denying hand-embroidery takes time. It requires a lot of planning, is a pain to re-do when mistakes are made and requires the extra step of photography before it is ready to be used in a magazine or book.

   

2. It’s viewed primarily as a “craft”. When I tell most people that I am using embroidery for illustration, they are quite surprised and confused. This is a new concept to grasp because historically embroidery has always been a craft or hobby.  In some cases when I show pictures of what I do, I get the response: “Well, that’s nice that you have a hobby”.
3. It’s difficult to reproduce. Embroidery is difficult to photograph properly and prepare for print. It requires good light, a great camera and lots of practice to figure out how to reproduce this medium so that it looks just as good on paper as in real life. And I will admit it, the original embroidered picture still has a magical quality you can’t quite replicate in a photo.

   

4. It’s not common. Nowadays most illustration is created with 2D mediums. Though I see more and more artists experimenting with 3D materials (for example, paper-cut illustration), most of the jobs available for illustration, require digital or traditional mediums. This makes it difficult to market and figure out where this type of  illustration fits in.
5. It’s a risk. For all of the reasons listed above, embroidery is a risk. This alone can be a deterrent for potential illustration clients.

For these reasons, I’ve considered giving up on embroidery as an illustrative medium many times. Why don’t I do it?

Because every time I imagine giving up embroidery, I feel like Ariel selling her voice to Ursula.  Maybe in 10 years it won’t, but right now it’s my visual voice. I can’t bring myself to give that up.

So here are 5 reasons why making and marketing embroidered illustrations is a good idea:

1. It’s slow. Time is valuable. So taking time to create something, shows that you value it. Sure, there are projects that need to be completed in 6 hours. But there are enough illustration styles that can meet these demands. Embroidery has the unique ability to give the value of time to projects.
2. It’s new and old at the same time. Embroidery has a long history and has been used in many different contexts for centuries. It is a familiar, yet still evolving medium. There aren’t many illustrators working with it, which means there is an opportunity to do something new and fresh. This excites me!
3. It requires commitment and expertise to reproduce.  The fact that embroidery requires time, proper equipment and lots of trial and error practice, means that the finished product ends up looking pretty fantastic. It also means that not everyone can do it. You can’t get away with improperly photographing these illustrations, or they will look horrible when printed. Embroidery forces me to be thorough from start to finish.
4. It’s tactile and 3D. It has natural shadows and textures that make it visually appealing and causes it to stand out.

   

5. It’s a risk worth taking. In my opinion, the most meaningful experiences in life involve risk. So the fact that embroidery is a risk shouldn’t be a reason to give it up.