INTERVIEW - KATE GABRIELLE

Hello,

Some of you may know kate, she is the blogger behind Scathingly Brilliant. She also runs Sweet and Lovely , Flapper Doodle and Puns Intended. I am a regular reader of her blog and love her cute pastel outfits and her sometimes pink hair.

1. How old are you and where are you from?

I'm 26 and I'm from Princeton, NJ.

2.Do you have any pets?

Yes indeed! I have three cats - Chloe, Hypatia and Hubble. 

3.     Favorite food?

Potatoes!!! Followed closely by hummus and pita bread, asparagus, grapefruit and chick peas!

4. When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was little I always wanted to be an artist. I used to read books about famous artists and dream of having my paintings hanging up in museums and galleries. Of course things didn't quite turn out the way I expected but in a round-about way, I do currently make my living from selling my drawings so I think 6 year old Kate would be pretty pleased ;)

5.     Have you always loved drawing?

I have.. I can't even remember a time when I didn't love doodling. My favorite has always been painting though. I don't get to do it often enough nowadays but I love it so much!

6.     Do you have any tips about digital illustration? 

I'm not really that good at it myself so I don't know if I could offer any tips! I still mostly do hand-drawn illustration, with a few exceptions (like my blog logo or paper dolls.) I guess like any skill, just keep practicing until you are 100% happy with your final product. I've tried drawing quite a few things on my computer and have only felt comfortable sharing a small fraction of those.

 7.     What’s your advice on personal style?

Be yourself! I hate when people say they don't wear a color because that hue doesn't look good with their skin tone, or they don't wear dresses because everyone in their town wears pants and they don't want to stick out. It makes me so sad! You should try to wear whatever makes you happy and don't let naysayers influence how you dress. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I feel like I stand out too much when I'm out shopping but I just remind myself that I'm wearing a pink coat and bright mint green tights or a cat shaped handbag -- I'm the one who is having fun with my style, so I shouldn't let strange looks get me down. If what makes you happy isn't the norm, it does take some baby steps to get to a point where you're totally secure with your sense of style but once you get there it's just SO fantastic :)

8.     How does it feel to be modcloth blogger of the moment?

Surreal, awesome and exciting! My favorite part of the whole thing is having a dress named after my blog. I have it hanging up in my dressing room and sometimes I just stand there for a while staring at it in disbelief, lol! 

9.What is your favorite item of clothing? Why what’s the story behind it?

ooh that's tough, I have so many favorites! If I had to choose just one, it would probably be my neapolitan dress. I got it as a present for myself when I passed 5,000 sales in my etsy shop, so it has special meaning too :)

10. I love your etsy shop…What’s it like being a full time etsy seller?

Thank you! At the moment - very tough. I'm having a terrible dry spell and kind of freaking out a lot and generally in a constant state of panic lol. Usually it's very fun and rewarding though. I really love working from home and doing what I love so right now I'm scrambling to do everything in my power to make sure I can keep on being a full time etsy seller. If not, hopefully I can find another career that is just as rewarding, but after four years of etsy I'm definitely spoiled!

Thankyou for letting me interview you kate! I hope you all enjoyed reading the second in the series!

Love
Issey
xxx

INTERVIEW - IZZIYANA SUHAIMI

Hello,

(this is my absolute favourite piece)

            Izziyana Suhaimi is a young artist. Her work is utterly beautiful. I fell in love with it at first sight the intricately embroidered patterns, the simple honest faces, finely drawn hair and dreamy water colours. I found her on tumblr one day and she fit into my GCSE art project but i had questions for her and i have been wanting to do interviews for ages on the blog and I am so very happy she was the first person i interviewed!

  If you don’t mind answering how old are you and where are you from?

 I am turning 27 this year, and am from Singapore.

Who taught you to embroider and how old were you?

I actually started embroidering only a few years ago, although both my grandmothers were embroiderers. I learnt mostly through watching youtube tutorials and books.

When did you start drawing?

I am sort of a sporadic drawer. I started drawing since I was small. I go through phases when I would draw a lot, and then I would draw very little.

Where did you study art (if you did)?

I studied photography in university. 

When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up?

For a really long time, I wanted to be a writer.

What inspires you?

Inspiration comes from everything! The things you read, you see, you hear. Sometimes it is how you feel in a moment, or an image grabs you while daydreaming

If you could give a young artist advice what would it be?

This is a hard one, because there is so many things to say but everyone has their own journey! Yeap, that's my advice, everyone has their own journey and their own truths. Be honest in your work and keep making even if you feel scared or doubtful. Keep making so that you can find your own voice, what no one else can do and say but you.

How do you spend your days?

Most days I try my very best to keep on working, because there are so many things I want to make. But sometimes it gets a bit hard to work, so I fill up my time with reading or learning something new, which will all eventually go back into the work itself in some way.

Do you have any pets?

Nope, no pets!

I am having trouble drawing faces at the moment what helps you draw faces/tips?

There's no "right" way of drawing faces. Sometimes I wish I could draw portraits like Stefan Marx. A face is ultimately a portrait of a person. Keep working at it and I promise you, the Issey way of drawing faces will be magical because no one else can do it like you do (:

I love the simplicity and colours in her workspace its inspiring allowing thought but its not cluttered blocking out thoughts by clouding your brain.

(Izziyana's work has been feautured on the cover of nylon magazine!)

Thankyou Izziyana for being so kind and inspiring... to follow what she is up to this is her tumblr. I hope this will become a regular feature!

Love

Issey

xxx