Card Designer Spotlight x Gotamago

The Card Designer Highlight is a sequence that includes impartial makers whose greeting playing cards you will discover in Paper Supply shops. Meet and be impressed by a brand new designer each month on our weblog!

This month we need to introduce our card designer Lichia Liu of Gotamago. Learn how Lichia makes use of her platform as a illustration of non-public identification whereas that includes motifs like meals to diversely join folks and share her greeting playing cards nation broad.

How did you start your card-making profession?​

I’ve saved journey sketchbooks most of my life, documenting what I see in overseas environments. After one notably lengthy interval away from dwelling, working and travelling in Asia and Europe, I started sharing a few of my sketches on-line – first simply with household and buddies, after which extra broadly on social media. To my delight, I started receiving inquiries from strangers on the place to buy my artwork. At first, I made them into artwork prints and offered them on Etsy. It wasn’t till a retailer requested if I’d think about making them into greeting playing cards for consignment that I realised I’ve chanced on one thing thrilling. I spent the following few weeks instructing myself create a wholesale stationery enterprise, and shortly after, launched Gotamago with eight card designs at a neighborhood artwork market.

Over time, I’ve come to grasp that playing cards are a particularly democratic solution to share artwork. Whereas authentic work will not be reasonably priced for everybody, a greeting card makes for an accessible and versatile piece of decor. When our clients share their images of playing cards framed on their partitions, I’m heartened to know that my artwork is part of their on a regular basis lives.

The place do you draw inspiration from? Meals? Pop Tradition? Timeless Motifs? Playful Puns?​

I at all times begin from issues that I really like: cultural change, city sketching, and phrase play.

After I first began designing playing cards, I didn’t see any of my Taiwanese-Canadian identification represented within the playing cards accessible on the North American market; so, I made them myself. Meals is likely one of the best methods to attach cultures, and so Asian meals is a distinguished theme in lots of my designs.

City sketching was a pure development from my journey sketching days. I’m part of a world artwork community referred to as City Sketchers, whose mission is to doc the world by way of sketching. I’m fascinated by the methods folks work together with their environments, and might sit for hours sketching on website, absorbing the city panorama round me. It’s my favorite solution to uncover new cities.

And at last, wordsmithing is a strong pressure behind my creativity. Typically the phrases come after I’m strolling the canine or doing dishes, and I’d be so excited that I textual content my husband Christopher and see whether or not he laughs. If it’s authentic and humorous, it’s a winner.

What does your day appear like as a card maker and designer?​

After dropping off my children in school and daycare, I head to the studio to begin my work day. We function out of a small constructing in a sleepy neighbourhood in East Toronto; on the entrance of the studio is our flagship retail store, Silver Antelope. I make espresso, and spend a little bit of time basking within the quiet earlier than the workforce arrives. That is my artistic time, and I’ll generally draw, or do some planning and strategizing, relying on my temper.

Our workforce begins filling the studio round 10am. I verify in with Heather, Kelly and Ellie about our present workload, wholesale and retail order fulfilment progress, and all of us chuckle over the newest reel that Amy’s made in regards to the mysterious googly eyes which can be popping up everywhere in the studio. Rowan and I talk about new window shows and issues which can be low on the retail cabinets. I check with Lauren and Amy about newsletters, social media posts, upcoming design releases and artistic workshops. Christopher takes away the day’s order deliveries and provide lists, and I ship out buy orders for merchandise which can be working low. We don’t print something in-house, however we work carefully with our native printers and producers at each step of the method, one thing that I’m very happy with.

Within the afternoon I attempt to ignore emails and social media, and sort out bigger artistic tasks. Then it’s off to do faculty pickups and make dinner! After the youngsters are in mattress, I’ll curl up on the sofa to do bookkeeping in entrance of the TV.

On a regular basis looks like a whirlwind, however we’ve got an unimaginable dream workforce, and I really feel very fortunate to have the ability to spend a lot time with my household whereas doing what I really like.

What’s your most well-liked medium?​

Although I’ve all of the digital devices, I nonetheless love drawing instantly on paper the very best. Most of my illustrations are executed with ink and watercolour, and plenty of of them are taken instantly out of my sketchbook. Although not as refined as work executed within the studio, sketchbook drawings convey a sure “within the second” feeling that may’t be duplicated.

Extra not too long ago, I’ve been experimenting with direct watercolour – that’s, spontaneous watercolour portray with none ink or pencil outlines. It’s difficult and runs opposite to all of the methods I’ve labored previously, however it additionally offers me a rush of freedom and pleasure. I’m a planner by nature, so studying to embrace the unpredictable aspect of watercolour has been a humbling course of.

What does your artistic course of appear like?​

When concepts come to me, I jot them down in my sketchbook, irrespective of how arbitrary. Typically the smallest doodle will leap again at me years later and become a lovely design; it simply wanted incubation time! As soon as I’ve settled on each the illustration and the greeting phrase, I begin making ink drafts.

I’ve a lightpad, which I take advantage of as a information to attract the ink outlines over and over in an effort to develop muscle reminiscence and nail down the precise expression. (I used to be delighted to be taught that Quentin Blake makes use of the identical methodology.) After I’m happy with the define, I transfer on to my favorite half – including watercolours and seeing the illustration come to life.

Lastly, I scan and edit the illustrations digitally, after which hand write the greeting with my Apple pencil. I used to do that half with fountain pens and scanners, however transferring it onto the ipad has sped issues up significantly. As soon as every part is edited, we are able to transfer to structure and formatting for the printer.

What are you most happy with as a creator and card maker?​

Seeing my work remodeled into merchandise which can be shared and loved all over the world is the very best feeling. Over time, I’ve obtained letters from fantastic strangers, telling me how my playing cards have touched their lives. There are tales of my playing cards utilized in marriage proposals, in private correspondence to presidents, and as phrases of encouragement throughout robust instances; I accumulate these tales like pearls on a necklace, and revisit them after I want a reminder of why I make artwork.

I’m additionally extremely happy with the enterprise we’ve constructed collectively as a workforce; we’ve created not only a studio and store, but in addition a group hub, with a robust custom of giving again. When my daughter tells me she desires to be like me when she grows up, I really feel like I’m doing one thing proper.

Any private tidbits? Particular abilities/enjoyable info?

Over the past yr, I’ve been instructing myself seen mending, principally as a result of my children hold tearing their garments, and I can’t bear to ship them to the landfill. It’s splendidly meditative, although perhaps not essentially the most sensible artistic outlet; because it seems, my children adore the visibly mended garments and can put on them much more vigorously after they’re mended, leading to…yup, extra tears!

Discover Gotamago Playing cards, equivalent to Lager Than Life Birthday Card, and Rarest of Them All Father’s Day Card at our native retailer or on-line at papersource.com. For extra inspiration and behind-the-scenes motion, observe @go.tamago on IG. 

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