It’s just little ol’ me.
Back in the 90s I hit a wall with my graphic design career. It was horrible – managers who were more bossy than encouraging, everyone who wasn’t a designer telling me how to design, last minute deadlines, working till midnight for blasted next day presentations. I had had enough of that, nothing good creatively was going to come from those conditions. However, I couldn’t quit my job, I had a mortgage. So I picked up my pens and brushes and started playing around with them again.
It was more like a hobby at first, a pressure release and that also took me away from the computer providing a much needed creative outlet which was sorely missing from my life. There was never any intention to sell them but as time went on I began to accrue a lot of pieces and began to wonder if I could…
WHY ILS?
My designs will come under the umbrella name of “Indigo Loves Sienna” instead of my personal name because my designs will range from realistic to cartoon, from watercolours to graphite pencil. In a world where everyone is bombarded by thousands of images on a daily basis to mentally manage it all we subconsciously find it easier to group things by consistencies, making them easier to recall and understand them. Like the way Cadbury chocolates are always recognisable by their distinctive purple or how Banksy’s work is predominantly stencil art on location. Its all about clarity.
I don’t have a signature style across all my work, so it seemed less complicated if I’m seen as a “House” of design rather than an individual creative. It’s also important for me to keep these designs separate from my other artwork as the designs on Indigo Loves Sienna are warm, fuzzy and friendly and not everything I do is geared that way. If you are interested in my other work please feel free to visit my personal art blog scratchyas.com
WHERE DOES THE NAME COME FROM?
The name came about after I spent a weekend painting on location with watercolours. Trying not to use blacks or greys for shading I used indigo and as a lot of the scenes were natural rock formations I painted them in tones of Sienna. When I saw the two colours side by side there was a realisation of how beautifully they complimented each other. They’re so rich and luxurious in tone but still very earthy, there’s a warmth to them but also coolly mysterious and magical. There’s a feeling of modernity as well as an age-old classicism. They’re a perfect match.
WHY PRINT ON DEMAND SITES?
Well, the prospect of selling stuff, whether setting up my own website or a physical market stall seemed like a major commitment logistically and financially, especially as it would only be a side business. There’s all these things to think about like fees, printing or manufacturing costs, storage space, postage and packaging, pricing, customer enquiries, advertising and promotion. Even if I could cover all of the above, when would I find the time to actually work on the designs?
The existence of sites like Society 6, Zazzle and Red Bubble means individual designers like myself are given a convenient way of getting our designs out into the world without having to deal with all those complications. I’m a creative, that’s my strength, not running a business.
You might say there are pitfalls to using these kinds of sites as opposed to having your own, but there are pros and cons to everything, always has been and always will. I could still walk into an actual store and receive bad service or a faulty product. I could have a market stall and sell twenty items one week but nothing the next yet still have to pay for the stall lease. I did my research and read all comments made by previous users and buyers taking all them all on board, but more importantly I bought several items from each site to gain my own experience regarding things like quality, costing and shipping. Overall I was happy with what I received and have no serious issues with these businesses.
With guns a-blazin’ here I go, ready or not. I hope you enjoy my efforts as much as I’m enjoying the journey.
Love and good cheer,
Meegan
indigo-loves-sienna.com 