Saturday , January 16, 2010
the nogoodforme.com interview: Nut and Bee! OMG!
One thing I can safely say I'll never get over is my childlike preoccupation with baby animals. I'm a total sucker for cuteness; sometimes I feel a bit nerdy about it, but then I reflect upon the heaps of satisfaction I have derived from the existence of wee lil' "aminals" over the course of my twenty-three years, and the only emotion I feel is GRATITUDE.
Short only of Lisa Frank puppies and my longtime love Pochacco on the MAXIMUM CUTENESS front (and not by very much!), New Zealand's Nut and Bee has been charming the Helter Skelter out of me thrice-weekly since I first discovered its existence this past August. Nut and Bee illustrator Annette Lauder is insanely prolific (she's kind of like the nogoodforme.com of the cartoon-animalsphere!); anyone with any interest in cuteness at all whatsoever NEEDS to add her Sketchbook Sweeties blog to their Booksmark Bar ASAP. Every couple of days, Annette gifts the world with a new Sweetie: my personal favorites of late are Panda Takes A Tumble (oh, who am I kidding? This lil' guy makes Pochacco look like Christopher Walken!) and my latest and greatest style inspiration, Miss Fruit Hat Surprise.
Annette has also adapted her super-charming drawings to fulfil more practical purposes: her website sells adorable and affordable lettersets, notepads, recipe cards, and MORE!
Lucky-ducky for nogoodforme.com, Spirit Animal House donees PAWS/LA, ARK II, & the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition, and most of all, YOU, Annette has kindly contributed some highly precious goodies to the Spirit Animal House Raffle!
(at left: Cloudkin sticker set; at right: Magnolia Snooze notepad)
(set of 8 Warmosaur write-on labels)
As always, all you have to do to save some animals and win some cute prizes is CLICK HERE:
Super-sweet Annette is clearly the type of gal who understands the importance of a spirit animal! Click behind the jump to find out about how she built Nut and Bee into a business, why she digs John Lennon, honey, hibernation and more (including some really killer fiction recommendations)!
Tell us a little bit about how you got started with Nut and Bee.
Nut and Bee started out very small- I had been posting some drawings and doodles (taken mostly from the margins of my university lecture notes- I studied computer science and economics, which seems very strange now!) to my online journal, and people seemed to like them, so I made some little stationery products for fun and offered them for sale. It was just a hobby for the first year or so, but after I started going to craft fairs regularly and became more engaged in the 'craft community', I ws inspired to start building Nut and Bee into a proper business, and after lots of work, it's now my full-time job!
Talk to us about your creative process.
I have to schedule creative time for drawing, because there's so many other aspects of my business to look after, so I tend to make quick notes and doodles as ideas come to me and re-visit them later. Even though I don't work for clients, the way I mentally organize my process usually involves setting myself a 'brief' and a 'deadline'. I mostly work digitally, so once I sit down to produce an illustration, I'll pick an idea, scan in any sketches I've done, and go to town with Painter/Photoshop and my tablet.
What is the most significant message that you want your work to communicate?
I want people to enjoy my work on a simple but sincere level; I want to create little happy moments where someone sees a drawing that speaks to them and they can't help but smile!
What/who are you biggest inspirations?
My ideas for subjects come from things I enjoy, like cute animals and snacks and taking little naps in the afternoon. In terms of artistic style, I'm inspired by comics, children's books, and characters/mascots.
Who are some of your favorite bands/musicians? What music do you like to listen to while you're working?
The Dresden Dolls, Phoenix, The Cure, Nellie McKay, Imogen Heap, The Smiths, Antony & the Johnsons, Jens Lekman, The Pipettes... when I'm working, I tend to listen to Podcasts more than music- mostly comedy and interview shows.
Name one record you loved when you were a little kid that you still listen to today.
I still like Simon & Garfunkel!
What are some of your favorite books?
Between my boyfriend and myself, our apartment has about 4000 books, so it's quite hard to choose! A few favorites that caught my eye scanning the shelves are Pattern Recognition by William Gibson, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami, The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth, Life: A User's Manual by Georges Perec, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins.
Favorite movies?
My Neighbor Totoro; Amelie; Cold Comfort Farm; Garden State
Favorite artists/designers?
Mattias Adolfsson; APAK; Scott Campbell; Meredith Dittmar; Tom Gauld; Edward Gorey; Marc Johns; Kazu Kibuishi; Kozyndan; Meomi; Laura Park; Wilson Swain; Julie West.
If they made a movie of your life story, who would you want to play you?
I think it should be a cartoon, and I would be animated as a sleepy bear.
Favorite Beatle and why?
John Lennon- he was clever and funny, and I find the songs he wrote the most touching.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Chocolate!
WHAT'S YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL?
I'd have to say the bear- I'm well on board with honey and hibernation!
Tags: interviews, Lisa Frank, MAXIMUM CUTENESS, Nut and Bee, Pochacco, raffle tickets, Spirit Animal House, spirit animals
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