Posted on June 01 2016
Our June artist of the month is Katie Leamon. A luxury card and stationery designer, Katie is based in London. Her paper products are proudly made in England with a focus on hand finished details. We sent her over these questions to find out a little bit more about her practice and the things that keep her creative!
Katie Leamon, how would you describe your brand? Tangible, contemporary & considered card and stationery brand delivering luxury paper products.
Which designers/artists do you admire? I really love the work of Picasso - the playful & simplistic nature of his work really appeals to me. I draw inspiration from fashion & architecture in design and love the narrative in designers Teatum Jones work. They are always telling a story through their collections and in a similar way I like to develop a collection with a depth to it.
Who inspires you the most? I think brands like Rifle Paper that are a good few years ahead of us are people to look up to and see what's possible in this industry.
What's your career background? I studied textile design at Uni then went on to work in print design for a new fashion label after graduating. After a couple of years I decided I wanted to get back into drawing more and it was then I decided to take a chance on doing my own thing. I was drawing and building my portfolio back up in the evening and at weekends, and putting together what would go on to become my first collection of cards. Later that year I took them to Liberty's Open Call day and they were selected so I concentrated on cards, developed the collection and went onto exhibit at trade shows that year where I picked up other high end retailers that really cemented the idea of doing stationery and cards full time and gave me the confidence in my design.
What's your earliest memory? Playing hide and seek on my dads pig farm with my brother and sister and building camps in the hay bales.
What traits do you admire in others?
I find myself drawn to dry humour and sarcasm a lot! But generally I warm to grounded people that are very down to earth and can laugh at themselves. I really admire people that can don't worry about things too much as I think its something I struggle with sometimes.
How do you spend a typical weekend? / Sunday?
Both my boyfriend and I have very large families so most weekends we spend it with our nieces and nephews. We also like exploring new bars and restaurants that have popped up in London as we are both real foodies! We generally end a weekend with a film on a Sunday eve over a glass of wine and nice home made dinner.
What is your favourite film? Ooh too many to choose from, but if I had to pick right now maybe shawshank redemption.
Do you listen to music when you are working? If so - who are your favourite bands / singers to have on in the studio? Yes, always. I don't like working in silence unless I'm doing accounts! We generally have the radio or spotify on in the studio with all our favourite play lists on including all genres of music. My favourite at the moment is the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy. Our production studio are into country music at the moment so Dolly Parton or Kenny Rogers always seem to be on!
Do you have any unusual talents? Hula hooping!
What's your motto for work? The devil is in the detail. Check out the Katie Leamon artist page on Seed