IN THE STUDIO WITH DESIGNER LOUISE HILL

Singapore-based Designer Louise Hill draws on her design background and the vibrant energy of the Asian cities she encounters in her day-to-day life and on her travels to create intricate multi-layered art prints that are richly patterned and packed with Asian images and iconography. We talked shop with the talented creative entrepreneur and Mum to find out more about her methods, materials and motivation.

 

IN THE STUDIO WITH DESIGNER LOUISE HILL

 

Hi Louise, thanks for chatting with us! So first things first, when and where did your love for art and design begin?

 
I was born in Blackheath, South East London and am lucky to have been born into a family of designers, so it has always been in my DNA. My Mother is a knitwear designer and my Father was in advertising and graphic design, so I grew up in a very ‘arty’ household with inspirational collections of textiles and artefacts dotted around our family home. My parents have always been avid collectors of ‘objet trouvé’ and they have always had a constantly changing collection on the go, artefacts from our past dating back to when my Grandfather used to travel to Hong Kong for work and bring back trinkets for my Nanna in little Chinese silk covered boxes, these mixed with pieces collected by my parents on their travels to India and Asia.

When I was only 4 years old my Father’s work took us to Paris where I spent 6 years at a local bilingual school. I can still remember my Mum taking me to the ‘Marche aux Puces’ (Flea Markets) on a regular basis which is where I think my love for vintage started. My Mum used to buy the most beautiful 1940’s tea dresses and cool 70’s clothing of the day. My best school friend’s Father was an interiors designer and I used to stay at their Parisian apartment which was decorated in the most amazing contemporary 70’s decor and paintings – I loved this place and it had a beautiful rooftop terrace room that had a padded and buttoned Chinoiserie textile on all of the walls and a Zebra patterned throw on the bed – it was so over the top and decadent! I can remember every inch of that apartment like it was yesterday and it still has a huge influence on my taste to this day.

When I was 10 years old, we moved back to South West London and lived in Teddington and St.Margarets. I loved the time of discovery when I later got to Art School and after two years at Richmond Art College, I decided to specialise in Graphic Design at Surrey Institute of Art & Design as my chosen subject. Computers didn’t even figure at this time and we learnt everything using handcrafted techniques so it was vital to have had a foundation of life drawing skills to use as building blocks to everything from brochure design to packaging design.

 

 

Your bio on your website says that after you graduated from Art School in London, you worked in high-end packaging for 15 years. What are some of the biggest lessons you learned during that time?

 
I have learnt that sometimes if you look back at your life’s path, you can see all of the influences that have brought you to where you are now. As a teenager I used to collect little miniature chocolates and toiletries bottles made by Crabtree & Evelyn and little decorative tins designed by Ian Logan, I bought them from The Covent Garden General Store – I collected them because I loved the packaging so much -little did I know then that as an adult I would end up working for both of those designers!

I started out for my first 2 years out of college as a ‘Junior’ at my Father’s agency, Butcher & Gundersen designing mainly for spirits and wine labels before being employed by Crabtree & Evelyn (Peter Windett & Associates) and then Ian Logan Design – both specialised in a mixture of contemporary and niche, highly crafted, illustrative design for high-end clients such as Fortnum & Mason’s and Whittard’s Coffee. At Peter Windett’s we did everything by hand but when I later joined Ian Logan’s I had to learn to use a computer and used to stay back after hours to learn! I loved every minute of my years in these 3 studios as they really were small ‘family’ agencies rather than huge impersonal corporate affairs.

All of this experience has got me to where I am now. It took me a while to believe in myself but over the years, I learnt how to trust my instincts and to stick with what I was naturally good at, rather than trying to emulate other people that I admired. We all have our own styles and it is much better to immerse yourself in what you love to do and to simply enjoy and appreciate those around you.
 

What made you want to leave that world and set off on a different path?

 
My path changed organically as I decided to take a break and travel for a year starting in India and ending up in Australia via 9 countries through Asia – I travelled with my (now) husband and we ended up living in Melbourne where we stayed for a further 3 years. We lived in the arty area of Fitzroy and I freelanced and guest lectured in packaging design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, I felt quite out of my comfort zone teaching as I don’t like the spotlight very much but it was great experience.

We then returned home to our little seafront flat in Brighton U.K. for the arrival of our twin boys. The next 3 years were a blur of double nappies and feeds and exhausted seafront walks until, when they were 3 years old, my husband was offered a job in Shanghai. We didn’t hesitate for a minute at the thought of an exciting adventure in China and moved with our two little energetic inquisitive boys to China and the start of our great Asia adventure.

After a couple of years of juggling twins, and getting used to my new life, new culture and city, I started to get desperate for a creative outlet again and started to design logos for a few of the other expat Mum’s small businesses whilst hatching a plan for a design business that I could call my own. It would have to be something that I loved to do but that could also be ‘portable’ as we were about to move again, this time to Hong Kong.

I did a lot of research into trying out other avenues first, I felt like it could be an opportune moment for change, maybe textiles or jewellery… once settled in Sai Kung I tried bag design for a little while, but eventually realised that it was easier for me to go with what I already knew – Graphic Design. However, I wanted to try something other than packaging, something that I could design for myself without working for a design company.

So the idea for my prints was born and a friend of mine bought me a lovely white leather bound ‘Ideas’ book to use for my brainstorming. I still use it and it is full of all my thoughts, sketches, pictures from magazines – I love it and it has pages and pages of ideas just waiting to be brought to life, I never run out of ideas as my inspiration is continuous and all around me.

 

 

You now work for yourself creating gorgeous collages that capture the spirit of the places you’ve lived in and visited. Where do you draw your inspiration from and where do you find the materials used in your work?

 

My inspiration comes from the culture, colours and everyday local life of the places I live in and visit. I’m often inspired by textiles and traditional pattern too. I have cupboards bursting with little things I have picked up in markets mostly and in vintage shops, I started collecting when I working in design in London, things I picked up on backpacking adventures, gifts from lovely local characters too… everything I own has a great story behind it and when I explain the detail of my prints to customers this is what they love about them!
 

Each of your pieces features layer upon layer of graphics, images and details. Can you tell us a bit about your process? How long does it take you to create one piece and do you have a solid idea of how it will turn at the outset or does it develop organically as you go along?

 

I always start out with a concept, sketch of a theme or idea and plan it and draw it out first – this comes from my training in design – I know what I want the design to look like at this stage. Anyone can make something look pretty with instant apps these days but to have a good concept and a lot of patience and application is invaluable – this is what I used to teach my graduate students at RMIT – ideas first then the computer!

Then I start to look at what I can use from my existing props but mostly I will then go out and take photos and start to gather the subject matter that I want to use. This can take a long time to find and can be quite costly sometimes! I keep a constant eye out for pieces which I can use in later designs that I have planned. I then put it all together as a digital artwork which is sent to print. Some of my designs, like my Limited Edition range, are hand finished in gold ink and some designs have bits of imagery I have drawn or painted, then photographed and added as layers too.

It’s a complex technique that I have learnt through my years in packaging design that I now use for my prints.

 

 

How important is the online world for marketing and selling your art? Do you find you make more connections through your website and social media or more traditional methods like print media, exhibitions and word of mouth?

 

I find it hugely important. I now have a website I am proud of but when I started my business in Hong Kong I used Facebook to advertise and opened a ‘Business Page’. My first sales were to friends and the other women entrepreneurs from HK Island and Sai Kung (where I lived) and they have all been and still are enormously supportive and positive! They really helped me to grow my business.

I love to answer all my messages on social media myself and have built up relationships with customers through their orders, it is so important for me to be in contact with them as much as I can as I get such pleasure in hearing fantastic stories of gifts for friends, anniversaries, surprise gifts from husbands, group leaving gifts and also customers who have since left Asia and buy my prints as memories of their time here. It really is the best job in the world when you can create something that makes somebody else so happy! All of the feedback I have had has been so personal and positive. Really very humbling.

Most of my growth and connecting has been made online in Hong Kong but since moving to Singapore I have realised that here it is very much about connecting through the fairs and exhibitions, so I am slowly but surely exploring this avenue.

I also have great support from a few shops both in Hong Kong and in Singapore who stock a selection of work and we all support each other by advertising each other’s work through our own social media and events.

 

In your opinion, what are some of the most important things an artist needs to consider when running their own creative business?

 
I would say, the most important thing, especially if like me you work from home and have kids, is discipline. You have to be committed to putting in the hours (and they are long) to get yourself organised. It is so easy to get distracted so I do tend to miss out on catchup coffee mornings but I try to make time for myself on a Friday to meet a friend for lunch and get out with my camera. I work a full-time day every day and now my business has grown, I have got to the point where I need an assistant part-time to help me with my orders and a good handful of printers and framers, tech guys and an accountant to help me. I feel like I have grown a little team of people around me to help, which in turn means that I can have more time to simply design – which any designer will tell you is the ‘dream situation’ to be in.

When I first went back into design in Hong Kong I spent hours and hours on the internet watching tutorials to catch up with all the changes that had been made in Illustrator & Photoshop and a few months getting the equipment I needed together.

We didn’t study business at Art school so I have literally learnt everything on my feet with the help of my friends, my husband and some of my close girlfriends who act as my mentors.

Many creative people in business find it hard to advertise themselves but I really enjoy the interaction on social media with customers, it makes my day when I see that someone has left a nice comment on Instagram or Facebook – I can’t wait to have a look at the apps at the end of the day. I must admit though that I get a bit nervous about speaking to a crowd of people and am much better at talking to people about my work on a one to one basis at an exhibition or a fair – I was always happy talking about my work in art school critiques so I must work on that!

 

 

You’re not only a successful artist but also a wife and a mom to twin boys. How do you manage to create your art, run your business and raise a family? Do you ever get time for yourself or is it all go, go, go?

 
Yes, it is all go, go, go! and so hard to find time for myself. It’s so tough as a Mum juggling it all and I do sometimes suffer from terrible ‘Mum guilt’ when I have to work late. On the upside though, it is teaching my boys (now teenagers) that women work just as hard as men and they tell me they are proud of me. We have moved so many times, countries, houses, schools and they have been incredibly resilient little troupers – we are a close and loving family and I make sure I always have time to talk and sit down together for family meals and days out on Sundays. They know my work is my passion and have even appeared in a magazine article with me!

I do tend to do all of my shopping online, clothes, groceries, art supplies – I never have time to shop for anything – thank god for online delivery!
 

Do you have any advice for other aspiring artists looking to make a career out of their talents and passion?

 
Definitely, if you are passionate about what you do, if you really get a kick out of it and love the interaction with your customer, it will show in your work. If you enjoy your career you will want to work hard, it won’t come as a chore but a pleasure. Be inquisitive as you never stop learning, don’t be afraid to ask for help or interact with others in your profession and the most important of all is to ask and be accepting of honest feedback and constructive criticism as you can only better yourself this way.

 

 

We love showcasing inspiring artists and creative entrepreneurs like yourself. Can you tell us about one other female artist in your community who you think is rocking the art business and why?

 
Oh wow there are so many! I don’t know who to choose! There are so many in the Art business but I would like to pick my two colleagues from my Graphic Design days in London, Lindsey Webb and Sarah Hingston. We have all come so far since then and I have watched them evolve as strong female designers who I look up to. Both have quite different styles and live different lives but are both so accomplished at what they do.
 

Check out more of Louise Hill’s work and please show your support!

 
www.louise-hill-design.com
www.instagram.com/louisehilldesign
www.facebook.com/louisehilldesign
www.pinterest.com/louhilldesign