Hello lovelies, it's Illustrator Interview day! I'm so pleased to introduce you to Tania Schrijver from Rocajo Studio today.
Hi Tania, thank you for joining us on the blog today! You create lots of lovely illustrations & stationery, and I’m really pleased you could pop by. So onto the questions…
~ How did you first get into illustration? Did you go to art school?
Hi Laura, may I start off by saying that I’m honoured to be part of your Illustrator Interviews, especially since – to answer your question at the same time - I never went to art school. I’m completely self taught. I actually have a degree as a medical administrative assistant, but as you can imagine there’s not much room for creativity there!
So, why this desire to go into illustration? I have to thank my children: I’ve discovered over the years that I really enjoy planning my kids’ birthday parties and designing the party items myself. Each time there was a special occasion like their births and their birthdays I wanted to create something that was unique and memorable and handmade by me with love. I used different techniques (e.g. embossing, scrapbook materials,...) but I realised I fell short when it came to drawing on paper.
Perhaps this has to do with having an elder sister who could draw really, really well {insert minor childhood trauma here}. I guess as a child I never thought I was any good at it so my imagination mostly stayed in my head. The ideas I had wouldn’t quite transform into what I wanted to on paper.
When a few years back I learnt about drawing digitally things changed. All of a sudden I could draw these cute and adorable characters! Of course this didn’t happen overnight and I’m still learning everyday but now I’m trying to get everything that is in my head onto the screen. Drawing digitally has opened up a whole new world for me.
~ You have a shop on etsy selling lots of very sweet printable party items. How long have you been selling for?
After coming across the phrase: “There’s a time to dream and there’s a time to do, and now is the time to do it.”, I decided not to wait any longer and I opened up my shop Rocajo Studio back in December, so I’ve been selling for about 8 months. Sales have been slowly adding up and I’m very happy to have come so far already, especially since I realise that marketing is not my best skill. I’ve even had the pleasure of working with a few really lovely people on some custom orders.~ Do you have a favourite from all of your illustrations or products?
The Alice in Wonderland party printables have a special place in my heart since they were made for my daughter’s 9th birthday party. It was the first time I designed so many items digitally from scratch for one of my own children’s parties. The party was a lot of fun, we all dressed up and even Clara came to visit, so we have lots of special memories about that day!
~ If you could illustrate any book/text from any time in history, what would it be?
I’d choose a fairy tale because of the memories. As a young child I really enjoyed reading fairytales. I was always daydreaming about swimming with mermaids, fantasising about what I’d do if I were granted 3 wishes and oh, how I longed to have a fairy godmother who could make me look all pretty and send me off to a ball in a beautiful silver carriage. But I didn’t go as far as kissing frogs (at least, not that I can remember or would admit to on your blog).
These enchanting stories made me feel like something magical was waiting just around the corner and that, if I truly believed, anything could happen. One of my favourite tales was Peter Pan and I’d love to illustrate the classic version of the story by J.M. Barrie. This boy who didn’t want to grow up really got under my skin and my younger self may or may not have kept a thimble in a drawer just in case.
~ If you weren’t an illustrator what do you think you would be doing?
To be honest: I don’t know! I’m really enjoying this road I’m on now and though I’m not sure where it will take me I’m hoping that it will lead to the fulfilment of my dream of becoming a work-at-home-mom so that I can be there for my kids while doing something that I love daily. I still think anything could happen if you truly believe. After all, all the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.
~ Do you have exciting projects in the pipeline that you fancy sharing?
I have quite a few more animal characters lined up for my Animal Alphabet which I write about in my Flashcard Friday posts. I’m enjoying these so much that I already have a head full of ideas for more alphabets. So perhaps a Fairy Tale Inspired Alphabet might be next (if I find the time to design a full alphabet).
And of course in the middle of Summer I have to mention that I look forward to adding Christmas items to the shop. Visions of squirrels holding candy canes and elephants with Santa hats are swirling around in my brain.
Thank you very much for popping by today. I love your shop & I’m sure we’ll be seeing big things from you in the future!
Aww, that’s so sweet of you Laura. Thanks so much for having me over on your blog! And please thank Clara as well. I know she prefers to be the one in the spotlight here.
Isn't Tania's work lovely? You can read more about it on her blog, facebook page, or on twitter. And don't forget to take a peek at her shop for some extra adorableness!
P.S. Please do leave any questions or thoughts for Tania in the comments. And if you are an illustrator and would like to feature here on the blog, just give me a shout.
