The Face Behind the Flyer #0323
This year we are introducing a new tradition, working with members of The Little Makers Market family, to design custom flyers to shout about the events. This benefits us with beautiful marketing but also, helps us celebrate the incredible talent within our community.
We are so excited to be able to kick this all off with a stunning March flyer, created by the marvellous Emily Beatrice May. Read more about what inspired this design and learn about Emily’s process below.
My first thought when it came to the flyer design was March hares. I don't often draw animals so this was the perfect opportunity for me to stretch myself. I live very rurally in north Essex and the hares are out and about now, playing in the fields and starting to box. They have such character, and for lots of us symbolise the start of spring so I didn't want to be too literal with my colour palette, I wanted to choose something classic and bright to celebrate them instead.
I studied textile design at Falmouth University and graduated in 2014. I spent a while in sportswear before setting up on my own 7 years ago. Originally I worked purely on silk scarf designs, but it's been fun to see where creativity takes you when the world throws unexpected things at you.
My heart lies in fashion, and over the last few years I've learnt that being able to diversify is an amazing strength. I started producing luxury gift wrap in 2020, and people really loved the repeat prints that told stories, especially bookshops and museums. This summer I'm heading to the London Stationery Show to launch my sister brand 'Stay Still by Emily May'. I really love being creative because you can play with it, achievements are limitless if you just keep going.
If you enjoyed reading about Emily and her work, why not check out her website here or via Instagram at @emilybeatricemay
The design took me a couple of weeks to complete, but most of that was taken up with cooking it up in my head. I spend a lot of time thinking about how something will look before I put anything down on paper.
I work mostly in watercolour, but have really loved working with lettering over the last couple of years, so this was a really great opportunity to have fun with it. I wanted the flyer to be as tactile and grabbable as possible so I added the hare as a collage element. I think he looks quite pleased with himself, like he could jump off the paper which is something I was really happy with.
I like to tell stories with my work. Whether it's a print for fashion, a silk scarf design, or bespoke wedding stationery I love my drawings to start conversations. Every surface is an opportunity to get people talking, to make someone laugh, and the more unexpectedly the better.
I'm a big collector of vintage treasure. I like the inexpensive, everyday things that were used and became invisible parts of life. I love old tins, especially if they're battered and have had several different things in them since the original biscuits. At the moment I'm really into vintage shop display items like advertising boards for jelly babies, and cash registers. I think you can see how the fonts have inspired my work. I've even been using an old oil pastel set for a new project, the colours are muddy and incredible, so different to a new set if you bought them today.
