Andrew James Hofmeyr - Artist Illustrator

Creative SA: Andrew James Hofmeyr

July 24, 2019August 23, 2019 Design MonarchyLeave a comment

by Marica

VISI recently shared a post on their website that piqued our interest. Printing and photography studio ORMS launched their own boutique range of wallpapers.

For this limited-edition collection, ORMS collaborated with 16 local creatives – South African artists, illustrators and designers – to create a lovely selection of unique and show-stopping wallpaper designs.

One of the motivating factors behind the launch of this exclusive range is that ORMS believe their clients are looking for individual designs with local flavour rather than the generic image spread offered by stock libraries. “We get a lot of requests for custom-printed wallpaper designs, as our customers are wanting something unique for their homes and businesses,” says Leanne Barling, Head of Décor Printing at ORMS.

The artists involved in the collaboration are Ahimsa Ali, Aimee Hall, Andrea Brand, Andrew Hofmeyr, ARK Paper Studio, Cecile Nowars, Fleur Le Cordeur, Frances White, Gany Beyers, Liffey Joy, Katie Lund, Lisa Strachan, Maria Baumann, Mariette Kotze, Nicole Carr and Si Maclennan.

While all the wallpaper designs are absolutely lovely, the work of one artist, in particular, jumped out at us. It was the playful, quirky and utterly whimsical designs of artist and illustrator Andrew James Hofmeyr.Read More »

WIN 3 Beautiful Leila Fanner Greeting Cards

December 1, 2016December 12, 2016 Design Monarchy33 Comments

As promised it is GIVEAWAY time!!

Those of you who have read yesterday’s instalment of our Creative SA series will know how nuts we here at Design Monarchy are about the beautiful artworks of South African artist and illustrator Leila Fanner. We simply adore her bold use of colour and pattern. You can read the post: here.

Well, Leila has been generous enough to gift us with some of her gorgeous printed product to dole out as giveaway prizes to some of our blog readers! YAY!

4 Lucky readers can each win a set of 3 gorgeous Leila Fanner greeting cards. Each card features one of Leila’s unique and beautifully whimsy paintings. You won’t find these in the shops folks!

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TO ENTER:

LIKE the Design Monarchy Facebook page: here.

LIKE Leila Fanner’s Facebook Page: here.

COMMENT below to let us know you have entered…

>>Want a couple of extra entries? Share this post on your social media channels – just be sure to tag/mention Design Monarchy when you do.

The competition closes on Sunday the 11th of December at midnight and is open to South African residents only. Winners will be announced on Monday.

Creative SA: Leila Fanner

November 30, 2016November 30, 2016 Design Monarchy1 Comment

Earlier in the month we introduced our new blog series, Creative SA. In this series we will regularly feature South African makers.

For our third installment of the Creative SA series, we will be sharing the beautiful artworks of Leila Fanner with you.

Leila is a painter, illustrator and surface pattern designer who works from her studio in the small town of Riebeek West.

Similar to Nicole & The Striped Flamingo, the SA creative we shared with you in our previous post, Leila has had her own part in Design Monarchy’s brand evolution. In fact, it is Leila who designed our beautiful company logo in 2012.

Since we first interviewed her four years ago, Leila has placed greater focus on her fine art works – spending much time with paint brush in hand.

The elements that Rose and I most adore about Leila’s paintings are her bold use of vivid colours in combination with intricate pattern and detail. Her artworks often have a whimsical yet edgy feminine quality with a slight mystical feel.

Leila’s works, while rich in South African flavour, are completely unique. Her striking paintings feature a fresh interpretation on the local imagery and frequently feature South African fauna and flora. Leila also has the rare and remarkable ability to incorporate African elements into her paintings and designs without the usual “Greenmarket Square cheese”.

Leila will be taking part in the “Summertide” group exhibition this Sunday the 4th of December at The Gallery in Riebeek Kasteel. Also be sure to check out Leila’s Facebook page as she is currently having a studio sale.

We are also very excited to announce that Leila has gifted us with some of her goreous printed product to dole out as give-away prizes to some of our lucky blog readers. We will be posting all the give-away competition details tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled.

Want to see more of Leila’s gorgeous artwork? Pop over to her website. Our international friends can purchase her prints and products on Society6.

You can also follow Leila Fanner on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.

Creative SA: Nicole & The Striped Flamingo

November 24, 2016 Design Monarchy1 Comment

The next South Africa creative that we will be sharing as part of our Creative SA series, hits quite close to home as she has had a personal hand in the creation of our brand and the look and feel of our website.

Nicole Bruigom is a graphic designer and illustrator hailing from sunny Durban. Have you ever walked the aisles of a Mr. Price Clothing or Home store and wondered who designed the trendy graphics and quirky doodles you see on the product? Well, the chances are good that it might be Nicole, as creating lovelies for Mr. P is her day job.

When Nicole is not designing for the Mr. Price shelves, she sells her freelance design services under the moniker “Nicole & The Striped Flamingo”. Upon spotting her quirky whimsy illustrations back in 2013 we immediately fell in love with them and interviewed her for the “Interviews & Features” section of The Design Tabloid.

Not too long for thereafter, while working on the design of our new Design Monarchy website, we were searching for an illustrator to create some custom graphics for certain pages of our website. We immediately thought of Nicole as both Rose and I enjoyed her style of illustration and use of colour and pattern. We thought it would perfectly complement our logo, branding and identity, which we perceived as feminine and elegant, yet quirky with a slight vintage flair.

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We explained to Nicole exactly what we had in mind and she created the most beautiful illustrations for us. The illustrations consisted of a quirky megaphone for our Home page, a pretty typewriter for our Press page, an old school phone for our Contact Us page, a hipster camera for our Portfolio page, and a toolbox and desk illustration to accompany our Company page. She also redesigned our Design Monarchy “Stamp of Approval” to match and compliment our new branding and graphics.

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We were absolutely thrilled with the results and feel that Nicole’s illustrations really “made” our website. Since the launch of the website we have had tons of complements and we have found that visitors to our site find the illustrations had to forget! Feel free to pop over to our website to take a look at the illustrations “in situ”, so to speak.

As mentioned in our previous interview, Nicole is also an author. She published “Little Chef”, a quirky illustrated children’s recipe book, in 2010 and it has proved so popular that she released a second edition.

You can also adorn the walls of your home with some Striped Flamingo loveliness, as Nicole designed a range of whimsy wallpapers for Robin Sprong that would be perfect for a children’s bedroom or nursery.

Want to see some of Nicole’s designs in the flesh? If you reside in Joburg, you might want to visit Cafe Hemingways in Kyalami as Nicole has done extensive work for them – everything from the gorgeous murals on the wall to the menus and cake toppers – she even designed a range of postcards for them.

Be sure to check out more of Nicole’s gorgeous illustrations on her website.

You can also follow Nicole & The Striped Flamingo on Facebook.

Whimsical Nicole Long

July 5, 2013July 5, 2013 Design Monarchy2 Comments

We interviewed local freelance graphic designer and illustrator, Nicole Long (aka Striped Flamingo). Her whimsy, vintage, girlie, pastel-coloured illustrations are simply beautiful – it’s right up my street. Don’t be surprised if you find Nicole’s work familiar – she has designed a ton of gorgeous stuff for Mr. Price (lucky Mr. Price)!

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself… where you’re from, what you do, any likes / dislikes?

Born in JHB, grown up in Durban. I got my Graphic design degree at Durban University of Technology. I work full time for a Fashion retail store and freelance in my spare time. I love illustration and quirky drawings – my children’s cook book, Little Chef was my stepping stone.