MEET: Zosienka & Rosie

Today we meet London based illustrators, Zosienka & Rosie. Combining their unique styles, they create stationary, textile and cermaic products with a whimsical edge. They chat to us about how their hobbies grew into a business, their plans to break America and how they keep themselves motivated.

What do you do and how did you start?

We are both illustrators. Nine months ago we decided to show our work at a craft fair. We'd each been making gifts and cards for friends and family so we had designs ready to sell. The Market was a great success and looking at our stall we realised our styles were very well suited to each other. A couple of markets later, infected by the excitement of our customers, we decided to turn that hobby into a serious part of our lives. Our first ever 'business meeting' was at the Tate Modern cafe with a cup of tea and a carrot cake (Zosienka smuggled in her own biscuits!). Here we wrote a list of our goals, most of which we've achieved already - its time to write a new one!

What steps did you take to create your own business?

Firstly we established which products we'd specialise in making, created a logo and identity, then applied it all to a website, online shop and social networking profiles.

What kind of formal education / training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?

Rosie studied Illustration at Bristol and Zosienka studied graphic design in London.

Describe your work setting.

We work individually on our ideas and meet once a week in a variety of cafes and drinking holes to discuss and inspire each other's work. Rosie works from an ink splatterd desk in her South London flat, whilst Zosienka works from her own bustling, but tidy studio space in Hackney. We hope one day to have out own joint studio.

What are your tools of the trade, which is your favourite?

First and foremost the humble ink pen. Every image takes shape with a thin black line on the page of a sketch book. We have to also work digitally to adapt each design to the product it will adorn.

What is your main goal for the next 6 - 12 months?

We have some pretty big goals, but currently we have set our hearts upon taking our designs to America.

What advice would you give someone starting a creative business?

Its important to keep your mind juicy, keep drawing in your sketchbook. Its easy to get into a trap of drawing for a product rather than drawing because you feel like drawing rooftops or hundreds of circles! This is going to sound boring, but its really important to have a plan and a list of goals. You also need to make sure that you keep your files in order, which can be very time consuming, so always allow time in your schedule for such things.

If you had time what new craft would you like to learn?

We'd love to have access to our own screen printing studio, and are very keen to learn about printing onto pottery.

What keeps you motivated?

Working in collaboration is great for motivation, we keep each other inspired and excited about future prospects. We both follow a lot of blogs too. It's really inspiring to see other people making good from their creative minds and encourages us to keep on going.

Did you always dream of being an artist/designer maker when you were growing up?

Most certainly! We are children from the 80's, Tony Hart showed us the way!

If you would like to keep up to date with Zosienka & Rosie, you can have a look at their website, their online shop and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.