Art by Esme
Birds and plants are Esme Lintin’s current inspiration. She shares her creative journey and what her day looks like in Buckinghamshire, England.
Hello, who are you?
I'm Esme Lintin a 26-year-old illustrator originally from Lincolnshire, now living with my boyfriend of 11 years and two kittens of five months in a little village in Buckinghamshire.
Tell us about your creative journey. How long have you been a designer and illustrator?
My creative journey started when I opened a Winnie-the-Pooh greeting card craft set one Christmas and from then on, my family would receive a handmade greeting card from me whatever the occasion. Admittedly, some of them may have fallen apart slightly by now so quality control may have not been my strongest, but that was about 15 years ago! I then started getting requests from people in my hometown for greeting cards so I guess that is the start of my little business! I studied Fine Art at Lincoln College, however came to realise I wasn't really cut out for deep thinking and creating abstract concepts – I just wanted to make pretty things for people, so decided not to study at university but start earning some pennies to buy lots of craft equipment! I went through lots of stages from jewellery making to decoupage and stood at lots of freezing cold (and pretty empty) Christmas craft stalls!
When my boyfriend got a job “down south” it was a pretty scary thought to move away from home, but I knew there might be lots more creative job opportunities for me in the South. Through some miracle, I managed to land myself a job as a creative artworker in a small village in Hertfordshire so didn't have to brave bustling city life which suited me just fine! This was where I learned how to digitally illustrate using PhotoShop! My Etsy business, like a lot of people, came about through being furloughed for a couple of months at the start of the year and I am so proud of how far it's come and can't wait to see where I can take it!
What inspires your designs?
My work always seems to end up being inspired by nature but through my day job where I have to follow briefs of so many different styles I have developed a broad range of subjects I love to draw. I find the wonderful plumage of birds totally amazing but have also loved the house plant obsession the world has developed over the past months of being at home!
How long does a piece usually take to design?
I must say my attention span is pretty short (especially since getting kittens, they are such an adorable distraction) so sometimes I will leave and come back to pieces I have started. However once I get my head down, podcast on, cup of tea brewing, I can create a design in a day but that's an achievement!
What does a normal day look like for you?
I focus on my business on the weekends and evenings what with having a 9–5 day job so a normal weekend at the minute consists of a cuppa, walking down to my (at the minute pretty chilly) studio, and to be honest I seem to spend a lot of time packing orders which I totally love doing and it's nice to be away from a screen! I also have a few branding projects on currently which is fun being a part of developing new lockdown businesses! We will go for nice long walks, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by them here. I listen to podcasts and I play netball so will watch a few matches to try and brush up on my skills! The day is then maybe finished off with a takeaway as I'm not much of a cook!
Tell us about your creative space. Where does all the making happen?
So during all these crazy times we managed to buy our first home together and after spending lockdown 1.0 in a teeny flat with no garden we are so happy to now have room to move and exciting decorating projects to complete! I also have a little garden studio which was pretty newly built for the previous owner's bakery so it is all fresh and lovely! I have space to keep all my supplies and can feel all profesh packing orders at a proper desk rather than the dining table! I can see the garden which is lovely and have big plans to bring lots of colour and fun to the studio to encourage my creativity. I want to use this great space to develop new ideas for my business and ideally, I would love to move away from the computer screen for some new products in the future as I do miss being hands-on with my art, so watch this space!
Buckinghamshire, England
