26 July 2012

A Birthday Speech!


So today marks Leaff's second Birthday, and I am particularly proud of the last year. Things at Leaff have gone from strength to strength, and I have in turn, worked with some truly amazing clients. So first of all, I want to say a specific, huge, and humble thank you, to each and every person and company who I have had the pleasure of working with to date.

As you may have heard though our Facebook and Twitter pages, big changes are due to happen within Leaff, which I have been looking forward to sharing with you for some time now...

A New Director

Last month saw a momentous moment, as a new and fellow Director was added to Leaff. Jay is not only an extremely talented designer, but the only other person that I know of who is as passionate about what he does as I am. He is also my husband, and he is great at that too! He will be joining Leaff in a working capacity for the very first time next month, and I can't wait to introduce you all to him.

For some of you, it may even be news that until now, Leaff has been run single handedly by me, Kate. However, Leaff was always a joint vision and dream between Jay and I since we first met 5 and a half years ago. Therefore, in the background, Jay has always been on hand with bucketfuls of support, throughout the sometimes trying and very exciting last 2 years of Leaff. At some points I think I have even talked of 'our' and 'we' rather than 'my' and 'me', because in my head, Leaff has always been half of Jay. So as you can imagine, this is not only a milestone for Leaff, but a milestone for us personally too.

Shop Developments

Not only will we have a new, extra voice to Leaff, we will also be making some exciting changes and developments within our shop and our brand. Shop-wise, 2 new designs are currently in production
which complete our letterpressed 'Garden Bird' range. These new editions will be added to our shop
next month, when we will also be looking forward to getting our 'Magic Little Christmas' robin cards
back in stock for the festive season. A range of stockists from around the local area will also be beginning to stock our full range too, which we are very excited about, and which we will release full details for soon.

Leaff's Brand

Brand-wise, having developed so much over the last 2 years, since Leaff was launched, we feel that this now warrants a refresh of our brand. This will be something that Jay will be getting his teeth into with me when he begins at Leaff next month. Not only will the changes see a tighter visual to us generally, but it will also work right across our website, which we are looking to overhaul quite drastically. Being the sole engine for Leaff and with such rapid developments happening over the last year, it has been extremely difficult to keep the website up to date. Our portfolio desperately needs reshooting, which has taken a bit of a hit with all of our cameras breaking at once, but we are about to invest in some very exciting equipment to bring things right up to speed. Watch this space!

So lastly - but not leastly - I would like to raise a slice of this delicious cherry cake, to all of you who have supported Leaff - clients, fans and anybody who has spent any of their time reading my posts, whether that has been on here, Facebook or Twitter. I would also like to raise a slice to myself, because we should always recognise our own hard work and achievements - and lastly to Jay, for the amazingly exciting years that we have to come at Leaff!

20 July 2012

Illustration Inspiration...


One of my current projects has had me reaching into the imagination of my inner child, and nothing reaches it quite like visual inspiration; this collection of beautiful, quirky illustrations has done just that. Each piece really captures the subject of the illustration, from the way it has been executed to the colour combinations used, they each give a real sense of imagination.

'Castle in the Sky', by Charlotte Cooke - charlottecookeillustration.blogspot.co.uk
'The Flock', by Natasha Newton - natasha-newton.co.uk
'Canapy', by Rilla Alexander - byrilla.com
• 'Clown Girl', by Heidi McDonald - heidimmcdonald.blogspot.co.uk
February illustration (Studio on Fire 2010 letterpress calendar), by Cecilie Ellefsen - happymeat.com

13 July 2012

Leaff's Shop News



Yesterday was a momentous day for Leaff. After months of hard work, we finally sent off the artwork
for our 2 new card designs, for the plates to be made for pressing.

If you remember, back in January, we launched our little online shop. Since then, we have come
leaps and bounds, and have lined up a number of special independent shops around the local area,
who are to stock our Garden Bird range.

Of course, until now, there has only been our little blue tit card, 'As Free As A Bird' and last Autumn,
our robin card, 'Magic Little Christmas' which sold out ahead of the festive period. Our 2 new designs introduce you to 2 further characters who are regulars in our garden, and which complete the
Garden Bird range.

We still have plenty of our 'As Free As A Bird' left in stock, and 'Magic Little Christmas' is currently
being reprinted, to be relaunched in the Autumn.

We will be releasing information of all stockists once the cards are launched, and they will also
be available to buy in packs through our online shop. Watch this space!

11 July 2012

The Queen Visits Worcester

How could I not cover this? I have not long returned home from our lunchtime adventure down town, to see the Queen and Duke pass through the little streets of Worcester. The crowds were vast and thick, baking in the heat of the flawless sunny sky. It was a big moment for our little City...

06 July 2012

The Wonder of Woodlands


As some of you may have seen on the news recently, England's woodlands have been in danger of destruction, by Government plans for a mass sell-off of the public forest estate. A representative 
of the Woodland Trust was being interviewed regarding the subsequent outcry of the plans, where she explained the benefits of woodlands - not only for the obvious (wildlife), but for us as human beings too. Thankfully, it has since been announced that the plans have been dropped, and our woodlands have been made safe.

This whole situation really struck a chord with us - it is no secret that we are great lovers of nature and wildlife - but we had recently taken a trip to a local woodland, and as if to confirm what the Woodland Trust was saying, we reaped the benefits of the experience.

The peacefulness of the woodland, where we cannot help feeling humbled at walking amongst nature's home. There is so much to see, so much to inspire - don't you think these photos just illustrate this perfectly?

The day that we visited and took these pictures, was a very grim, rainy day - much like today. Despite this, we donned our wellies and got out for some true refreshment in the rain. It looks, from these pictures, that it was a beautiful sunny day, but it just goes to show the beauty of nature when it shines 
in all its vibrancy, no matter what Mother Nature is up to.

The woodland that we visited - pictured here - was Worcester Woods Country Park. In all of this grim weather, fun can still be had outdoors, so why not dig out your raincoats, and explore your own local woodland this weekend?

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