So gerne erinnere ich mich an letztes Jahr zurück, als ich ganz begeistert, jeden Meilenstein Valerie’s Entwicklung mit den entsprechenden Karten festgehalten habe. Der erst Zahn, das erste Mal richtiges Essen, die ersten Schritte… immer ein Ereignis, das man zusammen mit einer netten Karte super dokumentieren konnte. Eine neue, tolle Variante von Milestonecards in Schwarz und Weiß hat Cheryl Rawlings, eine britische Illustratorin entworfen. Für alle, die es lieber monochrom lieben, ein heißer Tipp! Ich habe Cheryl ein paar Fragen zu ihrer Person und ihrer Arbeit gestellt, die zwei süßen Jungs auf den Fotos sind übrigens ihre.

Dear Cheryl, I discovered your lovely work via Instagram and like it a lot. Who are you? Please introduce yourself.

Hello! I’m Cheryl and I’m 33 years old and live in Suffolk in the UK. I am currently on maternity leave after having my second son Jude, but usually work part time as a fashion buyer, mummy and illustrator!

How and why did you start your work as an illustrator?

I studied fashion design at university and upon leaving was looking for work in my home town and was very lucky to get a job as a fashion buyer. I have always missed the illustration side and when I was pregnant with my first son I picked up the pens again and started to draw. This then lead me to having some of my ‚doodles‘ published onto greeting cards, which really was the start of it all.

You’re a mommy of two lovely boys? How old are they? How do you manage to get everything together? Job, art, kids?

My eldest son Ethan is 6 in June and my youngest new addition Jude is 3 and a half months old!! At present I am on maternity leave but my employer is a family run business and hugely supportive. The illustration is my way of relaxing so when the boys are asleep the pens come out!!

Where can we order/buy your prints and cards? 

My website is currently being redesigned by a creative company called That’s Brave (www.thatsbrave.co.uk). It’s taken a long while to get here as motherhood has come first but it will soon be fully live. I currently take orders via email.

What are your future plans for your work, your family?

I hope to be able to continue to have the lovely mix of work that I do both buying and illustrating. It certainly keeps my weeks varied and I’m certain makes me a more interesting mummy to the boys. I am very fortunate to be able to take my son to his beautiful village school and collect him everyday which is important to me….it won’t be long before he’ll want me to stay in the car!

Any tipps for working moms? For building a business, being creative next to a regular job?

My biggest tip is reduce the pressure on yourself by giving reasonable lead times, people will wait if they love your work!! I am selective of what I take on, as I have other responsibilities, with motherhood being number one. Instagram is a wonderful community with lots of creative mums that are a great support network, so I highly recommend getting involved.

Cheryl Rawlings könnt ihr auf Instagram unter @cherylrawlings folgen.

Die Karten kommen in einer Schachtel, sind im A 6 Format mit abgerundeten Ecken und inkludieren die Wochen 1-7, dann 2 Monate bis 1 Jahr-Karten plus erste Schritte, sagt Mama, sagt Papa, erster Zahn, erstes festes Essen, erste Nacht durchgeschlafen. Die Milestonecards kosten umgerechnet ca. 25€ (£ 17,50) plus Lieferkosten umgerechnet  ca. 6 €  (£ 4,50). Bestellbar per e-mail über cheryl@cherlyrawlings.co.uk

Fotos: Instagram / Cheryl Rawlings