Illustrator and designer who goes under the pseudonym Bella Coco Studios, based on the South Coast of England, works from her studio in the garden where the colors, sights and sounds of nature inspire her designs.
Bella Coco Studios creates a range of whimsical character-based collections suitable for many surfaces as well as trend and seasonal art for surface and product design. Her successful papercraft collections are featured regularly in UK craft magazines and have helped raise her profile in art licensing.
Regular visits with family in Michigan provide artistic inspiration. Ideas from the trips influence her British design style. She merges these influences into her American content. Bella Coco Studios also spends several days throughout the year volunteering in local schools to inspire children and encourage them to draw, using "shape building" step-by-step worksheets she has designed for each age group.
She joined the Board at the Association of Illustrators in 2011, sharing her experience in art licensing with the organization and its members.
Bella Coco Studios spends her spare time in the countryside with her daughter and two dogs. She says, "We love going out with our sketch books, camera, and binoculars on picnics. We live on the edge of a national park so the local countryside is a fabulous place to be inspired. In the summer, there are meadows of wild orchids, cornflowers, scabious, and beautiful butterflies and birds. During these outings, my daughter and I get to spend time together without distraction."
