“I think travel is a great source of inspiration and motivation. Your mind is so active from navigating your way around, I think it opens you up to new ideas and thinking outside your usual headspace.”
- Tiffany Atkin

Tiffany Atkin is a talented Brisbane based designer and illustrator. I first saw her work at the Ladyfest Viva La Femme art exhibition and I was struck by it’s vibrancy and strong feminine style. If you love what you see, check out Tiffany’s website, own one of her amazing art prints (available on Society6) and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

I spoke to Tiffany about her inspirations and her love of Japanese culture.

Where do you find creative inspiration?

As well as my love of Japanese pop culture, I am inspired everyday by so many things around me; colour, texture, the female figure, street art, abstract shape.

Artists like Bec Winnel (who I was lucky enough to meet recently – she is as lovely as she is talented!) for her incredible pencil portraits and rad attitude, Raphael Vicenzi (aka mydeadpony) for his statement digital art, Conrad Roset and Kat McLeod both for their simplistic use of watercolours, collage and the female form, Audrey Kawasaki for obvious reasons, Bei Badgirl for her sassy-cute mermaid gals, Rone for his drippy goodness, Richard Kern for his captivatingly odd photographs of women… to name just a few.

I am also lucky enough to call some very talented artists my friends and colleagues – they constantly inspire me both as an artist and as a human.

How cute is Tiffany’s creative space?

You have said you’re heavily influenced by the time you spent living & working in Tokyo, what did you love about Japan?

I have always been drawn to Japan, it is an incredible place. I think travel is a great source of inspiration and motivation. Your mind is so active from navigating your way around, I think it opens you up to new ideas and thinking outside your usual headspace. I found new direction in my work there and was lucky enough to collaborate with some pretty talented people.

Japanese design aesthetic is pretty different, so working on jobs like gig posters and album covers was a lot of fun and taught me a lot. I also really really love salmon onigiri – it’s the best snack. Japanese convenience stores sell it for about $1.50 a pop! We need more onigiri in Aussie 7/11s! Aussies would LOVE it. Just sayin!

Meiji-Dori Night print available on Society6.

How would you describe your personal style?

I’d say my illustrations are an eclectic mix of japanese-flavoured inky lines, watercolour wisps, aerosol speckles, vintage fabric and all sorts of paper scraps…

Is your personal style as colourful as your art?

I tend to wear ‘splashes’ of colour rather than head-to-toe neon saturation… My decor taste is probably a little more colourful – I have many trinkets and tidbits and sentimental nik-naks from my travels.

Do you have any shows or collaborations coming up?

At the moment I am working on some book-cover designs for a Gallery in Japan, and one of my textile designs was just accepted by a big-name US clothing brand. It sounds a bit naff to say I can’t talk about it but I have been sworn to secrecy until it’s released! I believe it will be printed on a range of women’s swimwear – I’m very excited for it to launch as pattern/textile design is something I’d like to do more of in future.

I will also be featuring in the upcoming Viva La Femme show at Lust For Life gallery next month!

Bird Gallery and Studio had a brilliant idea, instead of getting artists to submit images of others, why not challenge them to capture their own likeness for an exhibition called ‘Oh! You Pretty Things‘. This is not something I do on a regular basis and I can honestly say that I don’t feel very comfortable in front of the camera. But, many photographers say that self portraiture is one of the best ways to test ideas about lighting, composition and different techniques as you have plenty of time to experiment.

This shot was actually one that I never intended to publish. It was a test inspired by a book I was reading called ‘Creative Portrait Photography’ by Miss Aniela, a fine art photographer based in London UK. She stared her career doing many experimental, levitation style images, something I thought would be fun to attempt.

Shot in my garage with the help of a tripod, a chair to lean on (which was later removed), my boyfriend clicking the shutter and then compositing a few images together, this is the result! There are definitely a lot of things I would do differently if I were to attempt this again but it was a good learning experience.

The closing party for the exhibition at Bird Gallery is on March 7th, check out their Facebook event for more information.

Ally Dunlop of Wanderlusting Blog is a talented freelance stylist who is super fun to work with. If you don’t believe me, check out her portfolio. She puts together amazing outfits from local and national designers, creates beautiful hair and makeup and even blogs about her adventures. I have been lucky enough to work with her on several shoots recently including the Harriette Hill editorial and an edgy / grunge collaboration that will be published very soon.

She can style any look to transform the wearer from drab to fab! I recently snapped two of her outfit posts so check them out for full details: Wonderland and Pretty Woman. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram to see more!

5 Minutes with Ally Dunlop

What do you love about being a stylist / makeup artist / hair stylist?

I love the opportunity to create a whole concept and/or storyline from complete scratch, and fashion is a huge part of who I am; so I love having the ability to express things through fashion. Of course there’s also being able to touch really fancy clothes sometimes!

What inspires you creatively?

Absolutely everything, from seeing someone’s outfit on the street, to certain colours, to even whatever’s on my Tumblr dashboard! Life is one big inspiration.

Who are your favourite designers?

Locally: Hungry Wolf the label, Rochelle designs so many beautiful and edgy things, I love them all! Globally: Alice McCall! Her designs are absolutely breathtaking 100% of the time!

What does 2014 hold for you?

Collaborations galore! I’m keen to just expand my contacts and work with as many fabulous and talented people as possible!

What were you wearing and how would you describe your personal style?

In the first outfit I was wearing my new Bardot crop top and wrap skirt, with my Wittner exposed heel boots, TopShop hat and Lovisa ear cuff! In the second outfit I was wearing an ASOS top with a Portmans skirt and my Sportsgirl Heels. I never quite know how to explain my style and as you can see, it has the ability to change dramatically! I dress using bold colours a lot of the time, and love a good statement piece, but also feel at home in a nice pair of casual shorts and t-shirt! I’m definitely a leg-showing kind of person!

What has been your favourite job / project so far?

Probably my first published work, soon to be released in Like a Lion Magazine! I won’t disclose much, so you’ll have to keep an eye out for it! But it was so much fun styling something totally out there and weird, and also stylishly grunge!

Exploring the back alleys of Brisbane City in search of textured backdrops, Melissa (Mirror Mirror Agencies, Brisbane) and I did a quick shoot in preparation for an upcoming project. I will be collaborating with Ally Dunlop of Wanderlusting blog who is a fashion blogger and stylist extraordinaire!

All I can say is that the next shoot you see this lovely lady featured in, will be edgy, dark and a different style to what I usually do. I am always trying to grow as a photographer so I thought it was time to push my creative boundaries, what better way to start the new year?

On a sunny afternoon, German backpacker, Katha and I, ventured out into Paddington to take some model test shots. I really enjoy working one-on-one with models and having the chance to create that connection between the model and the camera. I am constantly striving to find that defining moment when both the photographer and the model relax and the sunlight is at its soft, glowing perfection.

5 Minutes with Katha

What inspires you creatively?

Travel inspires me a lot because I always see and try new things.

What does 2014 hold for you?

2014 holds for me a lot of more traveling and I will go back to Germany to see my family and friends again.

How would you describe your personal style?

My personal style would be described as crazy and colourful.

What do you miss about home?

I miss my family, friends and the german bread.

What do you like about Australia?

I like the people in Australia, they are very friendly.

Because it’s christmas and because my sister, Alisha van Bone, is such an amazing cook, I wanted to inspire you with a christmas baking idea! Alisha made this fresh cherry pie for our friend’s christmas party and it was definitely a hit.

The cherry pie was made from a recipe in the October issue of Delicious magazine and isn’t online yet but I found a similar recipe. She used fresh cherries and cut out pastry shapes to decorate the top, making it look fun and christmasy, enjoy!

It was so difficult not to eat all these delicious fresh cherries!

So that’s how you get the seeds out of cherries… use a cherry pit remover!

Blending the ingredients for the pastry.

Cherries tossed in sugar and put into the pie dish, now for the fun part…

Cutting out shapes from the pastry to cover the cherries. Alisha chose these stars because they look like snowflakes.

Covering the cherries with shapes, it’s all coming together…

Brush with some egg and it’s ready to bake!

The final result! And I can assure you it was as yummy as it looks!

What are you cooking this christmas?