Today's new best-of-Etsy store is Billy & Scarlet from Sydney, Australia. I asked its owner, Jillian, a few questions about her beautiful work...
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your etsy shop, Billy & Scarlet?
I’m Jillian, the designer behind Billy & Scarlet, watercolour art prints for nurseries (and now party products!) I started Billy & Scarlet four years ago when I finished studying graphic design at uni. While I was studying, I realised I wanted to get back to my paints and pencils and incorporate a more hand-drawn/-painted look into my designs. It was this desire that lead me to start experimenting with illustration. I fell in love with kids illustration, particularly painting cute animals. I knew when I started my line I wanted to release a boys range and a girls range, and the names ‘Billy' and ‘Scarlet’ together just seemed to fit.
Your shop is the sweetest and I'm absolutely loving your party packs. What led you to creating that range?
The funny thing is, I have talked about the idea of "Billy & Scarlet Party" from day one! It wasn’t until I started receiving enquiries from customers wanting a printable party pack in the Billy & Scarlet style though that I seriously considered designing a range.
What's included in a pack?
There are lots of little decor elements that make up each party pack, along with a big backdrop of each design. Each item in the party pack is laid out on an A4 or 8.5”x11” printable page, complete with assembly instructions to help you put each piece together. Each pack contains:
- Party backdrop (55.5" wide x 39" high / B0 Size)
- Party hats
- Cake topper
- Cupcake wrappers
- Favour tags
- Food tent labels
- Milk bottle labels
- Water bottle labels
- Straw flags
- Cupcake toppers / straw flags
- Blank 5"x7" sign / note card
- Blank 4"x6" note card
- Thank you note card 4"x6”
- A customised invitation
- A PDF with instructions and tips for printing and assembling items
The backdrops can be printed through poster-printing businesses and each party element can be printed through your home printer. Helpful links and tips for printing are included in the Instructional PDF included with the pack.
Are your printables available to purchase separately?
There are plenty of purchasing options when it comes to the party packs! The whole pack purchased as one offers the biggest saving, even if you don’t end up using every single item. If you’re just looking to fill a wall and create an atmosphere around the party table, the backdrop can be purchased on its own. Likewise, the whole party pack (everything except the invitation and backdrop) can be purchased as one pack. If you’re just after some food tent labels, thank you cards or an invitation, these and most other items can be purchased separately too.
What about custom work (say, if I wanted the name of my daughter added to the artwork.) Do you offer this kind of service?
Yes! Every little detail you see in the party packs has been lovingly hand painted, carefully finished and set up as a PDF ready for printing. With the same illustrative process, a name can be added or wording can be customised – from the initial watercolour hand-painting, to making sure the final design prints beautifully. Pricing for artwork customisation starts at $50.
These days, parents tend to spend quite a bit of money for their kids' parties (admittedly, I'm one of them!) What do you think of that trend?
A child’s birthday, particularly a first birthday, is such a momentous occasion in both the child and parents’ lives, that it makes us want to create something exciting and memorable to mark the occasion! For many mums, designing and styling their baby's birthday is a creative outlet, something they can enjoy planning and collecting decorations for. Not only that, it’s a creative project that can be shared and enjoyed by friends and family and will leave their son or daughter with some special photos to look back on later in life. The Billy & Scarlet party packs are designed in a way that you can print as many of each item as you like – even months before the party! You might decide to spend a little bit of time one or two nights per week, assembling some decorations over a cup of tea. You might prefer to spend an afternoon with friends or family putting together the pieces while catching up for a chat. Throwing a birthday party is the perfect opportunity to get creative and enjoy the process of bringing a special event to life. I think it’s a worthy investment when you’re having fun, enjoying some creative downtime and making memories along the way.
If you had one piece of advice to give to parents who want to create the perfect party for their little one, what would it be?
Visit Jillian's shop on Etsy and get 25% OFF her range until June 30 by using the code JUNE2015 at checkout.
Mel x
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