It's been a while.....

It's been a while since I posted anything here or written any guest posts, as I've been so busy working away through the day and paper cutting in the evenings.

I'm working towards a re-launch of all things Mr Yen for August, which means preparing everything for this, while also making sure I have some things ready for Christmas by July, which will mean I can get press releases and promo pieces out as soon as possible for magazines in time for December.

I'm really excited to re-launch, with completely brand new products, new branding, new photographs and new styling! I hope you will all love the new designs and you can see a little peek of two of them below - the botanical silhouette which can be customised and the botanical paper lace....which brings me on to my next point....if you would like any of the pieces currently in the shop, then act fast as they will be discontinued mid July.

See you soon with another update on the re-launch!

Paper Runway Guest Post - Daniele Papuli

My latest guest post for Paper Runway is now up! It features the work of Daniele Papuli and you can go and read it here.

Paper Runway Guest Post - Kevin Stanton

My latest guest post for Paper Runway is now up! It features the work of Kevin Stanton and you can go and read it here.

Thursday Finds - Whit & Whistle

Todays Thursday Finds post features the stylish notebooks created by Whit & Whistle.

Paper Runway Guest Post - Imeon Designs

Today in my guest post for Paper Runway I talk about the paper pieces created by Imeon Designs.

Click here to read more.

Paper Runway Guest Post - Paperfaerie

Today in my guest post for Paper Runway I talk about the book sculptures of Paperfaerie!

Click here to read more.

WIP Wednesday

Hello!

For today's WIP Wednesday I thought it would be a nice idea to show you what I managed to get done on the laser cutting machine last week at Duke Studios (thanks James and Laura!)

I designed this piece the week before to test out using the laser cutting machine and while I was testing it out on paper, I used elements of the design on acrylic and leather too. Playing around with this machine and different materials gives me so many ideas for products....I think the acrylic would make great coasters and the leather would make great bookmarks!

While I was getting my test pieces cut, here's what I was given by Duke Studios - two small lasercut Duke logos. Don't they look great?! - I love the detail and the depth you can achieve with the laser cutter!

Inspiration Tuesday

This Inspiration Tuesday post features the blog Upon A Fold. The following images are from this post, but there are so many more amazing paper finds on Justine's blog - head over there now and get lost for hours in all its amazing paper goodness!

Thursday Finds - Petra Storrs

For today's Thursday Finds post I thought I would share the work of Petra Storrs. Petra is a London based artist who works as an art director, set designer and fashion/costume designer for clients such as Sony Music, Rolex, Vogue, Dazed & Confused and Christian Louboutin.

Below are two videos that Petra worked on....the first one as an assistant art director and creator of all the paper pieces and for the second video she created all the paper pieces. It just goes to show how versatile and creative work with paper can be!

Speaking of creativity with paper....did you see my latest guest post over on the Paper Runway blog? You can see it here.

WIP Wednesday - Exhibition Papercut and Letterpress Gift Tags

For this weeks WIP Wednesday I thought I would show you what I've been working on....I've been creating a completely unique and one of a kind papercut for the We Are Raw exhibition. I was recently asked by We Are Raw if I would contribute a papercut piece to their 5th birthday exhibition and I said yes!

You can see all the other contributors here and all of the money raised from the collaborative artworks will be going to the local charity the Wood Street Mission, helping children and families that live in difficult circumstances.

I thought I would use this as an opportunity to experiment with my style and design something that is heavily influenced by Papel Picado - the traditional Mexican craft of papercutting.

Something else that I have been doing this week is taking photos of the NEW Mr Yen Letterpress gift tags! I have been planning to create these for a while and have finally had them printed and listed for sale here! I wanted something meaningful and simple so they don't distract from the gift they are attached to - but also enhance the gift giving experience by adding a tactile element. So you can now have your very own set of four gift tags, with a choice of either grey or white ribbon and all for a very reasonable price!

WIP Wednesday

Hello how are you today? This week is flying by so quickly for me, but I think that's because I've been so busy taking new photographs of every product I have for the shop! I decided the black and white photos weren't really working out - sales decreased, people always asked to see colour versions and generally the interest in products had gone.

So - I didn't waste any time in looking for inspiration and and started to look around for a new angle to try styling the photographs in. I wanted to make sure people knew that they were buying a papercut unframed and I wanted to show the delicate details without distraction. I ended up finding a few pieces of this wood and decided to use them. They had slight wear and tear and a nice texture, with some great typography to boot, so I was sold as soon as I saw them - plus I think the texture adds just enough interest as to not distract from the papercuts.

So after a full two days taking photographs and editing most of them, I am now just editing photographs of all the Mr Yen greeting cards - which should all be uploaded by the end of the week.

Hope to se you back here tomorrow for a Thursday Finds post!

Handmade Type - New Papercut Design

I just thought I would make a little announcement about a new papercut design that I created for the book Handmade Type Workshop, created by Charlotte Rivers and published by Thames & Hudson.

You can see the papercut below, which is in the shop now!

As soon as I get my hands on the book I will be back to do a review on it as I know of a few other talented people who have contributed to it too. I created this papercut design as a tutorial for the book and I'm so excited to have my work published in an actual book - thanks so much Charlotte for asking me to take part!

You can see an interview I did here for the Thames & Hudson blog on the book Handmade Type Workshop.

Monday Morning - New Beginnings

Hello!

It's a new month and a new week, which means a new to do list with lots of things coming up this month! The Mr Yen newsletter is going to be sent out later today, with a free desktop calendar and a little treat to do with the Mr Yen stationery. You can sign up here to find out what the treat is when the newsletter goes out later today!

A little peek of whats coming soon!

I also thought I should update you on my development so far on my #SixMonthPlan...

* I'm in the process of arranging two Christmas window displays for this year! (one in Edinburgh and another in London!)

* I have been contacted by some very interesting people to create a few paper goodies for a wedding photo shoot.

* I have a potential new stockist in Canada

* I'm finishing up my application form for the Arts market in November to send out this week.

Still on my list, to achieve before the end of the year...

* A papercut book cover design.

* A papercut illustration for a cosmetic company.

* A few papercut illustrations for some editorial work.

* To create a papercut installation.

* To have my work displayed in a local business as an installation or art piece.

* To work with a paper company to promote their business using my papercuts

I am still working towards these goals and would love to secure more of them by the end of this month, so if you have any information on how to go about creating/doing any of these things I would appreciate any help I can get...you can send me emails here - and if you would like me to create any of these things for you, you can see my portfolio website here and get in touch here.

Have a great Monday and I hope you're having a great start to the month!

WIP Wednesday

Hello!

Hope you're having a great week so far!

This week I've been planning some details for my six month plan - mostly which companies I would like to work with on each goal, plus I have already had a few offers to create papercut Christmas window displays for two companies so far, which I've said yes to both - proof that the internet is amazing! If you have a twitter account you can follow my progress by using the following hashtag #SixMonthPlan. I would love to see your six month plans too if you feel like joining in!

I have also created the papercut that you see above - which uses this card design on an A4 format, for a potential new stockist which is local to me. It will also be going into the Mr Yen shop soon too!

**************

On a side note, I have had this blog for over three years now (I can't believe how quick those years have gone!) so I have decided to open it up to sponsors. I am still in the process of creating a sponsor information pack which I can send out to potential new sponsors, but in the mean time I have added a clickable banner in the side bar which you can click to register your interest (up there at the top right!) or you can just leave a comment below and I will add you to my list.

Hope to see you back here tomorrow for my Thursday Finds post!

Inspiration Tuesday - Paper: Folds & Colours

All images can be clicked to take you to their source.