Sending My Artwork Worldwide - Where Can I get a Vintage View to?

In June 2018, I was commissioned by Vintage Chartered Financial Planners to make an illustration of Roseberry Topping.

The feedback they received on the artwork since its creation has been nothing short of remarkable and so rather than keep the image to themselves, they decided to share it with the world by sending ‘Vintage View’ postcards to all corners of the globe.

I loved this idea and got involved immediately by sending the postcard to family, friends, business connections and clients all over the world, from New York, Hong Kong, Africa, Spain and Switzerland to name just a few. Below is a collection of those who helped. Watch the video below to find out more about the project, or read the press release Businesses Unite with Roseberry Topping Artwork.

If you would like a postcard please contact Vintage or myself so we can get Rosie even further!

Dehli - India

Taken at Humayun tomb in Dehli by photographer and letterpress artist, Francis Fitzgerald. See his work here.

Hong Kong

Taken in Hong Kong by Laura, who is a teacher, teaching English as a foreign language.

Namibia - Africa

Taken by Kathryn at Elevation Marketing while on a tracking expedition with Ray Mears at Erindi Game Reserve, Omaruru.

Amsterdam

Taken by my cousin Megan and her partner Frazer.

Clarence Pier - Portsmouth

Taken by Anjalee Burrows, an aspiring children’s book illustrator, who just completed her first illustrated book, The Hospital Hoppities.

Kedrodasos - Crete

Taken by Malcolm Wray a professional photographer living in Crete.

Reykjavik - Iceland

Taken by Lucy and Paul who run For the Love of the North, they offer North East related Gifts, Prints and Cards which are sourced directly from the artists.

Valencia - Spain

Taken by Karen at Vintage Chartered Financial Planners on her many travels.

Leeds

Taken at the Corn Exchange in Leeds by graphic designer, Adam.

New York

Taken from the Empire State Building in New York, by illustrator Amy Dipper.

Brazil

Taken at Vale nature reserve, one of the largest protected areas of Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. Taken by Amy who is studying zoology and is an aspiring writer, currently writing for Campus Society.

Geneva - Switzerland

Taken at Jet D’eau fountain by Andrew at ProJuice.

Camden Town - London

Taken by Becci, currently studying for her PhD in Biochemical Engineering at UCL.

Yonago-shi - Japan

Taken by Chi at Call Kanda shrine while she was visiting her family.

Madrid - Spain

Taken at the park, Parque Cerro del Tío Pío, but the locals know it as Las Siete Tetas (The Seven Tits) because it was an old landfill of seven mounds, which has been turned into a park. Taken by the lovely couple, Waine and Ruben.

Corfu - Greece

Taken on holiday by my parents, Paul and Angela.

New York - Central Park

Taken by Rebecca, who lives in Canada but was on holiday in New York.

Copenhagen & Paris

Taken by Andrea who was following the U2 tour and travelling a lot.

Toronto - Canada

Taken by Vicky, who used to travel past Roseberry Topping a lot when she was living in England, and reached out on social media to me. Taken at Hudson’s Bay Company.

Algarve - Spain

Taken By Beverley Lawson, Spanish Tutor in Darlington.

London

Taken by Anne-Marie, holistic therapist at Kismet. Photos taken on the cable cars over the Thames, and next to the life-size marble statue of Queen Victoria, at Guys and St Thomas Hospital.

London

My own contribution while on a trip to London. I snapped a photo at the London Eye and a scene of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben (currently getting a makeover)

Little Loch Broom - Scotland

Taken by Michael Ritchie, a student at Edinburgh University.

Budapest

Taken by Nina York.

Wales

Mount Snowden, taken by Debbie Branson.

Press Release: Young Stockton Artist Making an Impression in Print

Abby Taylor with her vintage-style illustration of 1 Church Street which now hangs proudly at CCAD

'A Stockton artist, who is now enjoying success through her new freelance graphic design business, has taken her love for her hometown and turned it into vintage style prints now on sale at a local independent bookshop.

24-year old Abby Taylor, a graphic design graduate from Cleveland College of Art and Design (CCAD), began working as a graphic designer in 2015 after gaining a first class degree at the university-level campus in Hartlepool, alongside working on freelance projects to develop her portfolio and client base and challenge her creativity.

After winning an art competition in Hartlepool in 2017 to create large-scale posters for the railway station with her partner Owen Smith, and receiving a further commission by Hartlepool Council, the success gave Abby the encouragement she needed to leave a job that was no longer fulfilling or challenging her, and go self-employed.

Over the past year, Abby has built up her graphic design and illustration business and is now taking commissions from local business and organisations across the Tees Valley, with clients including Tees Music Alliance, CCAD and the National Museum for the Royal Navy.

Following the success of the railway artworks featuring local Hartlepool landmarks in a nostalgic 50s style, the talented young artist took the concept and her fondness for Stockton to create images of its iconic town hall and high street.

Abby Taylor with Richard Drake and Melanie Greenwood from Drake- The Bookshop in Stockton

Abby explained: “Stockton is where I grew up and where I currently live so it holds a lot of dear memories for me. I was determined to pay my beloved town homage and decided to create an exclusive print, working with the same style of illustration that I have used for other clients, including Cleveland College of Art and Design and Hartlepool Council."

“Drake, a local independent bookshop, struck me as the ideal home for my prints. Having recently won The British Book Awards’ Independent Bookshop of the Year in the North category, Drake has a fantastic reputation and is a place I often visit. Throughout the year they hold author events, book clubs and activities to get children and adults excited about reading. It was the sense of community for bookworms that drew me in, and confirmed for me as the right place for my prints.

“The store is beautiful and cosy with an exceptional collection of hand-picked books. I went in and met with the owners, Richard and Melanie, proposed my idea and showed my existing work. When I asked if they would be interested in stocking artwork that depicted locations in Stockton, they said yes, they would love to, and I was over the moon!”

This is the first artwork to be sold at Drake and Abby has created the Stockton High Street illustration – available in both A4 and A5 – in her trademark vintage style.

Richard Drake from Drake – The Bookshop, said: “The clean style of the prints was something we really liked from the minute we saw them and we felt they were in keeping with the no-book products we stock. It’s also great to be able to support someone local as they are starting out in business.”

Abby has also created illustrations of CCAD’s campus buildings, including the new multi-million teaching facility, 1 Church Street, the existing teaching facilities in Church Square, and the former Post Office building in Whitby Street, which is undergoing a transformation into a studio and business centre for people working in the creative sector. The images from 1 Church Street are currently being used in a promotional campaign by the specialist art and design school across the UK to potential students.

With a number of projects on the go, Abby is looking forward to the future and reaping the rewards for her hard work. She added: “It’s been just under a year since I became self-employed, and although it has been hard – learning things like pricing yourself, and making sure all the paperwork is correct – it has made me so happy and I’ve been working with some great clients. Self-employment also gave me the freedom I needed to work on passion projects, like the Stockton prints.”'

This article or snippets of it have been in The Northern Echo, CCAD's Website and NEConnected.

First photo and copy by Kathryn Clapham at Elevation Marketing.

There has also been an influx of interest in businesses wanting their own illustration of their place of work for decorative and promotional uses, or even to use on their own merchandise! If you would like to inquire about commissioning a bespoke illustration of your building or place of work, please email hello@iamabbytaylor.com or fill in the contact form on the Contact page.

My Experience at Ladies, Wine & Design

Ladies Wine & Design is a concept which was set up by famous graphic designer, Jessica Walsh. She recognised there was an unbalance in the creative industry, as only a tiny percent of creative directors are women. The event started in New York and is now a worldwide concept and has spread to 130 countries and is still growing. These free events help offer mentorship and widen our networks. I personally heard about it on Instagram in May 2017, as the event was new to my nearest city, Newcastle, and had recently been set up by the amazing graphic designer, Juli Vignette. When I saw the Ladies, Wine & Design website I loved their ethos and sense of community, so I applied for a place at the Newcastle event right away. The meetings are monthly and are limited to a small group of six creative ladies.

I was open-minded at first, as I had been to networking events before, even a ladies-only one. In my experience, it tended to consist of groups that had been coming for years, so they would gravitate to the people they already knew, and it was normally such a random bunch of people, it was hard to understand the purpose of the event.

At the beginning of May last year, I had just left my in-house graphic designer role. I had recently finished the fantastic, large-scale project for Hartlepool Council with my partner, Owen. It consisted of 12 large vintage style travel posters on display at Hartlepool railway station. This was the springboard I needed into self-employment, as it gained a lot of media attention. I had current clients I was working with, but didn't have a proper website yet, as everything was happening so fast, although I had always freelanced, even while in education. I was feeling a little unsure at that point and was considering all options, including maybe working in a creative studio.

The first meet up was Chit Chat, which was just an open discussion for the group, this was a great introduction, and exactly what I needed. I got there a little too early, and Juli was so welcoming and I got a good vibe off her - she had even created handwritten name badges for everyone. The group was a mix of self-employed ladies, who either have a small team under their employ, work alone as a freelancer, or are themselves employed. A lot of them had worked in creative studios before, so it was really interesting to get their perspective and hear their input, especially when making the switch to self-employment. There was an air of honesty, and everyone seemed comfortable. With the casual chatting, wine and delicious cheese and crackers, it was a really enjoyable and informal experience. I got the train home feeling so positive.

The next meeting I went to was five months later, which was Portfolio Reviews with successful freelancer Mandy Barker, of Sail Creative and Fionn Andrews of Craft Agency (a creative and digital recruitment company). Also, yes, my full name is indeed Abigail.

I have always thought it is important to take criticism and be open to people's suggestions, and what better people to take suggestions from than a successful freelancer, someone I aspire to be like, and someone who recruits people like me all the time, and has seen many portfolios. I had my portfolio reviewed by Mandy and got to see other people's portfolios too. I got some great feedback on my work and realised how diverse the work in my portfolio was too, I received small but useful suggestions on the way I presented the work in my portfolio, which I took on board.

The last event I went to was Branding Yourself, I went with the intention of showing my website and getting the group's input on my brand. I had been torn whether to brand myself as my name or as a company name for a while. As you can see, I opted for my own name and decided to really embrace the fact that when you work with me, you are getting something that has been designed by a trained individual with a focused vision for your project, rather than something designed by a committee.  I decided to use the bold URL iamabbytaylor.com to drive this home. 

The special guest for this event was Sarah Tempest from Altogether Creative. It was fascinating seeing her presentation on how they came up with the brand name and image. it's often a side you don't see, all the unused logos and ideas they didn't run with, it was a unique experience.

Ladies, Wine & Design has been a really useful support network and has had a hand in my huge progress in my first year of self-employment, and have been there to give me a boost at more difficult times. Self-employment is a solitary endeavour and it's healthy and useful to find others in the same boat. Going it alone doesn't mean you have to go it alone! Through the friends and business relationships I have built through Ladies Wine & Design, I've been able to find a useful support network at an important developmental stage in my career. If you're interested in joining, check out their website and see where your nearest event is held and follow them on social media to stay up to date.

From these events, and speaking to other creative women over the last year, it really pulled away a facade for me. In my previous jobs, I have seen lots of amazing females in leadership positions, kicking arse at their jobs and being supportive of others. I thought there were minimal changes to be made for women in the workplace, apart from the obvious gender pay gap and some sexist job requirements/uniforms/remarks etc. in other companies.

It's important to remember, just because you haven't seen or experienced a particular type of inequality yourself, doesn't mean it's a myth. In the last year, I have spoken to women who had been asked if they plan to have children at interview, who had been denied going further up the career ladder because they recently got married and 'will be having kids soon'. I've also spoken to women who have never received remarks like that directly, but were prevented from being on the same wage as their male peers in the same job role.

Talking to other female creatives has really opened my eyes and made me realise how important events where women support each other are. You can always tell who the strong women are anyway, they're the type of women that would go to an event like this, and they choose to build each other up instead of tearing each other down. 

“We rise by lifting others.”

— Unknown