Autumn may already be here, with the end of the year in sight, but there’s no stopping the team here at Happydesigner. Because we are on a roll – and we have some VERY exciting news to announce. For a long time now, our superstar illustrator Sarah-Leigh has wanted to find the perfect project to…
Meet Barry: our Studio Manager and chief tea brewer extraordinaire
At Happydesigner, we love illustrating children’s books and you’ll know, if you’ve worked with us, that all the clever drawing is done by our very own Sarah-Leigh. But there’s another very important person at Happydesigner. He may not be crazy about crayoning like Sarah-Leigh, but he’s a vital cog in machine. He’s the one who…
And the winner is… Happydesigner!
It may not be the Oscars, the BAFTAs, or the Oliviers, but we are thrilled to bits here at Happydesigner to have won an award for our children’s book illustration business. We have been named Illustration Studio of the Year 2022 in the annual Prestige Awards. These awards were set up to recognise the hard…
Daffodils, birdsong, longer days – it can only mean spring is here!
Daffodils – tick. Snowdrops – tick. Birds singing more loudly – tick. Sunshine – well, a bit, so half a tick. Lambs gambolling in the fields – tick. What does all this mean? It means spring, one of our favourite seasons. Yes, spring is definitely here, and we are looking forward to a super busy…
From books to the biosphere: how we’re helping the planet.
At Happydesigner, we’re all about children’s book illustration. We eat, live and breathe books – well, we don’t eat them, but some of them smell really nice (especially when they are new!). But actually, this isn’t quite true; we’re not ‘all’ about children’s books. There’s a lot more to Happydesigner, and one of the most…
Happydesigner and the Chelsea Flower Show
We are proud as punch to announce some very exciting news, here at Happydesigner. We have branched out (pardon the pun) and been commissioned to illustrate the design for a garden that will be on show at no less than the Chelsea Flower Show. Garden designer Jamie Butterworth, who runs Form Plants in Windsor, is creating a garden…
Introducing… new children’s books from the pen of Happydesigner
As children’s book illustrators we like to think we know a thing or two about what makes a good book for youngsters. We’ve illustrated books for children of every age, from 0, to pre-school, to primary, to teens, and we have learnt a lot along the way, from working with many wonderful authors. So now…
A new look and new website for Happydesigner
If you’re new to Happydesigner, then hello, welcome, and we hope you like the look! If you’re one of our lovely customers or regular site visitors, we hope you’ve noticed the changes and found them fun, more informative, and helpful. We’ve not ‘reinvented the wheel’ because we liked lots of the features of our old…
Making a career from a love of drawing
Meet children’s book illustrator extraordinaire, Happydesigner’s Sarah-Leigh Wills – lover of the great outdoors, who draws for a hobby as well as for a living, and who is probably named after a dessert! When did you start drawing and what was the first drawing you ever did? That’s a hard one. I have been drawing…
