Nelleke Verhoeff sometimes is so enthusiastic about the innovations and effects she figures out while working on her illustrations and designs, that she gets rosy red cheeks.
Can you tell us something about yourself?
“I live in one of the best neighborhoods in Rotterdam, the Oude Noorden district, and that is also where I am working full time on my Red Cheeks Factory. There are never enough hours in a day. Making illustrations, thinking of new products, designing and promoting, shipping orders, learning new techniques… I have a partner who also works from home. We each have our own work space where we work on our own things. Then it is fun to get together again for lunch. I also do yoga, and like to go on walks and visit museums, about which I then blog.”
How did you start working as an illustrator? And how does your style develop?
“I used to be a theater maker. For children’s theater as well as adult theater. I played the accordion, juggled, did acrobatics; in short, I made physical and visual theater. It was great fun, but I also started discovering my other creative talents. I did a three-year creative education program (at Cochenille, school for the creative process) and attended an intensive art program at the Vrije Academie in Rotterdam. My style is still developing, and I love mixing techniques. Drawing, collages, prints and painted works; I scan them in and continue working on them with Photoshop, my favorite software. And last spring I went to the popular ‘Make Art That Sells’ course by Lilla Rogers. That is a real journey of discovery, it definitely influenced my style. For example I am using very different colors again now.”
What do you like best about your web shop?
“My work is really finding its way all over the world now; around Europe, to Russia, the USA and Australia. It wouldn’t be possible without the internet. I think that’s fantastic!”
Shop.redcheeksfactory.com
and
Etsy.com/shop/RedCheeksFactory
