It’s time to meet our first new maker… Hannah Brown (Kvist)
In our opinion, there’s no better way to start 2022 than with a new “meet the maker” series! We’ve been chatting with our latest cohort of new designers, and we are so excited for you to see what they had to say.
First up is the wonderful Hannah Brown who set up KVIST as a creative platform to showcase her bold, graphic prints and pattern design. Using mostly screenprinting, stencil, and riso techniques she creates work that combines overlaying colours, shapes, and elements of collage and texture.
Hannah graduated from Camberwell College after studying a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design and then an MA in Printmaking . We know that you will love her bright, A3 prints as much as us. They will certainly brighten up the walls in your home or bring joy when gifted!
Find out what she has to say about her practice below and enjoy the first interview in our meet the maker series!
What attracted you to your craft?
I’ve been interested in screen printing for a very long time. I can’t remember exactly how it started but I think it comes from a love for a printed surface. I love the layers of colour you can create and the tactile elements that come with using paint. I’m also fascinated by textile and pattern printing. I love watching videos of people making huge sheets of fabric. It’s so satisfying.
What does your typical day look like?
I have a full time job so try and squeeze in my printing and designing in the spare hours I have. Sometimes, I spend an evening screenprinting from my kitchen, playing around with colours and shapes. Other times, I’ll book a session in the Leicester Print Studio. I’m in the process of learning Illustrator and am also working on some Riso designs, which involves more learning. I’m also looking to get back into textile and pattern design so I am always crawling the internet for lessons.
When you’re not working / studying what do you enjoy doing?
Exploring new places, digging for old records and books in dusty, decrepit shops. Finding pops of colours and street art in unusual places.
What is the USP (unique selling point) for your products?
All my prints are created because I love the process, some of my work are complete one-offs and some are limited to a series. Each print is hand pulled and comes with its own personality. If someone can find joy in my work then that really is a bonus.
Where do you find/ source your inspiration for designs?
Everywhere! The Instagram community is a huge inspiration but also street art, exhibitions, product packaging, old record covers. I have hundreds of bookmarks and photos and screengrabs of ephemera and art, I can’t keep up with it all.
2 Colour Grid Pink and Turquoise Print A3 £30
Please can you provide a little more info on how your interest in design started and developed?
I was reading a magazine when I was about 15 and saw an article about Tomato, a group of designers who did a lot of artwork for Underworld. I was completely taken in by their abstract cut-and-paste use of text and photos. From then on I became really interested in poster design, flyers and anything printed. When I discovered the prints by Kate Gibb for The Chemical Brothers, I was completely hooked by the screenprint process. I studied Graphic Design at Camberwell but felt really lost by the end of it. There was a period of about 10 years where I didn’t do anything creative and then I discovered a local print studio run by a lady I did my MA with and just decided to start printing again as a hobby. I love it and I know I’ll always want to print now.
Do you have any favourite items in the collection?
I do love the Pink and Turquoise print. That was an attempt to just use two layers instead of my usual 3 and I think it works really well.
How would you summarise your collection in a few sentences, words?
Bright, fun, honest, hand made.
What are your hopes for the future/ where would you like to take your design career/ collection?
It would be my absolute dream to do this full time. I’d like to do exhibitions soon and I love the idea that my designs can be converted into packaging, textiles, maybe even posters. This is something I’m still working on and experimenting as I find my own voice, but I’m getting there, each new project and opportunity gives me the chance to learn and improve. I’ve just started working with riso printing and the next thing for me is to start using text in my work.
Any extra information you can provide that could be of interest about materials used, where the idea for the collection came from etc.
These designs were made during lockdown when most of my studio facilities were closed. One of the designs didn’t get printed for a whole year. Now things are reopened I would really like to start doing more again, working with different techniques and branching out into textile printing again.
We hope you enjoyed reading our first meet the maker post of 2022! You can find Hannah’s joyful prints for sale here.
Don’t forget to check back next week for another meet the maker post. In the meantime, take a look at our autumn/winter 2021 designers to see the artists who will be featured in the series!