It’s time to introduce to you our final maker in our autumn/winter 2021 meet the maker series… Lily Kong.
Lily Kong is a London-based illustrator, who uses her practice to celebrate the joyful moments and find the humour in the embarrassing, lonely, almost-pathetic incidents.
In her free time, she loves staring at the clouds for hours and is a big fan of Kew Gardens in London. She also loves sneakily listening to others chatting in pubs, and would write conversations down sometimes and make a little drawing as a response. Most importantly, she likes to take inspirations from daily conversations with her friends.
Continue reading to discover more about Lily, her inspiration and her work.
What attracted you to your craft?
I got into fictions, anime and comics when I was a teenager. Using my imagination, I drew the characters from novels everyday (during class too!). I would recreate scenes and endings from the anime. That’s when I realise how much I am into drawing and telling stories visually.
‘Imagine Running Around Like Mad’ Print A3 by Lily Kong £15
What does your typical day look like?
I always start my day with a cup of tea. I then get dressed like as if I am getting ready to work, even though I am just working in the living room. It’s very helpful in building a routine and telling yourself that you are at work. I work for at 7-8 hours everyday, mostly on replying to clients, drafting new work and finishing illustrations. I put on music or Friends the tv show as background music. They are just all very calming. I always end the day by reading novels. I don’t watch much Netflix. So reading fiction really helps relieve the tension and stress.
When you’re not working / studying what do you enjoy doing?
I love hanging out with my friends, getting a few pints in a local pub after work. Also, I read a lot of It’s Nice That, Creative Review, Cosmo and Vogue in my spare time. This is because I need new information to fill my daily cravings of curiosity.
Oh Fresh Worm A3 Print by Lily Kong £40
Does your product have an environmental focus/does it support the circular economy?
Most of the risoprints I am selling in NJAS are made of recycled paper and vegetable ink.
What is the USP (unique selling point) for your products?
These prints are made in risograph with a burst of saturated colours and the delicacy of layered ink. They will add a range of beautiful colours to the wall and brighten your room.
Where do you find your inspiration for designs?
These prints and illustration are mostly inspired by our daily lives. They celebrate the joyful moments and aim to deliver a relatable, warm-hearted experience.
Please can you provide a little more info on how your interest in design started and developed?
I like joking around with my friends. We tease one another all the time on messages. Adding a “Haha” or “Heart” reaction to the messages just make the whole conversation so light-hearted. And when the “teasing” is drawn and created visually, the work carries different layers of context and becomes something that is more than what I have expected. I love how illustration can shape and change personal experiences. It can empower my audience and myself to think differently of our daily life experience. I am fascinated by the possibilities of illustration, humour and personal experiences.
Do you have any favourite prints in the collection?
My favourite is definitely the risoprint Heatwave. I have printed this illustration in digital print previously and they looked so different from these risoprints. Risograph adds more depth and vibrancy to the illustration. It almost transformed the illustration to something better.
Heatwave Print A3 by Lily Kong £40
How would you summarise your collection is a sentence?
The selected prints celebrates joyful moments in daily lives and adds a burst of vibrant colours to our grey days.
What are your hopes for the future / where would you like to take your design career / collection?
I am currently working freelance on different projects. I am curious how my work can be applied and transformed into different spaces, for example window displays, murals and fashion items.
Thank you for joining us on our meet the makers series, where we spoke with our newest designers. If you have missed any of the seven makers featured, be sure to catch up here! Similarly, if you would like to see the collection of all the new in products, browse them all here.