MAKING MISCHIEF

When I started designing Merry Mischief, I thought it would be fun to use The Twelve Days of Christmas as a starting point, giving it my own twist.

So, instead of illustrating the song literally, I imagined what might happen if a curious black cat found itself in the middle of it all.

Four illustrations became the heart of the collection. Each tells its own story, but together they follow one mischievous cat making the most of Christmas. The two turtle doves are startled when the cat makes a jump for them. The "drummers drumming" arrive a little too late – the cat has already knocked an ornament off the tree and claimed the drum for a nap. The golden rings become the world's most entertaining cat toy. "Pipers piping" takes a sweeter turn as the cat helps itself to the freshly piped icing on a Christmas cake.

The coordinating patterns – candy canes, ornaments, festive stripes, stars, Christmas trees, and geometric motifs – all grew naturally from the same Christmas world.

One of the things I enjoy most when designing a collection is imagining all the different places it could end up. I can easily picture these patterns on gift wrap, mugs, kitchen towels, tableware, stationery, holiday décor, and even Christmas pajamas. It's always fun to see a collection move beyond the sketchbook and into everyday life.

More than anything, Merry Mischief is about those little moments that make Christmas memorable. Pets getting into places they shouldn't. Decorations becoming toys. Holiday baking that doesn't stay untouched for very long. They're the moments that usually end up becoming the family stories we tell year after year.

And if you've ever shared your home with a cat... you'll probably recognize a few of them.