HVISK ATELIER IS A PLACE TO BE CREATIVE - AND TO GET INSPIRED. WE AT HVISK MEET A LOT OF ARTISTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND IN OUR ATELIER WE ASK THEM TO INTERPRET OUR COLLECTIONS AND EXPRESS THEM THROUGH THEIR ART. THEIR INTERPRETATIONS INSPIRE US TO LOOK AT OUR COLLECTIONS AND WHAT WE DO IN A DIFFERENT WAY - AND HOPEFULLY THEY INSPIRE YOU TOO. 

FOR THIS ATELIER COLLABORATION WE TEAMED UP WITH THE SCOTTISH ARTIST/ILLUSTRATOR GIRL, JESSICA BIRD. BRIGHTLY COLOURED, CHALK PASTEL AND CHARCOAL DRAWINGS ARE THE MAIN FOCUS OF JESSICA’S WORK. WE HAD A CHAT WITH HER ABOUT HER WORK AND THE ART WORK SHE DID FOR US.

HVISK: WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING?

JESSICA: I’m an artist working primarily as a fashion illustrator. I studied fashion design at art school in Scotland but i’ve always drawn so after a few years in the industry I found my calling in combining the two! Everyday is different, I work with brands or on private commissions, I draw backstage at fashion shows, I do events illustration or I work on personal projects - I love the diversity, it keeps me on my toes!

HVISK: WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE MEDIUM? 

JESSICA: Anything messy - I mainly work in charcoal, chalk pastels and acrylic paint. I tend to work quite quickly and these materials allow me to capture something at speed, which is essential if you’re working live at a show for example. Charcoal especially allows you to move quickly across the page, you can create different quality of line depending on how much pressure you apply etc and it doesn’t necessarily allow you to be tentative in your mark making, which I like. I often work charcoal on top of almost dry acrylic paint to create unique lines. 

HVISK: WHAT DOES HVISK MEAN TO YOU?

JESSICA: Responsibility and creativity. It’s wonderful to see a brand being very transparent regarding their values and processes - not only environmentally but with regards to the wellbeing of staff/workers. Having worked in the fashion industry i'm very aware of how toxic/unhealthy and often substandard work places can be so it’s refreshing that HVISK is committed to doing the best by the people they work with. I love that these newest designs are made mainly from plastic waste - turning waste into something beautiful is peak creativity for me.

HVISK: WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR THE ART WORK?

JESSICA: Inspired by the collection title ‘ONE’, which marks a new chapter in HVISK's continually growing sustainable approach, I chose to paint a series of my continuous one line drawings onto the bags. These drawings are done ‘blind’, only looking at the subject in front of me and not down at my sketchbook until i've completed the drawing, my charcoal never leaving the page - resulting in a single line drawing, each one unique. Colour is really important in my work, so during lockdown and inspired by Fauvism, I started painting these types of drawings using pure colours that weren't in anyway influenced by the subject. It was really therapeutic to have a completely intuitive process from start to finish.