Today we’re pleased to welcome back Merle of Merle Made Tales. We can’t wait for her to return to Brighton Open Market at our May 12th fair, we’re sure you’ll love her beautiful illustrations as much as we do…
Please introduce yourself and your brand….
Hi, I am Merle Hunt, owner, designer, illustrator and general all round, one-girl-band of Merle Made Tales. Merle Made Tales provides delightfully illustrated cards, gift wrap and stationary products that focuses on seasonal themes such as Nordic fairytales for Christmas and literature love quotes for Summer. My present project is based on Spring-green filled images from Celtic mythology.
How would you describe your style and your creations?
Traditional watercolour illustrations that reflect the natural world and the universality of stories. My work is often small in scale and filled with decorative detail. The illustrations always tell stories inspired by literature and fairytales and use nature and animals as the main reference.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
One of the most exciting moments of my work is when the illustrations that, in some cases, I may have been working on over a month or so, arrive back from the printers. Seeing hand painted images printed out and reproduced many times over changes them somehow and their transformation into practical products is magical and really satisfying.
What can we expect to find on your stall at The Fairy Tale Fair Fringe Festival Special on Saturday 12th May at Brighton Open Market? And are you looking forward to taking part?
I will be selling my current range of cards (lots of cards!) postcards, notebooks, bookmarks, wrapping paper, gift tags, prints and more. I love presenting my stall in seasonal colours too so, as summer will be just around the corner, expect bright, hot summer colours. I can’t wait!
Do you have a best seller?
I started out by just selling cards because they were the easiest to design! And also I love cards! They remain my biggest product seller. Who can resist a nice card, right? They are a brilliant, accessible way for anyone to fill their lives, and the lives of people they love, with art.
Do you have any plans or ambitions for the future?
As I mentioned already, I am greatly influenced by narrative, literature and fairytales and so I would LOVE to illustrate a book one day and am currently working on a collaborative project with my twin sister, who is a writer, to that end.
Do you have a motto or inspirational quote?
Keep going. Haha! It’s not very eloquent or insightful but I wish someone had told me that when I was studying illustration at university. I always thought there was a magical formula that would make me successful in my field and I just had to have the exact formula and everything would fall into place. After 6 years I have had to discover through experience that the only magical formula out there is that, if you want something enough, just keep going.
How can we find out more about you?
Please visit my website: www.merlemadetales.com for links to all my social media pages, my online shop and for a portfolio of my work and more about Merle Made Tales.
