Whooooo it’s time for our newest collab! Let me introduce you to Lynn Cosyn, aka @cosymore. She’s an illustrator from Luxembourg and we just loooooove her style! We immediately started brainstorming about all the things we could print with her designs, from jackets to tea towels to t-shirts, anything! Aaaand the best thing, you can make it too! The templates she designed are available as free download. They come with our newsletter (not on the list yet? go here to fix that ;)) that will go out later this week.
Time to get to know Lynn a bit better. We asked here some questions, and although she’s a brand new mom she found the time to answer them. Lucky us!
Who are your favorite artists?
I don’t have one particular favorite artist but rather 10000 of artists which I admire a lot. Abbey Lossing, Léa Maupetit, Abbey Withington, Rick Bertelmans, Klara Persson…
How would you describe your work?
I like to describe my work as being simple (a bit minimalistic) and poetic with a touch of humor. Reducing experiences into subjects of simple naivety. And I try not to be ‘too colorful’ to add a bit of ‘coolness’ to my naive drawings. Does that make any sense?
What education did you have?
Uuuh that’s a long story, haha.
I am actually an architect. I studied in Aachen (Germany), at the RWTH University and worked in an architecture office in Luxembourg (where I come from) after my graduation. I had worked on various projects such as furniture, house extension and other building related projects. When I realized that I was not able to express my artistic side enough in this environment. I switched professions. Okay, not from one day to another….there have been a lot of thinking and crying sessions in between but at the end I don’t regret having taken the risk to pursue my childhood dream of being an artist/illustrator. I’ve spent a lot of time with books, youtube videos and Skillshare classes to learn as much as I can about illustration and since 2016 I took the next step and became self-employed. Since then, I’m working full time as a self-taught illustrator. And ooooh how I love it. BEST DECISION ever.
Can you describe your work table/studio?
My couch. Haha.. no just kidding. But during my pregnancy last year this has quite often been my place to work from. In general, I’m working in my little studio at home. Speaking of my desk – it changes from being super clean and minimalistic to being super chaotic and messy in seconds. Pure magic.
What is your dream assignment? Who/what would you loooove to design for?
Designing for a fashion brand. Or creating a packaging design for a cool brand that I can identify with. Or illustrating a children’s book. YESSSS. That would be cool cool cool.
Can you tell us a bit about your life philosophy?
“Whatever it is you’re seeking won’t come in the form you’re expecting” (a quote by Haruki Marukami) describes quite well the way I go through life. For me, it also means that you can’t take a bad decision. In either way, if it has been a good or a bad choice – the outcome is always part of a learning process. My mom likes to say: “You never know what it has been good for“ – especially when something shitty happened. There is not better way for me to put things into perspective 🙂
What is your first creative memory?
Not sure if it’s the first memory but when I was a little girl I loved to draw funny characters – especially cute little monsters with ‘googly eyes + crazy teeth’. I remember I made my parents laugh when they saw my creations. That was all I needed. And this is something I still want to keep: make people smile when they see my work 🙂
Here at the HQ we are always super interested in how people actually spent their days, is that just us? We just couldn’t resist asking Lynn about hers:
I start working between 7 and 8AM when my husband leaves for his work. The cool thing is that I can (secretly) work in pajamas. No need to style myself before heading to work. Usually, I’m starting right away with the fun part of my work: brainstorming, doing some research, sketching and drawing. It’s only before lunch time that I check my inbox. This way I make sure not to spend too much time answering mails because otherwise I’m getting too hungry 😀 During my break I go for a walk into the woods with my furry assistant, Emely – a 16-months-old golden retriever. When I’m lucky I can return to my desk without any ‘mud splatters’ and continue my work until 6 or 7PM. (when no special deadlines are showing up the other day)
And then there are of course perfect days, what would be a perfect day for you?
When I have a day off or when there is no special deadline approaching I looooove to start new private projects: these can be sewing, knitting or some other DIY-projects. I am not that kind of person who can just relax on the couch. (I wish I could) I ALWAYS have to be creative in some way. And besides that I love spending time with my dog. Will see what the future will bring with my new role as a mama. I guess my mini-man has already tons of ideas to keep me busy 😀
Saving the best for last: what is the most valuable lesson you have learned as an artist?
Not over-analyzing everything and just DOING it.
Thanks so much Lynn! We loved to get to know you a bit better. Spoiler: we’re already super busy printing all the things with your designs!
Super fun note: we’ll be sending the doodles she designed out as a free template for all our newsletter subscribers. You can sign up here.
Admire Lynn’s work here.
You can find all our (fun guaranteed) downloads here.
Want to learn how to print sharp fine lines, bold colorful shapes or anything in-between? Our book is full of aaallll the tips and tricks and a gazillion amazing projects, get it here!