Owner, creator, designer and tea maker of West Moor Design, Rachael introduces herself and experiences of being a local artist.
Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit of your story.
Hello everyone, my name is Rachael and I am the owner, creator, designer and tea maker of West Moor Design. From an early age I have always loved arts and crafts so it was only natural that I have fell into something like this for a job.
I am originally from England but lucky enough to call Queenstown my home. I am a BIG lover of pastel colours, especially pink. I absolutely love animals, especially dogs as all they want is love & walks.
I am happiest when walking in the fresh air, eating cake, adventuring & traveling and when I’m surrounded by people I love.
Explain what you do in the simplest form
I created hand drawn illustrations and transform & colour the pieces digitally to create unique art work for wall art, postcards, stickers and magnets.
I also repurpose pre loved clothes and fabrics into pieces that you will love every day again.
What inspired you to pursue your business/ project/ artwork?
After a few years of traveling I was itching to get back into designing and drawing. I was so inspired by the amazing places I had seen on my travels to start drawing and found it hard to get into the design industry so I just went for it and started creating for myself. With my upcycling range im so inspired by other people doing their bit to help the environment and always encourages me to do more & find new ways to create new products using pre loved pieces.
How did your business name come about?
West Moor Design is inspired by the street I grew up on in England.
What was the most challenging part about setting up your business and how did you overcome it?
Believing in myself that I can do this and also try to convince people that this can be a full time business. I started listening less to the people who doubted me and worked more on making this business a success and throwing myself out of my comfort zone with markets for example to help my confidence and belief in myself.
Illustrations by Rachael Irwin
What is your dream project?
I have sooo many dream projects. But one of my dream projects is defiantly to be able to get my own designs printed onto fabrics to be able to create some home design pieces.
What sets you apart from other artists?
This took me a while to answer and I sat with it for a while because I often ponder with these questions as I know I am hard on myself. I wouldn’t say this sets me apart from other artists but when creating a personalised print I love getting to know the person, finding out what they truly want for the piece and making sure they are happy with everything along the way.
I also feel that the way I add colour into my prints because I feel especially at the moment with the world there’s a lot of darkness and we all need more bright colours, more fun, joy & happiness right now helps me stand out from other artists.
Name a local artist(s) that inspire/s you
I am inspired by every local artist / creatives that I have got to know due to the markets. Its amazing to see all the different ideas that are put on paper from peoples minds.
It is so hard to name them all because the list is so huge but a few that I am inspired by are cold snap club, blueprintnz, studio peers
What is an artistic outlook on life?
My business moto is to bring more colour, joy and fun into your life. Whenever I am making my art I always think about this when I’m creating my art, thinking of new ideas and even buying clothes.
Where can we find you/r artwork?