In this monthly Meet the Maker blog series we meet award-winning artist Claudine O’Sullivan, designer of our Children’s Tales range. Her distinctive nature-inspired hand-drawn illustrations have attracted industry attention and resulted in collaborations with established brands such as Twitter, MTV, Island Records, WeTransfer, Tiger Beer and Derwent Pencils.

We commissioned Claudine to refresh and revamp the children’s range in our shop ahead of the Marvellous and Mischievous exhibition. Her brief was to illustrate a repeat pattern inspired by children’s stories that stand the test of time. Her illustrations, using recognisable imagery from children’s stories, were applied to a range of products including notebooks, jigsaw puzzles and cushions. Look closely and you will spot a frog prince, the crocodile from Peter Pan, the tiger (Who Came to Tea) and many more.

Claudine’s latest heron design

She says: ‘This was my first project after maternity leave. It was really well-timed as I’d been immersed in children’s books. It’s been so special to do the puzzles with my daughter and she has the cushions in her room. This range is like a time capsule for my family.’

Claudine  creates bold, colourful nature-inspired prints, all designed using coloured pencil. Her graphic designer at the University of Arts, London advised her to forget about trying to follow a particular style – instead Claudine picks up a pencil with no real plan and just sketches what she feels.

'My process is purely observational drawing and I am obsessed with the natural world. My most recent design is a river heron I spotted during lockdown on my daily walk with my daughter.'

Claudine and her husband both work from home and juggle parenting and work. As well as a never-ending list of personal projects and print ideas Claudine has recently worked on an exciting collaboration with John Lewis and Derwent Pencils encouraging people to design their own wrapping paper.

Charlotte Wainwright, British Library Shop Buyer, added: 'We loved Claudine’s illustrations so much we added a memory game and an extra cushion to the range. Her designs also inspired the other products in our children’s range such as books, Little Red Riding Hood dominoes and even a plush elephant.'

Children's Tales tote bag

In addition to brand partnerships, Claudine also sells prints directly via her website. Her advice for makers and designers starting out with their own small business is to stick with it: 'I built my business whilst working full time, it's exhausting and nerve wracking but save, save, save and when you have a cushion of savings – go for it full time.'

Browse the Children’s Tales range

Visit Claudine’s website

Follow Claudine on Instagram

In our monthly blog series we go behind the scenes at the Library to introduce you to our people and the many ways they work to bring our collection to everyone. Today we meet Amber Perrier, Community Engagement Officer.

“I work with our local St Pancras community, especially often overlooked groups. It’s grass roots engagement connecting us with our neighbours.”

Tell us about your role?

Amber is our Community Engagement Officer, tasked with engaging our hyper-local community with the British Library in St Pancras, London. Her ‘patch’ includes Somers Town, King’s Cross, Bloomsbury, the Regents Park Estate and other parts of the London Borough of Camden.

She organises ‘show and tell’ displays and tours with curators and represents us at local festivals as such as the Somers Town Festival, Camden Bangladesh Mela and Hillview Festival.

Amber setting up the community stall at the Hillview festival with dolly pegs created by local organisations from Somers Town.

She works closely with our Welcome Team and Events and Learning Teams to encourage local families to use the British Library, helping adults register for reader passes and connecting local entrepreneurs with our Business and IP Centre.

An Ethiopian collection show and tell with members of the local St Pancras community, organised by Amber. 

Her outreach activity also involves popping into Somali and Bangladeshi community centres to chat to people about our services and local projects such as St Pancras Transformed which may have an impact on residents.

“One of my favourite projects is The Story Garden, it’s a community garden and is open to everyone. As well as growing crops, we’ve run therapeutic arts and crafts events in the polytunnels, and provided a make space for St Martin’s students.”

The Story Garden (2019)

How did you get into this field?

Amber joined us four years ago on a placement under the Culture& traineeship programme, which aims to increase workforce diversity in the heritage sector. During her one-year traineeship she shadowed Library colleagues in Conservation, Basements and the Asian and African Collections and paid reciprocal visits to her cohort at the British Museum and the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery.

At the end of the programme, she had gained a QCF Level 3 qualification in Cultural Heritage and secured a permanent role as a Community Engagement Assistant at the Library – and since been promoted to an Officer position.

“I’d already established relationships with the local community and it was good to continue building these bridges.”

Prior to joining the Library, Amber studied Fine Art at the University of East London and volunteered with community arts organisation Rosetta Arts in Newham.

How has Covid-19 changed the way you work?

With all in-person community engagement activities suspended in 2020-21, Amber has worked hard to keep in touch virtually with local groups.

“I’ve supported webinar presentations and online consultations and have shared job opportunities and events via social media. I’ve also been involved with signposting community organisations’ support services such as food banks as the pandemic hit some local community groups hard.”

What do you love about the Library?

Amber’s job involves meeting lots of people, both staff and local residents. She has been impressed by the hidden skills and interests of the people she meets and has enjoyed chatting to people about her art.

“As an artist I love spending my lunchbreak sketching in the Piazza and chilling out in the Poet’s Circle.”

She was commissioned to design the Somers Town Big Local tote bag off the back of winning a Notting Hill Carnival T-shirt design competition.

Commission for Somers Town tote, illustration by Amber Perrier.  

Amber's Notting Hill Carnival T-shirt competition-winning design 

What’s your favourite object in the collection?

Amber’s first ‘show and tell’ featured items from our Ethiopian Collections and she became infatuated with the colours and gold in the manuscripts. A particular favourite is Nagara Māryām / History of Mary featured in this blog.

Nagara Māryām / History of Mary, Ethiopia, 18th century. Or 607, f 17r

“I also love looking at the old mags from Newham where I grew up in the East End.”

Any insider tips about the St Pancras area?

Amber normally spends a lot of time out and about in St Pancras meeting local groups. She recommends visiting The Story Garden, a temporary garden shaped by and for the local community and developed in response to feedback on our transformation plans for the Library.

“It’s very therapeutic and you can take the time out to enjoy the botanical atmosphere.”

Any book recommendations for our readers?

Amber recommends All on the Board written by two TFL underground employees. They started creating their famous quote boards anonymously as a side hustle to their day job as station support staff.

“I’ve been dipping in and out of it during lockdown and it’s been a great pick-me-up. It really lifts my spirits!”

Follow our Community Engagement team on Twitter
Follow Amber on Twitter
Follow Amber on Instagram

In this monthly Meet the Maker blog series we meet some of the independent creative businesses behind some of our product ranges in the British Library Shop (both online and at our St Pancras, London site). This week we meet Dan Dicker, the man behind Circular Cup, the world’s first reusable cup made from recycled single-use coffee cups.

Founded by former Dyson inventor Dan Dicker in 2003, Circular&Co. are an award-winning circular design practice perched on the north coast of Cornwall in the UK. We are proud to sell their reusable cup range, made from recycled single-use coffee cups, in the British Library Shop.

Founder and CEO, Dan, began his career as a product designer at Dyson. He created Circular&Co. with a mission to make circular products (essentially products that help reduce waste and consumption of natural resources) accessible for everyone. Their Circular Cup is the latest in a series of innovative and ground-breaking products that reuse waste and increase the value of materials that were once destined for landfill.

“Our product range is unique, not just because of their innovative functional design qualities, but because we look to address how they are made, used and reused at end of their useful life.” Dan Dicker, Founder and CEO of Circular&Co.

Dan has been pioneering the Circular Design Movement for 18 years. Circular Design is based on the principle of designing out waste, keeping products and materials in use and regenerating natural systems. In Dan’s words: “nothing is truly recycled until it is reused.”

We have been selling Circular Cups in the British Library Shop since April 2019 after our buyer, Charlie Wainwright, spotted the products at a trade show.

“We had been looking for a reusable cup to add to our range, and I loved the fact these ones are made from recycled disposable coffee cups.” Charlie Wainwright, British Library Buyer

The cups provide a practical opportunity for consumers to engage with the subject of waste and recycling through a familiar household item.

“The painful and frustrating truth is that we are very close to running out of key global resources and the misuse of these resources has led to pollution. We passionately believe that Circular Design provides a real chance for practical change at a time when the world desperately needs solutions.” Dan Dicker

The Library recognises that its activities impact on the environment at local, regional and global levels through the resources we consume and the waste we produce. As an organisation we are committed to continuous improvements in sustainability and proud to stock such an innovative product from an independent business proactively working not only to reduce but also reuse waste.

Dan’s advice for anyone starting out with their own small business?

“Creativity and resilience, with those you can achieve anything.” 

Browse our Circular & Co range
Visit the Circular & Co website
Follow Circular & Co on Instagram