Mr Yen in the press!

Hello there, I hope you're having a great weekend - I certainly am. I've got the day of work today and I'm working on some new designs for the relaunch as well as having my work featured in the local newspaper!

A month ago I was contacted by someone from the Yorkshire Post newspaper about a feature in their weekend supplement magazine and it was published yesterday! I'm so proud to have some local press and I think it's such a nice little feature. I did think it was going to be a few sentences and maybe just an image, but I didn't expect this mini feature - thanks Yorkshire Post!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Flower Of The Month - Ranunculus

In the language of flowers, a bouquet of Ranunculus signifies the meaning, “I am dazzled by your charms.”

***

The fantastic Ranunculus flowers are prized for their ability to communicate a beauty as stunning and welcoming as a gilded statue at the entrance of an ancient city. 

***

Ranunculus symbolizes radiant charm.

***

Flower Of The Month - Thyme

Thyme's origins are logged in history and culture as been widely used for religious purposes, a flavouring in foods, a tea, and as a food preservative.

***

According to Greek history, Thyme is attributed for restoring vigor and acuity in the mind.

***

Thyme was a herb that was used in rites of passage, either being burned in an incense or being buried in the coffin with the deceased. It is believed that the soul of the deceased then took up residence within the flowers of the herb.

***

It is said that Thyme is used in mythical folklore as its matted appearance and structure makes it perfect for Faery folk to live in. 

Dearest Nature - Miles Of Light

My second post for Dearest Nature is now up and it features Miles of Light....you can read it here.

Mr Yen Business Cards

Hello, I hope you're having a nice relaxing easter weekend! I've been back from Manchester for the weekend, where I've been training for my new job at Dwell (that will be opening in Leeds very soon) and I have had my new business cards delivered while I've been away. I got them printed with Moo.com and I decided to go for their new luxe business cards and I have to say, I'm quite impressed! These snap shots are just a little peek - I will be taking some better photographs once I get time.

These new business cards are the start of the new Mr Yen branding and they feature a photograph of a botanical silhouette of me - along with my contact details. I really like the effect of using a photograph of the paper cut as I love the fact you can see it slightly lifting off the page - giving it a slightly 3D element. I will definitely be creating some postcards using the same technique to give away with all new orders after the re-launch. Oh and check out the black middle section of the business card...very nice indeed!

I'm so excited to get back from Manchester for good, so I can work on finalising a few new paper cut designs too. I'm still planning for an August re-launch and there is still so much to do. I expect the blog will be quiet throughout the upcoming week (as I will be living out of a hotel room for six days) but when I get back to Leeds for good, it will be all systems go!

I hope you have a great week!

Mr Yen Newsletter - April Edition

The April edition of the Mr Yen newsletter is out now! 

You can sign up here to receive your copy and get your hands on this months free desktop calendar, as shown above - enjoy!

A new month...a new job

Well, I finally finished work at Muji last Thursday. I've just had a fantastically relaxing weekend/week and I'm having the rest of the week off before I start training for my new job on Monday. I will be working with the company who are taking over the building and lease of where Muji was. They're called Dwell and they are a furniture and home accessories company who create some fantastic pieces, so I'm proud to be joining such a modern and professional company.

I'm being sent to a Manchester branch of the company for my training (for a month!) and the store they plan to open in Leeds should be opening early in May - so for the new month, I will have a new job! I realise that this is incredibly lucky, being told at the start of March that I'm being made redundant and then getting a new job to start at the beginning of April, and I'm so pleased and grateful that it has all happened so fast. Now I have my full time job situation sorted, I can make a start on some new paper cut designs.

While I worked at Muji, I had a holiday planned for this week, to get some new designs sorted for later this year, so that's what I've been getting on with all this week! I have been getting back to basics and getting the pencils/pens and paper out to create some illustrations, which will be turned into paper cut designs. I'm so excited to be creating some new work and I feel that these new designs will work well as I have a more focused view on the type of work I want to create and the type of subjects I want to illustrate and explore.

***

As a last little note, I would just like to say thank you for all the support, while I was job searching, attending interviews and after my initial finding out that I was being made redundant - all your messages made me feel so much better and made me stay positive about the whole situation - so thanks, I really appreciate you all!