We've had the privilege of working hand in hand with Aeri from Papercranes Design not once but twice, to craft two beautiful wallpaper collections that have brought joy and wonder to countless nurseries, playrooms, and bedrooms. Read on as we've invited Aeri to take us behind the scenes of her brand and share the mesmerising creative process that brings these magical designs to life!
What inspired you to start Papercranes Design?
Sketching and painting have always been my favourite creative outlets when the going gets tough, and my works are the result of the many quiet, therapeutic sessions I spend with my pen and paper. I've also always been enthralled by stationery, but the mass-market designs overtime begun to lose their appeal and I was often left uninspired by the options available out there. As a stationery enthusiast, Papercranes is my aspiration to fill the market gap by introducing joyful, inspiring stationery and artisanal lifestyle products for nature and stationery-lovers like myself.
What's your favourite style or medium to work with and why?
Watercolour was the gateway to the start of my creative explorations, and it’s a medium that I will always be drawn towards. It has a unique quality that captures light and softness really well, and I love the resulting textures that watercolour paper creates.
However in recent years, I find myself picking up new digital tools and gravitating towards illustrating digitally as well, due to its convenience, versatility and wider range of effects that may be more suitable for certain specifications of clients’ projects.
Do you have any recurring themes or subjects in your illustrations? What draws you to these themes?
As a botanical artist, nature is my greatest muse and source of inspiration. My works are heavily inspired by flora and fauna, and they mostly feature elements such as serene landscapes, creatures and floral illustrations. Nature’s incredible diversity provides much to be inspired by but yet is often overlooked amongst the hustle and bustle of life, and it is my intention to capture and infuse the beauty of nature into daily life.
Tell us more about your creative process behind the Frosty Friends wallpaper collection in collaboration with Hello Circus?
Being our second collaboration together, working with Hello Circus on Frosty Friends was a smooth and pleasant process. I was excited by the brief provided as I’ve never explored an arctic theme before, and we were aligned on the final vision of the collection rather quickly. Some initial research on the theme was required to decide on the creatures to be featured in this collection, as well as to ensure that we capture the details accurately.
After sketching the rough layout of the mural and subsequently fleshing it out with colours and shading, the fine-tuning process was a painstaking one. The Hello Circus team has an impressive eye for detail due to their experience working with wallpapers, and there were many important elements for consideration, such as the colour palette for versatility to match various ID themes, exact positions of the animals, and even the seamless continuity of the mural for scalability. It’s always a great learning experience with projects of such scale, and I'm really pleased with how this collection turned out!
Featured: Frosty Friends, Animal Pattern Wallpaper
Featured: Frosty Friends at the Arctic, Animal Mural Wallpaper
Any upcoming projects you're currently working on?
I aim to launch new themed collections on a monthly basis, and so at any one time, I usually am designing at least 1-2 collections a couple of months ahead of the scheduled launches. At the moment, apart from working on commissioned designs with a couple of corporate clients, I am focusing on completing our 2024 Planners - our bestseller and highlight at the end of every year - and I can’t wait to share more once they’re ready!
Many thanks to Aeri for sharing her creative process! Do check out Papercranes Design if you are a stationery lover like us and also our Hello Circus x Papercranes wallpaper collection!