Meet Our Illustrator: Marine Hardouin

We're over the moon to introduce you to Marine Hardouin - the magical illustrator who is responsible for all of our new website illustrations...

My Background:I was born in Le Mans, France. Graduated in 2007 as Certified Technician for Fashion & Textile in Paris (Olivier de Serres school)

My Experience: I have spent the last 10 years in varying design roles, across industries such as travel, food and advertising. My experience runs from web banners to record covers, from graphic & web design to illustration

My Journey: From Paris to Cologne to Berlin and finally to Marple Bridge since the start of the year!

What I Love About Design: Slipping into the 'zone' where time flies by as I am creating. Staying awake at night excited for the next day. Celebrating the completion of a shared project with colleagues

The Inspiration For My Work: My early inspirations included Japanese comics, rock music visuals & album covers, and even ancient Egyptian pictures! I also really enjoy flipping through children books, old engravings and the Realism art movement. I am an enthusiastic user of Pinterest too.

Lately I have been spending a lot of time looking at marvellous packaging design because that's where I see my work moving in future

My Favourite Project: One that’s particularly dear to my heart. My boyfriend Phil had a dream when he came to Berlin: he wanted to fund a Techno label and make his own record release with local artists. We pitched the name (Decadence Recordings) over a few beers. I then started designing a cover mockup: the background illustration is made after a photo I took in a 1898 decrepit hospital of Berlin. The sharks are a metaphor of how I felt when visiting abandoned buildings. We went to concerts and three artists we love joined our adventure. A record was mastered and pressed with the result being marvellous! If you’re curious: decadencerecordings.com

In My Spare Time: I like days in the country (especially those that end next to a fireplace at the pub!). Welcoming friends at my place. Cooking and eating great food. Petting dogs and cats. French Radio. Moving furniture around at home. Dreaming of the future

My Project With Kerry: It will sound silly but it seems like we were meant to meet. I was applying for a fashion design role at Kerry’s Create and Develop recruitment agency, and to my delight, my illustrations caught her eye! After we became acquainted and the outlines of her project soon started to appear. We have been in touch daily since then, with utter excitement about the next steps to take. Kerry is wonderful to work with, because she knew how much freedom (lots) to give me as an illustrator. Equally she was here to support me with fresh ideas whenever I needed them. Her constant and genuine enthusiasm has driven my work. I am extremely grateful for all the happy winter days I have spent illustrating for her website. I feel also sad to leave our project now, but now the project must voler de ses propres ailes (’fly with its own wings’)