About Us
Why we work with young artists.
We have always been stunned by the fantastic talents that so many young people possess. Yet, across business and creative industries it is increasingly difficult for young people to break in and get a professional commission (let alone employment in a creative role). Young people are wonderful to work with and we want to give opportunities to them that they might find difficult to gain elsewhere.
Everything you see from Blossom & Easel, from the logo to the beautiful illustrations, is designed by a young artist and we were delighted to be able to offer them their first professional work. We absolutely want to be a launchpad for young artistic talent and are proud to introduce you to our wonderful artists; not only are they brimming with creative talent but they are incredible, positive, imaginative people with whom it’s a pleasure to work.
Working with young people is incredibly rewarding. We think they teach us more than we could possibly teach them!
Where Blossom & Easel came from.
Blossom & Easel’s founder, Chris Johnson, worked as a teacher and manager at a sixth form college for many years before launching the business. Like many teachers, he loved working with students and found it hugely rewarding to be able to support and encourage students through a significant period of their lives.
In his final year in teaching, Chris managed an Art department and saw every day the extraordinary talents of the students and the beauty and imagination of their work. Only a few months later, Blossom & Easel was born.
We're blown away by the talent and creativity of our young artists. We're really lucky to be working with remarkable people whose work is truly inspiring. We'd love to see our artists go on to other professional jobs and be successful in their own right; to think that Blossom & Easel had been a part of that would be really special.
It’s all about heart.
When Chris left teaching and formed the business, one thing was certain: it wasn’t about the money. Chris had been toying with business ideas for a few years but nothing had stuck. When he hit on the idea for Blossom & Easel, though, something changed.
We always knew we didn’t want to run a business for the sake of it. Of course, it would be fantastic if it became really successful, but we're far more interested in doing something with heart. When we told our artists recently that their designs have sold all across the world (12 countries and counting), they were so excited and brimming with confidence. When they see their designs come to life on a beautiful bag, or tea towel or face mask they glow with pride. That’s why it matters and that’s why we started the business in the first place.
Dream a dream.
We encourage our artists to express themselves through their artwork. Working to a brief in a professional job can kill creativity but we really want to see our artists flourish with our support. Whether inspired by something from their childhood, something visual or an emotion we want to encourage and support our artists to produce work that is meaningful to them.
Our wonderful artist, Lois, put it beautifully when she considered the opportunity to create her own designs not just a continuation of her budding career, but as her return to art: ‘At the time I was contacted about creating a design, I was not in a good place. I felt disillusioned with art; I was not even sure I wanted to do it anymore. This opportunity allowed me to find the fun in art again, but it also made me realise what I liked about my art. I got back a passion that I had thought I’d lost.’
The next chapter.
We've got so much planned and so many more pages to turn. If you’ve enjoyed reading about our story so far, you might like to join our community and subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media. Thanks for joining us.