The HTF Hot Seat: Adam Regester Art & Illustration

It’s always fun meeting new people, which is why we came up with the idea of The HTF Hot Seat – a regular post to introduce you to the creative dynamites behind some of your favourite hardtofind products. This week’s seller in the spotlight: a man who can work wonders with black ink and paper, illustrator Adam Regester from Adam Regester Art & Illustration.

I’m known on hardtofind for my… distinctive illustrative-style prints and personalised pet and house portraits.

Right now I’m inspired by… animals, nature, architecture and everyday life objects. I’m a real observer and love nothing more than sitting in a coffee shop or wandering around a new undiscovered city and being inspired by my environment and the things I see happening around me. This can often spark a new idea or theme for a single product or whole series.

My favourite part of the making process is… the drawing. I LOVE to draw and this is the basis for my whole brand. The majority of my products are based on my original drawings.

I work from… a little studio in my home in the seaside town of Brighton on the Sussex coast of England. It’s a really inspiring city full of lovely friendly people and some stunning architecture. It’s also wonderful (and very lucky!) to live only five minutes’ walk from the beach.

A typical day for me involves… getting up at around 7am. The first job is making a cup of tea to drink whilst checking emails and printing out overnight orders. I pack any card and print orders and take them to the post office around 9am, then coffee and a croissant with a fellow freelance illustrator. Back home after that and a solid morning’s work on personalised orders like portraits with some background music for company. Lunch around 1pm, then back to it finishing those all important orders and maybe a couple of hours research and working on any new ideas or even photographing new products. At around 4pm I usually have a walk around town or along the beach and drop off the last post. I’m a bit of a workaholic (as most self-employed people are!) and don’t usually completely stop working until 9pm – but I do obviously stop to relax and have dinner, too! I love my work and feel so happy that I earn my living doing something I enjoy so much.

My proudest business moment was… I’m happy to say that there have been quite a few proud moments in my career. Gaining my Masters in Design and Design Management from Central St. Martins in London was a special one and more recently being chosen to illustrate merchandise for a new local tourist attraction, the BAi360, was quite an accolade for a local artist and illustrator. I’ve also been featured in a few magazines and have even been on TV. All very exciting… more please!

When I started my business, I wish I’d… had the courage and confidence in myself and my abilities to start building my brand earlier – and maybe trained in a few more basic but useful skills like photography. When you are running a business like mine, you have to be able to do everything from product development to accounts and photography and promotion. It’s a broad spectrum of skills and you need them all to be successful or be earning enough to pay other people to take on the roles you are less confident in.

I’d describe my personal style as… smart/casual. Regarding interiors, I like an eclectic but uncluttered mix of mid-century classic and modern with a neutral palette but with striking artwork to catch the eye.

My last purchase was… a gorgeous new jacket purchased in the sales with 70% off. I love a bargain!

The first thing I do when I wake up is… flick on the kettle. I’m incapable of doing anything before I’ve had my morning tea and biscuit!

The motto I live by is… never give up.

I’m hoping 2017 will bring… inspiration for new and fabulous products which will be irresistible to my customers.

Everything tastes better with… a little chocolate (or, even better, a lot!)