Within a year of graduating, a Northern Irish business owner has collaborated with the Galgorm and the Ulster Orchestra.
“What inspired me was just being creative and using my imagination,” says award winning freelance Illustrator Lauren Kelso who grew up in Ballymena.
The 24-year-old’s inspiration comes from her love for travel and culture, as she has taken spontaneous day trips to Paris and Brugge. The travel theme has incorporated itself into her Galgorm portfolio which captures the hotel’s luxury experience.
In 2022, Lauren began working with the Galgorm, with a brief centred on the theme of Christmas.
“The Galgorm Project was an illustration of their iconic view of the hotel, then a Christmas version of that iconic scene this was then accompanied with a line drawing,” she explains.
“It [the job] consisted of meeting with staff and getting to know the brief. Coming home working though, taking photographs of what I wanted to show and getting that approved. Taking the project from the first initial idea to through compliance.’’
The final illustration design was published in December 2022 as a part of the Galgorm Christmas Collection.
Growing up in Northern Ireland she enjoys how compact it is: “You got the Giant’s Causeway, North Coast and Belfast. You can go on day trips here and there. You can experience a lot because it’s small.”
Lauren trading at Montalto Estate
The opportunity to work with the Ulster Orchestra came about in Lauren’s final year of university.
The orchestra commissioned the development of new designs for their new merchandise, aiming to bring excitement that reflected the organisation’s visions and aims.
“It was brief, but I think they were quite open to people who just interpreted. I was able to look on their website, get their colours that they used, and then incorporated that into design. The designs were reflecting on the strings, and woodwind,” says Lauren.
“As musicals and people are at the heart of the Ulster Orchestra family, the design demonstrates a wide variety and the people who play the instruments. The aesthetic was very suitable for commercial use, wildly sellable and incorporates Ulster Orchestra branding and colours.”
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Lauren is a Graduate Artist in Residence at Ulster University’s Belfast School of Art. She earned her BDes Hons in Graphic Design and Illustration from the same institution in July 2023.
“My school was quite creative in terms of embracing drama, art and media, I had those subjects for A Level. I did those three subjects for A Levels, it was nurtured,” she says.
“I knew I loved being creative. When I was younger I was really into reading books, seeing the covers of things. Drawing as well on napkins and stuff. I was really motivated by those things when I was younger. I really love the freedom that illustration has.”
This form of creativity has exceeded into her adulthood.
Her business started to grow and develop during her placement year which was a part of her undergraduate degree.
Ulster Orchestra tote bag
“In my enterprise placement year, I used my illustration skills but also learned about business and being an entrepreneur. The support was amazing from there.”
A placement year is carried out before the final year of an undergraduate degree.
“I won a couple of rewards last year at the end-of-year show (official UU degree show), and since then being able to take on more freelance projects has been really exciting.”
Lauren sells her work through her online shop, in other stores and at various events and markets.
She acknowledges that her creative process is influenced by new surroundings, sketching and finding inspiration along the way.
“I really love bringing my sketchbook and sketching where I can.
“I would take a lot of photographs and use them for inspiration later. From Paris I photographed a lot and that was the places and things I had in mind that I would want to draw. Then when I came back I used the photographs for inspiration and different features on buildings that I saw, different colours and different buildings as well and make them very unique.”
Ulster Orchestra travel mug
Lauren’s love for travel landed her the opportunity in 2022 to be a part of the National Final of the Young Traders Market, which took place in England. She describes this experience ‘a real special moment’.
This event allowed her to sell her own work, meet new and existing customers, and continue to be a part of a supportive community.
“Those moments where I am able to work with different people, bring visions to life through illustration, win awards and sell my work in England. All of those experiences and meeting customers who tell me ‘they have pieces of my work’.”
You can follow Lauren on Instagram @laurenkelsoillustrator