Hello, I’m Sarah, I live in a cottage in rural North Yorkshire (with my cats Wilbur & Meg) where I spend my days drawing, drinking tea, exploring the countryside and foraging for all things wild!
Ever since I can remember I have been captivated by the endless beauty of the natural world. I love the delicate way ecosystems intertwine and work together to create so many weird, wonderful and ever changing varieties of life. My aim is to capture and reflect this within my art. My patterns and illustrations are all inspired in some way by the history, folklore, magic and mysteries of mother nature.
All my artwork is drawn by hand, each and every piece a complete labour of love. It is then digitally coloured and put into seamless repeats and different colours.
Background
After graduating from University, where I studied Fashion Design, in 2011 I started working as an in-house Print and Pattern Designer for a small UK fabric supplier to the British High Street where I created artwork for brands such as ASOS, River Island and Miss Selfridge. Alongside this I also helped co-found the clothing brand Cosmic Drifters where I introduced the creation of our own bespoke hand drawn pattern designs, and began working there as lead Print and Pattern Designer.
In 2016 I moved into the interiors market working as a freelance for a UK based agency. Here I created designs for fabric, wallpaper, homeware and giftware and sold hundreds of patterns world wide to a range of different clients. The majority of these were created digitally on a fast turn around and I ached for a chance to really pour my heart and soul into hand drawn illustration.
When covid hit everything changed, the commercial pattern market crashed overnight, all trade shows stopped and life stood still. Having just started immune suppressant therapy for the auto immune condition Lupus I was classed as vulnerable and unable to leave the house, except for strolls through the local woods. It was during this time that my love for nature really fired up in a way it hadn’t done since childhood. Lost amongst the trees I could feel creativity buzzing within my veins so I channelled this into my work and decided it was time to set up as an independent freelance Pattern Designer with an emphasis on the natural world. So, Sarah Wildling was born.