- Dec 14, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 13, 2025
Pencil case folded up under the title Pencil Case Carrier by Smarti. Pencil case carrier rolled out and hanging on a peg showing the rainbow of colored pencils. Pencil case carrier opened to show the ribbons and placement for pencils.
Carry the rainbow, my friends! There is an oft-touted stereotype that artists being messy. [...] I'm not one of those. I like my spaces neat and tidy, and I struggle when all my tools are in weird places. Everyone has a different system. For me, I need something that's easily transportable. So, I'd like to share a little bit about my pencil pack design in case it might be useful to others. (Especially if you want to make handmade gifts for the holiday season for an artsy friend.) This wrap pencil case carrier is one of my favorite things now, and I love how it makes my office look colorful, fun, tidy and ready for an adventure.
Let me just be honest and start with explaining a) I'm a minimalist, b) I live an expat life, and c) I find colors tricky. So experimenting with colors is a struggle. I will turtle into black-and-white at the slightest problem. The investment to learn about color is so freakin' intimidating that I often fail to make use of my supplies. And not using my supplies makes me feel like the investment of further learning isn't worthwhile. On and on. It's a vicious circle, friends.
I'm still pushing against this problem. But I've knocked one conclusion in my head: I'm never going to grow if I won't even try. So I paired up with Momola to make a custom wrap pencil case carrier to make the experience more enjoyable. Nothing special going on here. Just a roll-up design based on other designs that I've seen before. And this is not the first time we've paired up to make something (click here to see our dress-making adventure) so you know it's got some step logic and magic making.
Let me back up and explain that as a kid, I was once gifted a pencil case booklet. When I zipped it open, it had little bungee rings all lined up on either side. The bungee rings were perfectly sized for pencils, pens, scissors, erasers, etc. Because it was flat, it slid neatly inside my backpack alongside folders and binders. Genius. As an adult, I lusted after artist studio photoshoots with beautiful colors and art material piled all around. But I also knew that wasn't for me because minimalist/expat/color-avoidance. But boy I did love the amount of playful abundance that other people were experiencing.
Then a couple of years ago, I read Atomic Habits by James Clear and the Four Laws of Behavior sparked a new idea for the pencil case. These Four Laws are a set of rules to build better habits. They include: (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying. Using these rules, I came up with a plan:
(1) make it obvious - it must be visible storage that allows for full viewing, with an ability to hook up somehow
(2) make it attractive - lined with shimmery satin sash, thick muslin, tidy bungee line for storing pencils with generous pencil tip cover so the colors look gorgeous and none of the mess is shown
(3) make it easy - make hooks that can hold weight, maybe even line up the pencils in order of color so they are easy to find
(4) make it satisfying - make it sophisticated and neat enough that it can serve both as storage of art, and as art itself
I frankensteinend this idea and brought home fabric to Momola. I actually bought too much at first (project enthusiasm/naiveté) but Momola opted to teach me how to minimize by using what I have. We made bias tape - cutting the fabric on 45 degree angle and folding it inward for a better and stretchier material. We made cords. We made muslin straps. We even measured out the space for the pencils and cut the backing material, the muslim, and the bungee ring elastic.
Fabric, bias strap, zippered section and thread for the pencil carrier case project. Close up on how to measure the placement for each pencil on the pencil carrier case. Close-up on first bungee loop for the pencils in the pencil carrier case.
Then we assembled the pieces and slowly sewed them together and crafted the pencil case carrier. As you can see, it quickly took shape, and the sewing was rather straightforward. The section on the bottom is for miscellaneous art supplies that don't fit in the other sections - like my chunky USB, tiny ruler, pencil sharpener. The middle section has the bungees for the pencils and brushes. And the top has loops to slide a pencil through for hanging on a hook, OR a cord to tie itself upon my shoulder if needed.
Close-up of pins holding the top loops on the display straps of the pencil carrier case. Close-up on the snap pins used for the pencil case carrier pencil tip protection flap. Close-up of the sewing machine sewing in every bungee loop for the pencil carrier case.
The end result came out marvelous. Wrap pencil case travels with me on some longer trips for a quick display of all my colors. I can strap it to my shoulder, or to a bag when I'm doodling live in a museum or in a place where I don't have a desk. And on my studio wall, it hangs as an easy and accessible categorization of my colored pencils and brushes. Seeing it out makes me way more likely to experiment with colors. And that makes a dramatic change in my courage!
Having tools that I like is an important way to keep the inspiration fresh. This is why the moment one walks into an art store feels exhilarating. Each row of brushes, paper, pencils, tubes of paint elicits a squeal of joy! Honestly, half the excitement is in purchasing the darn tools, which is why it's really lovely to be able to get joy from them as much as possible. Displaying them serves several functions - keeps things easily accessible, helps them maintain their inspirational role, and ensures that they get used more often. After all, it's just hanging right there, ripe for the picking.
Happy art-supply-organizing, dear friends,
smarti
- Nov 14, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 13, 2025
Illustration Rolling Calendar @smartigraphicdesign
The year is a nebulous thing, right? Time passes quickly and it’s hard to visualize exactly what happens when. I always want to see the whole year at a glance when I push pencil to paper. For the past couple of years, I’ve been designing my own yearly calendars. Simple rolling year calendar that helps me plan and block out the year into design focus, seasons for adventures, and traditions. So I’ll chat a little bit of my process and link the calendar at the end - in case it is of service to you, dear reader.
Illustration: Calendar Planning in Pink @smartigraphicdesign
A rolling calendar is one with all the dates in a rolling fashion - no distinguishing spaces between months. There's something fascinating about seeing each month roll into each other to make up the entire year. It works well for me because I love planning and organizing things. And time is a concept that is hard for me to lasso. So seeing it in a big picture format makes it more tangible.
For planning, I start by forecasting design study for the year. It doesn’t always turn into a project, but it does focus my attention. Last year I was lucky because I studied colored pencil work, which resulted in the vintage object poster. This year was supposed to be watercolor, which got sideswiped for cultural learning in Namibia because of our move (which I'm hoping will turn into a tiny tourism ticket booklet at some point.) Next year, I'm going back to the watercolor idea, so I'll make my tools more accessible and schedule in reminders with prompts in my ToDoIst app.
Seasonal adventures help section the year with activities. I think it's easier for people with kids to do this, because they are coming home from school with seasonal activities like Valentines greetings, or Halloween dress-ups, etc. But without kids in our home, and our changing residencies, it's important to section something seasonally appropriate on the calendar. It helps remind us to be present in the season. For us, it's summer barbecues, fall bonfires, winter board game nights and spring camping.
Illustration: Summer BBQ, Fall Bonfire, Winter Games, Spring Camping @smartigraphicdesign
(Super side note: The seasons are flipped in the southern hemisphere, so we’ll be shifting things around with summer blooming in December and winter falling in July. Different but fun! We've done it before when we were stationed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was almost kind of nice to opt out of the winter holiday consumerism and instead enjoy tank tops and hot weather. But yea, it can be weird to complain to friends about the cold weather in July when the major news outlets are reporting record temperatures through the summer. Northern hemisphere-centricity is a real thing.)
Finally, I think the year is so special when it’s sprinkled with traditions. Although I did read in Think Again by Adam Grant that traditions are peer pressure from dead people. Hehe. That's a reminder to let go when it doesn’t serve anyone anymore. But also, from Meik Wiking’s books on Hygge and his other title The Art of Making Memories (and frankly, our 2-year residence in Copenhagen) I can recognize that traditions bring in magic delight to a community. I like sharing harvest pumpkin loaves in the early fall, hosting Thanksgiving, simmering a spring chili cook-off. It's also nice to join into local traditions (side note: I can't wait to join those while we're here in Namibia!)
Illustration: Calendar Blocked in Blue @smartigraphicdesign
I block off all of these things in the rolling calendar, along with possible travel so that I can foresee more or less how the year will go. (There’s always unexpected surprises!) It really helps me feel grounded. There's events to build up to, as well as quiet restful pauses to revel in. When the whole year is laid out like that, it can be both stimulating and relaxing.
Here's the link for my 2024 calendar. If you want that BIG PICTURE effect, just be sure to print it out in A3 size or larger at your local printer of choice.
Happy calendar planning to you,
smarti
- Oct 14, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 13, 2025
Illustration Treasure Chest of Children's Books @smartigraphicdesign
Momola bought a wooden storage chest once in a Japanese bazaar and as we moved around from country to country during my childhood. It became a safe space for my favorite things. And then childhood ended and I went on for other adventures. It's been in storage for a decade. And I finally reopened it this summer. What I found was a portal to my childhood self - a small collection of the illustrated books that made that time so special. Some of them you'll know, dear reader! But I suspect that some will be a surprise!
I had intentions of reopening this chest years ago. But you know how it goes. Life has other ideas. I just never got around to it. I got up the courage to unearth it this year. And opening it up, I found a collection of things that I had forgotten. A music box that played Maiden's Prayer, a whittled wooden charm that I used to wear on a necklace, a trick Japanese puzzle box, a Twin Stars lunchbox - even a Jenny doll (the Japanese barbie.) It was a gorgeous foray into the mind of a younger smarti: the tiny things she liked, the color choices she preferred, the magic of youthful whimsy.
But when I got down to the books. The books. THE BOOKS! I was so incredibly enamored. It's so true that the books one reads as a child integrate so deeply into our conscience. The stories still elicit a sense of excitement, happiness, playfulness. And while I can't exactly see the world with the same eyes, I can see how the aesthetic of the illustrations have inspired so much of my style, my choices, and the art in my present life. Here's the top hits of the collection that I'd like to share with you, dear reader:
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss book. Inside page of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss with green eggs and ham on a tray. Page close-up of the train page in Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.
illustration credit: Dr. Seuss enterprise
Green Eggs and Ham By Dr Seuss
A classic of any childhood generation, Dr. Seuss reigned supreme in our bedtime story traditions. My dad had a thousand voices at the ready while reading stories, but Sam-I-Am was by far his best. I love the inky lines, the strong contrasted colors, the imagination of all the propping aparata that were needed to lift boxes with foxes, or stilt trains speeding into a lake. And how's about a round of applause for the wand with a whole other hand attached at the end? Bravo!
Fabulas book volume 6 illustrated by Maria Pascual Albrecht. Close-up of greek story illustration by Maria Pascual Albrecht. Close-up of illustration of mermaids by Maria Pascual Albrecht.
illustration credit: Maria Pascual Albrecht
bibliography: Barrio, Fedro, Esopo, Iriarte, & Samaniego (Eds.). (1983). Fábulas. Tomo 6. (Pascual, Illus.) Ediciones Toray
Fabulas, Tomo 6, Authors: Barrio, Esopo, Fedro, Iriarte, Samaniego. Illustrated by Maria Pascual
This is a story collection book series that exclusively featured the artist Maria Pascual Albrecht. She was a prolific children's book illustrator in Spain, and although her body of work emerges during and out of the 70s funk - only dark eyelashes from that era extends into her art style. Otherwise, it's pages of delicate outlines of scenes and people, the softest blended bright colors, and an eye for background scenery and ornamentation that make every illustration glow with magic.
Book cover of Japanese Children's Favorite Stories illustrated by Yoshisuke Kurosaki. Close-up of illustration of Momotaro story by Yoshisuke Kurosaki. Close-up colorful illustration of the legend of the swallows by Yoshisuke Kurosaki.
illustration credit: Yoshisuke Kurosaki
bibliography: Sakade, F. (1994). Japanese children’s favorite stories. (Kurosaki, Y., Illus) Tuttle.
Japanese Children's Favorite Stories, edited by Florence Sakade. Illustrated by Yoshisuke Kurosaki
This book is a compendium of classic Japanese tales with the most elegant lines and dreamiest watercolor illustration by Yoshisuke Kurosaki. He was a master of clean inked scenes with teensiest details of decoration. Characters have such round features, background shapes are soft-edged and curvy with smooth lined textures. Cute doesn't capture all its adorableness. And dear me, the colored pages are so bright and cheery they look almost edible!
Book cover of Oh, Señor! illustrated by Ron & Atie van der Meer. Closeup illustration of god having breakfast with angels serving coffee by Ron & Atie van der Meer. Close-up illustration of god painting the sun from a ladder by Ron & Atie van der Meer.
illustration credit: Ron & Atie van der Meer
¡Oh, Señor!, written and illustrated by Ron & Atie van der Meer
[originally in English, but my Spanish cousins gifted it to me, so I have the Spanish version, which I decided to translate into English at some point - defacing my own copy! Original title: Oh Lord!]
A dutch artist husband-wife duo who wrote and illustrated this comic strip style book of the story of Genesis from the Bible. Apparently, Van Der Meer is known for being a paper engineer who has a long library credit of pop-up books. This book is not a pop-up. But it was a favorite to me for the neat layout and colorful imaginings of Genesis. I love how it compacts a convoluted story in such a clear and clean and colorful way. The genius use of a comic book structure is that it helped me understood the book before I could actually read it. Twice the use, double the fun.
Book Cover of Mira Adentro illustrated by Eric and Lucy Kincaid. Closeup of illustration of fairies bursting bubbles by Eric and Lucy Kincaid. Closeup illustration of fairies packaging oranges by Eric and Lucy Kincaid.
illustration credit: Eric and Lucy Kincaid
El Sr. Ve-lo-todo dice "Mira Adentro", written and illustrated by Eric and Lucy Kincaid
(This was another book originally in English, but I have the Spanish copy. Original is titled: Look Inside.) The main drawing on each page a is realistic rendition of an animal, insect or food in nature. The accompanying background is always an imaginative scene that exaggerated the behavior and dwellings in the most creative ways. I loved the personification of everything - peas marching into a pod like soldiers, birds in do-rags vacuuming their nests, postal worker bees collecting pollen in jars and baskets, Of course, the addition of fairies in different scenes really made my imagination burst joyful about nature. (I cannot tell you how many times in my life I've thought of that orange packing fairy struggling to fit them back into their peels!)
My treasure chest was almost a time capsule, with the amount of time that had lapsed since I last opened it. And boy oh boy, that gave it such a rediscovery charm. A joy, curiosity and excitement of things I had almost forgotten! In the end it was hard for me to go through things without assigning some weight to all my keepsakes and trying to only keep the heaviest hitters. (Minimalism is not for the faint of heart.)
Thankfully, most of the books still captured my heart. They will stay with me for a while. I still find so much inspiration from them. And I can see why I chose bright colors, little details and clean lines, and work so hard to constantly simplify as I grow as an artist. It's part of my homage to the many illustrators who influenced me and my young self. A hearty thank you and big cheer for them! Hip hip hooray! I appreciate how you've made my world a wonderful place.
and now, here's wishing happy children's book memories to you too,
smarti
