Meet the Artist: Blinkin' Imp

For our next ‘Meet the Artist’ blog we’re taking a deeper look into the talent behind one of For the Love of the North’s most loved brands, Blinkin’ Imp.

Since 2013 Lizzie Carins has worked to create breathtaking graphic designs that are inspired by her beautiful home region in the North East, but how did she get to this point? We’re delving deeper into Lizzie’s career and her life before launching her incredible print studio to offer you an exclusive insight into her journey to success.

Nowadays, Lizzie captures the fond memories of her childhood summers and her love for the North East though her designs which feature miniature renditions of iconic landmarks, such as the Angel of the North, Beamish, Northumberlandia, and Cragside. Lizzie's love of travel and exploration is demonstrated through the hand-drawn maps she creates of many of the region’s beautiful towns and cities; there’s something special about seeing a place that means so much to you on a map, reaching out to you and reminding you of home and happy memories.

Lizzie hand-draws and illustrates using as assortment of pens and pencils, then uses Adobe Illustrator to construct each design. Lizzie sometimes uses pastels and pens to add a different texture to her work. Regardless of the medium, it's not difficult to pick Lizzie's work out in our For the Love of the North shop. One of our absolute favourite designs has to be her Kielder Dark Skies A4because it captures the magic of Kielder at nightfall. 

Kielder A4/A3 Print (£12 / £18)

Many of our customers are fond of Lizzie's  collection of map prints and we often post them across the world to places like Australia and America to give a fellow Geordie a reminder of home.