Lifting The Painted Veil

OLIE, my project that was undercover for a whole year finally opened doors to visitors, buyers and well wishers over the last weekend. The place looked like a dream, Raintree was at its most beautiful and friends and family pitched in to make sure everything went perfectly for the two days that we were there. Everyone who walked in loved the display, the stories and the products themselves and I cannot believe how many people will now have a little Olie touch to their home. It suddenly seems like everything is happening incredibly fast, but I am revelling in the love for this brand and simply dizzy with joy !

An illustration come to life, it was wonderful to be able to experience the magic in forms that one could touch and interact with.

moving shadows dance their way across walls and ceilings casting spells 

Love this pretty lady's outfit- the colours work so well for the brand !

cushion covers,table linen and lighting oh joy!

I cannot wait to walk into a home and see a little bit of Olie soul glowing over a table like a piece of art or like one lovely buyer told me, in her bedroom where the shadows each lamp creates would make the whole space incredibly beautiful and romantic.

I've been taking a bit of a break the past few days from all the rush of product and brand building, but the only thing that I did do this week was meet with the charismatic Asha and Sanam of Sunday Soul Sante. Happily, they seem excited to welcome us to their flea market. I always loved the sante, it seems so festive, a real market with music and wine and so much beauty in the stalls - It's going to be a whole new experience to be a part of it not as someone who is walking through enjoying the spirit but as one of the brands within the stall. Im excited. I hope you will be able to make it, it's happening on the 27th of this month !

All this excitement aside, I don't know if I told you - I moved back to Bangalore a month ago ! Back to long walks under beautiful flowering trees,plenty of cappuccino in quaint cafe's, lots of rides on the metro ( which for some reason fills me with joy even though its only about a 6 km stretch ! ) and friends everywhere. sigh, life is getting good again :)

Have a happy weekend! kisses!

Songs that make you sing

I rarely get to take a stroll in the big cities that I now live in and sit with my sketchbook and draw.
Last week, we went back to auroville to wind down for the weekend and a friend and I sat down to sketch our surroundings together - it is a distracted sketch, I have to admit . We were busy catching up and I was simply and happily dragging my brush across the paper. Such good times :)

It is sweltering here, but I have found this great mix of music http://8tracks.com/penkemeg/good-music-warm-weather-summer-fun . Its making my weekend so much sweeter ! Much love.

Leave you with this lovely quote, I dont think they are talking about the song really but more about life in general. deeper stuff :)

First Birthday!

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This post is designed to make you go aww ! 

I got the chance to design for baby annika again, this time it was for her very first birthday and her awesome mom threw a big butterfly themed party ! She asked me to design a card for her and of course I did :) 

She sent me this adorable picture of annika with the card. Im all smiles now !

Happy weekend everybody!

Dose of Normal

what better way to express all the crazy you feel in a week than through a sketch with a pen.

The perfect doodle device. Its been a mad few weeks, ecstatic one day - and down in the dumps the next. think i need a dose of normal :) 

How are things going with you? 

Dance Its Christmas!

Let us dance and sing

And pass on the joy that Christmas brings!

Hope youve had a very merry Christmas and spread some joy! In half an hour Christmas is over and Im glad that despite the madness ( were shifting homes again, woe is me!) I got to see beautiful trees, and meet some lovely people to cheer the spirits today! Much love and many hugs to all of you and your families!

Diwali Love

Rama & Sita 

One version of the Diwali story is that to welcome Rama, Sita and Lakshman back from their exile, lamps were lit all over Ayodhya  in celebration and crackers were burst amidst much joy!

It really is my favourite Indian festival, everybodys home glitters and such an abundance of happiness.

Were not bursting any crackers this year, I think all around, things are better this year with people being a lot more concious of the environment! But diyas shall be lit and we shall all glow. 

Have a beautiful and safe Diwali ! much love. 

A Universe of Adventure

A universe of memories and a few favourite things! This illustration was commissioned for someone who wanted to tell his special someone that hes loved their journey together and that the adventure is far from over! Inspired by the lovely tale that is The Little Prince, and pictures from their own life ( like the sleeping cats :) it came together piece by piece to form a beautiful story.


I fell in love with the whole sweet idea the moment I heard it ! The final print is pretty big and so beautiful with the colours as vivid or even more than the original and printed on the most gorgeous paper, called somerset photo - its apparently a hundred percent cotton and just brings it to life most wonderfully.
paper love.

The weather in bangalore is so beautiful right now, all I want to do is sit ouside with a cup of coffee :)

Have a looovely weekend ! much love x

Love is in the Air!

When they say ''love is in the air'' it sounds cheesy, but Ive reason to believe it may be true. 

October started off wonderfully, and Ive been soo excited that septembers over ( not a great month :)

My best friend Bani, from way back in school is getting married. and this came in the mail for me last week 

a gorgeous little bottle with a cork- do you see the silver heart with ''love'' on it? and this lovely message asking me to be her bridesmaid. I was so overjoyed, i wouldve agreed to anything at that point :) 

Isnt it beautiful ? I had to share it, I love it so much!

My very first bridesmaidly duty was to quickly create a ''save the date'' for her ! 

So we used this gorgeous picture of both their hands in the sky, and created a quirky card that Bani felt really reflected their love ! 

I of course, had had to do an illustrated version as well ! :) 

They loved them both, and went with the one above, with blue skies ! 

I was also asked to do another project which I cannot reveal right now, but its along the same lines. everyones proclaiming their love for each other suddenly. Happy to sniff the air and bask in the joy!

Be Loved and Let Love Be 

The Fish at the End of the Rainbow

I dream of flying into a space that is empty of thoughts, the only emotion i would feel is 

complete pure happiness at the freedom of it all. 

I miss those days when I lived in my little room (whilst still studying) when I would climb to the terrace and watch the skies and the tops of houses and life go by below.

Butterfly Park

 one winged pretty

flowers merged with wings

wings turned to dust

flitted over the eyes

and cast its spell

 colours and patterns came together

We went to the butterfly park in Bannerghatta. The first thing that caught my fancy about the place was that at the entrance was a little sign that said that all letters posted here bore a butterfly stamp! how lovely! 

And when the doors opened to the little park it was nothing short of joyful, jump around till you pass out amazement that I felt. Heavenly little place with little waterbodies and lots and lots of flowers and a million butterflies all flying around spreading the joy and wonder! I had to be bodily dragged away from that place.

Flying Free

What am I upto these days? im dissolving in the heat just a little bit, but besides that- my illustrations/designs are going to be on the covers of exercise notebooks! thats right :) so here is one design that i think might work- what do you think? yes or no? (sneak peek)

Happily, ive been given full freedom to choose the subjects of my illustration. so they are naturally nature inspired and these are butterflies. aiming high, flying free, and loving life.

Speaking of which, ive been interviewed by desicreative and you can read the interview on their website- www.desicreative.com ! SO exciting and feels so strange too :)

Gluttony and the End!

Gluttony took the form of a tree, a beautiful tree teeming with delicious looking fruit and flowers.

and youth and beauty and everything that one desires in a lifetime. Also hanging, is the apple, a 

symbol of temptation- attached to the apple is a tap from which Gluttony unfortunately drinks. 

Below him a strawberry bleeds.

Its that time of the year when long term projects come to an end, and you finally get to see the fruit of the seeds you sow (or something like that :) The Deadly ego series was started many months ago, and each character was a discovery, a lot of research and emotion involved. Im happy with the result and now rearing to start something new and exciting! Once these are printed, they are going up on the walls of the Hidesign Flagship store in Pondi- large prints, I cant wait to see them there.

On another slightly lazier note, got pampered at the gorgeous Le dupleix during our holiday there, and Im just back this morning from Pondi, refreshed and happy :) Im a pondy fan, whattodo.

Skinny Scribbles!

I've really had a hard time keeping this leetle bit of excitement from all of you, but Im doing a childrens book with Scholastic :D And as you know, I have reallly been wanting to do one, so Im thrilled to bits to be covered in ink and paint drowning in a gorgeous story about a little girl called Samina and an envelope child called Skinny Scribbles and their whole adventure. Its funny, it makes you go aww sometimes and I love how dreamy the whole story is. It goes into production in April me thinks, I will let you know when its out!

So yes, I love it  and I love illustrating it. Its also in black and white! Im so used to spending hours with my colours that its a refreshing change to play with black and white again. I hope you like it !! Here are a few illustrations from the book :)

Im also off for a very exciting sounding trip to Bikaner, to be part of the Kabir yatra ! check out kabiryatra.org. Hoping to be filled with Sufi wisdom and all the love they sing about. So Ill see you next in March! much love.

Smile for a Story

Im finally introducing you to the kids at Santhosha Nanban!(In tamil, this means''happy friend'').  They are incredibly smart, happy and sweet and I loooove my time with them, its great fun and hugely inspiring. I took tons of pictures from todays session, where Kanchana ( their full time teacher) and I told them the story of "The Thirsty Crow" and they excitedly started to illustrate the story! Ive just picked 10 pictures to share with you but if you want to see more let me know :)

the cutest crow

 Collage work from last weeks session, they absolutely floored me with their creativity!

We have about 20 kids in open school where Kanchana preps them for admission into a goverment school.

These are kids that have been found recently, in the middle of school year so theyre getting a good basic learning here! Almost all of them stay in the orphanage, and just a few go back to their homes in the evenings.

I mentioned before about what a lovely place Santhosha Nanban is, its an orphanage and they also educate street children and these kids are really well looked after, its been really heartwarming working with them. You can read more about them at www.sathoshananban.org.

Glittery and Starry Diwali !

Diwali is around the corner!!! Twinkling lights and bursts of magic and glitter in the skies. Its one of my favourite festivals because i love love love lights and twinkly glittery things. My home is full of it and it is so wonderful to see everybody go all out for this day! Its also raining in Pondicherry now, the skies are falling and im listening to beautiful music and in love with the world and weather and everything and everyone!! joy joy!


So what you see in the picture above is the Hidesign flagship store in Pondicherry. Its huge, gorgeous and full of beautiful bags and also has little things designed or drawn by ME :) What I would like to bring your eyes to here is the display window which features Diwali!

Dressing in gorgeous patterns and colours, big chandelier earrings , a dance in the step and a beautiful Hidesign bag. Fireworks in the background. Diwalii is here! Have a wonderful and safe Diwali and think of our beautiful planet and keep her safe too! MUch Love and Joy to you!!