It seemed only fitting for my first LND Loves interview to be with the fantastic duo who have brought this whole new look and feel to my website.
As alluded to in the following conversation with the twins, I first met Abigail and Chloe when they were booked to illustrate at a VIP night of one of the events I was working on.
I joined a very long queue (due to demand) to get my own portrait done and I couldn’t have been happier with the completed picture. Having just had a baby and feeling very insecure about my looks, this was super flattering; more grown up than a cartoon but it had that cute sort of look to it that you couldn’t be disappointed by… so much so, I booked them both to come and illustrate all the guests at my daughters naming ceremony which went down an absolute treat.
At that point, I was already working hard to try and focus my ideal business client and I just knew I wanted Chloe and Abigail to help me push that visually, through their talents.
If you’re thinking about doing the same, hopefully this interview will give you more of an insight into Buttercrumble and whether they’re right for you either as a business or through their live illustration for an event.
Chloe, Abigail, thanks for chatting with me.
I am an only child so I am fascinated by the fact you are twins and can work together so well… I think if I had to work with any of my family, we may kill each other! As twins, do you naturally have the same skills or do each of you take a different angle in the business to offer a larger range of services just like a regular business partnership?
Similarly, to most siblings, it’s a love-hate relationship. We are the best-of-friends, but that doesn’t mean we always agree. We use the chemistry between us to our advantage by driving the business forward. Our competitiveness means we can continuously motivate each other. On the other hand, our skillsets are extremely similar, so we’re always open to collaboration to introduce a new and fresh perspective.
I first met you when you were live illustrating at an event. Is this where your skills first developed?
Ever since we can remember, we have loved to draw. Our imagination was sparked when we began to read as children. We’d often illustrate characters from our favourite books. Roald Dahl had to be our best-loved author!
Our first live illustration event was back in 2016 at Fred Aldous. This was the beginning of a new chapter for us as we realised that illustration could be utilised to create exciting experiences.
What is your favourite part of the job? Is it the same as the most rewarding part or does that differ?
Our favourite part of the job is seeing our designs utilised in the “real world”. Good design is not only aesthetic, but useful too. It serves a function and often that’s to communicate a message. If this messaging helps our clients express themselves to their audience, then we can pat ourselves on the back.
Confidence is the reward we’ve reaped. When we first started in business, we were shy and nervous. Although, there are still wobbly times, we have grown so much in self-assurance. There’s no more holding back because of a lack of belief.
If you can say, what has been the best event you’ve been asked to work at and why was it so great?
Our favourite experience was the Christmas tour we took part in for John Lewis in 2017. We visited eleven different stores across the UK over the course of two weeks. This was the first time we’d taken Buttercrumble on a road trip of this length! It was great because we met so many interesting and diverse characters. We illustrated over 320 customers in total and we’re pleased to be continuing our relationship with John Lewis and Partners.
You’ve worked with me to strengthen my brand and help me focus my ideal client. Do you have a particular sector you like to work with more either because you think it sounds fun or it is aesthetically nicer, which I imagine would be more pleasing to a business that is about making things look better? Do you try and make your brand appeal to them more?
We never want to lose our “joie de vivre”. We embrace playfulness within our designs which naturally appeals to young-at-heart brands. Therefore, we’ve worked with a lot of children’s brands such as Mini First Aid, Kid O Toys and Acorn and Pip (to name just a few). I feel this is because childhood is one of the most creative parts of your life. That’s why we love to create young-spirited illustration and graphic design that gladdens the heart.
Overall, we do what we love with the people we love!
I wanted to work with you because I fell in love with your illustrations; they gave me a sense of being childlike but in an adult way…. I’m not sure that totally makes sense but that’s also how I feel. Sometimes I don’t want to grow up and I have a taste for a lot of ‘kiddie’ based products that spark nostalgia for me but I also accept that I am almost 40 so I don’t want to pretend to be something I’m not. You totally understood that brief. Are most of your clients after that same sort of essence? How would you explain your own style?
Thank you! It’s been a pleasure to work with LND Events because you’re a business that wants to enrich people’s lives with fun and unforgettable memories. There’s a real synergy between what we both do.
We try to remember that you can be the best or worst but avoid being boring. Life is serious enough, so let’s try and introduce creativity and spark the imagination. People are drawn to happiness, and brands that ooze a young-at-heart vibe are likeable.
If you’d like to get in touch with Buttercrumble, please click here to find out more about them and how they can help you.