Chief doodler returns to PG Live with expanded brand and ranges
With big names like RuPaul and Lady Gaga entwined in her history, self-taught illustrator Amy Payne is looking forward to her second outing at PG Live.
Her pop culture-based cards caught stockists’ imagination with her debut at last summer’s show and she’s spent the year building her Amy Illustrates brand and expanding the product range, so is raring to go on stand 832 at London’s Business Design Centre over Tuesday and Wednesday, 7-8 June.
Drawing from a young age, the Amy Illustrates owner and chief doodler was scouted at just 15 to exhibit a painting at a Lady Gaga exhibition in Paris then, while earning a crust in a 9-5 office job having just graduated from uni in 2018, she picked up her pencils and paints again.
“Being in a boring office job wasn’t really hitting the sweet spot,” Amy explained, “so I would often return from work craving an escape. As a creative outlet, I returned to my first love – drawing.
“I opened up an Etsy shop with a modest selection of designs and did a few local village hall stalls – I was printing each card out from my printer, so you can imagine how much time this took! I happily continued with this for a while and gained some lovely customers in the process even though I now think my first cards were pretty crap.
“I then moved on to pop culture-based cards, which were inspired by the TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race and, in 2020, I was scouted to sell my products at RuPaul’s Drag Con in London.
“Over time I began to learn and create better designs through experience, so in early 2021 I completely rebranded the online shop and created a whole new range of cards that you now see today.
“My first trade show was last summer at PG Live, and I’ve gone on to get some amazing stockists and hope to continue building the brand and expanding the product range!”
To enjoy PG Live for yourself, all you need to do is register here and you will receive a free Show Preview to give you a taster of just some of the ranges that will be on offer, meaning that you’ll be on your way to discovering your new best sellers as well as catching up with all your industry friends!
And don’t forget… the lunch, refreshments, and opening night party are all laid on for you.
