Nathalie’s hidden talents stun Coulson Macleod and result in new Henries’ shortlisted Pooch range launch
Asking staff for a self-portrait has earned Coulson Macleod not only a brand-new range but also a brand-new artist who’d been hiding in plain sight.
Everyone at the company had a go when co-owners Hannah Macleod and Mark Coulson requested the self-portraits as a bit of fun for a social media competition, but 22-year-old pick-and-packer Nathalie Rogers’ work was absolutely spot on.
“We all had a go but, when Nathalie produced hers, it was an exact likeness,” Hannah said, “so, with dogs super-popular in gifts and cards at the moment, we decided to utilise Nathalie’s artistic ability and asked her to take a couple of days off to take a look at one or two of the top 12 breeds of dogs to see if we could do anything commercially.
“When we saw her initial illustrations, they blew us away to the extent that we asked her to do 12 breeds for our brand-new Pooch collection, which includes cards, plaques, coasters, mugs and bookmarks, a range we’re hoping to expand.”
Nathalie’s fine artwork has been combined with editorial, written by Mark, which details the personality of each of the dog breeds.
As well as wowing the visitors at the recent Home & Gift show at Harrogate, at which the Pooch collection was given pride of place, its potential was also spotted by the judges in the first round of The Henries judging, earning the range a place in the shortlist for the Best Art Range.
“We had absolutely no idea that Nathalie was an artist hiding in plain sight in an art studio! And, as someone who works in pick, pack and despatch, she was thrilled to open the boxes as they arrived and see everything she’d designed as actual products that we, as a company, are going to sell,” added Hannah.
As a word of advice to other companies, Hannah said: “Check out your staff! You never know who might have hidden talents!”
