If you have a twitter account, follow craft blogs and devour
kitsch stationery then you’ve probably heard the news: Ebony Bizys of Hello Sandwich.
From working at Vogue in
Sydney to living vogue in Tokyo, Hello Sandwich has undoubtedly
developed a worldwide cult following of cute and quirky stationery
lovers. Ebony will be doing two stationery workshops at Craft at part of
Craft Cubed in August, both which sold out in the first day tickets
went on sale. The queen of tape, stickers and scalloped edged scissors will discuss
her move to Tokyo and her multitude of freelance projects. Now let’s
find out some quirky insiders niceties about this eclectic lady who
everyone is mad for…
The Sydney-born, Tokyo-based graphic designer gives Time Out her to-do list for her forthcoming sojourn to Melbourne
LET’S MEET HELLO SANDWICH!
If you are at a crafternoon and someone asks you what you do, how do you answer?
Before moving to Tokyo in 2010, I worked at
VOGUE
magazines for 11 years, most recently in the position of Deputy Art
Director at VOGUE Living. Since living in Tokyo, I have Art Directed a
Japanese
book,
designed a Japanese fashion website, been commissioned by VOGUE Japan
to make artworks for their publication, collaborated with famous
Japanese masking tape brand
mt
on workshops and have appeared in many Japanese books and magazines. I
currently blog for VOGUE Japan, host monthly craft workshops and am just
about to release my Japanese craft book on July 25th.
What inspired you to make craft and design your career?
I simply did what I loved daily and things fitted into place and my
career path formed itself naturally. When I first moved to Tokyo I
couldn’t have imagined that this is what I would be doing two years
later. Just after the March 11 giant earthquake my Art Director at VOGUE
Living magazine fell pregnant and my editor called me to offer me the
Art Directors role. It was a difficult decision to make as I loved
working at VOGUE Living very much and times were uncertain in Tokyo with
constant aftershocks and radiation scares, but I decided to stick to my
dream of living in Japan, and I am so happy I made that decision. Since
then, I have worked on my own Japanese craft book with Japanese
publisher
BNN, due for release next month, and I still have to pinch myself to believe that this is all happening.
What do you love most about working within this industry?
Working on my Japanese craft book had all of my favourite parts of my
role as Deputy Art Director at VOGUE Living, such as styling shoots and
designing page layouts, but only with the subject matter of my own
handmade craft. It combined my skills and career experience with the
craft I love to make as a hobby in my spare time. For me it is almost
too good to be true. With most of the jobs I do, I can’t believe I am
able to call this my ‘work’.
What’s the best piece of professional advice you ever received?
A ‘can do attitude’ goes a long way. And, when I turned down
the Art Director role at VOGUE Living to stay and try my luck in Tokyo
my editor told me ‘What’s life without risks’. It was heartwarming.
In detail, describe your dream stationery set…
I love stationery that has a
‘hands on’ element. Japanese brand
Marks
have just released a corsage sticker set where you can create your own
original corsage combination by selecting the corsage bow and ribbon
details. I once produced a Hello Sandwich letter set where you could cut
out a template to make your own envelope. It’s fun to make something
original and I enjoy interactive stationery such as this.
