BECI ORPIN CRAFT DESIGN AS A CAREER

 Craft Designer Beci Orpin

Every Thursday until Craft  Design as a Career, Craft’s Annual Seminar, The Craft Blog has been featuring one speaker to give you all a little taster of what is to come at one of our biggest and most inspiring events of the year.

This week the craft blog visited the colourful studio of one of Melbourne’s most famous illustrators, Beci Orpin. One of Australia’s most flourishing freelance designers, Beci has blossomed swiftly since graduating from Textile Design at RMIT in 1997. From selling work in niche retail outlets to designing for worldwide companies such as Burton Snowboards, Universal Music and Dark Horse comics, Beci’s signature aesthetic is everywhere.In between juggling the design of her new book (coming out in November) and motherhood with sons Tyke and Ari, we felt pretty honoured to be slipped into Beci’s fun but busy schedule…


LET’S MEET BECI ORPIN

If you’re at a dinner party and someone asks what you do, how do you answer?
I always find it tricky to describe what I do in one word. My work is not technical enough to be graphic design and then often it is a bit too designed to be strictly illustration and then I make other things too.  I tend to use the blanket term of “designer”, and then provide more info if prompted. Luckily most dinner parties we go to happen at our house so I don’t have to explain myself.

What inspired you to make craft and design your career?
My gran was very crafty – always making rag rugs and quilts and things. I think she might have gotten me interested in making things. I always loved drawing too and knew from a young age that I wanted my job to involve drawing. It took me a while to figure out how I could combine illustration and fabric. Textile design was the perfect solution for me!

What do you love most about working within this industry?
As my work is a bit all over the place, I actually don’t think I’m involved in any industry in particular. Within my work I do seem to find myself surrounded by like-minded and inspiring people – that is a pretty great thing.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you ever received?
Work hard. Both my parents are hard workers so they showed me good work ethics. My lecturers at uni also loaded us up with so much work, and when we would complain they would tell us that that is what it is like in the real world. They were not wrong! It was good preparation.

You’ve become a Queen of collaborations in the past few years. In your wildest dreams, who’s next?Oh gosh! There are so many people and companies I admire and would love to work with. Something furniture-based would be amazing – I love local company Jardan. Others on my dream list would include APC, Baggu, mt tape, Marimekko, Mina Perhonen, Kirra Jamison and Apartmento Magazine. 

Craft and Design as a Career
9am-4pm, Thu 16 Aug 2012
Clemenger Auditorium, NGV International, 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
$90 / $40 Craft Members and groups of 10+
BOOK HERE or call us on 03 9650 7775

All photos by Beth Wilkinson.Interview  : http://www.thecraftblog.org.au/lets-meet-beci-orpin/