Meet Livi Gosling, the Hertfordshire-based illustrator who produced the illustration of Yvette's Chocolate advent calendar. We caught up with her last week to talk about her inspiration and where she works. She drew some parts of the advent calendar whilst enjoying some of our chocolates. It was lovely to speak to her about her process and what it is like to work on Christmas items in the summer.
Livi, can you tell us more about the inspiration for the advent calendar?
We wanted to showcase Yvette's lovely shop in Potten End. The shop has just had a bit of makeover and its looking great! Potten End is such a beautiful village and the views from the shop are pretty idyllic. We also wanted to show that Yvette and Tony are what make the business so special. They make all of their delicious products by hand and its their care, expertise and attention to detail that make their chocolates such wonderful artisan products.
You work with a lot of local businesses, how does it feel to see your illustrations in local shops?
I get a buzz every time I see my illustrations in ’the real world!’ It’s extra special when I spot them in local shops as I know that my local friends and family will be just as excited to see them as I am. It’s lovely to share that experience :)
Did you taste the advent calendar chocolates?
I am very pleased to say that I did! I adore seasonal flavours at Christmas but I have to say, Yvette’s award-winning salted caramel chocolates will always be a firm favourite of mine.
Was it hard to do a Christmas design during the heat of the summer?
It did feel a little odd at first!! Although as an illustrator, I’m often designing Christmas cards in September or applying to festive markets in July so it’s almost become par for the course. I confess that I did have to make myself a cosy hot drink whilst drawing the scene though. It made me crave hot chocolate!
What do you think Yvette's next advent calendar should be?
Ooh good question. Maybe next year’s design could be a look inside the shop! A cross-section illustration that highlights all of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. It would be so fun to illustrate the magical chocolate making process.
Thank you Livi for sharing about more about the making of our advent calendar. So many of our clients are buying extras for their loved ones, it is a truly special year. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone sharing the opening of their advent calendar on instagram.
You can also find out more about Livi on her website and on her instagram account.