Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Lena Feunekes
Hi Anna Lena, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began working as an illustrator while I was finishing my Masters in Industrial Design. I would get inquiries for projects from people I knew, and friends would suggest I might consider being a freelancer. I didn’t think much of it, but the idea of making some extra money with art sounded appealing. In this time, I just took on any project that I came across – learning how to run my business and how to tackle client work as I went. I started working as an in-house UX designer in IT companies and kept freelancing on the side. It gave me the time to figure out my style and learn how to be a professional illustrator. Cut to 10 years later and I am an illustrator and author, just had my first non-fiction kids book called Tasty Tales on food history published! I currently have another kids book in the works for another publisher and am working with clients that hire me for food and magazine illustration. It’s wonderful to think back and see how much my art has changed, and how I have grown as a person!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My main struggle along the way is to know whose advice to listen to. There is a ton of people and a ton of opinions out there – and there is no one correct way to be an illustrator. There is always judgement: did you go to art school, is your style conventional enough to be commercially attractive, is it original enough to stand out, do you have a job on the side, do you not have work life balance… it’s a lot. People can mean well, but especially when I was having a hard time getting work, I wanted to be quite snippy when being asked ‘If I had considered making illustrated books?!’ Well.. yeah, haha! Now that I have a handful of lovely returning clients as well as my own publishing projects I can see the perspective there, as well as the compliment that’s in there: you are good enough. I just didn’t feel like I was back then!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an Illustrator and author based Gouda, the Netherlands, and I create children’s books, magazine illustrations and patterns. I specialize in creating collage illustrations, meaning I cut and paste paper and create scenes with people, plants and food. I also write nonfiction children’s books, among which my debut book called Tasty Tales.
I am very proud of the brand I built. People know my style and recognize my products with patterns on them that I’ve illustrated, and sell in shops and in my own online store. If you love cooking, gardening and having a cosy life, I think you might really like my work!
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
During covid, I had a lot of time on my hands suddenly. No more commutes, no activities with lots of people to distract me. It helped me finish my self-published kids book, which gave me the financial resources and experience to actually decide to go into illustration childrens’ books and pursue being published traditionally. The investment paid off, because I have one book that is currently published in the UK, translation rights being sold to potential other countries, and another book being on offer with another publisher!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.annalena.nl
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annalenavaniersel
