The artwork – no AI here! Give me a real artist please!

One area of the growalong that I must admit I am most proud of is the beautiful hand drawn artwork that features both on the top and bottom of the garments. The mouse and wheat artwork went on to become our signature showcase design for the launch of the growalong. One thing that was always core to the designs was we wanted them to be brought to life by a real artist. Yes, it costs more money and yes it is more time consuming than simply typing prompts into Chat GPT. However, working with artists gives you an authenticity that cannot be mimicked artificially. This was vitally important to us and something Alex and I would not compromise on.  

I sketched the initial designs myself (very crudely may I add) as I always knew I wanted a strong British nature theme to the grows. I am from and still live in the countryside and I felt it was important for us to connect the growalong to nature. Once I’d sketched out my ideas we looked at each other and thought ‘what next….’ we went on the hunt for a local artist and stumbled upon the extremely talented Poppy-Lee Jennings. Looking at her work we were immediately draw to her clear passion and understanding when capturing native wildlife. At the time Poppy-Lee was based in Yorkshire and has extensive knowledge around capturing nature through her art. We organised a meeting and hit it off immediately, and together we started the process of creating the field mouse and wheat design (along with other pieces which are due to launch soon). Instantly we knew the collaboration would work, working with Poppy-Lee has been an absolutely pleasure and a relationship we hope to carry on with indefinitely.

Throughout this process what I found interesting is how important the design ended up being to the brand identity of the growalong. Through the creation of our artwork we developed a strong sense that we are advocating for nature in everything we do. From the longevity of the garment to the fabric used and finally the design representing the simplicity and beauty of British nature. When you purchase a growalong you can be assured that all the processes have been carefully thought through to, benefit our local community and support social values. So yes, you could pay less and have an AI generated fast fashion item of clothing, but we want you to be proud of the clothing you buy for your children and be assured that when you become part of the growalong family you can be positive there have been no corners cut or any element of greenwashing. Everything is done with heart and principles, complimented by the fact all our growalongs are effortlessly and timelessly stylish.

We are proud to support northern artists, and are proud to provide a guarantee that our designs are hand drawn and printed onto our garments sustainably and ethically. Stay tuned for future blogs on our pioneering sustainable printing methods!  

Please spend the time to check out Poppy-Lee’s artwork both through her website and socials, she really is such a talent and also one of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure to work with!