Rob Ryan

2013 at Ryantown!!!

Around this time each year we try to remember all of the work we’ve done in the studio this year. We always like to look forward here at Ryantown and not back, our motto is always ‘the best is yet to come!’ so that when we are all old and grey we can sit by the fireside and read our old diaries and fondly remember all that we did in the year 2013.

In no particular order, this year we…

Designed and printed a little booklet to go with some wild flower seeds which we gave away in their own little envelope. We designed some fabric for Liberty, which in the end didn’t get used by them, but we screen printed it here at the studio and made up some deckchairs and cushions. We also re-upholstered our old conversation seat with this fabric too.

I designed a big ceramic wall clock that hangs up ticking away behind the counter of our shop Ryantown on Columbia Road. We decorated and occupied a beautiful summerhouse for a week at Chelsea Flower Show and met thousands of lovely new friends.

I wrote and illustrated a book called ‘The Invisible Kingdom’– the first part of a trilogy (next instalment out in 2014). We had a great exhibition ‘There Is Only Time’ at Sims Reed Gallery in London with lots of new papercut pieces.

We designed, in conjunction with Tatty Devine, a collection of 16 pieces of jewellery in gold, silver and rose gold that is currently exclusively on sale in their own pop-up shop in Selfridges on Oxford Street, London.

We produced a set of four large papercut pieces for Grand Central Station in New York City to help them celebrate their 100^th Anniversary.
We designed a memory photo album/diary with Senshukai, our new friends in Japan. We carried on our happy and fruitful licensing collaboration with Wild & Wolf and produced new ceramics, stationary and exciting new glassware, which will debut next year.

We designed and launched our new website robryanstudio.com along with a new online sales shop. We produced illustrations for Japanese Department Store Daimuru’s Fantastic Christmas Campaign for the 6^th year running. We produced a romantic new lasercut exclusively for the V&A Museums shop. We produced 6 papercut illustrations of various fashion accessories for Vogue (Australia) Magazine, and to help celebrate our good friends ‘The Stylist’ magazines 200^th issue we produced 5 new illustrations for them.

We also made a new edition of cute ceramic Staffordshire Cats – Miaow!

I started making some etchings again after a 10-year break, which were sold exclusively by the very lovely Hobby Limon at TAG Fine Arts.

I did an illustration for ES Magazine about The Shard building, and we customised a backpack for Eastpak to be auctioned to raise cash and awareness for Aids. I took part in a show relating to art made from paper, exhibiting 6 pieces in Upperud, Sweden.

We designed a print for Modus PR and we got even busier on Facebook and as I write this we have 21,254 followers. We created a calendar for 2014 with Universe Rizzoli.

We said goodbye to our brilliant printer Jackie Ford after 4 & a half great years and said hello to our new printer Tom Camp. We also reluctantly bid farewell to Danny ‘EZ Terms’ Augustine, gone but not easily forgotten.

We celebrated our 5^th Birthday at our shop Ryantown and designed and created lots of new products: egg cups, packing tape, St. Valentines Day prints and cards, and St. Patricks Day cards. I designed a little magazine all about two sisters – the second instalment of which comes out next month. We produced two new issues of our newspaper SPQR (Senatus Populusque Ryantown). We made our first issue of ‘Make Some Noise’ mini-zine and created lots of new mugs, plates and tiles. We made a big screenprint on newsprint yet again for Busts awesome Christmas Craft fair – Craftacular.

I did three talks on my work, one for the V&A Museum, one for the Association of Illustrators and one for YCN in Spitalfields.

Also, in January we welcomed on a full-time basis my new P.A Sarah McPhee, who has been brilliant from her very first day and who replaced the much-missed Hazel Nichols – who had a beautiful baby Arya in 2013.

Phew! What a year! I’m exhausted!!!

Happy Christmas and have a great 2014.

Rob & all at Ryantown.

Sarah, Libby, Louise, Lorna, Michelle, Tom & the Ryantown Shop team, Cynthia, Alice, Caroline & Maria.