profile : cherish by bek burrows

The Cherish range of products includes a perfect smattering of things to adorn your home, with a focus on gorgeous quality + simplistic ingredients all featuring Bek Burrows adorable illustrations. Beautiful woolen blankets, silk cushions, linen aprons and greeting cards form the range, depicting lighthearted scenes, with a good healthy pinch of whimsy and fun! Bek’s drawings are seriously endearing, and we love how they’re usually done in a cheerful cherry red.

Do you have a day job, if so what is it? 
My primary job is being a mum. I’m lucky enough to have a wonderfully supportive husband who works, enabling me to pursue my creative little business while still being the domestic engineer at home.

When did your business begin and why? 
I started cherish in 2004 after I had my first child and found that the food industry I had been involved in was not as flexible and child friendly as I had hoped! Previously I had studied two fine arts degrees and so was keen to work in an artistic medium, creating things that are both practical and individual at the same time. I discovered there was a limited range of children’s blanket’s available that utilized Tasmanian wool and were created with a sense of originality. In the beginning I used mainly reproduction 1930’s children prints, and then began making unique quilts made from special collected fabrics, which often had sentimental meaning. Cherish has grown and developed to include a range of products such as greeting cards, silk and linen cushions and wraparound linen aprons all individually hand painted with my illustrations.

Inspiration/design aesthetic?
Inspiration comes from everyday things for me. I try to surround myself with objects and people that interest me, which in turn colours my work. Simple but beautiful things make their way into my drawings, such as teacups, apple trees and kites. The images I make frequently include a person, quite often children who can be skipping, fishing or dressing up and playing in billy carts. I am most inspired by my family and all the games and activities we play that I also remember playing as a child. We live amongst an eclectic mix of styles in our home and I often pick up bits and pieces on our travels, from shells and rocks to formerly loved pieces of furniture and old treasures others are moving on from. I enjoy looking at the things in other people’s homes and the stories that certain objects tell about a person.

Designers you admire? 
I love the illustrations of Quentin Blake who has worked on numerous Roald Dahl books, his quick immediate approach to his drawings. I have a VERY large list of blogs bookmarked and can spend a couple of hours easily scrolling through a differing selection from interiors to food and children’s design.

What is your favourite part of Tasmania?
Falmouth, on Tasmania’s East Coast. I love arriving there and knowing that within a very short time I will have succumbed to the very slow pace and totally relax.

What do you love about what you do...and any little gripes or niggles?
I love that I can get up and start in my workroom really early in the morning, in my p.j’s with a cup of tea while the kids are still asleep downstairs. There is great flexibility in working for yourself and being able to start and finish a job while still being “on deck” with juggling all the different aspects of having four kids.

What can our lovely customers expect to see you exhibiting?
I’m working on a new range of quilts, which I am quite excited about. Combining wool, linen, silk and cotton with my own illustrations in a patchwork quilt. I am also playing around with a series of small paintings on linen, which is a different direction for me this year. May be best not to say too much yet though!

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Want to see who else will be at our April event? For more interviews with our exhibitors check out our look book.