In the Shop Window with Julie Paterson of Turadh Design Co., Glasgow
Your business in a nutshell – Hand drawn, digitally rendered architectural illustrations focusing primarily on the nostalgia of the places and spaces around us.
What draws people to your art – Nostalgia! The places I draw mean different things to different people but generally they have lots of happy memories attached to them – whether it’s where you got married, met your other half, had some wild nights out as a student, or walked with your gran. I love seeing people smile and chuckle as they look through the print collections and remember their experiences of the place
Your most popular product – The Arches is the first drawing I sold as part of Turadh Design Co. and it remains one of the most popular.
Best/worst things about self-employment – Best – Flexibility of time, freedom to choose the direction my work goes in. Worst – Plate-spinning all the tasks that sit alongside drawing time, from ordering products, to advertising and social media, to admin and invoicing.
Previous jobs – I worked as an interior designer for 20 years, specialising in Hotel Design and Health and Fitness interiors.
Long-term goals – To form good working relationships with new stockists and regular contract work in the commercial sector, to sit alongside my commissioned work and online stores.
With hindsight, what would you tell yourself?– To charge appropriately for time spent and not undervalue my work.
Other small businesses you admire and buy from – On the illustration side, I greatly admire Adrian McMurchie. To my mind he is the OG of this type of work. On my walls at home, I have a number of sketches from Coll Hamilton, whose portraits I love and drawing style I admire.
There are so many creative small businesses and talented individuals in and across Scotland, working like mad to get their products out to everyone – Bianca O’Neil Art, Kieron Redmond, Dapper Alice, The Dough Cartel, k-soks, it’s an endless list.
Music while I work – I’m a bit of an old school radio girl, I like the background noise without having to think about what’s playing. I like the Off menu podcasts too though.
Favourite Scottish restaurants/pubs – I love Dishoom in Edinburgh. Closest to home, Victoria Perk in Whiteinch and I must admit I do enjoy an occssional Macaroni Cheese from the Thornwood Bar.
Best Scottish celebrity – Sean Connery!
Best Scottish film – I’m a fan of the original Whisky Galore from 1949, though I’m not sure it’d technically be classed as Scottish based on some of the accents alone!
Favourite Scottish destination – North Berwick
Do you believe in Nessie – Sure!
Money no object, where would you go on holiday? – Japan
