me in a nutshell...
My brain is always ticking — it rarely switches off!
I’m inspired by beautifully illustrated books, animation and the kind of carefully crafted stories you can lose yourself in.
Animals and plants sit at the heart of my creative world. I’m at my happiest when bringing a character to life — especially if I can encourage it to wear a bobble hat and a pair of wellies.
The little critters that wander out of my imagination often find themselves living very human lives. Through them, I love to celebrate and document everyday moments that are easy to overlook — a warm cup of tea with friends, or grandma's extra large jumper knitted with love.
Most of my products are designed for daily use, little reminders of all the things we have to be grateful for even when the ironing pile is like mount Everest!
my background and experience
I graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2001 with a BA (Hons) in Three Dimensional Design. After 10 years of working in business development and arts marketing, and a secondary degree level qualification with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Helen Russell Creations was launched at the British Craft Trade Fair in April 2011.
Since then my business has taken many twists and turns as society and the economic climate have changed. Luckily I enjoy the challenge of having to adapt and relish shaking things up a bit! I’m so lucky to wake up in the morning excited about what the day will bring. Having your own creative business is hard work, but very, very rewarding.
My artwork is often centred around birds and animals, my imaginings of what they get up to in their spare time and winter clothing (must be due to living in the slightly damp and chilly Pennines). These days I tend to focus on surface pattern and illustrative pieces using a combination of traditional and digital mediums.
Outside of my design work, I have been helping people launch and grow their businesses for over 20 years. I really love this kind of work! I am passionate about the creative industries and get such joy out of helping other people thrive. I offer a concise range of affordable business support packages aimed at people like me. I've recently had the pleasure of working with Design Nation and Artisan Made UK to help deliver their business support and mentoring programmes.
That's me in a nutshell! I hope you enjoy browsing my work and/or support packages. Thanks for visiting x