Member blog

Oh Wilkintie!

28th February, 2009 by Brita Frost

Carly Hargreaves and her partner, Niels Oeltjen established Wilkintie in 2008. They take the work of internationally acclaimed illustrators such Klaus Haapaniemi, Chamo and Gwénola Carrère, and turn it into fine letterpress prints available either individually or by subscription. They do this with the help of the remarkable Carolyn Fraser at Idlewild Press. An exciting and inspiring venture, it is keeping both Carly and Niels very busy. Carly kindly gave us some of her time to talk about the project.

Can you tell me about Wilkintie and what it is you do?
Wilkintie is a curated, illustrated art subscription for kids or for adults who love the joy and whimsy of children's illustration. We've asked artists to come up with an artwork that we then turn into a limited edition letterpress print at Idlewild Press. Each month we release a new print by a different artist and people can subscribe and receive one new print every month or purchase them individually at a higher price.

The whole idea was to introduce kids to art in a fun and affordable way. We particularly wanted to use exciting artists to do this. Having said that, so far I would say that at least half of our sales have been to adults who evidently collect and have a passion for children's illustration.  

Where does the name come from?
A Wilkintie is a native hopping mouse that lives in the Strzelecki Desert in South Australia. We wanted something unique and something Australian without being too obvious.

What inspired you to start Wilkintie?
We wanted to do something original and fun. We knew that there were many illustrators passionate about children's illustration but not necessarily able to work in this field and we also thought that art for kids in the commercial world is either stuffy and boring or overly cute. We aimed to create a link between contemporary illustration artists and young children rather than these young influential artists only being available to an adult crowd. Ultimately we find the project inspiring and hope it brings joy to the subscribers and the artists.

Are you enjoying working with Idlewild Press?
Yes, the studio has some beautiful old printers and Carolyn Fraser is very skilled. She's taught us a lot about letterpress printing.

How do you find working with your partner, Niels?
We both have very clearly defined roles with Wilkintie and I think that's particularly important when you're working with your partner. Niels has built and designed the website and is curating the project. And I do everything else! It's been fun.

How do you choose the illustrators you work with?
Niels spends hours on the internet looking for them! We have a wonderful and extensive collection of children's books and I think the collection itself is an inspiration to Niels but also an expression of his taste. We both appreciate illustrators whose work has a little a bit of extra something – magic, joy, whimsy, curiosity, vulnerability even.

To find out more about Wilkintie go to http://wilkintie.com/

Above image by Merijn Hos, 2008

Brita Frost

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