Shillo Stories: Mags Straatman
Date
Aug 22, 2024
I’m Mags, a lead teacher at Shillington with a background in Editorial and Data Visualization. I’m also obsessed with combining lino printing and graphic design, which led me to start my small business, Good Day. Lately, I’ve been fully embracing being a 'design mom', and balancing creative projects with the daily challenge of getting my baby into a good sleep routine (seriously, it feels like a sport!).
I’m a huge fan of country music, and when life gets tricky I always ask myself, “What would Dolly do?"
Inspiring me
I’ll always and forever be inspired by picture books—they’re such a beautiful blend of design and storytelling, with so much creative freedom. I’m especially obsessed with Phoebe Whal’s work, where she mixes papercuts with illustrations. She recently made a handmade stop-motion short film called Tulip, which has me even more in awe. Another designer crush of mine is Melissa Castrillón; her color palettes are pure perfection!
On reflection
I'm a massive overthinker, and this has always been a struggle for me, not only in my design work and career decisions but also in life. One of the most inspiring things I've learned is to recognize when something is new or different and not dismiss it too quickly. I’m working on being kinder to myself, allowing myself to feel stressed out, and understanding that it's a normal reaction. This is something I'm still learning to embrace, while also getting more comfortable with the discomfort. This journey of self-awareness and growth has become a massive inspiration for my designs.
What's cooking?
I’ve loved working on my recent commission, creating branding for a chicken coop egg business! I had the opportunity to design a logo for them and carve it into a stamp to use on their boxes.
