Meet the Artist: Catarina Morais
Sit down, grab a cuppa’, get comfy. We’re going to get to know one of our designers a bit better… Catarina Morais!
Catarina is not only an extremely talented illustrator, she is one of our very own Assembly Technicians. She designed the limited edition, ‘Houseparty’, for us last year.
It doesn’t stop there though, over her years with us she’s designed the gorgeous mural in our Neal Street shop, along with the window stickers. She’s designed our gift cards, tote bags, packaging and even a MJW t-shirt.
So, let’s get into it. Catarina, when did your love of art/illustration begin?
I have always loved drawing, and it has been a way to express myself from a very young age. You could always find me with a sketchbook, dozens of pieces of printer paper and handfuls of colouring pencils.
However, I started taking it more seriously when I joined an art-specialised school in Lisbon, where I studied Jewellery and Drawing. These three years allowed me to develop skills that I then brought into my BA in Illustration at UAL.
How would you describe your signature style?
Bright, fun, chaotic and energetic! I love exploring interactions between people and pushing my compositions to be as busy and full of life as possible.
What was the inspiration behind your watch design, Houseparty?
Houseparty came from an edition of screen prints I developed in the pandemic. These prints explored a feeling of missing human interaction and longing for my friends.
The watch design still immortalises that period of time for me but it’s now a much more positive outcome. It captures people’s happiness intertwining in a single moment.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I am a hobby hoarder, I will start a new hobby every few months and slightly obsess over it for a period of time! My favourite go-to’s are crocheting, jigsaw puzzles, Animal Crossing, cooking, and obviously drawing.
Do you have a favourite piece of art that you’ve created?
One of the most challenging - but also most rewarding - pieces of work I have done was the mural for our Neal Street flagship store. It is exhilarating to see my work blown up to a much larger scale, and to be able to bring a little bit of me as an artist to such a bright, colourful shop.
Have you enjoyed getting to know Catarina? Make sure to follow her on social media here and keep an eye out for more designers that we will be introducing on our blog in the future!