Favourite Kid's Book with Robyn Mitchell
Tell me about your favorite kid's book, and how you came up with the idea for your Drip For Drip cup: One of my favorite kid's books growing up was the Gumdrop series written and illustrated by Val Biro. It followed the adventures of a 1926 Austin Clifton Heavy Twelve-Four and its owner (first Bill McArran and then later Mr Oldcastle). My dad would read a book of the series every night to me when I was a kid and I loved it! This gave me the idea for my Drip for Drip submission - I've tried to incorporate bits and pieces from some of the books I most enjoyed in the series. The elephant, giraffe, monkey and Mildew Safari Park sign hint at the book Gumdrop and the Elephant (1990), Gumdrop driving on the country road (with Mr Oldcastle, Mr Oldcastle’s grandson Dan and Horace the dog in tow) hints at Gumdrop to the Rescue (1986) and the Loch Ness Monster to Gumdrop and the Monster (1985).
What are kids books illustrators you really like? I absolutely love Oliver Jeffers, Jon Klassen, Mary Blair, Mike Lowery and Alex Latimer!
Robyn Mitchell's cup based on the Gumdrop books by Val Biro
Wijtze Valkema's cup based on Rasmus Klump by Hansen
Coffee: Arabica or Robusta? I didn't actually know there were two kinds! But now that I look at my coffee supply it's all Arabica!
How do you drink your coffee? I love a great flat white - one sugar and love a little latte art.
What is your favorite coffee shop? So hard to choose as there are so many fantastic coffee spots in Cape Town! I'd have to say Deluxe Coffeeworks. Great spot and absolutely love their coffee!
Any interesting projects coming up? A couple I can't talk about at the moment but generally am busy illustrating some infographics and maps. In my spare time I'm illustrating African countries in stamp form for fun, not only because I used to collect stamps as a kid but also because it occurred to me when looking at gorgeous vintage stamp collections that there weren't as many from Africa compared to the other continents so I thought it would be something interesting to explore.
Robyn Mitchell
Robyn's work is very colourful and friendly and has a certain kid's book vibe to it. That's why we wanted to ask her to do a kid's book themed edition. Her style is very versatile, sitting in the middle of illustration and graphic design, looking wonderful on screen as well as in print. Please follow her interesting self-initiated series of stamps of African countries on Dribbble.