Hi, I'm Emmi!
I'm the illustrator, designer, and big softie behind Hello Elks! I started Hello Elks because I love making things that bring others joy. I create cute, playful artwork and surface pattern designs meant to brighten everyday life.
When I think back to my earliest memories of diving into art as a hobby, my favourite part was always drawing wildly stupid things for my friends to make them laugh. It was the best form of entertainment in my eyes, and of course, I often ended up making myself laugh too!
My art has evolved a quite bit over the years… I tend to draw less crazy silly things now, and many more cute and playful things — but my core motivation has always stayed the same. I just want to brighten your day, and help make the world feel a little more fun and playful through my creations.
Me in my home studio with my sweet boy, Winston.
A bit more about me
I’m a true creature of comfort (read: introverted homebody) and a proud collector of hobbies.
In my free time, you’ll most likely find me happily pottering around at home, deep-diving into whatever random activity has captured my interest that day.
Recent highlights include learning to grow my own vegetables, crocheting and trying all sorts of new recipes in the kitchen — I'm always busy with something creative!
My first home-grown zucchini, a recent crochet project for my niece, and a huge batch of delicious homemade wontons!
Finding my way as an illustrator
My journey into art really began towards the end of high school, when I made the choice to follow my joy rather than to keep jumping through academic hoops. Up until then, most of my classes were filled with maths and science — very analytical, left-brain stuff. But right at the last minute, when we were asked to start thinking about future careers, I swerved hard and decided to pursue illustration instead.
While I had a wonderful time studying illustration at University, it was also really hard. Other than my silly little doodles in the margins of textbooks, I didn’t have a consistent art practice going into the course, so I often felt miles behind all of the incredibly talented students around me. But I stuck with it, learned many new skills, met some wonderful people, and eventually made it out with a degree — yay!
What I didn’t leave with, though, was a clear career path. I knew I deeply loved illustration and design, but I hadn’t found “my style” yet, I didn’t have a portfolio I felt confident pitching, and I had absolutely no idea where to start when it came to building a creative career.
A few of my illustration projects from my time in university and my first portfolio.
Building Hello Elks (slowly + imperfectly)
So… I ended up working full-time in a call centre. #dreamjob
All jokes aside, this job gave me my first experience of full-time income and the stability I needed to get my own apartment — and finally, a little quiet and creative space of my own. This is where I started developing my art style in the margins of my life.
During this time, I took part in lots of daily drawing challenges and slowly began creating work I felt proud to share. I even started taking commissions for pet and family portraits. From there, I kept nurturing the spark.
Through courses like Bonnie Christine’s Surface Design Immersion (where I discovered my love of Adobe Illustrator and surface pattern design) and Stacy Bloomfield’s Leverage Your Art (where I learned there were many ways to monetise my work beyond commissions), as well as dabbling in other exciting things like returning to support as an Expert on Bonnie’s course and selling my work at local markets, Hello Elks slowly began to take shape.
It hasn’t been an easy or glamorous process — in fact, it’s been really challenging at times — but I’m proud of the journey, and I’m always grateful for the opportunity to share my work with the world.
These days, I work from my Melbourne home studio with my very sweet studio companion, Winston, right by my side. Hello Elks is still a part-time venture for me, now supported by a part-time day job that fuels my creativity rather than drains it — which is honestly a huge win compared to call centre life.
My very first market stall - December, 2022.
My creative process
In all honesty, my creative process usually starts with an ugly doodle. I treat my sketchbook much like a journal, sketching and jotting down little moments or ideas from my day that feel cute, funny, or interesting. I’m most inspired by everyday moments, the world around us, and what it means to be human.
You’ll probably never see inside my sketchbook for this reason — it’s not one of those beautiful, Instagram-worthy ones. It’s genuinely just full of random scribbles and thoughts.
My art only really starts to come to life once I bring the ideas into Procreate on my iPad. This is where I refine things and shape them into something more finished. I love the flexibility of working digitally — being able to easily move things around, play with colours, and undo strokes when something doesn’t quite feel right.
I’m especially drawn to cute characters — you’ll notice I add little smiling faces to almost everything I draw… I just can’t help it! I also always work in bright, bold colours. I’ve tried stripping things back many times, but it never quite feels like me. Looking back, these themes have always been there — I’ve just grown more confident in my colour choices and rendering over time, eventually developing the signature Hello Elks illustration style you see today.
Working in Procreate on my iPad Pro.
Why I create
I believe deeply in kindness, inclusivity, and the good in this world. I try to share messages of warmth, play, and acceptance in everything I create. Life isn’t always easy — in fact, it seems the older I get, the heavier it can feel — but my hope is that everyone who encounters my work feels a little brighter and maybe even walks away with a smile.
Some of my favourite Hello Elks art prints.
A warm welcome
I’m so happy to welcome you here. If you loved getting to know a bit more about me and the story behind Hello Elks, you’re warmly invited to join my Substack newsletter, where I share more personal updates about my creative journey.
If you’re just here for the cute art, that’s cool too — feel free to explore the store! My range currently includes art prints, greeting cards, washi tapes, stickers, and digital downloads. You can also join the Hello Elks Club newsletter below for store news and fun freebies.
Either way, I hope you find some joy here 💛
