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Sarah Cowan - One Owl Studio

@oneowlstudio

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✏️💻 Designer and illustrator.
🦉🍄 Volunteer wildlife ranger, mushroom hunter and owl enthusiast.
📍🌲 Peebles, Tweed Valley.

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Hello! Long time no see.
I've pretty much fallen off the face of social media for the past year. 2020 was horrid, and I'm bracing myself for 2021 to be just as rough. Seeing positive posts on here has helped keep me going, but I still fell into a spiral of anxiety and overthinking deciding if it's appropriate for me to share anything on here myself. There's so many things to be angry and scared and sad about that I get too overwhelmed to do anything. I wouldn't have been able to get through last year without the support of my friends and clients, huge thank yous to them.

I thought I'd start this year with a post as an introduction/refresh. I read somewhere instagram only really favours images with people in them now apparently? Who even knows any more.. 🤷🏼‍♀️

For new folks I'm Sarah - designer and illustrator behind One Owl Studio, providing all things creative to businesses big and small. I've recently moved to Edinburgh from Cumbria and enjoy exploring the outdoors, hiking, nature watching and foraging. While indoors you'll find me baking, dabbling in ceramics and wrangling our cats (whose favourite activity is showing off their singing voices when we're on work calls).

If you're still reading at this point, thank you! I hope you're all doing okay and I'm sending you all lots of positive vibes for 2021 ✨ by @oneowlstudio

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6 years ago

Such wonderful news that a new blue plaque has been installed in Leigh to commemorate Katheen Mary Drew-Baker.

Here's a portrait I created of her back in 2016 as part of the @womeninprint exhibition. A project founded by @bowyerjane which told the stories of women from the north of England through design and artwork from a variety of creatives and their mediums.

Katheen Mary Drew-Baker was a renowned phycologist who specialised in the research of edible seaweed and algae. In Japan she is known as "Mother of the Sea" as her research helped save the nori industry, the seaweed most commonly used in sushi 🥢 by @oneowlstudio

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4 years ago

Here's a fun animation and illustration project I worked on recently for @naturalplantfoodco, who needed a video to display at @bbcgwlive. They wanted something to show their range of natural plant food products 'for every gardener', and from this the NPFCo neighbourhood was created 🏘️🪴🦋

It was such a pleasure working with @jessthompsongray.art again, who did a fantastic job bringing my illustrations and storyboards to life!

The Natural Plant Food Co creates natural, peat-free, pet and wildlife friendly plant food on their Cumbrian farm. 100% natural, nutrient-rich feed for stronger plants and beautiful blooms for stronger plants, beautiful blooms, veg and lawns.

#animation #illustration #naturalplantfoodcompany #characterdesign taken in BBC Gardeners' World Live by @oneowlstudio

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3 years ago

"Let July be July.
Let August be August.
And let yourself
just be
even in
the uncertainty.
You don’t have to fix
everything.
You don’t have to solve
everything.
And you can still
find peace
and grow
in the wild
of changing things."

- Morgan Harper Nichols by @oneowlstudio

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a month ago

Earlier this year Alex from @awdesignuk approached me to create a series of 12 botanical illustrations for the new Zodiac Garden at Radcliffe Observatory for @greentempleton college at the University of Oxford.

A perfect theme for the garden of an observatory, especially as it reflects the beautiful zodiac carvings, inspired by ancient Greek sculptures, that adorn its walls.

The illustrations were used on place markers around the garden, with information about each plant, their symbolism and astrological connection ✨🌙🌿✨ taken in Radcliffe Observatory by @oneowlstudio

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2 months ago

Making the most of the lovely weather on a Wild Swim and Forage Walk with our guide Ingrid of @tweedvalleywilding 🌿

From Peebles we ambled along the banks of the River Tweed, before grabbing our torches and venturing through the old Neidpath Train Tunnel. Our walk ended with a magical dip in the river below Neidpath Castle.

Along the way Ingrid told us about local history and stories, and also shared her plant knowledge as we foraged ingredients for our wild tea made with her trusty @kelly_kettle, a warm welcome after swooshing in the river! What better way to spend a blissful sunny morning? taken in River Tweed, Peebles by @oneowlstudio

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4 months ago

One thing I miss about mainly working on a screen is getting to use my hands for creative work. I had a fantastic time getting stuck into a linoprint workshop at @marketplaceprintstudio at the start of last year. I wanted to make a piece of work to mark 8 years of One Owl Studio (can you spot the hidden 8?), but because I was totally disorganised last year I didn't post it on here in time, and One Owl Studio is now 9, woops! 🤦🏼

One Owl Studio officially launched way back in 2016. It wasn't the easiest time to take the plunge into self-employment, earlier that year I had uprooted my life to move back to Cumbria for a dream job which unfortunately turned out to be a nightmare. But it did give me the opportunity to finally take the plunge into setting up my own business and it's been the best rollercoaster ride ever since.

I'm really lucky to have met some wonderful people along the way doing some amazing things. A huge thank you to my clients old and new who have made the dream of running my own little creative business possible ✨🦉🏠✨ by @oneowlstudio

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9 months ago

The Applecross peninsula, Torridon and Wester Ross in general has to be my favourite place to visit, it's just beautiful beyond words. Revisiting the same walking trails, swim spots and foraging sites feel like visiting old friends, and even after four trips there's still so much left to explore.

Sadly no trip there for us this year, but this reel I created last year has been sitting forgotten in my drafts and I thought I would post and start dreaming of our next visit. by @oneowlstudio

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10 months ago

With autumn in full swing, what better excuse to share some illustration work of some cosy shepherd huts? 🍂

I was approached by the wonderful team at @b.co_studio to create illustrations for @brackenslackshepherdshuts, a luxurious retreat on a family farm nestled in the Eden Valley. Each shepherd hut is individually styled and has a log burner, as well as a private outdoor copper bathtub for admiring the stunning views of the rolling countryside and Pennines from.

Along with the logomark there was also a series of icons and pattern work too (sidenote- anyone else love a good logpile?)

Animated by the amazing @jessthompsongray.art taken in Eden Valley, Cumbria by @oneowlstudio

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a year ago

The last of the swallows have left and the winter geese are starting to arrive 🍂 It feels like it was only yesterday when I heard the first cuckoo of spring.

It's been a mixed year with its ups and downs, and as the summer quietly crept away I'm left with that familiar gnawing feeling that the year has run away from me. The goals and intentions I set earlier this year are left unstarted or unfinished, but I'm trying not to be too hard on myself about it.

Spring and Autumn for me are the months that have the biggest 'new year/season' feel to them, as opposed to the sloggy murk of January and the buzzy highs of the summer. I hold on to the fact that for all I didn't achieve this year I've still set the intentions and foundations to keep chipping away. I've also met and worked with some wonderful people and businesses, as well as my stalwart clients from over the years that I'm privileged to also call friends.

I set up a substack earlier this year (and then promptly did nothing with it 😬), and I'm tempted to put my thoughts and rambly posts there, stories from my walks and foraging trips. Thoughts? How has your year been? taken in Tweed Valley by @oneowlstudio

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a year ago

Excited to share a recent collab with @marketplaceprintstudio creating new packaging for @thecoffkitchen's 'damn fine' coffee ☕ including their Decaffeinated coffee, Keswick blend and house Bakery blend. The artwork was custom designed and printed from hand carved blocks by @marketplaceprintstudio with the final packaging designed by @oneowlstudio.

Collaborating with other creative folks on projects is always such a pleasure, and I'd been looking for a reason to reach out to Emily and Jack's studio since they opened a few years ago. The perfect opportunity came along from their neighbours Andy and Angela at the Coffee Kitchen Bakery (also previously my neighbours too when I was living in Cumbria, a real Market Place dream team!)

Thanks to Zach and the team @chippcoffeeco for all their help too.

You can find the coffees launching at Taste Cumbria this weekend, at The Coffee Kitchen itself and Keswick market. by @oneowlstudio

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a year ago

This time last weekend we welcomed the newest addition to our furry family - meet Beinn 🐶

It's been a whirlwind first week, but he's already added more love into our lives than we could have imagined ❤️ New adventures here we come! taken in Tweed Valley by @oneowlstudio

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a year ago