Bonnie has also produced three amazing prints we are lucky to stock at The Axe, Waves, Heart Eyes and Poolside. I love Waves so much I had it printed as an A0 and it takes pride of place in our airport store where it is admired and complimented on hundreds of times a day.
As well as illustrating her heart out, Bonnie also puts her heart in to supporting organisations that support women and her community. Her latest initiative is the sale of the cutest Christmas card packs with $1 for every card purchased going to the Women's Refuge, to help them support those children and families doing it tough this year.
More about the cards soon, over to Bonnie.
Socks or Undies?
Undies! I get a matching underwear set every year and theres honestly nothing that makes you feel like you have your life together more than wearing a matching bra and undies.
What is the gift you have given you are most proud of?
My partner is notoriously hard to buy for because he never wants any gifts. Last year he made an obscure remark about wanting a pen that was a singular piece of metal and I made it my mission to find one. After scouring the internet I finally found the right piece. It seems odd to be proud of a pen but I'm just happy I was able to find something he actually wanted. It also just so happens that this year The Axe stocks a nearly identical pen which would have come in handy this time last year! https://www.theaxe.co.nz/collections/tools/products/liliputballpointpen-ecobrass
A $50 gift for one person or a $5 gift for ten people?
$50 gift for one person! With $5 I feel like you end up buying people cheap crap that they really don't need whereas with $50 you have the ability to get something more thoughtful.
Ferrero Rocher or Roses?
Roses 100%. Mainly because you have more options, even if you end up left with a whole lot of Turkish delight at the end.
If you could gift anything in the world to one person, what would be and who would you be giving it to?
I'd love to buy my mum flights back home to Chester in England. She hasn't been back in my entire life, over 20 years, so I'd love for her to see her family again!
What was the first gift you remember getting?
The first gift I have a distinct memory of is a soft toy dog with one big spot who I un-ironically called Stripy! I was given him when I was five years old and at the dentists. My mum had to run an errand and left me in the trusty hands of the dentist, a family friend, when I decided she had abandoned me and was inconsolable. When she returned she had Stripy and he must have made it all better!
Do you still have it?
He's still sitting proudly on my wardrobe, one stripe and all.
GIFT TIP #1
Don't believe it when you are told that it is too hard to buy people art as a gift. I LOVE being given arty things. An art collection is more than decorating your home, it is building a collection of meaningful and beautiful things, what is more meaningful than something that someone special chose just for you? Also, if you don't like it, you can hang it where no-one sees it!
GIFT TIP #2
#cardsasgifts
I love framing beautiful cards as a piece of art. Not only a cost-effective, thoughtful and lasting gift, what are you actually supposed to DO with all those cards you accumulate? So as well as supporting New Zealand art and artists and supporting the Women's Refuge, a Studio Bon Christmas Card is like a little piece of art for someone you love.
Megx
SHOP Studio Bon Christmas Cards here
VISIT Bonnie's website here and you really need to be following Studio Bon on Insta.
Photo: @wildpics.fr
Unless credited all images provided by Bonnie Brown.