Mijke finds endless inspiration in everything around her
Today we're getting to know designer Mijke Konijn. She explains how she ended up where she is now: "I work really hard and with loads of joy and love. I always go the extra mile and that ultimately pays off when my clients reward me with trust and fun assignments," explains Mijke.
Creativity as a passion
The Dutch designer from the village of Loenen aan de Vecht works as a freelance art designer and interior trend analyst. Mijke makes patterns and art pieces for a broad range of clients, such as museums and retail chains. Outside of her work, Mijke spends her time painting and making ceramics, is passionate about photography and always keeps an eye on the latest interior design trends. "Be brave enough to combine styles and colours, so you can create your own style in your interior," says Mijke.
Freelance designer
Mijke has been involved with graphic design from a young age. The designer worked in the fashion industry with passion and dedication for twelve years before taking the step of accepting design projects as a freelancer. It couldn't have worked out better for her: "It's so great being able to do what you love every day!"
Everything is inspiration
Mijke describes her style as "eclectic, colourful and with vintage and antique details." She's inspired by everything around her, from the flowers outside to her daughters' drawings. Mijke is a true collector, from folders full of images to folders full of clippings, beautiful old buttons, ribbons, vintage books and fabrics. "That means when I go to work on a design, I always have inspiration available. And then I just start. I do everything based on how I feel and I know if it's good or not."
Mijke has two disciplines. "I do a lot of photo editing. For this, I collect lots of vintage images or photos of antique objects and join them together to create a new attractive image. At the same time, I like to paint and draw so that I can then digitally edit these into a pattern or separate image." For Mijke, an image is only complete when everything is balanced and it's an attractive and striking image." "And when my client is satisfied, obviously," says Mijke.
A range of distinctive colour combinations
"Modern and abstract lines on a tile pattern" is the piece that is most special to Mijke. Mijke says: "I made this piece by hand, then digitally edited it and created it in over 20 colour combinations. I myself am often looking for a specific colour combination in a piece of art, but I'll then have a hard time finding it. This range intentionally uses distinctive colour combinations, something that makes my designer's heart beat faster."
