Tell us a bit about your background
I’m originally from Blackpool and moved to London in 2015 after studying Fashion Design. That year I won the BooHoo Innovation Award at Graduate Fashion Week and joined AllSaints as an intern, eventually becoming a womenswear designer in their leather department. After four years, I took the leap and started HannDrawn.
When and why did you start the business?
I launched HannDrawn just before Covid, originally selling hand-painted watercolour cards. From there it snowballed from cards to stationery and chalkboards – and eventually I ended up painting windows and walls. If it stands still long enough, I’ll paint on it!
How did you get into shop-window art?
I started creating windows in lockdown. Someone had spotted one of my chalkboards and calligraphy and asked me to write a lockdown closure sign on their window. Then more businesses started asking for signs – first to close and then to celebrate their reopening. I kept sharing my work on Instagram, reached out to people and it took off. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some incredible brands.
What tools do you use?
Water-based paints, Posca pens, a window scraper, and chalk. Simple kit, big impact.
How long does the process take?
It depends on the window size, the complexity of the artwork I’ve designed and of course the weather! The windows are water resistance and don’t wash off in the rain- otherwise I wouldn’t have a job. I paint internally and externally depending on the business. When it is super cold, it takes longer to paint as the paint takes longer to dry.
Sometimes I’m there for a day or sometimes I could be there for a few days depending how big the windows are and how extra my designs are. If the job allows it, my little dog Ziggy joins me to lend a helping paw to my work.
What has been your favourite window design so far?
It’s impossible to choose just one, so here are my top three:
- Superdrug – I’ve worked with them for years on large-scale store windows and now on mirrors and windows at their head office. Their campaigns are always colourful, detailed, and full of creative freedom.
- Nando’s – Creating a peri-peri themed timeline across four huge head-office windows was such a unique brief. I’m thrilled they invited me back for a “Peri-Xmas” installation this year.
- SoulCycle – One of my earliest big Christmas windows: giant red-and-white nutcrackers with branded baubles for their Soho studio. Bold, crisp, detailed—still one of my favourites.
What’s been the most challenging?
Every window has its own challenge – weather, scale, coverage, temperamental materials. But the toughest season, hands down, is Christmas. My festive installs start at the end of October and run until mid-December. It’s intense: painting daily, designing new concepts, filming content, editing photos, packing for the next job, and hauling a 20kg trolley across London. By mid-December I’m counting down the days until I can thaw my hands and toes.
Where can people see your work across Wandsworth this Christmas?
- Skylark, Wandsworth Common
- Bayfields Opticians, Clapham Northcote
- Soak, Earlsfield
- Loney Miller, Earlsfield
- Nandos, East Putney
- Forty Coffee, Tooting
- Unbasic, Earlsfield
- Ousley Road, Balham
Email: hanndrawnlondon@gmail.com