Hi

This is my story

I’m Phillippa, an illustrator and surface pattern designer creating hand-drawn artwork inspired by the birds, wildlife and everyday landscapes of Zimbabwe and the wider African region.

Full disclosure: my toxic trait is seeing something and thinking, I could do that. That curiosity has shaped the way I work, pushing me to experiment with different materials, processes and ways of making.

My creative journey began during the 2020 lockdown, when I started teaching myself screen printing at home. Printing onto fabric was messy and imperfect, but it’s what made me fall in love with pattern and how designs repeat. While I don’t screen print at home in my studio anymore, that early experimentation continues to shape how I design today.

That curiosity led me to explore surface pattern design and illustration more seriously. I began teaching myself the digital tools needed to develop my ideas, mostly late at night once the house was asleep. With three young children at home, that was often the only uninterrupted time I had. Through trial and error and online courses, I gradually shifted my focus towards design and illustration.

Before moving into creative work full-time, I spent over a decade working as a mechanical engineer. That background still influences how I work today, particularly in the way I approach problem-solving, structure and detail.

My work now combines hand drawing with digital processes to create patterns and illustrations for fabric, wallpaper and fine art prints.

I’m based in Marondera, Zimbabwe, where the natural environment continues to shape my work on a daily basis. Alongside my own collections, I also take on commissioned projects.