I must tell you, I get a lot of joy from scrolling through the tagged photos on our Instagram. From the yarn tourists, documenting their visit like a little pilgrimage, or the familiar faces sharing the sweaters they’ve finished with yarn they picked up just weeks before. It’s the works-in-progress, the proud hauls, the “look what I made” moments that remind us that what happens in the shop doesn’t end at the till.

Recently, one tag made me pause.

Not a WIP or a yarn haul, but something entirely different. An illustrated scene, with Baaad Anna’s front and centre. I loved it so much, I ordered prints. You can now spot one proudly framed in our shop window.

I reached out to the artist, Julia Vasileva, to say thank you and, of course, to ask a few questions about their work and what inspired such a gorgeous little scene. Because that’s the beauty of a LYS. It’s never just about yarn. It’s about connection, creativity, and community and whenever we can, we love to shine a light on the artists who see us, interpret us, and reflect that back in their own way.

Julia’s IG here

You can buy the “Hastings Sunrise” print in-store at Baaad Annas.

Hi Julia, thank you for featuring Baaad Annas in your work. Is there ever a moment from your day that usually turns into a drawing later?

I mostly work on picture books, and some of the small moments in my day can definitely end up in the pages of my books, but more often than not they end up in my sketchbook. Here’s one for example:

Your art feel like little scenes. Do they start as a story, a feeling, or just a colour?

They started with me taking a walk in the neighbourhood and trying to capture its feeling. I tried to pay attention not just to what I saw, but also to what I heard, smelled, and touched, and those things influenced the colours, textures, and little elements you could spot in the posters. And I’m especially interested in the narrative aspect of illustration, so perhaps that’s why the posters feel a bit story-like. I based some of the characters on actual people and scenes I spotted on my walks.

What inspires you?

Masterfully written books, exciting cinematography, and music that makes me feel things. And poetry, always poetry.

Where do you usually work? What’s on your desk right now?

I work from my home studio surrounded by my big collection of books, many illustrated, so I often turn to them during the day. I work with a mix of traditional media, so when I’m working on a piece, my desk is covered in paper scraps, inks, pastels, pencils and all the different art supplies I’m using. I have this picture that shows what a beautiful mess my desk often is.

My cat also offers his constant presence on my desk. 🙂 

What’s a piece that surprised you once it was finished?

This mermaid was quite a surprise to work on, as I felt it had a life of its own. I started with nothing more than a mermaid’s shape and just wanted to play with it, see if I could make it into something more than just a big silhouette. I did not have a plot or a scene in mind. So I just followed the loose body lines, and that’s how her underarm cave, starfish elbow, and the underwater tail appeared in front of me.

I also drew this creature once, and it then came back to me in the most unexpected way – a couple of months later, I saw it standing on the beach, just like that:

Do places influence your work, or is it more internal?

It depends on the project. For a project like Pleasant Shimo, where I made neighbourhood posters for Hasting Sunrise and Granville Island, those places really guided the work. For other projects that are not rooted so much in this sense of place, I draw on other influences.

What makes local art feel different from something more commercial?

I think there’s a sense of connection and belonging. This emotional connection is something likely invisible but I hope a viewer can feel it.

What kind of stories do you love illustrating most?

I love illustrating poignant stories that have courage to go deep. I also love imaginative, awe-inspiring stories that leave a reader with a sense of wonder. I’d say both of my most recent picture books are examples of projects like this. One, “Lewis And Lou”, tackles an incredibly heavy topic of dementia, and it’s about what remains when there’s nothing to hold on to. The other one, “One Cosmic Rock”, goes back to 66 million years ago, when an asteroid changed life on Earth forever, and explores the wonder and resilience of our planet.

What are you reading right now, or returning to?

I just finished reading “The Cave” by José Saramago, and it’s a beautiful novel, which actually explores this topic of hand-crafted vs. cheap mass produced work among other themes. I was completely hypnotized by this book.

What’s something people would be surprised to learn about your process?

Sometimes people assume that I work digitally and are surprised to learn that most of my work is done traditionally, and then just adjusted digitally.

When do you feel most “in it” while creating?

When an idea overtakes me (whether it’s an idea for a book, a series, or an individual illustration) and I feel completely absorbed and energized by it – there’s so much enthusiasm and anticipation of magic during those times. And then as I work on it, the moments when I feel like I’m starting to get to the emotional core of what I’m trying to convey, whether through words or images – those moments are very precious.

What keeps you making art on the harder days?

Not making art feels even more futile.

Why does handmade still matter right now?

I’d say “human-made” rather than “handmade” here… In a time when every question has an algorithmically created answer, and every quest for meaning and connection is eagerly solved by a line of code, I hope we, humans, will continue to value and reach for a connection of one human imagination to another.