The end is nigh: Time to move people...

And so, after just over 3 years, university, life dramas, and all manner of things, this blog comes to an end. Ahhh.






'Oh em gee!' I hear you cry. 'What will I do without it?'



Well don't worry. It's only moving :)

As I have mentioned a few times before, I have moved this blog over to my website, so my blog and portfolio can sit side by side like the good friends they are. If you're reading this in an RSS feed, that means you were nice enough to subscribe the first time round. And so I thank you, and hope you have enough energy in you to subscribe to my new blog address, simply by clicking here.

If you still like to hear about my illustration adventures, thoughts on advertising, design, fashion, culture, music and other bits, then please do subscribe again; I really love having you around. If you don't care anymore then... well. See you around.

Don't forget I'm also on twitter @rachillustrates.

That's all folks! *violins, exit music, woman with handkerchief*

Rachel's Big Website/Wordpress Debate: To switch or not to switch?

This is going to a long-ish post so I apologise. It's one of my rare 'thoughts spilling out' posts but I'll try to keep it interesting. If you'd rather have pretty pictures then.... come back tomorrow.

I recently started subscribing to David Airey's brilliant blog and came across this article: Seven blog mistakes to avoid. I thoroughly recommend you go and read it (the whole blog, if you have hours to spare, or just that article) because it's great. And so useful if you write your own blog. It's started me thinking about this blog, and my website too, and now I have a big conundrum that I need your input on.

His first mistake in the article is 'not using a self-hosted blog.' Oops. I fail at the first hurdle. I've known for a while the benefits of hosting your own blog (you will actually own your content) and yet I still use blogger. Ol, faithful, annoying, uninspiring blogger. Why? Because it's safe. It works. And I'm terrified of moving! I wish I had started using wordpress, but I started this blog in 2007 and it was meant to just be a 'this is my work' blog. Obviously, it's a whole lot more now.

I own my own website - www.rachelsayshello.com and yet most of my hits come to this blog, not my website. Here are the pitiful stats: my website (which is basically just a static portfolio which gets updated say, once a month) gets about 6 hits a day, this blog gets about 40. Sometimes a lot more. Basically though, both are really bad. You do the maths! Surely it makes way more sense to host my blog on the same domain as my portfolio? My blog will do the work, being constantly updated with fresh content, and my portfolio will benefit from all the added exposure. At the moment, you have to click on a button over there ----> which takes you to my website; which at the moment is an external link. I've tried to link the two a bit more (the title of this blog is now rachelsays...) but this blog is still hosted at www.rachellewisillustration.blogspot.com, which is a mouthful and nothing to do with my website. And I'm paying for my spangly domain name. Why not use it as much as I can?

Mistake #4 from David Airey's post sums this up quite well: "When I launched my first website about two years ago, I wanted my portfolio to be its primary purpose, and the blog a secondary aspect. Then last year I discovered blogs. It didn’t take long to realise the number of clients I could attract first through my blog content, and then directing them to my portfolio. It’s generally the content I publish that attracts visitors, rather than the work in my graphic design portfolio."

Which is exactly what I should be doing. I write about good stuff. I'm pretty cool, people subscribe to what I say here, they're vaguely interested in my point of view. So I'm missing a huge opportunity in that my work is not easily accessible right from here. And that also, this is clearly a blogger template. E v e r y o n e  uses this one because it's the least offensive. But it doesn't stand out! I'm a pretty unique girl, and this blog says 'hey, I use blogspot, cos I don't know nuffin about the mintynet' which isn't true.

So... the obvious answer here, is switch to wordpress (and I mean .org, not .com... download the template and install it in the root directory of my site). Move the whole shabang over to rachelsayshello.com, start again. Stop using indexhibit (it's great, but quite restrictive) and get a custom/nicer wordpress template over there. Make the blog content the primary landing page, and then all my portfolio work as a secondary, but still lovingly presented and relevant.

Sounds great! Except.....

1) I would lose all my SEO and links and everything. I would probably still keep this blog running but everything would die. I'd probably have to rebuild my subscribers again and I'd really miss you all if you didn't follow me over.
2) I know a teeny bit of html but no way could I deal with a custom wordpress thing, with code and all that. I could install it in my root directory, I'd get that far, then I'd have no idea.
3) This all sounds like it's going to take more than a sunday afternoon. I work full time. Help will be needed, help which I can't afford.
4) I'm scared of messing with things in case it all goes tits up.

So, I don't really know. I want to change things up, but I just really don't know where to start. There's a few peeps on my twittersphere who could probably give me advice but generally, I'd have to muddle my own way through. Argh. All I know is that the way things are is not really helping: I'm paying for a domain name which is getting less hits than my free blogspot page. And blogspot isn't really that cool.

Incidentally, my website is down right now and I have no idea why. Which is slightly worrying. I'm sure it's probably just godaddy being weird and it'll be back soon, but I don't like it. Make it come back!

What do you think, minions? Is it worth the hassle, to switch and be all spangly under one domain name, or just stick how I am and be all amateurish but safe. Your insights are very much welcomed, I am trés confused.

Exciting Happenings: My work featured on CourtesyoftheApocalypse Blog!

I'm having lots of exciting happenings recently. The lovely Laura aka JoiePR on twitter has just started the great Courtesy of the Apocalypse blog (sounds ominous... it's not! Just full of unsigned bands ~ music & reviews ~ independent businesses/shops ~ art & street art ~ alternative style ~ burlesque and other such awesomeness) and was kind enough to feature my work! :D

RachelSaysHello on Courtesy of the Apocalypse

"Rachel Lewis’s illustration and graphic design work is so imaginative and playful, it is guaranteed to rock your ankle socks. The use of hand drawn image and text within her work is beautifully unique, and the lady herself says that she is inspired by “culture, fashion, new media, music and the future.” Bedfordshire-based Rachel is also available to do custom work via her website http://www.rachelsayshello.com."


Well that's nice ^.^


I'm going to do a mammoth blog update/posting-stylee this weekend. I have SO many things to talk about and just NO time. How do other people with full time jobs manage to keep their blogs updated so frequently??


I guess they don't spend 4 hours on trains every day. Humph.

Happy Birthday Blog! 3 years old...

I nearly forgot this. My blog turned 3 years old (that's quite old in blog years, I feel proud) last monday, on the 16th. Hurrah for me!

It all started rather inconspicuously towards the end of my first year at uni, here, as a way for me to publish my university illustration work. I then started rabbiting on about stuff I liked and my life, and it all spiralled from there. 200 posts later (I was never that prolific, I write much more frequently now) and here I am.

Actually not much has changed, except I now write more coherently (at least I know what I'm talking about) on subjects like fashion, illustration, design, advertising, things I covet, food illustrations and recipes, things that are cool and inspiring, sustainability and of course my work.

Any suggestions about things you want to read on my blog? There are quite a few of you merry little minions subscribers now, so don't be afraid to chip in, I love comments like I love cake.

Featured: My work on Photo-Nomads.co.uk

A nice surprise the other day was being featured on Photo-Nomads.co.uk. It's a lovely little blog by Richard & Sue Broom - take a look.

Thanks for featuring me guys :)

Nonsensical Spam Project: Bravo

Bonjour! Another nonsensical spam illustration for your perusal and satisfaction. Aha. This one is for the rather wonderfully stupid comment, "Bravo, this brilliant phrase is necessary just by the way". What brilliant phrase? Bravo for what exactly? and why just? Nonsense, I hear you cry. Well it is.

I wanted to do a type-y illustration this time, with lots of fun whimsy lettering. I haven't used victorian etching illustrations (copyright free! ching!) for aaages, not since my recipe book, a la look here, and I forgot how much fun they are! I wasn't entirely sure what the imagery would be for this but the grammar of the sentence just lent itself to upper-class, victorian type speaking, don't you think? So I dug out some very random, very nonsensical etchings and I think it's turned out quite well. I started with just the camel being weighed on the scales and a gramophone, then thought the gramophone speaker thing could look tres random as a ram's horns. Yes. Nonsense abounds! I think I might sneak the odd victorian strangeness into more of my work, I have a couple of books stacked full of these things that I can scan in and use. Hooray amazon.

I wasn't entirely sure of the background, I knew I needed a bit of texture but then it also looked good just plain white. I'm still not sure. I always do more. Maybe I should start doing less is more. But I like more, in general, of stuff. More stuff.

So I've just published the original comment (I keep em locked away until I actually use them).
The original comment was posted for this post right here. Which is a massive coincidence, I've just realised it's the same post I just linked to, with the victorian etchings. I didn't notice until just now. It must be fate! How weird.

You can see the other illustrations in the Nonsensical Spam Project here.

The Daily Ampersand Project: No. 20

I possibly should rename this project as The (Almost) Daily Ampersand project - as I haven't done a new one for aaages. Definitely not daily anymore. So I've taken to numbering them, probably less misleading.

So this is number 20, Goudy Old Style Bold in pencil. Lots of strange tendril/hair like things here. This font was found through 300&65 ampersands, a great blog which posts a new ampersand every day. I started to find it difficult to find a new and interesting ampersand to do every day and that blog has helped me find loads of new ones, so that's cool. This one matches today's date actually.

Nonsensical Spam Project: Universal Truth

I've been getting more and more nonsensical spam now, which has given me much amusement. The latest comment I got was on This post, scroll down to read it. It literally had me LOL-ing, it's so ridiculous and yet faintly logical. This is the comment:

"The author of rachellewisillustration.blogspot.com has written an excellent article. You have made your point and there is not much to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not argue with: eternal love lasts about three months Thanks for the info."

An oxymoron if I ever heard one, but quite possibly... true.

Click for larger.

So this is the illustration to accompany it. I felt the need to go slightly surreal on this one, with a sense of narrative behind it. The rabbit is actually taken from one of my photographs of New York from 2008, you can see it on this post.

It makes me feel a bit sad, and I like that.

Green Eggs and Spam

I've been getting a ton of spam comments to my blog for a while now:

As you can see, it's mainly in Chinese. Which is annoying. Well, spam is just annoying in general. And, strangely, it never used to be like this. I never used to get any spam comments. (I never used to get any comments at all...) but all of a sudden, a few certain posts are getting attacked by this randomness. Sigh. Good job I approve all my comments first though =/

However, some comments are not so unintelligible. Sometimes I get an actual sentence, either string together by somebody in a foreign country using an internet translator so it comes across as near nonsense, or by some crazy spam bot, I don't know. But I love them! Really strange, prophetic almost, phrases that seem to mean nothing and yet kind of fascinate me. I'm not entirely sure why, they're just crap really, but it gets a chuckle out of me.

And then I had a little inspiration moment and thought, I could make some great illustrations from these. So this is my new project.

I've got about 5 comments sitting there that could be vaguely useful, so I'm starting there. After I've done an illustration for each one, I'll just wait until I get another good bit of spam, and so on. So there'll be no schedule to this project; if and when I get a good nonsensical sentence, I'll do a new image. Should be interesting, if nothing else :)

I'm working on the first one right now. Still need a good title for the project though, can't just call it 'Spam Project'. Hmmm. I'll get back to you on that.

I'm definitely not the first person to do something like this, other awesome spam related projects out there are:

Linzie Hunter's Spam Project -

Elliott Burford: Spam -

I'll probably come across a few more on my travels. Nice stuff :)

Blog Revamp!

This has been in need of a redesign for aaages. My last header has been in residence since 2nd year (aka 2 years ago) and was looking a bit...well, 2nd year-ish.

Plus, the name of my blog, 'the illustrated world of Rachel Lewis' was too long, annoying, and really silly. I don't just blog about illustration anymore, and certainly, not just about my world. Even though my world is quite interesting, ya.

So, rachelsays... fits much better because a) my website is rachelsayshello.com but b) I'm saying a lot more than hello on this blog. I blog about design, fashion, cakey-bakey goodness, and basically things that grab me, be they an object of desire, a place I've been to, something new I've heard of, and such like. Culture, innit, but like, my pocket size version of it. I'm just like Polly in that sense.

I'm also aiming to have a bit more structure as well, so only blog about certain types of things on certain days. That's not a new system, I know, but it works well for a lot of bloggers. Still to be thought more on though, so don't expect a lot. I often set out to do things then get distracted by... life. And shiny things.

I've gone for a simpler, cleaner, but not radically different look - still got a dash of pink in there, but mostly this lovely blue scheme, and Georgia is still of course my typeface of choice. Not that blogger gives you a lot of options =/ I wanted to put a really subtle background in but blogger doesn't let you do that, either. I know I can do it with HTML but not sure if I want to go poking around in there. Suggestions?

So what does everyone think? Too white? Too blue? Too Rachel? Not Rachel enough? Oh Em Gee.

Now that's my TYPE of cake....

See what I did there?

I came across this amazing cake over at design*sponge (awesome blog, I recommend it strongly, lots of handmade project tips/interior design/general coolness) and have to post about it.

I have a bit of a love for typewriters - I haven't blogged about it yet but I bought an old typewriter from a charity shop and have started using it for collages etc. And most people know I have a massive love for cake, any kind of cake, yum yum.

Isn't that amazing? It was made for a 4 year anniversary party for The Regional Assembly of Text and it looks soo tasty. See the original post from design*sponge here.

Unfortunately, I've been on a diet for a few weeks because I want to look good for my graduation, so I've not been having any cakes. Or chocolate. Or much bread, either. Humph.

My graduation is tomorrow though (YAY) and I've lost 4lbs. Which is alright. I want to keep going though and lose some more. We'll see.

Anyway so my graduation is tomorrow and I'm really excited but also a bit nervous. I have a brilliant outfit though so I'll post that over the weekend :)