Hello, and welcome to my website! Do have a look around the gallery and read some of my blog posts to hear about my creative work.
I am a children’s illustrator, writer and doll-maker based in Trieste, Italy. In my illustrations I combine line drawing, paper and textile collage, knitted textures and even hand embroidery to create unique and textured work. This makerly approach stems from my doll-making work and my love of textiles and yarn. For me writing, sewing, knitting and drawing are all tools I can use to tell stories, and picture books are a perfect way to bring them together. Some of my images are built from textile pieces and drawn details, assembled and then photographed to create the final illustration. Here is one I made for a project commissioned by a local cafe and involving 16 tiny knitted red jumpers. You can read all about it here.
In 2018 I was awarded the Moniack Mhor Writing for Children award, and the Margaret Carey Scholarship for Illustration. In 2019 I moved with my family from Edinburgh to Trieste and spent some time finding my feet and picking up my work again with all the challenges and inspirations of a new place. In 2021 I started work on a big project to illustrate a set of six picture books, to be published in early 2024.
In November 2022 I won the SCBWI British Isles conference Pitch competition: I had 90 seconds to deliver a pitch for my book idea on stage in front of the conference participants and a panel of industry professionals. It was an exhilarating experience and I was very excited to be selected as the winner! Thank you SCBWI for organising this wonderful opportunity.
Member of the Association of Illustrators and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Hannah Sanguinetti 