At home with... Hanna Melin

Freelance illustrator and artist Hanna Melin brings wit to her drawings often featured in The Guardian, The Independent and The Financial Times. Her scribblings have been animated for the pop star Just Jack's video and a Halifax Home Insurance ad. Melin talks exclusively to mydeco about vinyl stickers and sarcasm.
I live in... East London. I like it because it's a normal street and it's a really mixed area. My boyfriend, William, and I like to walk around Victoria Park and London Fields.
William and I bought our flat... and we've been doing it up for three years. It's nearly finished, finally! Today I put down the carpet in the stairwell.
The best room in my home is... the hallway which has white walls, wood floors and nice old wooden banisters. They're the only original thing in the house which we left in. There is a big velux window in the hallway so wer can see the sky.
My interior style is... definitely modern. We have white walls, high ceilings and white bookshelves. There isn't much colour.

A home is defined by... the things you choose to put in your home, especially on the walls. In the beginning I had photos from Sweden on the wall, but now I have things from exhibitions and posters. It's the choices you make and the things you buy.
At weekends... we renovate or go to galleries, walk around Hackney and go for pub lunches near Victoria park.

My artistic style is... quite humorous... not in a comedy way - a more sarcastic, hidden humour. You might have to look twice before you see what it is. My plates and mugs are more commercial. With illustrations I like to capture people's faces and expressions with really simple lines. My boyfriend is a furniture designer - he showed me a machine and how to cut things out. It helps because I have someone to talk to.
I am inspired by... a Swedish artist called Jockum Nordstrom who embroiders plates. I like his playful humour and the way he uses materials. Jockum uses hard materials and soft embroideries. With my ceramics I like the contrast effect of soft drawings with pen or graphite on the hard ceramics.
My most sentimental possession is... a white Hella Jongerius bowl with a bird in the middle. It cost £600. If my flat burnt down I'd definitely save that.
The biggest interior trend right now is... wall decorations. Vinyl stickers are everywhere.
I've always been drawing... with my mum and sister back in Sweden. My mum definitely inspired me - she always had us making things - she bought play figure toys for Christmas which you had to decorate and build yourself.
I studied illustration at... Brighton University and did an MA in Communication at the Royal College of Art in London.
The greatest thing in my life is... to survive and be able to pay the mortgage - to have fun, go out for meals and still do what I love to do. I'm grateful for that.
At the moment... I'm doing online sales mostly and I'm exhibiting at the Red Door gallery in Edinburgh.
My next project is... hot spot stands - for pans to put on the table. My boyfriend just got a laser cutter so I want to see what I can do with that.
In five years time... I will still be in London because my boyfriend says we have to wait for the Olympics now we've done the flat. I'd be happy if I was doing the same thing. If I'm still doing this in five years time, I'll be happy.
Hanna Melin designs are sold through mydeco's design boutique.

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