Collaborations
I like being alone and working, but working together and creating new things together is something I also love to do! I like to work with other people. I believe that sharing and inspiring each other often creates even more beautiful things than sitting alone at my drawing table (literally and figuratively).
This is how the collaboration started in 2020 with Olaf de Vries. While attending his great workshop (I built my first surfboard under his supervision) he asked me if I wanted to spend 'some of my time'; making his brand, an extension of the boards, more sustainable. After three good conversations I felt 'yes!'.
Together we founded 'oLLygoods' an extension of 'Olly' his brand Ollywood Surfboards from Scheveningen.
There are currently a number of products available with the unique drawings of Olaf de Vries himself. The digital implementation is my responsibility.
In the summer of 2021 Suus from Atelier Sand crossed my path.
'Hey Marleen, what a cool site you have and all those shopping baskets on Instagram and stuff,... did you make them yourself?'
The answer is 'yes, I did that myself with the help of Wix(online platform)'.
Suus had been running a successful company for over two years, but the only thing missing was a website. We worked out her plan together and her Online store is now alive and kicking!
Partly by making this site we came up with a new idea. Suddenly I was drawing on leftover pieces of leather that we put into her fannypacks in this case. In the summer of 2022 we also attended a number of (art) markets together. Actually, we became kind of colleagues now :)).
Esther Willems came to me in the autumn of 2021 with the question whether I would like her first story could support with illustrations. Crazy! Especially since I was with her that same afternoon, taking pictures of her daughter's unicorns, to draw. What a beautiful child and so sensitive .... secretly I am too ;).
Ester shared her first draft of her story with me and I was able to translate her words into illustrations that fit her story to suit. A collaboration in her and my way.
Wonderful to do! Follow this link to download the story for free: https://estercm.nl/shop/downloadbare-pdf/pdf-fiene-en-de-maaneenhoorn/.
In February of 2022 I was approached byKelly van Rossum.
When Kelly asked me very enthusiastically to collaborate on a work of art for her exhibition.
I was super excited. I asked Kelly to call each other the next day; so I got more feeling. We spoke enthusiastically about our work and all kinds of things. Kelly works for Edding and was introduced to my work through Instagram.
After a week of thinking I thought 'ok maybe I shouldn't do it'….but than Kelly contacted me 'my boyfriend thought of a Chameleon'….WOW! To me this was Karma! Karma Chameleon. That's how it was meant to be and now it becomes something of us together. Just when I get close to my feelings again and would prefer to flee, there is the answer; Chameleon; my prey!
So straight to this goal. I grab my pencil and start sketching. The lines then flow with a lot of speed onto my paper.....
​
During a trip through North Devon and Cornwall I and Mark drove past a beautiful 'National Trust' site, where a number of Belly Boards were set up outside. I stopped and Mark calmly said 'you might as well pull over, because there is kind of a line of cars behind us, haha'. If you know the narrow roads in England a little, you can imagine what this would have looked like....
I bought a nice souvenir here; a wooden bellyboard. We were talking to Andy and, as it sometimes happens, we were chatting as if we had known each other for years. I gave Andy my card and said 'Look, I make this art'. Jokingly, I said I'd like to draw one on one of the bellyboards. Andy then said 'As in a collab you mean?'
The next day Andy and I texted each other at the same time and we drove past him on the way back from Widemouth and so I took a bellyboard with me, which I was going to draw for him.
This resulted in 1 original board; FUNN bellyboard and another one with prints of some of my drawings, on display at the Cruel & Curious in the last weekend of September 2022. My dream came true; my drawings exhibited on the beautiful wooden Banyan Bellyboards.
​
Click here for the whole story, photos and the continuation of our collaboration.
​
In the spring of 2022, Peter approached me from Pete's Surfboards. He had seen through my site and was looking for an illustrator for a customized board for one of his clients.
Ragnar (the customer ;) ) had a clear wish. Het had to to be with a sperm whale, related to the unfortunately still ongoing whaling. A mean sperm whale with humor!
A few test sketches went up and down and suddenly it hit the spot!
Cachalote is his name! I drew the drawing by hand and then digitized it. Then Peter sent it to Boardlams California and that's where it was printed on glass fiber and eventually incorporated in Den Helder into Ragnar's board.
​
Click here for the drawing and the result!
​
​
I am so proud and happy to work with beautiful people. It gives me energy and pleasure! Thank you co-creators. You complete my creative adventure! Love to do more of this!
​