I am in love with the witty cups, saucers and words of Slovenian illustrator, Polona P.

Her ‘Hipster on a Mug” and “The Queen of Coffee Cups” stood out when I was browsing the web.  I discovered Polona’s work on a terrific Slovenian lifestyle blog called Pepermint.si.  Polona’s characters have attitude, presence and are conversation items in their own right.  I swear her characters could leap off their mugs and start talking to each other.

INTERVIEW: Countlan x Polona Pacnik

01 Where are you based?
I am based in the corner of my living room. Said living room is located in a small house in the middle of a very small village at the edge of Ljubljana’s marsh, in Slovenia.

02 How did you become an illustrator?
It dawned on me one day, being economist is a depressing job (besides I sucked at it) and that pencils and inked fingers suit me better than a pinstripe suite. Having a degree in fashion illustration from Paris helped a bit, too.

03 Why did you start illustrating on tableware objects?
I was in a tableware depot store with a friend, shopping for her Christmas gifts and out of the blue I felt that I really, really, really NEEDED TO draw on a pair of coffee cups….

04 How long have you been illustrating?
For as long as I remember, but I am living off my brushes for the last five years.

05 Who are the characters on your cups?
The characters on my cups are kind of my imaginary friends. I know their culinary preferences, their foibles, their medical history and their spouses… figments of my imagination, really.

Photo Source: Polona P

06 Where can your tableware items be purchased?
In my Etsy shop.

07 What is up next for you?
Besides extending the range of tableware items, I plan on going wholesale. An unnervingly scary project, but so far Polonapolona tableware is in two shops, entering Slovenian biggest chain of bookstores in August and making the first deal in Croatia…

08 What is your favourite piece that you created?
That would be my kids. Haven’t drawn anything nearly as perfect as my girls are.

09 Are you inspired by the work of other illustrators?
I admire Donna Wilson, obviously, but I had a serious crush on Jamie Hewlett and I am still in love with works of Posy Simmonds and Tomaž Lavrič.