Q&A with Rose Blake

February 02, 2026

Ahead of the launch of our "Let's Make Plans" collaboration with illustrator Rose Blake, we visited her in her East London studio to talk all things stationery, paper and organisation, as well as what inspires her and how she ended up doing what she does.   How did you come to be an illustrator? As a kid I wanted to be opera singer, but to get to that point you just have to be the most amazing singer and I wasn't! And after that I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I was not into drawing as a child. I mean, you don't want to do what your parents do, do you? And they set the bar so high. So I was much more into other stuff, like being outdoors, just playing. My A-level art teacher recommended Kingston, so went there for foundation, and then my tutor there noticed that I like telling stories in my work, I like narrative and communication in my work, so she suggested I try illustration for my degree.   Where do you get your inspiration? Everywhere really. I go into a deep research mode, I like to have a full day of research ideally before starting a project. I'll look through archives, go to the library, look online, I will look at other illustrators, artists, designers. Inspiration is everywhere really, it's just about the way that you look at the world, you can pick up on different little things. Even the way people interact in the street — everything is research in a way, you just have to be open to looking at it really. I will write "man with bright pink glasses and cropped neon hair" just as a note in my phone. And then I've got a list of all sorts of things like that that I come back to later and think "ooh I can make a little drawing out of that." So you are quite into stationery? Oh yes, I love stationery so much! I am quite an ordered person. I'm the kind of person that makes a list and writes something that they've already done, just so that I can tick it off! I always have a notebook on the go, and I find it quite hard to change, quite sad to finish one and move onto the next. I can't throw them away, I've got drawers full of them going back fifteen years! In my notebook, that's the place where I can be absolutely free and just write silly ideas, do silly doodles. It's never neat inside the notebook, whereas stuff outside is always quite neat. It's like a little snapshot of all your thoughts and ideas from an acute period of your life. And you keep a paper diary? I've never had an iCal or a Google calendar or anything like that. My brain only works if I write it down on paper, and I need to see exactly what I've got to do today. I just couldn't live without a paper diary, no way! Tell us about your sticker system? I have a little system in my diary that I use every month. So there's a different colour to show when I've done exercise, which days I have to go to work (and a little tick next to it when I've invoiced!). At the back I have a set of stickers which all have a different meaning according to the colour. I'm very into stickers! I've got a collection and I keep them in my desk drawer. What's your earliest memory of paper? My school books that I would go and buy for the new school year. That was always the most exciting part of the school year for me, buying the notebooks and have a brand new start of the year. They have really soft paper, a bit see-through. What are your favourite writing tools? I use a black fineliner pen, a thick pencil (a 4B at the lowest, I hate hard pencils, I really hate H pencils!). I also use Caran D'Ache colouring pencils, a Lamy ink pen (I've got two — one for home and one I have in my bag at all times. I'm always really ashamed if someone asks "have you got a pen" and I've not got one, so I always make sure that I;ve got a pen and a pencil with me. Is there an item of stationery that should exist but doesn't yet? What about a pen that's a pencil at the same time? Or perhaps that does exist? Do you have daily rituals that help you feel organised? Yes, I like to have a list of things to do for the day, which I will write in my diary. And then I've got another list of things that are the more long-term list of things that I've got to do, just life things. I like my desk to be quite tidy. I find it really stressful to start work when the desk is messy from the night before, so I always tidy the desk at the end of the working day, ready for tomorrow. I like to have everything in order before I start. I like to have a lamp, with a cosy warm bulb, even if it's a sunny day. It just sort of helps you focus in on that space.  Do you listen to music in your workspace? I listen to a lot of podcasts and NTS radio — I specially like the Flow Show in the morning, and I go back through the archive of those too. It's quite nice and chatty, and introduces me to music I wouldn't necessarily know otherwise.    What aspect of your work are you most proud of?  I make a lot of picture books and recently what I've really loved is when children really appreciate them. — Discover our "Let's Make Plans" collaboration by Rose Blake for Mark+Fold  

Beat the Monday blues

January 19, 2026

To cheer everyone up this Blue Monday, we are also offering a pack of Brass Page Markers as a free gift when you order anything from our 'Monday Blues' edit and enter code 'MondayBlues' — until Friday 23 January 2026.