Studio Shimo

Studio Shimo is a creative project by London-based textile and graphic designer Juliette van Rhyn. Inspired by a walk through Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa neighbourhood in 2019, Juliette decided to create a brand that reflected the feelings of warmth and nostalgia she felt in the vintage shops and record cafes there.

Having launched in November 2020, Studio Shimo is currently an outlet for Juliette to design and sell a range of fine art prints with a clean, modernist sensibility and focus on colour combinations. The theme of the designs is often a glimpse into a fictional artist’s studio; a space full of art materials, still life setups, shelves full of geometric plaster models, books, and the occasional cigarette butt.

After studying Textile Design at university, Juliette worked for a decade in London as a print designer for interiors and fashion. “I always felt like something was missing creatively, until I decided to follow my instinct to re-train in graphic design in 2019. Graphics has so much scope for developing concept and depth within each project, which appealed after 10 years of designing work that was predominantly decorative,” says the designer. She studied part-time at Shillington for 9 months, which she describes as “the best decision I’ve made in terms of moving my skill set and creative practice forwards”, and she went on to be a winner in the 2019 TDK Awards for the portfolio she produced there.

At the end of 2019, feeling creatively burnt out after finishing her graphic design course and getting straight back into textiles freelancing, Juliette made a spur of the moment decision to go to Amsterdam and Japan for a creative research trip to recharge. She describes; “The trip was incredible, and it planted the seed to start putting my own designs out there as Studio Shimo. Everything I saw there continues to inform my work up until today”.

Juliette’s inspirations include Ettore Sottsass, Brancusi, Korean Chaekgeori paintings, and the Bauhaus movement, as well as interior designers such as Studio Giancarlo Valle and Charlotte Perriand. She mainly uses Photoshop for designing and colour work, but always aim to get “a sense of tactility” into her prints, thus relies on working with textures and scanned-in papers to build designs. “I spend the longest on colour, which is a key part of my work. I think this comes from years of working in textile design, where colour is so often the focus” states Juliette.

Open minded about Studio Shimo’s future, Juliette hopes to grow the business into a multidisciplinary studio offering design services as well as products.

www.studioshimo.com
@studioshimo

• Author
• Recent Posts

POP Members

Check out our membership directory and apply to become a Verified POP Member at www.members.peopleofprint.com

Want to know more about our membership? Give us an email at members@peopleofprint.com.

Latest posts by POP Members (see all)

• Tim Belonax |All Of My Mistakes Have Led Me To You - April 26, 2024
• The Humber Printmaker - April 25, 2024
• Horizons by Angus Vasili - April 24, 2024