August 26, 2020Flower Person

Alja Horvat, Illustrator

For today's Flower Person Interview, we talk to Alja Horvat, a floral illustrator and textile print designer from Slovenia about her love of flowers and the inspiration she gathers from them. Whimsical and joyful floral motifs are shown throughout her work, which has been featured on Society6, Hautelook, Goop, Cosmopolitan, and Trendbible. Alja has also collaborated with Jiggy Puzzles, Anthropologie, Causebox, and Urban Outfitters. In every design, Alja channels the beauty of florals and colors to create a beautiful work of art.

Hi Alja! Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

I'm Alja Horvat and I'm an illustrator and textile print designer from Slovenia. I started illustrating while studying at University of Natural Sciences and Engineering in Ljubljana. I mainly work with my graphic tablet, but when painting traditionally I love to use gouache and oils. I'm mostly inspired by nature and museums and as a big fan of the 60s and 70s, I try to incorporate the feeling of nostalgia in my illustrations. My clients include Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, ban.do, Causebox, Renault, CeliaB etc. and I'm also a part of Forbes "30 under 30" 2020.

You've accomplished a lot in 30 years! It sounds like you're constantly creating. Where do you call home now?

I'm from Slovenia, Maribor, I moved to Ljubljana to study Graphic design but moved back to Maribor as soon as I finished university. I live in Maribor, but I still have my art studio in Ljubljana, so I'm constantly moving between these two cities.

Speaking of your art studio, you feature a lot of flowers in your work. I love it. Where did your love for flowers come from or what first drew you to flowers?

My mom has a lot of flower books at home because she is obsessed with them and I always loved going through these books and looking at different flowers. We always had A LOT of flowers at home, so I was always surrounded by them.

That sounds like a dream to be surrounded by flowers! I like to be surrounded by the different flowers in our Floral Tasting Collection for inspiration. What’s your favorite flower and why?

Tulips - I remember having tulips at home and always looking at them and thinking to myself "Look how gorgeous they are." I have no idea but I was always drawn to them.

It's wonderful how flowers give us indescribable feelings. But what are some inspiring words you love and live by?

We are what we think about! I really believe in living the happy life by being and trying to stay positive.

Yes! Manifest those good vibes! What are you working on right now that you’d like to share?

I'm currently working on my oil painting inspired by the 60s and 70s and as you know, the 60s and 70s were both very much influenced by flower power, so there will be a lot of bright colours and flowers in my paintings.