You may have noticed some interesting maps of Newcastle under Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent in the city centres. These are the masterpieces of Chloe Breeze, an extremely talented illustrator from our very hometown.
Chloe is a born and bred Stokie with a huge passion for art and being creative. Her career started out at school where she often found herself doodling in French, dreaming of when her next textiles and graphic design lessons would be!. From there Chloe went on to do an art and design course at college and then progressed to Staffordshire University to do an illustration course.
Her work is inspired by Jacqueline Wilson and Nick Sharratt and it was in the second to last year at Uni when Chloe’s style really took on a life of its own. So much so that she completed the course with a BA Hons and landed a placement with children’s publishing company Usborne publishings to illustrate their story books!
Over the years Chloe’s style has continued to progress. She is a self confessed doodler, she loves to doodle people, picking out the quirky features of a person and accentuating them into a cartoon style. But let’s face it Chloe’s style can turn to anything and that's what we loved about the Newcastle under Lyme map!
2017 was a huge year for Stoke-on-Trent as the city was running for the City of Bids 2021. There was a real buzz in the community and it was at that time that Chloe started up her own business. The atmosphere in the city inspired Chloe to start a range of Stokie products including the Stoke-on-Trent map and more recently the map of Newcastle under Lyme which were a massive hit! If you haven't already seen them already, the maps highlight all the little quirky places that often get overlooked. Off the back of this Chloe has also done a map for Manchester and is currently working on one for Edinburgh!
Since 2017 Chloe’s business has grown. The lockdown has proven challenging but her “can do” positive attitude has meant that she has been able to adapt to the changing times and not pigeon hole herself into one area. This has been the biggest learning curve out of lockdown for her business and has allowed her to continue to flourish.
The next big project Chloe is working on is with the National Literacy Trust where she is getting involved in an initiative for parks and green areas around the city. The Trust is publishing a booklet on walks and trails, which encourages families to get out together to find leaves and animals, Chloe has been asked to illustrate the booklet which will be available in local libraries for children to pick up.
Outside of being a successful business woman, Chloe likes to give back to the community and has recently engaged in a mentoring program with Staffordshire University. Looking back she would have loved to have had someone guide her through her final year at Uni so this is exactly what she is doing for a lucky student. They have had two sessions so far and things seem to be going well.
Chloe also likes to travel, go for nice long walks and little trips away exploring new places. When she isn't traveling and she stays local, she loves going to the gin bars and eating out or you can often find her at the Artisan market on the third Sunday of every month.
If you would like to see Chloe’s work take a peek at her website www.chloebreeze.co.uk