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With the arrival of our new Postbox collection, we thought it would be a good idea to introduce some of the great artists behind the work. Very early into the planning of these new cards, we came across the work of Svetlana Molodchenko and immediately knew she’d be a great addition to the team. Elegant and detailed, her artwork complements our collection beautifully. But rather than talk about Svetlana, why not see what she says? We asked her to tell us all about her life, and the inspiration and artistic process that went into her Postbox designs.
JL: Tell us a little about yourself.
SM: I am an illustrator, designer, and calligrapher. I was born in Belarus and studied and worked in Moscow, Russia. Since 2022, I have lived and worked in Yerevan, Armenia. I love books and everything related to them. I am especially captivated by ancient manuscripts – picture books – with their handwritten text, miniatures, initials, and ornamentation. I also love old botanical atlases. I have spent countless hours poring over them. In my work, I combine botanical art and calligraphy, animalistic drawings, and ornamentation.
JL: What excites you most about your Jacquie Lawson collection?
SM: When I received an email asking me to design a complete nature-themed alphabet for Jacquie Lawson, I was thrilled. It truly was a dream job! I had the opportunity to do exactly what I love most – botanical illustrations and letters.
JL: What influences or inspiration went into designing this collection?
SM: The book "Mira calligraphiae monumenta" with illustrations by Joris Hoefnagel serves as inspiration and an ideal model for me. It is this combination of handcraftedness, elegance, and visual richness that I would like to preserve in my own work.
JL: Walk us through your artistic process, from concept to design.
SM: I draw traditionally – sketches with pencil and liner, and the final illustrations are watercolour on good cotton paper. For each initial, I decided to create a composition of various natural elements – flowers and plants, animals and insects, pebbles, shells, bird feathers, and much more. In these compositions, the names of all the elements should begin with the corresponding letter. So, for the letter A, I chose: Amarillis, Artichoke, Adonis Blue Butterfly. For the letter B – Bachelor's Button, Blueberry, Bee. For the letter C – Camellia, Chestnut, Common Blue Butterfly. And so on. Sometimes I included small elements independent of the letter, like a ladybug or an ant, or something like that. Each letter requires its own composition, and the overall balance should be uniform. So, I first made sketches for the entire series to see the variations throughout the alphabet. Then I worked with watercolours.
JL: How do you hope people feel when they send or receive your designs?
SM: I'd like to evoke a sense of another person's presence. A card is a small proof that "I was thinking of you." It's also the joy of choice – finding the image that suits that person. It's the effort of writing the right words. It's a feeling of care, personal value, a sense of connection across distance.
Send Svetlana Molodchenko's Postbox Cards Now
Svetlana’s cards are available to send right now with your Jacquie Lawson membership! As part of our Postbox collection, they can be personalised with a caption, longer message, photos or a video and even your own signature. Svetlana’s collection of cards perfectly lends itself to almost any occasion – whether J for Joe’s birthday, A for Anna’s graduation or D for Dad on Father’s Day – and can be sent via email, text message or any social media. You could even print it off and send it through snail mail or deliver it in person!
