Meet Plush You! artist: Rowan Hellyer

I would like to introduce you to Rowan Hellyer who will be coming all the way from Bosnia for this year's Plush You! show!  How cool is that??

Tell my readers a bit about yourself

I’m an English girl married to an English guy and we are living and working in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a charity called Novi Most. We work with teenagers and young people, who live in a society which has been divided along ethnic lines as a result of civil war, providing them with opportunities to come together, meet each other, have fun and learn new skills. I love it!

As well as my husband and my work I love reading, going to the beach, Jesus, eating ice cream, chatting with friends and making stuff.

What do you love most about making plush toys?

I love how I can start with some balls of wool and a colour scheme and see a little character develop in my hands!

Is this your full time job?

No – for me this is a hobby. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to do it as a full time job but for now it’s just a hobby.

What sites do you look at for inspiration?

I get inspired by the things around me, characters in books, colours and by being a member of the Plush Team! I don’t really have any particular sites I go to for inspiration – I follow lots of creative people on twitter and instagram and just keep an eye out for cute and unusual things!

Did you do anything fun for the summer?
I’ve spent the summer running a summer holiday programme for teenagers and it’s been great. We’ve been bowling, swimming, bike riding, BBQ-ing, playing sport and lots more. It’s so cool to see kids faces the first time they go to the cinema, see a 3D film , go to a water park or ride on escalators in a shopping mall!