Cottage Critters - How it all began!

🌿 Cottage Critters: Building a World I Needed to Escape Into

      

It all started when I quit my corporate job a few years ago.

I was completely burnt out and knew I needed a reset. I didn’t have a plan- I just needed to slow down. What helped me begin that process was something I hadn’t done in a long time: drawing.

I took my sketchbooks outdoors- parks, lakes, gardens, sometimes just under a lone tree- and started observing the smallest things. Flowers, squirrels, birds, fallen leaves.

To keep it manageable, I set myself a simple goal: draw one flower a day for 30 days.

And I stuck to it.

By the end of those 30 days, something had shifted. I felt lighter, more present- and I had fallen back in love with both drawing and the natural world.

Around the same time, I was reading Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon, which encouraged me to share my work, however small. That idea stayed with me, slowly building the courage to take on something bigger.

🐇 Finding the world of Cottage Critters

      

I decided to create a personal project for my portfolio, building on this renewed connection with nature.

I started observing animals more closely- following squirrels around Cubbon Park, watching mynas, visiting places like Prani - The Pet Sanctuary. I found myself drawn to the quiet rhythm of their lives.

At the same time, I kept returning to something I’ve always loved- children’s books and animated worlds. While friends browsed fiction, I drifted toward the children’s section.

Stories inspired by creators like Beatrix Potter, along with shows like Miffy and Winnie the Pooh, quietly shaped my visual language.

All of this came together to form Cottage Critters- a gentle world filled with characters that feel familiar, safe, and full of quiet life.

🌾 Why Cottagecore?

     

A big part of this aesthetic comes from my own life.

My extended family lives in places like Mysore and Kollegal- far from the pace of the city. Visiting them always felt slower, softer. Breathing felt easier.

Cottagecore, for me, isn’t just an aesthetic- it’s a longing.

A desire to return to something simple and peaceful. To childhood moments that felt whole and unhurried- collecting fallen leaves, chasing butterflies, getting drenched in the rain, walking through paddy fields.

Cottage Critters became my way of holding onto that feeling- and recreating a world I could escape into, even in the middle of city life.

🍓 Building the World

 

I began with a mood board- collecting everything that felt like “cottagecore.” From there, I sketched individual elements: animals, fruits, florals.

Eventually, they came together into a single scene- a countryside where everything coexisted. The animals became neighbors, friends, tiny farm workers.

From that world, the patterns followed naturally.

The animals- bunnies, squirrels, ducks, chicks- were chosen for their soft, friendly presence. The fruits and florals were just as personal. Strawberries, in particular, hold a special place for me- a memory of picking them with my family.

🎨 Process & Challenges

   

While imagining the world came naturally, bringing it to life visually took work.

Character design was challenging at first, and I often went back to learnings from The Churgle Club by Kavita Arvind to ground my approach.

Another challenge was turning individual illustrations into a cohesive pattern collection- balancing hero prints, coordinates, and blenders, especially with so many elements.

Interestingly, the concept itself didn’t change much. What did change was what I imagined it could become.

What started as a simple portfolio project slowly evolved into something bigger- a full stationery collection, and potentially more.

💛 The Feeling Behind It

   

If I had to describe Cottage Critters, it would be this:

The smell of freshly cut grass. Warm baked pies. A soft breeze brushing through your hair. Trees heavy with ripe fruit.

A moment where time slows down just enough for you to notice everything.

It’s both spring and autumn at once.

More than anything, I want people to feel a sense of nostalgia- as if they’ve stepped into a gentler world, even if just for a moment... As if they've entered Alice's Wonderland!

🌱 What It Means to Me Now

   

Cottage Critters is my first collection- my first “baby.”

It feels a little intimidating, seeing how much potential it holds. But it’s also deeply personal. It represents a time in my life where I chose to slow down, reconnect, and begin again.

Through this process, I also let go of the idea that I needed to have a fixed “style” to be an artist.

By simply continuing to create and share, I’ve realized that style reveals itself over time- and it can evolve, shift, or even completely change.

That realization has been freeing.

🌼 Looking Ahead

   

With a background in fashion design, I’ve always dreamed of building a kidswear brand.

Cottage Critters feels like the beginning of that journey.

I can already imagine these characters living beyond paper- on clothing, wallpapers, and objects that become part of someone’s childhood.

If you’d like to step into this world, you can explore the Cottage Critters collection here. 🌿