I'm Nichole (with an h) and I believe in the power of relation, stories and magic °

My creative journey began many moons ago. I guess I’ve always been passionate about making things, driven by that crazy-heartbeat-in-your-chest kinda feeling that goes along with making something which never existed before. My intrigue and solid commitment was awarded with art trophies and A’s along the way. I was the top art (and geography) student through primary and high school, achieving a 98% for my Matric art practical exam and 6 distinctions in 2008. Seems hard work and many dedicated hours pays off… And of course the love and support from my family along the way. (Thanks for colouring in backgrounds with me mom).

I moved on to study at the Vega School of Branding in Johannesburg in 2009, completing my BA degree in Creative Brand Communications in 2011. At my graduation I received the Red Pencil Award for being the top Visual Communications student.

The following year (the one the world was meant to end), I was hired as a junior art director at DraftFCB, Johannesburg. What a welcome into the big bad (but fun) world of advertising. Small fish dives into the scary ‘real’ world. Besides the intensity of it all, I was blessed with so many opportunities to work with a bunch of Jozi’s finest (and possibly craziest) creatives, on some of our planet’s most renowned brands: Coca-Cola, Vodacom, Toyota, Wimpy, The Lottery, Tigerbrands, to name a few. What a whirlwind of a year! 2012 was the start of my ‘profession’. It was as bad-ass as it was *epic*… (Sure am glad that I never have to live through it again though, haha – funny because that’s the same thing my dad says about being in the army).

In 2013 I switched it up and worked as a conceptual designer / illustrator at a design agency called Global Mouse (now known as Roering Creative Kin) situated in Bryanston, in Johannesburg. This is where I really fine-tuned my design skills, learning the deep depths of the Adobe Creative Suite. Many, many hours spent on Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign crafting artwork for the Discovery brand and others too. I drew a lot during this time and explored all sorts of illustrative styles through which I found more of my own.

In 2014 I needed change (there’s a bit of a pattern here), and so I left that gig and started to work as a contracted freelance designer for Metropolitan Republic – another ad agency in Jozi. I worked closely with the mastermind creative director, Christine Raftopoulos, who was heading up the design team to rebrand the “Blue Beast” – Sanlam. I believe it’s during this time that I put those ’10 000 hours’ into corporate branding. So much work, many late nights and such dedicated energy went into building this visual identity – and hey, the Loeries thought so too! 

Go team! :) 

It was while working on the Sanlam rebrand that I was flown on a business trip to Cape Town. I almost immediately started strategising how to move closer to this magical mountain. It meant I needed to, yet again, close one door to open another. I left Metropolitan and stepped into the role of  digital designer at ‘South Africa’s most loved’ online fashion brand: Superbalist.com. I moved to Cape Town at the start of 2015. What a superb (lol) way to begin my chapter in the mother city – sharing ideas and visions with the city’s trendiest e-commerce business minds, creatives and fashionistas. I watched Superbalist.com grow from 60 people to 130 people in a space of 9 months. I was part of a start-up business that exploded, and the experience was great but it was intense. It was the daily spinning that got me ready me to spin away in my own direction and welcome the next phase of my life. 

I started freelancing in September 2015 – a big leap breaking the comforts of a monthly salary and wandering off into the unknown realm of ‘freedom’ and the freelance hustle*. I was offered a monthly retainer with Sanlam and Santam – such perfect timing, I must add. Slowly but surely I started collaborating with all sorts of wonderful people to create cool visuals for their brands, events and new businesses. I was contacted by Duke and other agencies around Cape Town to freelance for them every now and again.

By the end of 2016 I felt like had my freelance design pretty well setup, with lekker clients and a good consistent workflow. But freelance design means computer, computer, computer – and a heap of screen time.

The next intention was to find ways to distance myself from my beloved workhorse – my MackBook Pro. I was in pursuit of creating art with my hands again – I missed paper and pens and paint and erasing and smudging. I missed the mess, the craft and the exploration that went with it all.

I also really missed people. Not working from an office means you’re probably working from home or a coffee shop without too much human interaction. Perfect somedays – but other days, not so much. This all led me to the path of becoming a ‘handpoke’ tattoo artist. To date I have created close to 450 tattoos for nearly 400 human canvases.

Handpoking is a tattooing method whereby no machine is used. It’s a gentler, more traditional technique whereby the needle (the same professional ones used in tattoo machine) is strapped to a stick and dipped into tattoo ink then tattooed into the skin. The process is much slower and more intricate as dot-by-dot the detail comes together. Side note: I use an imported high-quality vegan tattoo ink.

Between the graphic design projects and tattoo sessions, I just love making time to paint on walls. I’ve had the pleasure of working on murals for two yoga studios in Cape Town and an aesthetics bar in Johannesburg. Another two murals find themselves on international soil in Ubud in Bali and at a skatepark in Singapore – and even more in the homes of people I adore.

That takes us up to now, hello 2024!!! Crazy to think that this means I now have 13 years of working experience as a graphic designer and illustrator… and that I’ve been tattooing for 8 years already! And yet I remain creatively inspired by the infinite realm of ideas floating around me waiting to come to fruition. 

As long as I’m making, moving, and tattooing – I’m happy.

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Diversity
excites me,
mother nature
inspires me.

*

Bless

them future
creations.