Starting a Substack
A post on balance and saying hi to the world
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I started going freelance fulltime in summer 2019 and for the first 6 months, I emailed all the art directors like crazy. I also posted occasionally on Instagram back in the days. The work that I got offered then turned into more work, because other clients had seen it somewhere. I was fortunate that clients eventually found me without much hassle or putting in work. I got steady clients from there on until 2025, many repeat ones as well.
However, I want to grow! I’d love more diversity in projects and I love working with new people. I realised that if I wanted specific jobs, I need to shout to the world that I exist and want to do these jobs. So, this year, I’ve set myself up to do more promotion. Talk a bit more loudly about me and my work, show a bit more, be more present. Start a Substack. So here goes.
A quick re-introduction
My name is Iris, currently 33 years old. I was born in a tiny village near Delft in the Netherlands, Europe. I moved to Breda to study Illustration and Animation at St. Joost, then moved to Amsterdam for work. After 8 years, I’ve decided to purchase an old tiny dollhouse with a small garden in Utrecht with the love of my love! That was last year. I’m very happy we’re here: Utrecht is quaint, cute, very walkable and has a large artist community. Not hard to romanticise life here!
I rent a space in a communal artist spot called het Huis van Betekenis (the House of Meaning) that’s a 10 min bike ride. Here I work the majority of my time, I try to work from home only 1 day a week to avoid living as a hermit in pyjamas. I often make work for the Hortus Leiden (a botanical garden), Farmer Gracy (an online flower bulb shop) and various publishers. So that’s a lot of flowers!
I’ve got a cat called Boris who is always grumpy and attacks my friend’s feet. I love doing Pilates after work (keeps my joints flexible), cooking for friends (I’m a vegetarian), traveling (with an art residency in Tokyo in 2022 as a highlight), gaming (especially slow games like Stardew Valley and Hidden Folks) and I’m excited to try gardening this spring. I love all things making and most of the times I’ve got little house projects here and there, but the biggest one to date will be next April, when we’re renovating the entire upstairs of our house (including a blue bathroom! But that’s maybe for another time).
Finding balance
It’s interesting really, to start a Substack after spending almost my entire 20s just scrolling on Instagram. I’ve deleted the app last year from my phone, only posting for work on my iPad every now and then. The app made me feel lost, insecure, and comparing myself to loads of other, more successful illustrators (and personally, to prettier, more put together girls with lovely houses who seem to travel 24/7). Without social media, I feel much lighter and in the moment, and maybe even happier.
However, I do realise that being an illustrator requires to move forward a bit. Art directors need to find me and my work! I hope that Substack can become a platform for me to show my work, a bit more in depth, and a bit more slower, without too much distraction. Expect posts about projects I work on, experiments I do, the illustration industry in general, and maybe some interior or gardening obsessions.
For now, I’m happy you’re here!
Thank you for reading! See more of my work on my portfolio or Instagram, or get in touch with me.
Good shout on starting a substack! Super interesting to hear your trajectory on going fully freelance. And such a good idea to delete instagram from your phone and just use it on ipad.. that makes a good distinction to start seeing instagram as work and stop it from seeping into the present all the time. I think I will do that too!!
Congratulations on starting your very own substack! There’s so much I love about your first post - the art, the zest for your work and to growth (🥂) and the fact you mention Delft, Utrecht and Leiden where my sibling lives. All the best to you, your discoverability and growth!