Hi ! I'm Ariane C. , the illustrator behind all the products you can find at iCraftCafé . I work from my home studio in sunny San Diego , California . After working as a substitute teacher and as an art docent in elementary school , I decided to pursue my real passion : art ! I am a self-taught artist and it has been an extremely rewarding adventure so far .
I started with Zazzle in 2007. I had just a few cards , postage stamps , keychains , tote bags , aprons and t-shirts back then . I was very lucky and sold my first item within a week of opening my store . I am also one of the pioneers who created teacher supplies there . In 2009 , my kid convinced me to create my first website : iCraftCafé was born . You may wonder how I came up with this name . The truth is I didn't . My son did . I'm not quite sure how he came up with it ... Maybe it's because I'm addicted to coffee and because I always have a craft project or drawing laying around the house . Whatever the reason , I liked it and just went along with it .
Now , more than 10 years later , I have designed and sold thousands of colorful gifts on 4 different online shops . I am also available to work on special personal or business projects . I do not use clip arts ! The majority of my illustrations are hand-drawn . My favorite medium are color pencils , but I like to mess with paints once in a while . I also created vector illustrations . I get my inspiration from people and things around me : my family , my pets , nature , and so on . I hope you enjoy my work .