Sophie Heywood Captures the Essence of Cute

Scrolling through Sophie Heywood’s Instagram page, it’s hard not to ooh and ahh. The Manchester-based illustrator has an eye for all things cute, with her style very much adhering to the Japanese notion of kawaii.

Having graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in 2014 with a degree in illustration, Heywood has since been wholly devoted to her online Etsy store, where she sells illustrated paper goods and homemade accessories like earrings and keychains.

“I studied Illustration and with the guidance of tutors I realized I could print my work onto products,” she recalled in an interview with the Printed blog. “I did my very first fair in my final year and opened my Etsy shop alongside it. I actually split the table with a friend because I didn’t have enough to fill a whole table! I’ve since done many fairs around the country and now have over 100 items in my Etsy store!”

Her shop also includes seasonal items, such as an adorable pair of Valentines-themed acrylic earrings that feature a cute dog dressed as Cupid. Indeed, most of Heywood’s work focuses on the animal kingdom, be it a bear-shaped enamel pin or Christmas ornaments featuring a variety of critters.

Heywood also creates custom pet portraits (which, mind you, is the perfect gift for your pet-obsessed friend). According to Heywood, her custom paintings are a mix media of ink and watercolor, painted onto a heavyweight textured watercolor paper, made to fit in most standard A4 frames and mounts.

Scroll down to see some of her merch and head to her shop for more.