Behind the Magic with Illustrator Tijana Lukovic
This festive season, step into the warmth and wonder of our Christmas collection where nature inspired fragrances are brought to life through enchanting new illustrations.
For our 2024 Christmas packaging designs, we collaborated with the incredibly talented illustrator, Tijana Lukovic, whose storytelling artwork beautifully captures the essence of each of our festive scents. With fragrances crafted to fill your home with festive cheer and illustrations that add a touch of magic, this collection is made to be unwrapped, savoured and shared.
To uncover the magic behind our new illustrations and delve deeper into the creative journey that shaped them, we sat down with Tijana to explore her inspiration, process, and the special moments she hopes to bring to your festive season.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey as an illustrator? How did you get started, and what drew you to this form of art?
In my mid-twenties I graduated at Fine art school and got MFA degree in both painting and drawing. I didn’t do illustration back then, as I used to make more of a conceptual art that I was thought at school.
My focus began to shift towards illustration after the birth of my child when I started buying children’s books for her. I was drawn to that new world which seemed so magical and full of new possibilities, it also felt more genuine and close to myself and who I was becoming as a mother.
You’ve worked on a variety of creative projects. How did illustrating our Christmas fragrances compare to other work you’ve done in the past?
Overall, I feel very lucky to get projects where both my personal style and voice is strongly appreciated by the brands I work with and that I am allowed to stay within my own world when I create for others as well. This was also something I loved in working with St. Eval: I had a structured brief but was all within the work I have already been doing.
That being said, working on fragrances and the illustrations that would later be used for a packaging design, showed me another aspect of my work, that was previously mostly used for illustrating literary material. In that sense it was quite fun to see my work in this new light.
Each fragrance has its own unique characters and story. How did you approach capturing the essence of these scents through your illustrations?
Guided by an enchanting brief from St. Eval, we worked together to bring the teams vision to life as well as following my personal instincts of what I feel can add to the stories we were looking to create.
What was your creative process like for this project? Were there any particular themes or elements you wanted to ensure were reflected in the final designs?
This answer lands mostly on the way my characters are depicted and their relationship with the natural world. They are already portrayed many times in my other personal and professional work so I wanted them to tell the story here as well. Natural and magical elements were also strong attributes to the story we wanted to tell so they found its place in this world as well.
Was there a particular illustration in the collection that you found especially enjoyable or challenging to create? What made it stand out?
My favourite one is the one made for Figgy Pudding. The powerful blaze of the sunrise on the left in comparison to the peaceful and magical starry night on the right shows that perfect balance of having and enjoying both in our lives.
When customers see your illustrations on our products, what emotions or experiences do you hope they take away from the visual storytelling?
As the world gets darker and nature falls deeper in her sleep we have to rely on our own inner light and warmth. Flickering lights, candles and lanterns, that are often seen in the artwork, are there to remind us of that inner flame, small and big acts of kindness that shine through the darkness of cold winter days. Stories told through these illustrations tell us that there is still so much beauty and magic to be found in the darkness.
Looking at the finished designs, is there a specific magical or festive detail that you hope people will notice and appreciate?
The beauty of starry winter nights ✨
As we wrap up this journey into the creative magic of our Christmas collection, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Tijana. Her talent, vision, and storytelling spirit have beautifully brought each fragrance to life, creating artwork that captures the warmth and wonder we hope to share with you this season. From delicate starry nights to flickering candlelight, her illustrations serve as a reminder of the beauty and light to be found, especially in the heart of winter.
Thank you, Tijana, for infusing our Christmas collection with such enchantment and bringing these stories to life with such artistry and care. Here are the final four fragrance illustrations, in order: Figgy Pudding, Inspiritus, Orange & Cinnamon, and Winter Thyme.
Discover the Collection: A Thoughtful Gift of Scent, Story, and Magic
This Christmas, let the festive fragrances fill your home with the spirit of the season. From the zesty warmth of Orange & Cinnamon to the sweet nostalgia of Figgy Pudding, each candle is wrapped in Tijana’s storytelling illustrations, designed to delight and inspire.
Explore the Christmas collection and bring home the beauty of a starry winter’s night, a festive gathering, and the warmth of memories waiting to be made. Let this Christmas be one of light, magic, and the heartfelt gift of sharing our newest creations with those you love most.