Here is the true story of how I came to be the originator behind every KittenChops design:
Hi, my name is Zaara (Márta Windeisen). I am originally from Hungary (Zsazsa Gábor, Béla Lugoshi, or the Rubik cube may come to mind?).
I grew up there during the 70s' socialist era in the absence of consumerism: no TV on Mondays (only one channel on other days),
no billboards, no sugar cereal... On the other hand I was fortunate to receive a very strong public education, spending my time
immersed in my country's very creative folk, artistic and literary tradition.
My interest in design and illustration and my fascination with consumer/western printed media was obvious form an early age: I
diligently kept a visual diary of collages I assembled form my own drawings, hand lettering, imported foreign language kids' publications
(such as "Piff" from France and "Fix und Foxy" from Germany: they had the best toy ads and the cutest characters...), and any
packaging that made it past the Iron Curtain (soap and chocolate wraps were the best, but I also had a short stint with the
German beer cans my uncle magically acquired). I also collected scented erasers and pencil sharpeners imported from China,
comic books from East Germany, postcards from World War I and on, cartoon wraps from "Donald" brand bubble gum, and stamps from all over the world.
At the age 17, when taking an overnight shopping trip to neighboring Vienna, all what I only imagined and could only
get a rare glimpse of came to life: I saw a billboard for the first time and experienced the visual bounty and allure of
a fancy department store and a supermarket: isles and isles of colorful packaging and products ... From then on I knew
in my heart that I wasn't going to become a History and English teacher (as Mom planned). I realized that I longed to
participate in the creation of this magical commercial imagery...
Long story short (yes, there was some adventures along the way I am not discussing here), I earned my BA in graphic design from
Western Washington University. Right after graduation I moved to Seattle and worked as a graphic designer for Starbucks Coffee
Company for five years. Here I was fortunate to have worked with an excellent team of artists & designers and was inspired to
expand and integrate my own illustrations and art into my design work.
Eventually I developed my own style of illustration and named it "KittenChops". Currently I have my own graphic
design/illustration business and live in West Seattle with my two cats: Cicka and Mitsu; still finding my inspiration in visually
exciting, foreign language magazines, this time from Japan!
ABOUT:ZAARA/KittenChops
