in·spire  (ĭn-spīr′): to affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence.
Archaic: to breathe on, to breathe life into.

Zandelion is all about inspiring creativity. Based in Sydney, Australia, the Zandelion studio provides both creative services (from graphic design to interior styling consultation) and a boutique online store, as well as offering occasional workshops.

Zandelion is owned and operated by me, Zan Wilson. You can read a little more about me below, or take a trip over to my other site – ZanWilson.com – to follow along my creative journey and learn about an exciting new venture that’s underway!

THE BACKGROUND TO ZANDELION

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a “creative person”. When I was younger, my hands were always busy doing doodles on my school books, making and sewing clothes for my dolls, folding napkins at the dinner table … I just had to be doing something creative.

I particularly remember being fascinated with my grandmother’s baking tools, and loved how she always had something baked for us when we arrived. There was also a magical sewing box full of assorted buttons for my little fingers to rummage through. Visits to Ma’s place instilled an appreciation of old-fashioned domestic skills from a simpler time. Who doesn’t love a good homemade scone, a butterfly cupcake, or an Anzac biscuit fresh out of the oven? Yum!

My mum would often say to me that I was living in dreamland, and in a way she was right –

As I grew older, I turned this passion into a career by studying a Bachelor of Design and working my way up as a graphic designer to ultimately become the creative director of an agency. That provided me with wonderful opportunities to work with some very talented and highly respected people. But one of my real passions is inspiring other people – the sort of people who say “I’m not creative” – to discover and explore their creative side. I truly believe that everyone is creative in their own way.

What was needed was a space where people could connect, find the courage to explore their creative potential (or just realise they had some!), and learn new skills. Creative workshops would allow all these things to happen at once. I set about creating the perfect space to do just that. I began running creative workshops, from gingerbread house workshops at Christmas time, to jewellery making, to shortbread decorating – things that were fun, communal, and enabled people to explore (or discover) their creative side.

Now, while I still plan to run the occasional workshop (stay tuned!), I’ve left my full-time roll to explore my own creative visions and plans. Part of that is what you see here with Zandelion, and the other part of that is an unfolding journey that you can follow on my personal blog over at zanwilson.com (hint: it’s about fashion, and I’ve just come back from Italy meeting manufacturers…).

For Zandelion, my focus now is on creative services and building out my product range for my online boutique.

SO, WHAT’S IN A NAME?

For me, the representation of Aslan the Lion in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has always been a source of inspiration. Aslan has strength yet gentleness, power and also grace. That very same presence is with me on my journey through life, and so the imagery of lions is powerful to me.

The ‘Zan’ part of the name comes from my very early days when I couldn’t pronounce my full name of ‘Alexandra’. I just said ‘Zandra’… and so my family caught onto calling me Zan – and have done so ever since.

Zandelion then represents the coming together of me, Zan, and the Aslan image I’ve always loved so much. It’s about inspiring others to have the courage to be creative and try something new, and fostering a sense of pride in their newfound abilities. It’s about sharing my creative gifts with the world through my products and designs. It’s an exciting chapter in my story, and I’m excited to be able to share it with you.