Our Friday Feature this week is the ever so talented, Nushy. Using fineliners and watercolours, Nushy (whose business goes by the same name), specialises in architectural illustrations… that are absolutely stunning, we should add! The level of detail she manages to capture, is just incredible.
We asked Nushy some questions to find out more about the wonderful woman behind the small business…
Creativity has always been a constant in my life! I grew up in a creative family, and now I spend most of my time running my own illustration business, while two days a week are dedicated to part-time design roles for two fantastic businesses—one of them being my mum’s lifestyle store in Hampton Court! Even in non-creative jobs, I’ve always ended up taking on the visual and design tasks—I just can’t seem to help myself! But creativity isn’t just about art; it also shapes how I approach problem-solving, branding, and so many other aspects of my work and life.
Definitely!! Creativity gives me a sense of purpose and keeps my mind engaged. Whether I’m illustrating, designing, or even rearranging a space, I find it really absorbing and satisfying. It also helps with stress—if I’m feeling overwhelmed about my workload, the second I actually sit down to begin illustration, I completely switch off from everything else and my brain resets. There’s no better feeling than being in a creative flow and not realising the hours passing by!
Ink drawing and watercolour have always been the two mediums I’ve naturally gravitated towards for as long as I can remember. One of my strongest childhood memories is staying at a family friend’s house in Austria—she had the most amazing huge set of watercolours, and whenever we’d visit, I was allowed to use them. I became completely obsessed and would have happily stayed painting all day rather than going to ski school! Along the way, I’ve also had some fantastic art teachers who encouraged me to explore different mediums but always championed my drawing skills. Even after trying new techniques, I kept coming back to ink and watercolour and they just feel right for the way I like to work.
Funnily enough, I fell into architectural illustration completely by accident. In my final year at uni, I was in a creative rut—going from being a big fish in a small pond to suddenly being surrounded by incredibly talented artists and graphic designers, which was really overwhelming. I was stuck on which direction to take one of my final degree show projects when I had a phone call with my mum. Totally unrelated to my uni work, she mentioned that some traders in Hampton Court had been saying how useful a map of the area would be to draw in tourists from the palace, and the rest was history! Ironically, I got a terrible mark on the project and my tutors didn’t quite see how it was ‘problem-solving’—but a couple of years after leaving uni, I turned the buildings into a map print, Christmas cards, and tea towels, and commission requests started coming in thick and fast. I’ve always been obsessed with detail in art, so architectural illustration just makes sense for me. If anything, I’m even more obsessed with detail now than when I started!
As challenging as it can be to juggle everything as a one-woman band, I absolutely love being self-employed and getting to wake up every day to do something I’m passionate about. I know not everyone has that luxury, so I feel incredibly grateful. My work has also taken me in so many unexpected directions that I could never have imagined when I started. No two days are the same, so it’s impossible to feel bored— you truly never know what’s around the corner!
I’d tell myself to have more confidence in my work, stay as consistent as possible, and not get disheartened when things don’t go to plan or a project runs dry. I love the saying, ‘The day you plant the seed is not the day you reap the fruit’—it’s so true! Building my business hasn’t been an overnight success but rather years of steadily chipping away at it. So, if I could go back, I’d really stress just how important consistency is!
Yes, imposter syndrome definitely creeps in from time to time, especially when I’m commissioned to do a project by a big company, or when I’m trying something new and putting it out there on social media. It’s so easy to compare but I remind myself that everyone’s creative journey is different. When those thoughts come up, I try to focus on the fact that people like and buy my work, which means it must resonate with them in some way. I also think it’s so important to continually look at how far I’ve come rather than think about what I haven’t achieved yet.
This is such a lovely question to be asked! I’ve had quite a few milestones, some of which I’ve never really shouted about on social media. One of the biggest highlights has been raising nearly £1,000 for local charities through my Christmas card sales. It’s been amazing to give back and hopefully make a small difference. Another standout moment was working on a large illustration project for a government agency. I can’t share too much about it, but it was a real pinch-me moment—something I’d never have imagined when I left my marketing job in London to pursue illustration (almost!) full-time.
There are two main challenges I’ve struggled with from the start. The first is pricing and valuing my work. As my skill has developed, my illustrations have become more detailed and time-consuming, so I’ve had to gradually increase my prices year after year. Finding the right balance between charging what my work is worth and keeping commissions flowing has been really tough. The second challenge is juggling social media as it often feels like a full-time job in itself. Filming content, editing reels, writing captions, and staying consistent can be really hard work, especially when there never seem to be enough hours in the day!
Ooh, such a tricky question, but also an easy one in some ways! Having the right working environment is really important to me, so I’d love to have my own studio space outside of my flat one day (sometimes filming in a tiny office space doesn’t feel very aesthetic for insta ha!) But the majority of the money would go towards bringing all the ideas in my head to life. I have so many designs and endless lists on my notes app of things I’d love to get into print, but manufacturing costs can be SO expensive, especially for a small business ordering in smaller quantities. Hopefully i’ll be in a position one day soon to get things going but £100k would definitely help make that happen!
It’s amazing how sometimes you can just stumble across the perfect path for you… we love that it was a happy accident that led Nushy to architectural illustrations. Can you imagine if she had never created that piece for her degree – we’d all be missing out on her gorgeous illustrations!
If you love Nushy’s style as much as us, make sure you check out her website: nushy.co.uk and her Instagram: @bynushy.
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