The Story Behind Jo Deakin x By Meloo
Jo and Melissa first met at a friend’s dinner party, where they discovered their mutual love of watermelons!! They had a deep-dive conversation into running small businesses and found that they have similar inspirations, as well as a shared love for creativity and appreciation for British-made quality.
After discovering so many synergies in both their brand values and their colourful approach to design, talks of a collaboration were soon underway...
At the time, much of Melissa’s work was centred around beach behaviour, and her fascination with ice cream culture – in particular, ice cream queues. Given that Jo & Melissa’s first conversation had been about their mutual love of watermelons, the idea of a watermelon queue was agreed as the theme for the collaboration, and the mug would feature the characters winding around it.
The By Meloo portfolio is filled with illustrations that celebrate the little moments in life that make you smile. At Jo Deakin, that’s all about taking time to “slow down and sip”. Inspired by this, Melissa created an illustration featuring lots of happy “slow down” moments… a couple slowing down to sip their tea on a sunlounger. Characters slowing down to swim, sunbathe, sail, and of course, enjoy a slice of watermelon!
To make the collaboration even more special and unique, some of Jo Deakin's bespoke design patterns were added to parasols and swimsuits, and the 4 figures at the front of the watermelon queue were drawn to represent Jo and her family!
Taking the watermelon queue from the full illustration, Jo’s usual team at The Potteries in Stoke on Trent have skilfully crafted the special edition mug from the finest quality English bone china. Together with the print, which is meticulously handmade in the UK, Jo and Melissa are proud to have created two entirely English pieces from start to finish.
The sense of collaboration has run through everything, from the initial idea and design, right the way through to the launch of both the mug and print together.
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