Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Old-fashioned, fun.
What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Old cartoons.
Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Pen and ink.
Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Carl Barks, Albert Uderzo, Herge.
Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
Middle Ages, I love the hand-made books and the lettering.
Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
I have been drawing since I was a baby, so I guess it was my parents, they gave me pen and paper.
My favourite part is when I get the books home, just printed.
What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
You need to be patient, things don’t happen over night.
I was born in Helsinki 1972, and I have lived here since, except for a few years' period in the countryside in my youth. I have always liked drawing and writing, and it was quite obvious that I would go and study art. After high school I went to the University of Art and Design of Helsinki, and I studied graphic design, graduating in 2003. After that I have been illustrating books, until I started also writing, and nowadays I mostly write and draw for a living. My daughter was born in 2011, and she has been a great inspiration for my Little Mouse books.