Ellie Good (1 North 1997) has always been the most creative of people. We asked her to write about her artistic passions and explain how her business, Ellie Good Illustration, adopts an eco-friendly approach, and talk about her latest venture, The Shift.
“Until I came to Cranleigh, pursuing art at higher education wasn’t really on my radar. But when the brilliant Peter McNiven introduced me to a world of creative techniques and opportunity, this quickly became my ‘thing’. I have such fond memories of spending as many hours of my time as possible down the art block – including the first time the class did nude life drawing with barely stifled laughter as the model stripped off!”
“I went on to study fine art at Farnham Art College (now Surrey University), after which I fell into magazines (design and publishing), graphic design and more recently, illustration.
“In 2017 I launched my own range of printed wares which all come with a donation to environmental charities and organisations such as City to Sea, The Woodland Trust and Just One Tree. Human impact upon our natural world has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember, and since having children the urgency to help protect our Earthly resources has become more apparent than ever.
“Under the banner of Ellie Good Illustration, I take on commissions and make / sell a range of genuinely sustainable and plastic-free, printed wares. Products are always printed on recycled or sustainable paper stock, by environmentally conscious printing companies. All the packaging used is recycled, recyclable or biodegradable; right down to the corn-starch greetings card pockets and cotton or wool twine used for grouping packs of cards.”
In 2018 she launched a website called The Shift with the aim of encouraging sustainable consumerism. “I merged drawing and design with my environmental concerns to offer bite-sized and easy to implement ‘tips’ for living more sustainably. The idea being that if lots of us make a few small changes, the effects will be big.
“I think people feel generally paralysed by fear of climate change, and don’t know what to do about it. Hopefully this will engage, inform, and ultimately provide a small part of the solution