The Inspiration Behind the "Remind you of Anyone?" Range

It all started with me.  Yeah! I know that will suprise anyone who knows me 😆

I'll rephrase, it actually all started with me thinking about my dad which happens often. He was a taller and possibly angrier version of Basil Fawlty whose sharp edges blunted with age until we used to see how quickly we could make tears come to his eyes with the simple question "Are you proud of your children?"  He transformed into a softie and I got on very well with him for some years before he sadly died.  From cancer diagnosis to death took eight extraordinarily short weeks... always in a rush with legs so long I would have to actually run to keep up with him. Turns out he could do nothing slowly.

Anyway, the man always said that only the inarticulate resort to using swear words. He knew not from where this foul mouthed angellically blonde daughter had emerged, but I swore like a navvy.  It was so frowned upon in our house I can remember my eldest brother having his mouth washed out with soap and water.  It seems I learned to keep my mouth shut from an early age.

And then, long after I had given birth to my Irish triplets and after his softening, my dad looked at me with a sort of puzzlement on his face and he was forced to admit I had proven him wrong. That his only daughter was the most articulate person he knew and yet, in addition, was the most foul mouthed.  

And I had a very proud daughter moment.

So I was thinking of this moment a few years later and figured it would as an excellent phrase for a pin badge.

"somewhat sweary and remarkably articulate"

I knew it couldn't be a standalone pin so I set about making other titles in the range... starting with me (obviously)...

"a little judgy yet often right"

"many mentals weirdly wise"

"unbelievably bossy getting shit done"

and then moving through the family.

"much too clever for anyone's good" is the eldest child. 

Their father

"super gifted, easily distracted"

The man is possibly the most ADHD person you'll ever encounter. He works a job that involves intense concentration whilst the rest of his world is in the hands of a very competant other (me).  This is a man who can say goodbye in the kitchen with his phone and keys in his hands only to leave the house without either... and our hall isn't long.  

Our twin sons are generally

"a tad arsey but simply lovely" and

"vaguely weird very wonderful"

"dramatically & insanely talened" also pretty much covers them all.

I then moved to everyone I know and gave them their own personalities. Friend's children were:

"Queen of Sass"

"Suspiciously Quiet, Inwardly Defiant"

"Cute & Super Complicated"

And then there's Sam here, he who runs everything at CGCHQ... for seventeen years.  His moniker came to me in such a flash of inspiration during a particularly busy period where I couldn't see his desktop for actual rubbish that had accumulated. He was running from one task to another with seemingly comical ineptitude (but actually managing to keep it all running).

He's:

 

I love the title so much and it's my favourite video we made - if you've not seen any of them, check them out here

I stopped at 22 titles.  You have to stop somewhere.

They were originally called "the Porcelains" and, in fact, the artwork file name on my computer is still labelled as such.  I had a Fortnum & Mason cup and saucer set that I had been gifted many years ago and the colours are just so beautiful that I wanted to use them on something.  Starting with turquoise (my favourite colour of all), I colour picked so that they would all complement each other. 

Which one are you?

Could you pick one for each of your family? 

They were never designed to be spiteful or mean, just a reflection of the myriad personalities hanging around in my life.  And if you ever wondered about the backing card... it's a frame of a mirror.

Bet you didn't know that.

So now you know.

Sarah 🖤