13 Apr 2023
Deborah Heath meets one of the district’s most well-known local artists.
It is hard to live in St Albans without seeing the work of talented Hannah Sessions, from her iconic Pubs of St Albans tea towels to her map of our city centre in the St Albans Visitor Guide. She is also a familiar face at the market.
So if you have ever wanted to find out more about Hannah and what inspires her art and has driven her to be a successful, creative business woman, read on!
Hannah has lived in St Albans for more than 16 years and as you can tell from her artwork is passionate about the city.
“I love the sense of community, the pubs, the history, the market,” she said.
However, she was actually brought up in Kenya where her parents and brother still live on the family farm.
“The sense of colour is so different there,” Hannah explained. “Everything is more intense and I think that is why bright colours are so important in my artwork now.
“When I was a child, I would always be outside with paper and pens. Mr parents were really supportive of my art.”
After graduating from St Martin’s College of Art and Design where she specialised in textile design, Hannah had a few design-based jobs in big businesses including retail and publishing.
They never felt like a good fit for her though. Like a lot of artistic people, Hannah found the competitive culture suppressed her creativity.
More rewarding times involved working at Pots of Art on Holywell Hill and as a design technician at a local school.
Throughout this time, Hannah continued to create art and soon arrived at a turning point. “I did an online art course and one of the projects was to draw a map of where I lived. So, I drew my first map of St Albans and it is really similar to the map I sell now. It had the Cathedral, the Clock Tower and I painted funky bright pink roads.
“I looked at it and thought ‘Wow! There’s something in this!’”
Hannah was right – not only has her St Albans map tea towel become one of her biggest sellers but it was really the starting point of her main product line.
Next came the Pubs of St Albans design. “I just find the names so funny,” she said. “And I update it every year. I used to do a mug too and people would collect them.”
The Pubs of St Albans tea towel isn’t just popular locally, it has been sent all round the world with happy customers as far away as Australia!
But the success of Hannah’s ranges hasn’t fallen out of the sky. It has been the result of some shrewd business management. With that first St Albans map design, Hannah thought back to her textile training at St Martins: “I needed something I could print in one colour which would make it a more profitable venture. Tea towels are appealing gifts because they can be posted anywhere.
“Like greetings cards they are light for me to carry to the market every week – you have to think about these things. I loved the mugs but there were bulky and there was always the risk of breaking them.”
On this point, I asked if it was hard running your own business and whether she could offer any advice for other creative entrepreneurs.
She laughed: “I’m not sure that I would recommend it to be honest. It’s really hard work but I love that sense of satisfaction that the money you make is yours. It is worth joining a local networking group – I am in one for women who run their own
business. It’s great to have feedback and support in what is an isolated job.”
Working from home has become more common place for most of us over the last few years. I was curious about how Hannah manages the work-life balance.
“I always take a walk to work every morning,” she explained.
I was confused for a minute, knowing that her studio is in her garden.
“I go for an invigorating walk first thing, then I come home and make my coffee and then I start working. Structure is so important when you live and work in the same place. It can become isolating so I love to get out and about to exercise and see people – it helps my business that I’m a chatty person.”
One of Hannah’s proudest moments was when her commissioned giant map of Welwyn Garden City was put on the window of The Howard Centre.
“It felt amazing,” she recalled. “Everyone kept recognising my style!”
It’s not surprising – Hannah’s work seems to be everywhere in St Albans from council publications to gift shops and her name is well-known locally. But this hasn’t made her a boastful person – she has a refreshing kindness. This is probably another contributing factor in her popularity, particularly at the market.
“People come back again and again,” she said.
I asked Hannah what she is working on now. “I’m making bird collages out of recycled materials,” she explained, showing me some of her gorgeous collections.
Hannah has an amusing way of capturing the character of any creature she paints – I myself am the proud owner of her dog and cat tea towel and as we discuss this my own cats purr around her asking to be painted.
“What I’m really excited about are my house commissions,” said Hannah, her face lighting up. “I paint and frame pictures of people’s houses in my own quirky way– they can make it bespoke by choosing the colour scheme and from a number of styles. They have been so popular, especially as special birthday gifts and I’m always ready to take on more!”
I’m certainly tempted – there is something fun about Hannah’s work. Here is a true local artist – someone who captures the humour and beauty in her city . We are very lucky to have her!
http://www.hannahsessionsdesign.com/
