SQUEAKY BINDERS
Racing Hares
6 Designs
Lord Haresworthy, Lady Haresworthy, Harry Flutter, Blue, Green, Purple.
Available as
Squeaky’s First Choice Edition Illustrated Notebook
Our First Choice Edition handmade notebook contains all the ‘Racing Hares’ illustrations with plenty of room inside for all your creative writings - makes a great gift too.
Squeaky’s Special Edition Illustrated Notebook
Our Special Edition handmade Notebook has a truly distinctive hard case cover containing all the ‘Racing Hares’ illustrations and pages inside ready to be filled with all your lovely words.
Art Cards and Postcards
6 ‘Racing Hares’ designs available as individual Art Cards with envelopes. Postcards available too.
Art Cards Wallet Gift Set
Complete set of 6 Art Cards presented in an eye-catching folding wallet to keep them safe and on display.
The ‘ Racing Hares’ Range
For a day at the races. They’re off.
Inspiration and technique
Strange times, living through the first Lockdown, but the isolation with some time and space gave my imagination the freedom to run riot.
After ‘Party Bears’ the hares were next on my list and I wanted my reinvention of this engaging animal to be quite different.
I began simply with multiple sketches of hares running considering some form of animation as a possibility - a flip book perhaps or… but then the ‘Lockdown effect/madness’ took me down a completely different and most unexpected course - the racecourse!?
Making the leap
Not sure exactly how the hares ended up wearing jockey’s silks, but they did, and soon I found myself researching colours, shapes and designs, drawing them on and worrying about jodhpurs or indeed the lack of!
Of course hares run races!
Audrey Hepburn versus Philip Treacy
So naturally Ascot, Ladies Day, the Royal Enclosure etc followed my unlikely line of thought with some well-to-do owners dressed up to the nines, next for my pencil to invent.
Who can forget that fabulous black and white dress and stunning hat worn by Audrey Hepburn as Eliza in ‘My Fair Lady’? “Sooo Ascot”, ideal I thought but those unmistakeable hare ears just didn’t look right folded down under that wide brim! My Lady Haresworthy character needed something different, something more Philip Treacy.
Sorry Audrey!
Harry Flutter the Bookmaker
So what can I tell you about Mr Flutter, the bookmaker? There’s something of an eighties yuppie influence going on here I think! He wouldn’t be out of place on the Stock Market floor either too with his bright blue shirt, tie and vivid red braces.
I really enjoyed creating this flamboyant character so much - the red pencil tucked behind one ear and the flashy blue mirror effect sunglasses were the finishing touches for this savvy hare.
I think he knows a fair bet when he sees one and makes loads of money at the racecourse!
Be the first past the post with ‘Racing Hares’
“Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people”
— W C Fields.