Dotterson is a design and illustration studio founded by me, Sarah Patterson. I’m an NCAD graduate and former branding designer who creates quirky art prints, greeting cards and home-wares with Irishness at the very heart. Dotterson embraces the culture, craic, cúpla focal and nostalgia of Ireland in a way that is contemporary, joyous and vibrant.
I work from my back garden studio in Dublin where I live with my husband and three lovely boys. I started working on what was to become Dotterson in 2020. I left my design job after I had my third son and wanted to keep the creative juices flowing. As a designer in branding I was used to briefs, rules and working in many styles to suit a project. I had to somewhat throw these ideals out the window and get to the core of my own style. I am obessed with patterns and colour and had done a couple of screenprinting courses in my spare time. I wanted to combine the screenprinting concept of using layers with hand drawn type and my love of a cúpla focal. Grá, Feck it and Jaysus were my very first prints. They took a long time to create before I was happy that I had found my stride.
Since then the collection has grown hugely. I have a long list of ideas for prints. I might have a thought or hear a funny saying and jot it down on my list for future print ideas. I love having the craic with it, the freedom to create and bringing the sense of Irishness to life.
Make a statement! Be bold, be fearless and colour outside the lines
Dotterson is a registered member of the Design & Crafts council of Ireland.