Comical Cole creations
Illustrator Emily Cole specialises in humorous cartoons which perfectly capture the ups and downs of equestrian life. Interview by Barbara Young.
From greeting cards, desk planners and prints, to fine bone china mugs, washbags and kitchenware, Emily Cole’s distinctive designs featuring cartoon horses and ponies in “everyday” situations, are guaranteed to raise a wry smile among those of us involved in all things equestrian.
Emily, who studied architecture at the University of Lincoln and graduated with a first-class honours degree, lives near Navenby with her husband James, Labrador Ellie and cat Sid.
Although the success of her fast blossoming business means Emily doesn’t currently have her own horse, equines of all shapes and sizes have been a passion from an early age.
“It surprises people when I tell them that I have never had my own horse,” she says. “I have ridden for people who didn’t have the time to exercise their own and I would beg, borrow and steal rides where I could.”
Emily grew up in Essex before moving to the Midlands when she was 11.
“My mother, who had horses herself as a child, took me to riding lessons and she also gave me some [Norman] Thelwell books which I adored. I used to wish I could draw but always assumed the way I did it was the way everyone drew cartoons.
“I remember trying to replicate different styles. Looking back to my first drawings compared to the ones I am drawing today, I can see how much my style has grown.
“Later at university, I started to ride in the equestrian society, as well as exercising other people’s horses and for the first few years of married life we lived on an event yard, so horses were always part of my life.”
Although Emily has competed in a few events herself over the years, she says she is happiest schooling and training horses at home: “I think this is largely because I am too competitive with myself and instead of enjoying the moment, I start to pick it apart!
“As any of your readers who ride or have horses will know, the further you progress, the harder it gets and the less you feel you know!
“I have always loved that animals exist in the moment. I think it is such an important life lesson as someone who can get caught up in worrying about mistakes or the future.
“I would love to do more, but running a business has a lot of time constraints!”
London Olympics
Before Emily took up illustration as a full-time career, she was firmly set on becoming an architect and after university started work in a practice with the aim of eventually becoming fully chartered.
“It was during my degree that I began to hone my skills for procrastination and it came somewhat surprisingly in the form of drawing gangly ponies with large cartoon eyes.
“I honestly don’t know why it ended up being horses that I decided to draw, but I suspect it was because like most horse-mad teenagers, I was naturally pulled towards drawing them.
“Later on, I also used to subtly hide horses in all of my architectural sections and plans. I then began drawing my friends’ animals and started sharing them – although I used to work very hard to keep the fact that I doodled cartoon horses a secret.
“At first I was highly embarrassed by my drawings, as they would often emerge during the hours spent staring bleary-eyed into architectural details, or whilst being lectured on different ventilation strategies.
“Studying architecture helped shape my career in that before I decided to apply for the course, I had no idea that I could draw. I doodled absent-mindedly, but had never been intentionally creative.
“I would hastily shove my doodles to the back of my notebooks, or flip them over if anyone looked my way. It was a long time before I confessed all to my now husband, whom I had recently started dating.
“I recall once half flinging a drawing across the room at my husband and turning away so that I wouldn’t have to look at what I thought could only be an appalled face, but James is the most incredibly supportive person I have ever met.”
Emily graduated from university in the summer of 2012, which also coincided with the nation being gripped by London Olympics fever when Team GB won a historic showjumping gold medal. This was also to prove a defining moment for Emily and a launch pad for her success.
When British showjumping legend Nick Skelton was filmed leaping onto the podium early ahead of the medal ceremony, Emily decided to capture that special moment in a fun one-off drawing and, as they say, the rest is history.
“I spotted that Horse & Hound were asking for people to send in photos of their Olympic experiences and without realising what a life-changing step I was taking, I hesitantly sent my drawing, coupled with apologies that I knew it wasn’t a photo but ‘I just thought you might like to see it.’
“I then continued on with my day and later, while at the yard tending to the horses, my phone flashed up with an email from [governing body] British Showjumping saying that they had just seen my drawing and could I give them a call?
“Typically, my initial reaction was that I might have offended someone and that I was in trouble, but instead they said: ‘Emily, we love your cartoon, can we buy it and present it to the riders?’ which was wonderful but not quite what I expected to hear!”
Career decisions
With increasing demands for Emily’s distinctive cartoon designs, she soon realised she’d reached crunch time. Taking the giant step to move away from pursuing a career as an architect proved life-changing.
“Through a series of ‘viral’ moments I found that I was drawing in the small hours of the morning in order to meet commission requests. It became unsustainable as I was burning the candle at both ends, so I had to make a call. I thought that I would always wonder ‘what if?’ should I not go for it and looking back, I wonder if my heart was ever truly set on architecture?
“It was actually my dad who told me that I needed to make a decision – I can remember that moment vividly. My parents were amazing, but I don’t think any of us had any idea what to expect.
“One thing then led to another and I began to take on commissions. Before I knew it I was faced with the daunting prospect of abandoning my career as an architect to draw cartoon horses and after explaining to my rather confused boss, I now illustrate full-time!”
Horsey humour
Emily says part of the attraction of drawing cartoons of horses, which are known for their distinctively expressive eyes, is that they reflect her own humour.
The scenarios she creates are mainly based on her own past experiences, observations of tales from fellow horse lovers she has met over the years.
“Horses and animals are what I know. They are the things that make me laugh the most and bring the most joy. I like that whether you’re a professional trainer or someone that just likes horses, we can all laugh at the same things!
“I am always a firm believer that if you don’t laugh you cry, and it’s much better to laugh – shared laughter connects us.
“I also hope that it reminds us that we aren’t on our own, especially in a competitive world.
“I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing shared conversation about the topic of one of my drawings between Olympic riders and someone just starting in the sport – each had something to contribute.
“With horses and dogs, I think the more seriously we take ourselves, the quicker we end up humbled!”
Looking back over her success, Emily says that, workwise, every day presents different challenges.
“The things I found difficult at the beginning are very different to what I struggle with now. A big battle has been dealing with, to coin an overused phrase, ‘imposter syndrome’. I have had to learn to be brave about sharing and owning what I do.
“Becoming an illustrator has changed my life quite considerably. I started by drawing commissions from the corner of my childhood bedroom and today I have a warehouse in Lincoln, work with a team of people and own my own homeware, giftware and stationery range.
“The time it takes to create a drawing can vary depending on the number of characters and how clear an idea I have. Sometimes I can whiz through a drawing in an afternoon, while others can take me several days.”
Emily, who is heading to exhibit at Burghley Horse Trials this month, says she is now working on expanding her dog and pet range: “The pet market is significantly bigger and an entirely different customer base. My main aim, however, is to stay relatable and to make more people smile!”
For more information visit www.EmilyCole.com
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Lincolnshire Life Magazine Newsletter 12/25 - mailchi.mp/lincolnshirelife.co.uk/lincolnshire-life-magazine-newsletter-12-25