A Blush Shorty has been painted with a detailed floral design, with the edges in a pink checkerboard pattern. There is a monstera plant in a red pot beside it.

Level up your locker: a flower power Shorty

December 05, 2023

There's not much that's more Mustard than bright, bold colours. So when we discovered French artist Noémie Hay and her "very colourful universe," we thought a collaboration was meant to be.

A portrait of the artist. She has dark shoulder length hair and fine line tattoos, and wears a white shirt that reads 'self love club.'

Freelance illustrator Noémie — better known as her artist name @limistic — says her work is "mainly inspired by nature and the wonder of everyday life." Imagine a fantastical land of blooming flowers and lush leaves, scattered with stars and the odd fluorescent snake or tiger. Naturally, we couldn't help but wonder what she might do with a locker as her canvas!

Luckily, Limistic was up for the challenge. We sent her a Blush Shorty to let her imagination run wild on, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the result.

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dreaming up the design

With four sides and a top to play with, Limistic's first task was to come up with her design. "I dreamed of a piece of furniture that would be representative of my very colourful and flowery world," she told us. "I added checkerboards, a pattern that I love and that I use a lot in my illustrations, as well as a little mischievous snake hidden at the back!"

A close up of the locker door shows the artist painting a flower design over a pencil outline.

locking it in

Limistic uses a program called Procreate to make her digital art, so that's where she first drew up the design for her locker art. Once she had settled on the finished look, she transferred the drawing on to the locker in pencil. Don't worry, she says, "it erases very well at the end!" Since the drawings are very precise, she filled them in using a paintbrush.

The Shorty has been blocked out with tape, ready for spray painting. The top shows an already-painted checkerboard design.

details, details, details

A large part of the design features a checkerboard pattern. Limistic created it by using a masking tape technique, leaving only the areas to be painted visible. The trick for this part? Spray paint! "I used spray for the checkerboards in order to go faster," Limistic says. "Then it's patience! We wait for it to dry, then we remove the tape and the burrs are erased using a little white spirit on a cotton swab."

A close up of the corner of the Shorty as the masking tape is pulled back to reveal the finished product.

practising patience

"The main challenge was time," Limistic admits. "I underestimated the hours of painting that it required, and especially how long it takes to lay the masking tape straight for the checkerboards haha! It is also necessary to apply several layers of paint since some of the colours were a little transparent."

The finished Shorty sits against a white wall with a monstera plant in a red pot next to it. There is a large flower painted on the front, with checkerboard details on the edges and a star on the side.

time for the reveal!

It may have taken a little longer than expected, but all that attention to detail was worth it in the end! "My favourite part of the design is definitely the front," Limistic says, "because there is this big imposing flower that is really typical of my illustrations. You can also really see the whole checkerboard outline and I find the whole thing super cool!" You know what, Limistic? So do we!