A scrumptious countdown to Christmas
This was, again, such a lovely collaboration.
Earlier this year, I was contacted by the Dutch company Van Bruggen Thee They asked me to create the graphics and illustrations for their Adventkalender of 2026.
Tea and Chocolate from Deventer
Van Bruggen Thee is a family-owned business in Deventer that sells loose-leaf tea, herbal tea, tea gift sets, tea gifts, and (not to forget!) fun and handy tea accessories. They also offer delicious chocolate products, such as their famous “Choco bombs.” These are balls of chocolate that you drop into hot milk to make chocolate milk. (Yum! Bring it on! 😁)
This year, for the sixth year in a row, Van Bruggen Thee has developed no fewer than two brand-new, super-cool Advent calendars.
One was created in collaboration with fellow Dutch illustrator Esther Bennink, whom you may know from her beautiful and warm “Cozy Illustrations.” Her Advent calendar consists of individual tea bags and postcards. Each day of Advent, you discover a new tea that comes with a postcard featuring a lovely illustration by Esther. You can hang up the cards or display them however you like.
The theme? 'Moments of Peace.'
The Advent calendar filled with nice things
The calendar I worked on was a tad bit different than the one I just described.
This one consisted of a
The calendar I worked on myself is just a little bit different.
It consists of an ‘outer box’ containing smaller cardboard boxes, one for each day of Advent.
And of course, there are gifts inside, i.e., tins of loose-leaf tea (yum), chocolate chai latte tablets (yes please), reusable cotton tea filters (handy!), chocolate treats (hmm), tea-motions (these are a kind of tea candy), a jar of honey (nice!), a small game (fun), a tea flower (beautiful to watch it bloom in the water), and a nice measuring spoon for loose tea (always handy to own). 😁
Above you see a chocolate bomb in action 😁
Credit: The beautiful atmospheric photos in this blog update
were taken by photographer Maartje Smit
Christmas illustrations
As far as the illustrations go, I didn’t actually have to design the entire Advent calendar. At least not in the traditional way you often see them.
To decorate the boxes, I designed stickers with illustrated numbers. I was also asked to create an instruction sheet, a cheerful Christmas greeting, and a card with a surprise discount code. 🤫 (shh)
For that, we reused an illustration you might remember from my Dutch December stamps from 2022 for the Dutch postal service PostNL.
Motivated by my Christmas stamp design that featured the cup of hot chocolate, I created an additional design with hand-lettered text that could be used (for instance) as a Christmas card. And this illustration ended up being included in this cheerful Advent calendar. I always enjoy seeing how an illustration like this can be repurposed in a completely different way through art licensing.
Where to buy?
If you'd like to order, you should be aware that this company is based in the Netherlands and may not send overseas or to other countries.
Be sure to check their shipping info in advance.
December is going to be a blast!
With love,
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