Etsy-delphian of the Day: Stephanie Kao

You know how people are always claiming they belong in another decade? Well, I would have done quite well in the 1980s.  My favorite things include neon colors, geometric patterns, and unicorns (they had a pretty big moment when The Last Unicorn came out in ‘82), so you can see why I’ve fallen head over heels for the work of Stephanie Kao.

There’s a bit of a Patrick Nagel influence going on in her Haroku and Haruko II, but the cherubic faces, patterned fills and sweetshop palette are distinctly Kao. Of the collection, You Lick My Back, I’ll Lick Yours, is particularly brilliant, a glowing sundae of ice-cream babies that looks like a post-nuclear fallout Lisa Frank design.  All the prints currently available on her Etsy site are of illustrations that were featured in Ambrella Gallery’s Konnichi-Wow show last March.  They were each printed in limited editions of 100, so get ‘em while they last.

Kao isn’t just a talented illustrator – she hand-throws and hand-paints beautiful dishware, like this Canary Yellow Teardrops mug, or this Midnight Dew and Ivory Mum bowl. Her personal site reveals a diverse portfolio that includes an amazing fluorescent sugar skull for Topstitch Boutique’s El Dia de los Muertos show and collection of fashion sketches.  If only I could get one of those color-block dresses is my size . . .