Brooke’s workspace featuring the “Look Closer” pennant by Always With Honor.
In addition to running her own illustration and design studio, Brooke Condolora created Idle Mouse, which features her products “to encourage people to use their hands for creating, to live well, and to love others.” She is also half of Brain & Brain, an independent-game design studio. We had a fun conversation, done via a live chat session.
Highlights
Moving away from doing work for clients
“I’m very blessed to have a husband who supports me in all of this. Right now, he works full-time at a job he enjoys, and that's really how I was able to quit when I did.”
Making products to sell
“I love getting to send packages off across the world, and I love hearing how people are using what I make.”
Live/Work Mini Prints available at Brooke’s store Idle Mouse
Cure for Clicking Notebook available at Idle Mouse
Receiving appreciation
“Swissmiss helped me get Idle Mouse off the ground by featuring it on her blog right after I launched!”
Not letting gender be an obstacle
“… it doesn’t matter what gender you are. You just do good work, because you love it.”
Striving to get better
“… learn well, work hard, and develop your ability to produce ideas. A great book on that is A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young.”
Brooke lives and works in Alameda, an island near San Francisco. Photograph taken with a Diana.
Full Interview
Download the transcript (compressed PDF) to find out what tools Brooke uses to visualize her ideas and get things done, why she calls herself a “Quiet Adventurer,” and more.
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All images courtesy of Brooke Condolora.
