Inspired Design
At The Royal Mint, craftsmanship can be found at every level of all we produce, from coins to the special touches that make each product’s packaging a pleasure to open.
Our Wedding and Baby gift collections are no exception. We caught up with Kamal Peshawaria, the illustrator behind Minty – The Royal Mint’s first ever piggy bank – to talk about his role in creating the designs for the new range of wedding and baby gifts.
How long have you been working with The Royal Mint?
I realised that there’s a growing demand for artisan and locally manufactured products by skilled crafts people. I set up my own studio at home and began working with local clients including The Royal Mint based in Pontyclun, Wales. This was super exciting as the team were looking to design and develop bespoke products and grow their gifting offering. The Royal Mint’s vision perfectly aligned with my ethos; I feel really fortunate to be designing products that are handmade in the UK with incredible precision, care and attention to detail.
How did you approach the designs for The Royal Mint’s baby gift collection?
I essentially wanted to illustrate Farthing the bear and Wren the bird in a fun and playful way. The coins in the gift have been arranged so that the image of the Royal Arms shield, which is printed across them, comes together. I wanted to show that off, as it still surprises people who are seeing the coins presented that way for the first time. That was the starting point, so I framed each coin in a balloon, all to be held by an important character.
I then worked to create an illustration of Farthing – The Royal Mint’s own bear – named after one of the nation’s most-loved old coins. The little bear is holding all the balloons in a bunch, almost rising up off the ground. The small bird is Wren. This was inspired by the wren that featured on the Farthing coin when it was in circulation before decimalisation. The illustration was hand-painted digitally, so we could depict Farthing with a cute expression.
How do you feel about the finished range?
I’m absolutely thrilled to have created designs for a range that will be cherished and used to mark such happy occasions. I really love how the flowers come together in a wild and natural way, representing each nation, as well as so much history and tradition. I feel the final design complements, rather than competes with, the beautiful and lucky coins!