Sugarluxe - Give me an "S"

As one of Sugarluxe's perkiest cheerleaders, innovative, articulate, creative and inspirational are just a few words to describe illustrator, artist and designer Chandra Michaels. I will let her explain the rest...

"The S for Sugarluxe... is emblematic of the commonalities connecting all my customers. They are undoubtedly women who are Secure and Self-Assured and just as Smart, Strong, and Sexy as they are Supportive and Sweet. The secret is to strike the right balance between these seemingly disparate characteristics."

What is your background?
I'm a UT Graduate and my education is actually in Psychology, with an emphasis on learning and cognition. I've always been fascinated by the factors that influence human performance and motivation. And for me, I'm pretty sure that the motivation behind what I do now with my life really began when I was just seven years old.

That's when I started training as a competitive gymnast. I think the discipline required and the sacrifices made then as a young athlete developed the drive in me that seems to reveal itself in everything I do.
I also think it helped me to uncover my need to create. I had to escape the pressure of such a demanding sport and drawing was (and still is) a good outlet for me.

How did Sugarluxe begin?

The Sugarluxe Brand was designed first and foremost, as a crazy, idealistic mission to minimize this destructive "Mean Girls" mentality so rampant today. But you can't just wish for that kind of sweeping social change, I think if you want something bad enough, you have to be willing to get in and risk everything to make it happen.

Creating artwork and products with which people could personally connect is simply a way I figured out that I might somehow be able to do that.

So, the identity of Sugarluxe was created long before I actually had anything to sell.

Can we see your first illustration?

Oh my gosh - I knew I might be asked this someday...

If you want to see my VERY first drawings, you would have to check with my mom. She is so wonderful for treating everything I ever made like it was a masterpiece. So, I'm certain she has them somewhere.

But this is my first full-on digital illustration. I have never had a computer class or any instruction, whatsoever...so, when I went from sketching on paper to drawing on the computer, it was really awful and awkward. I just didn't know how to make the most of this particular medium. This image took me almost two weeks to complete, now I'm lucky if I have a whole day to create a new illustration. Plus, stylistically, it's totally different from what I wanted to create for Sugarluxe.

Explain your last project?

I just returned from San Francisco. I was asked to paint a Sugarluxe Room for the Hotel Des Arts, which is one of the most talked about boutique hotels in the nation. I had two weeks to complete the entire space and it was definitely a challenge to apply my style of artwork to their highly textured walls. But what an amazing experience!

The hotel features the work of some of the most prominent pop artists alive today. So, it was an incredible honor to get to do this project. John Doffing is this unbelievably cool entrepreneur and curator who coordinated my work with the hotel. He is the founder of START Mobile and the START Soma Gallery. He is a well-respected visionary and regarded as one of the top tastemakers in the world of emerging art. We have collaborated on a couple of other projects and I feel so fortunate to have someone of his caliber believe in me and my work so much.

Here are pictures that document my time painting the Sugarluxe Room . And for those who would like to know how you can book the Sugarluxe Room (504), you can call the Hotel Des Arts or go online.

Shop Sugarluxe located within The Little Pink House at 1117 W. Fifth St. Austin TX 78703 Map >

(photo credit: Dustin Downing)

Continue reading "Sugarluxe - Give me an "S""

designer insider
posted - beth / 2:43 PM / 02.26.07