Chelsea Vandenberg describes her style as “cute but quirky and a little bit evil”.
The illustrator and graphic designer paints one-of-a-kind maneki-neko (Japanese lucky cats) under the label Local Crooks, and her creative references usually skew towards the macabre: black metal, horror films, dark magic.
Vandenberg’s next drop, however, is on the side of good – or at least good taste – featuring ceramic cats styled after Kewpie mayonnaise and Sriracha chilli sauce bottles.
The pieces are part of a new condiment-themed mini collection and will be available online from 6pm AEST Wednesday July 31, alongside her regular creepy-cute output.
The Melbourne-based maker paints each design only once, so the Kewpie and Sriracha cats won’t be repeated. She hasn’t ruled out a few different Kewpie flavours, though – yes, she’s aware the brand has its own take on sriracha – and some soy sauce and crispy chilli oil homages to come.
Local Crooks lucky cats start out as blank ceramics, says Vandenberg, who estimates she’s made hundreds of the waving creatures. She then uses spray paints and applies details with acrylic paint and paint pens in her home studio in Box Hill in Melbourne’s east.
“The dining room is now my home studio,” she says. “It’s a large room, but I do the spray painting and stuff in my garage in the back.”
Vandenberg says hand-detailing her creations is “my chill-out thing”. After waiting for spray paint to dry, “I just like kind of switch off and hide away … usually I’ll put on a podcast or a TV show or something and just sit there and chill out”.
Making for Local Crooks takes place in the off hours from Vandenberg’s current job as a graphic designer for Baker’s Delight.
Product drops come at the end of each month when whatever’s been produced in the past four weeks goes on sale online. In addition to lucky cats, Vandenberg also produces the occasional doll part and clown head – painted creepily, of course.
While there are still limited pieces to come in the condiment range, Vandenberg has already settled on her next mini theme: iconic snacks. She won’t be drawn on which munchies will be represented. Instead, like all her creations, the snack cats will debut on social media ahead of sale.
localcrooks.com.au
@localcrooks
Want more food-themed homewares? Read our story on prawn-loving label Mollusc House.
