Babylangues Profile

It is the individuals that make up our Babylangues Community and each of them are all so talented, we feel that they deserve an article on our blog! Without further ado, we present… the Babylangues Profile!

From those that have worked in the office, to our Instructors and the founders of Babylangues itself, each individual that we have had the pleasure of working with is special in their own unique way and possesses their own talents and personal triumphs. This Babylangues Profile allows us to explore them as they should rightfully be celebrated: in all of their greatness and glory!

Beth

Some of you may know Beth as a member of our recruitment team here at Babylangues, but what you might not know is that she is also the illustrator of the drawings that appear on our social media posts. We took some time to ask Beth about her talent for drawing, and hear about her time here in Paris.

  1. First things first: Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m a third year student of French and German at the University of Birmingham and I’m doing a recruitment internship at Babylangues as part of my year abroad. After I finish here I will return to the UK to do a fundraising internship at a children’s hospice, before finishing off my year abroad studying in Bavaria.

  1. And how are you enjoying living in Paris?

I am living the Parisian cliché: every building and street that I see in this city is so photographable, the people are beautiful and elegant and I can feel justified eating 50 different types of brioche in a week…but at the same time there are parts of Paris, such as Montmartre, where the pace of life is much more gentle, and the cafés are full of familiar faces. So it’s a really crazy, varied place, and that makes living here very exciting.

  1. And now onto your illustrations: when did you first discover you love of drawing?

Well, I come from a family of artists, and have always been surrounded by creative people, but I didn’t really start drawing until last year. I was feeling stressed at uni, and so I started creating little doodles and designs, and found that that was a way to channel that stress into something therapeutic and satisfying.

  1. How would you go about starting a new illustration?

I like to draw little things, and explore the potential of domestic objects such as fruit or shoes or  glasses, so when I see something that interests me I set it as my next challenge. I find it helpful to work from photos that I have taken, and once I have the right images, I’ll normally go to my favourite café in Montmartre, sit down with a coffee, and start working on a basic outline. The staff there must think I’m quite odd, as I’ve had to draw some fairly unusual things for my Babylangues illustrations! From the initial sketch, I then move onto the shading, which informs the colour scheme that should be used later on. I really enjoy the process, but I am a perfectionist, and so nothing is ever finished in my mind.

  1. And do you think you would like to pursue a career in illustration in the future?

Drawing has become a massive part of what I do to relax in my free time, so I’m starting to feel that in the future my job will have to be connected in some way to my illustrations. I also enjoy writing children’s stories, so it would be great if I could combine these interests in my professional work! However, at the moment I am happy to keep drawing as a hobby, as my illustrations can be transformed into very cheap Christmas presents!

A self portrait of Beth