Growing greeting card publisher, Louise Mulgrew Designs is to donate 1% of its turnover to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, the Kenyan-based conservation charity.
Best known for its ‘Orphan’s Project’, the successful elephant rescue and rehabilitation programme, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust also encompasses anti-poaching operations, safeguarding precious wildlife habitats, mitigating human-wildlife conflict and providing veterinary assistance to wild animals in need, all of this work being underpinned by engagement with local communities.
“The SWT is a charity very close to my heart. I visited their elephant orphanage in Nairobi National Park during my second year of university and learned of the incredible and far-reaching work they do to protect and preserve wildlife in Kenya,” reveals Louise. “It marked a poignant time in my development and direction as an illustrator, and was really the inspiration for me to start painting animals. For my third-year final major project, I wrote and illustrated a picture book about a baby orphan elephant called Tibbo. Five years later, elephants feature often in my card designs and are still my favourite to paint.”
Louise was also delighted to be asked to design a Christmas card for SWT, which is being sold via the Trust’s online shop. “Any excuse to paint elephants and I’ll take it!” exclaimed Louise. “For the design, I really wanted to capture the strong bond that develops between an elephant and their keeper. As all the elephants at the SWT are orphans, the keepers fast become their surrogate mothers, even sleeping with the elephants in their stables at night so that they feel safe. The Maasai blankets that the elephants wear are used to keep the elephants warm at night and then protect them from getting sunburnt in the day.”
Louise Mulgrew’s commitment to SWT is in addition to its partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects, the not-for-profit organisation committed to reducing the negative effects of deforestation by hiring local villagers to plant trees in countries such as Madagascar, Haiti and Nepal. For every two packs of Louise Mulgrew cards ordered, Eden will plant one tree, ie for a carriage paid order of £120, ten trees will be planted.
Top: The Louise Mulgrew Christmas card design that she created for SWT.
