This year we had the pleasure to work with talented British artist & designer Lizzie Hillier, who created a selection of original artworks for our new range of chocolates. We travelled down to Sussex, where Lizzie lives and works, and it all began with a long walk on the South Downs...

The South Downs are an important source of inspiration for Lizzie. Living fairly close to them, she often walks around there. This is subtly reflected in her art, where she tries to capture the lights, colours, and shapes, present in the Downs, as well as conveying "that feeling of freedom you get when you're in a place as beautiful as the South Downs".

Already familiar with COCO as a brand, Lizzie accepted our invitation to collaborate and began working with our NPD team on the artwork for our new range of products; Chocolate Drops (Gold, Ruby & White) and Chocolate Wafer Thins (Seas Salt Dark & Salted Caramel Milk).

As an artist, Lizzie evaluates every project before jumping on board. She told us she was delighted to work with COCO - which was a mutual feeling on our end - because she identifies with our core values. 

"COCO really take the time to meet the artists they work with by visiting their studios and delving into their processes used to create the artwork. This narrative really comes through within the products they create, and adds weight to what you are buying as a costumer. It's not just a chocolate bar, you're buying a piece of design".

We visited Lizzie's beautiful garden studio in Sussex, and watched her work so that we could understand her process. Her work is grounded in process and a direct relationship with materials. Lizzie plays with form, colour and space, in order to build vibrant compositions.

She showed us her whole process from start to finish; from the cutting and arranging of paper, to screen-printing, looking and then adding the next layer or shape. We noticed how she builds her abstract compositions piece-by-piece and makes intuitive decisions along the way, striking a balance between something very precise but yet improvised. It was fascinating!

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