EverCreative: Catherine’s Dream Bedroom Animated to Life
As we grow older, one of the key ways to discover ourselves best is through the passions and creativity we express. With the EverCreative series, Ever Lasting brings to light artists who have pursued their own artistic talent.
Catherine, @rene.illu on Instagram, is an illustrator who collaborated with Ever Lasting to create a beautiful Strawberry Matcha bedroom animation that was inspired by our collection, and her own soft creative nostalgia growing up.
"The word I keep using to describe my art is escapism, design that invites you to peer into another world."
Table of contents
From Childhood Sketches to Creative Animated Escapism
For Catherine, creativity didn’t begin in a classroom or a studio. It began in childhood, sparked by a moment of wonder during a family trip to Disneyland. While other kids rushed from ride to ride, she found herself drawn back again and again to the animation studios, where Disney animators taught guests how to draw iconic characters. Her parents noticed her fixation immediately. That experience planted a seed, turning a childhood fascination into a lifelong artistic path.
She carried that dream with her all the way to the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she studied illustration with a focus on character design for video games. Although she ultimately realized that working in games didn’t bring her the joy she expected, Catherine’s love for character design and world-building never faded. Instead, it evolved. Today, her work is deeply influenced by Japanese aesthetics, kawaii culture, and artists like Kira Imai, blending softness with imagination and detail.
Discovering Elegant Gothic Lolita
Alongside illustration, fashion became another important creative outlet for Catherine. In high school, she discovered Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL), a fashion subculture rooted in intricate details, romantic silhouettes, and dramatic elegance. Though EGL isn’t an art style in the traditional sense, she found herself drawn to the visual storytelling within the fashion itself.
By college, she was fully embracing the subculture and noticed a growing community of artists illustrating EGL-inspired characters. Joining that world felt natural, offering another way for Catherine to combine storytelling, design, and escapism—values that continue to shape her work today.
Finding the Right Brand Match
When searching for creative opportunities, Catherine gravitated toward brands whose aesthetics felt like an extension of her own visual language. Ever Lasting immediately stood out. The brand’s soft, girly bedding sets aligned effortlessly with her illustration style, and she could instantly envision how her work might live within that world.
That alignment made the collaboration feel organic rather than forced. Instead of adapting her art to fit the brand, Catherine focused on highlighting shared sensibilities: comfort, softness, and a sense of fantasy rooted in everyday spaces.
Reimagining Nostalgia Through Animation
The idea for Catherine’s animated bedroom makeover project was born from nostalgia. Growing up in the early 2000s, she spent countless hours playing Flash-based house decorating games online. Those simple, pixelated experiences were cozy, immersive, and endlessly comforting. Years later, after watching YouTube videos reflecting on nostalgic internet culture, Catherine felt inspired to recreate that feeling.
The project became a modern reinterpretation of those childhood games. Instead of a browser-based experience, she translated that playful spirit into animation, blending the joy of virtual decorating with a contemporary aesthetic.
Take a look at these pieces featured in Catherine's project!
From Sketch to Final Animation
The chosen theme for the project was “strawberry matcha,” which guided every creative decision that followed. Catherine built the color palette around soft greens and pinks, grounded by neutral wood tones to keep the space feeling warm and balanced. Ever Lasting’s pastel bedding fit seamlessly into this vision.
With an audience of 18–25-year-olds in mind, Catherine leaned into shared nostalgia. Many viewers grew up with the same decorating games she loved, and she hoped the animation would feel instantly familiar while gently introducing Ever Lasting’s products.
"Nostalgia is the main emotion, but I wanted to bring those sorts of comfy, relaxing memories when all that really mattered was dressing up and creating your dream dollhouse."
Catherine’s creative process began with choosing a clear theme. Without one, she knew the animation would lack direction. Once the strawberry matcha concept was set, she carefully selected Ever Lasting pieces that matched the palette, particularly pastel green and pink bedding.
All furniture and elements were created in Adobe Illustrator, allowing Catherine to build clean vector assets that could be imported seamlessly into Adobe After Effects. Since the final piece was designed as an Instagram Reel, the composition was optimized for a 1920x1080 format, with intentional spacing for UI elements and motion.
Working entirely in Illustrator presented unexpected challenges. Unlike Photoshop, Illustrator is vector-based, making isometric furniture and consistent scaling especially difficult. Some pieces took longer than Catherine anticipated due to misaligned anchor points.
Animating on a laptop added another layer of complexity, particularly when moving between Illustrator and After Effects. Rendering issues arose, but through persistence and problem-solving, Catherine was able to resolve them.
Feedback played a crucial role in shaping the final project. Originally, the background featured pink stars, but Catherine received notes that the design felt overly busy. In response, she reworked the layout with a softer polka dot pattern in warm beige tones, creating a look that felt more refined and seasonally appropriate for fall.
Take a look at these pieces featured in Catherine's project!
What Catherine Hopes Viewers Feel, and Her Takeaways
At its core, the project is about nostalgia. Catherine wanted to evoke the comforting memories of childhood, when creativity was simple and joyful, and the biggest concern was designing the perfect dollhouse. Through the animation, she hopes viewers feel relaxed, cozy, and gently transported back to those carefree moments.
What Catherine is most proud of is completing the entire project in Illustrator, despite it being the most challenging aspect of the process. Achieving a final result that genuinely feels like it could belong to an early 2000s game became a meaningful milestone.
This project also marks an important step in Catherine’s artistic journey. She has been eager to expand into animation, and this work fits seamlessly into her portfolio while opening the door to further experimentation. The word Catherine uses most often to describe her art is escapism—design that invites viewers to peer into another world.
Advice for Other Creators
For artists collaborating with brands, Catherine’s advice is thoughtful and grounded: take the time to research. Understanding a brand’s style, audience, and values allows creative ideas to feel aligned rather than forced. By studying Ever Lasting’s demographic, products, and content landscape, Catherine ensured her artwork stayed true to both her own voice and the brand’s mission.
In the end, the collaboration wasn’t about compromise. It was about shared vision, nostalgia, and creating something inviting—an illustrated world that feels both familiar and new.
If you’re drawn to stories where creativity and comfort intersect, we invite you to explore more of our features capturing moments like our time with the FAST Club at UCLA; where community, artistry, and new beginnings came together during their first all-member field day. Each story reflects what Ever Lasting is about at its core. A reminder that comfort and creativity are always better when shared <3
More about EverCreative
Are you a passionate creative that values intention, creaft, and quiet design? We welcome you to EverCreative!
For more information on collaboration, or if you would like to apply, reach out to us through EverCreative@everlastingfabric.com
Check Out More Creative Stories
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