Review: Perfect tree shapes

Perfect tree shapes by Fran Meneses
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVE FRAN SO MUCH!!!

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's try to keep the fangirling to a minimum here, Chels.

Fran is a Chilean Freelance Illustrator living in England with her husband Ed, and their two amazing cats, Hamburguesa and Cereal. She owns an Etsy shop under the name Frannerd and also makes Youtube videos/vlogs about her life as a freelance illustrator, offering tutorials on different techniques used as well as reviews of art supplies, thoughts on the industry, tips for fellow artists, as well as her own hilarious fangirling over all things to do with stationary, graphic novels, Sailor Moon, and other general awesomeness. I have been following her for a couple years now and I genuinely love her. Maybe it's creepy to say this, but I think we could be friends in real life - my boyfriend has also said he could picture us getting along so maybe I'm not so creepy after all...but I digress....

She is an inspiration, to say the least; her artwork and illustrations are brilliant and the way she truly works her hiney off in such a cut-throat industry is admirable. I'm so happy to see her finally getting the recognition she deserves and this little travel journal that she has designed, illustrated, and produced completely on her own (yes, she printed and bound each and every one of the copies sold herself), is just amazing to me.

The illustrations are incredibly cute and quirky with thoughtful detail - her signature style has an almost child-like whimsy and it comes through in each page as she takes us along with her and her friend Monse during their trip to Paris and London in 2014. Fran recounts with both honesty and humour the trials and triumphs of travelling with your best friend in cities not so familiar to either of you - everything from getting lost, to getting hangry, to getting choked-up over brilliant sunsets in a city as beautiful as Paris. In between the main story, Fran also offers helpful tips on where to go and what to see, such as museums and popular attractions, complete with cutely drawn maps, as well as delicious places to eat in each iconic city.

Overall, it reads very much like an actual journal, offering the same intimate feel as a diary as Fran also reflects here and there on her life living abroad thus far and the difficulty of missing her family and friends back in Chile. She describes the tough decisions that she and Ed have had to make in order to afford to stay in Germany (where they were living at the time of her writing) and wonders whether they had made the right decision in following their dreams to live in Europe. Each illustration that accompanies the text is so thoughtful, so sweet, and I absolutely loved getting an intimate glimpse into their lives through this little graphic travel journal.

I truly encourage you to check out her artwork, videos, and her Etsy shop, and of course this travel journal as well!

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