Many women in New York along with tourists have traveled to Williamsburg to take photos infront of the I’m Not A Boss Bitch. I’m A Boss, Bitch mural, which was created for Freeform’s The Bold Type Season 1, a show NYgal’s rage about. Although the mural was only up for six weeks throughout Season 1, there is currently a new mural available for everyone to take pictures infront of for the gram, which states Don’t You Shush Me. This mural will be up for a month and was specially created for Season 2 of the show, which airs on June 12.
Image Credit: Celina Kenyon
The mastermind behind the The Bold Type’s creative, positive, and instagrammable murals is Samantha Rothenberg, an NYgal originally from Long Island who is now a resident of Williamsburg and the owner of Brooklyn-based stationery company Violet Clair. In honor of the show’s Season 2 premiere, NYgal took the time to chat with Rothenberg about her journey as an illustrator in Manhattan as well as on her big break with designing murals for The Bold Type.
Image Credit: Samantha Rothenberg
Q & A with Rothenberg:
How long have you been creating these amazing and positive illustrations?
I’ve been doing illustration professionally for about three years. When I first started, I was going through a phase where I was really into cooking and wanted to focus mainly on food illustration. I realized that didn’t feel right, and was having a hard time finding work. After a while, and a lot of practice, my true voice began emerging– and that voice is a lot more brash and humorous.
What inspired you to illustrate illustrations as the ones you currently create? Where do you get ideas from?
Ideas rarely come to me when I try to think of them. They usually hit me at odd moments like when I’m sitting on the subway, or waiting in line for the bathroom at a cramped bar. I try to always write them in the notes section in my phone so they don’t get lost forever!
Was your big break when you created the I’m not a boss bitch. I’m a boss, bitch for Season 1 of The Bold Type? How were you approached for this project?
Freeform found me on Instagram and approached me about the project via email! They felt my tone and style were a perfect fit for the project and asked me to submit a few proposals, and the rest is history!
Are you working on anything special at the moment?
I just revamped my greeting card line which I am super excited about. I’m also working with Freeform’s The Bold Type on a fun project for Best Friend’s Day.
What do you look forward to with your illustrations in the future? Do you look forward to doing more work for shows like The Bold Type?
The projects I do for The Bold Type are SO incredible, and of course I’d love to continue doing them! I’d also love to do a book with comics and awkward stories from my life.
What message do you have for the women of New York through your work?
I hope my work encourages women be proud of who they are and unafraid to stand up for what they believe in.
Feature Image Credit: Celina Kenyon
