Coral Nathan
Illustrator • Designer • Curator
BA (Hons) Illusration • University of Brighton • 2020
Disturbia
Disturbia, a UK-based alternative fashion label, reached out to collaborate with me on a series of designs!
With a shared reverence for the natural world, the mystical, and the macabre, it felt like a perfect fit. Our journey begins with this cotton T-shirt, featuring an adaptation of my Snaking Forest Cascade design - one of my earlier works, but still a favourite.
Cynthia Spider Web T-Shirt
Tamara Castagnaro
For all the people who said they'd like to see my designs in jewellery: your dreams have come true! And I couldn’t have asked for a better artist or friend to do that with. Amazing silversmith Tamara will be turning my designs in to stunning jewellery.
We’ve a lot of ideas brewing together, but the first of out creations is our kitty jack-o’-lantern. Didn't she turn out just puuurfect? I love her so much. 🐈⬛🎃
The first of many of my designs, recreated in silver, brass and copper. She's available to purchase on Tamara's website! But only four of her will ever be made, so get in quickly before they’re sold out. I adore her little whiskers, little swirl, and her leaves!
Kitty Jack-'O-Lantern
Ghost Forager Friend
The second of our collabs: our lovely ghost forager friend! She holds a hand picked bouquet of fungi just for you. Could you ever imagine anything more darling? Once again, Tamara has outdone herself recreating my design in silver. Along with her bouquet, her sheet is studded in teeny dead man’s fingers and turkey tails.
She’s one of a kind, and has found her home. But we’ve still got a couple kitty jack-o’-lantern pendants looking theirs, and many more wonderful collabs on the cards. So stay tuned. 🐈⬛🌙♥️
The Mourning Star
I came across Ali's pins on instagram, and was immediately drawn in! I reached out to her, and found out she too had a desire to explore the secret door. So we opened it together, bringing this pin set back with us. We dove into the pages of the original book and film for our initial inspiration. Drawing from the diverse flora, fauna, and fungi featured, as well as tapping into our own imaginations.
The Secret Garden - Enamel Pin Collection
Step through the overgrown wooden door and get lost in our garden. Look for frogs, chase butterflies, follow the friendly robin, and gaze through a window framed by foxgloves. Take a seat amongst the toadstools, and breathe in the scent of wild violets. And remember, this is just the beginning of our journey together...
The Enchanted Grove - Enamel Pin Collection
In a wood that you and I both know so well, there lies a grove, not known to us quite so well. At least, not in our waking lives. But in our dreams we’ve seen it many time. The tree branches here intertwine in a canopy so dense, and yet the place is always alight with the glow of magic.
The Serene Cemetery - Enamel Pin Collection
Cemeteries are often seen as macabre; full of bodiless shadows and things that go bump in the night… but they are so much more than that. By the late medieval period in England, many of the graveyards were overflowing, and plague pits were commonplace.
The Victorians had a master plan: garden cemeteries. Carefully curated spaces sewn with all manor of flower, tree, and quiet bench. They were no longer just resting places for the departed, but places of recreation for the living. Many now serve as nature reserves too, including one of our favourites - Tower Hamlets. Many of the tombs now lie in ruin, reclaimed by blankets of morning glory vine, English ivy and fern. The air is full of birdsong, and many a fallen tree now bursts at the seams with fungi.
Swindled Podcast
I was lucky enough to work on a series of illustrations for one of my favourite true crime podcasts: Swindled.
If you haven't heard it, what are you doing? Take your red pill and listen to an episode now! You can find the show on their website, spotify or apple podcasts. A concerned citizen exposes unthinkable crimes, motivated by greed. Zine and merch (that you definitely do not need) coming soon to swindledpodcast.com!
Swindled Illustrations
Sarah Wildling
The first of our collaborations! With a shared enamourment for flora, fungi, insects and all the intricate details of nature, the secret garden was the perfect theme for me and Sarah to explore.
Stepping through the door, the secret world awaits. Peacock butterflies and emperor dragonflies fly between fern dredged pillars. Ornate keys and gardening tools, overgrown with morning glory and honeysuckle vines. Snails, clovers and snowdrops are found throughout the garden. These designs are available to claim as tattoo tickets. Once claimed, you can take your design to your local artist. Just five tickets available per design.
The Secret Garden - Tattoo Flash Sheet
Vero Beach Mermaid
Brandee Anthony also know as "Vero Beach Mermaid" is a professional photographer, social media agency and mermaid free-diving coach! She approached me to collaborate on some octopus themed apparel for her Salty Sea Siren fashion line. What a wonderful idea! And so the octo collection was born. Our giant pacific octopus holds a conch shell in his tentacle, amidst flurries of bubbles. You can don him on leggings, crop top or a matching bikini set! 🐙
The deep sea high waisted leggings are my personal favourite, but each piece is uniquely beautiful. The turquoise designs pop against a dark teal background, with nuanced details throughout. The collection is sleek and stylish for the sporty siren, and they are incredibly soft! Perfect for everyday wear, fitness and diving in!
Octo Collection
Heath Hands
I was delighted to illustrate some of the native fauna of Hampstead heath for the charity Heath Hands! This local area of woodland was a big part of my childhood, and a continual source of inspiration to me. Each design is available on 100% cotton tote bags, the sales of which will go towards supporting these beautiful creatures.
Brown long eared bat (Plecotus auritus)
European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
House sparrow ([male] Passer domesticus)
Stag beetle (Lucanidae)
& Grass snake (Natrix natrix)
Hampstead Heath Wildlife Tote Bags
Sam Deacon
Me and artist Sam Deacon are inspired by many of the same things! Lost man-made worlds overcome by nature being one of them. Here is the first (but definitely not the last) of our collaborations: Steampunk moon. A union of nature and man's ingenuity.
Sam sketched up the steampunk moon and owl, then I added the fungi and flora in the final linework.
As well as apparel, prints and vinyl stickers, this piece is available to purchase as a tattoo ticket. Only five of these tickets will be available, so message me quickly to purchase your high quality stencil. 🌿🍄
Steampunk Moon
