About

Asking For Trouble is the creative pseudonym of Marceline Smith, an illustrator, blogger, designer and zinemaker working from home in Glasgow, Scotland. 

Trained as a printmaker, I found a new outlet for my love of colour and pattern by designing a range of characters and patterns for stationery, fabric, gift wrap and many other products. I started Asking For Trouble in 2007 and was lucky enough to quit my job for the freelance life a year later.

Starting with doodles from my sketchbook, I work them into designs and patterns in Illustrator. Then it's the difficult job of deciding what to get them printed on - printed paper goods, fabric yardage or even cut in wood. I also license my designs to appear on everything from mugs and iPhone cases to shower curtains and rainboots!

My work is very much inspired by Japan and my visits there - I love the mix of happy kawaii characters on every corner juxtaposed by the traditional patterns of kimono and chiyogami paper. Most of all, my aim is to make you smile!

Other Projects

I've been described as a serial entrepreneur and I do like to keep myself busy! As well as Asking For Trouble, I build colourful shops and blogs for creative clients (see my portfolio) and I'm the co-founder of popular daily kawaii blog Super Cute Kawaii. I also review zines at Pushpin Zines and recently archived diskant, an independent music community that I ran for 14 years.

Contact

If you have an enquiry, or would like more information about anything, please email me at hello@askingfortrouble.org. Check my Frequently Asked Questions first, in case I've already answered it!