The Sketchbook Diaries: What Goes Into a Draw Me Drama™ Piece

The Sketchbook Diaries: What Goes Into a Draw Me Drama™ Piece

Behind every hand-painted jacket, scarf, or wall we create at Draw Me Drama™, there’s a sketchbook full of chaotic ideas, paint smudges, weird dreams, and random poetry written at 2 AM.

We sat down (on a studio floor covered in spilled pigment) with three of our artists — Isha, Wanja, and Tino — to talk process, panic, and why they never paint the same thing twice.

Q: Where do your ideas come from? And don’t say “inspiration.”

Isha (Mumbai):

Honestly? Emotional weather.

If I’m mad, I paint something sharp. If I’m hopeful, I go full rainbow riot. Sometimes it’s a phrase I hear on the street or a shape I dream.

Right now I’m obsessed with tigers and kitchen knives. No reason.

Tino (Nairobi):

Color first, meaning later. I see red, and I think drums. I see silver, I think silence. Then it becomes a face or a city. It just… builds.

Wanja (Nairobi):

My grandmother. My city. My moods.Last week I made a jacket because I was trying not to text my ex. I painted a cobra holding a rose. Therapy, but make it wearable.

Q: Is every piece planned in advance? Or do you just wing it?

Isha:

Wing it. Wildly.

I sketch maybe 10% of what I do. The rest is brush + mood + caffeine + chaos.

Wanja:

If I plan too much, I hate it. It has to feel like I’m discovering something—not executing a template.

Tino:

Some jackets ask to be slow. Others want to be done in one sitting with loud music and no interruptions. You have to listen to the fabric.

Q: What’s the weirdest place you’ve painted or worked on a piece?

Isha:

Once painted a bag while stuck in a 3-hour power cut. Used a candle, a flashlight, and sheer spite.

Tino:

On a rooftop in Nairobi, in the rain, wearing socks as gloves. No regrets.

Wanja:

Bathroom floor. Not proud. But the light was so good in there.

Q: Is there such a thing as “too much” on a piece?

Wanja:

Not in this studio.

Tino:

We’re allergic to minimalism unless it’s done with intention. We don’t do safe.

Isha:

More color. More line. More story. Always.

Q: What’s your favourite part of the process?

Tino:

The moment it turns from a mess into a mood.

You step back, and it suddenly makes sense. Goosebumps, every time.

Wanja:

When I mess up and have to work around it. The best ideas are born from the “oops” moments.

Isha:

When the customer sees it. When they say “Oh my god, this feels like me.” That’s when I know I did something right.

Q: How do you keep it original every time? Don’t you repeat designs?

Wanja:

Never. We don’t do photocopy fashion.

Isha:

The point is to make one jacket that feels like one person. Not a crowd.

Tino:

Even if we tried, our hands wouldn’t let us copy the same line twice. That’s the magic.

Q: What’s your dream canvas? Jacket? Wall? Something else?

Isha:

A moving train. Or an old sari passed down three generations. Both have stories baked in.

Tino:

A piano. I want to paint one that still plays music.

Wanja:

A ceiling above someone’s bed. So the last thing they see before sleep is a sky we created.

Q: Any advice for someone scared to wear loud, painted clothes?

Wanja:

Wear it once. Watch what happens.

Isha:

People will stare. Good. That’s proof you’re doing it right.

Tino:

It’s not just clothing. It’s a message. If you’ve got something to say, wear it louder.

Every Draw Me Drama™ piece is an experience.

Born messy. Painted boldly. Delivered with love and no repeats.

It’s not fast fashion.

It’s first-of-its-kind fashion.

Made by humans. With hands. And headphones. And probably paint on their face.