A six-pointed star with the word 'Haelsum' next to it

A playful bumblebee illustration for the book ‘Wild Bee Parade’

Client -> De Bijenstichting & KNNV Services -> Illustration Team -> Book written and initiated by Laura Surentu & Marieke van Middelkoop
A photo of a hand holding open a book on a page about bumblebees. The photo is taking outside, with lush green in the background. In the book there's information about bumblebees, as well as a page with an illustration of bumblebees in a forest.

About the project

Wilde Bijen Parade (Wild Bee Parade) is a children’s book to help kids understand the importance of bees and biodiversity. The book is written by Laura Surentu and Marieke Middelkoop, and illustrated by 40 different illustrators. I was asked to illustrate the chapter about bumblebees.
A illustration of a bumblebee on a light yellow background
An illustration of bumblebees flyrinf through a lush green forest

Exhibitions

The release of the book was celebrated with two exhibitions — one in the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam (my hometown!) and one in Children’s Museum ‘De Wereld van Kina’ in Ghent, Belgium. The exhibition was a lot of fun: it was inspiring to see the work of all the other creatives up close, and looking at my own work on the wall made me super proud!
A photo of the outside of the Natuur Historisch Museum in Rotterdam on a sunny day
A photo of a card-rack in a museum showing a greeting card with an illustration of bumblebees in a forest
A photo of a wall in a museum displaying various frames with bee-related illustrations

Want to help protect the bees? Buy a book and donate part of the proceeds to the Bijenstichting
(the Dutch organization for the protection of bees)
Buy the book ->

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Let’s get in touch!

Haelsum is a Rotterdam-based design studio offering branding, web design, digital design, and illustration for creative and mission-driven brands. Working with clients in the Netherlands and worldwide.

-> Let’s get in touch!

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