Artist Profile Kendra Dandy – Seattle Chocolate Company

Kendra Dandy

Based in Philadelphia, Kendra Dandy is known for creating colorful illustrations, cheeky, smile-inducing patterns and original art. Kendra’s designs are bright, original, cheerful and a little sassy. Each illustration provokes a conversation and is refreshingly unexpected. While trying to find a way to be involved in the fashion world, she stumbled upon the world of surface design, which allowed her to apply her painting skills in a new and exciting way to a myriad of products. In 2012, Kendra launched the brand Bouffants & Broken Hearts. Bouffants represents a sense of individuality, self-expression, and fun. Nothing about the brand, or the art, is conventional – the mix of patterns, colors, and subjects is original; designs are loud, and everyday life is reinterpreted in amusing ways. Her unique and colorful patterns are licensed globally and featured on products including bedding, decorative pillows, tabletop, tech accessories, beauty packaging, stationery, and fashion accessories.

theebouffants.com | @theebouffants

Q & A with Kendra Dandy

What do you do to get into the design zone?
I like to put on music! In quarantine I got into Soundcloud, and I like to find cool playlists like soul, house, hip-hop, R&B, a bunch of radio shows...ones that are at least an hour to three hours long, so it's a nice good stretch and you can get a lot of work done and get into the zone.
Are there reoccurring or favorite designs for you? that process.
I like to do a lot of cheetah designs, because they're really cool and fierce and fun to play with - I make them look glam, I have them doing all kinds of things, kind of give them a personified nature.
How do you hope people will feel when they open these bars and pints with your designs on them?
Basically just happy - it's a good way to brighten your day, give you some color. It's a lot cooler than you would expect from an average chocolate bar, so I just hope that people enjoy the designs and it makes them excited to eat the chocolate.

"I first discovered Kendra on Instagram and follow @Theebouffants where I was captured by her colorful, unexpected illustrations of everyday items and larger than life characters – strong women with something to say and that cheetah! I also loved the banana in heels, pink poodle applying lipstick, and of course the cone with six scoops of ice cream with a kiss on top. So creative, sassy and fun… and perfect for our Summer Scoops line. Kendra took the flavors and literally brought them to life and we are all in love."

Kirsty Ellison VP of Marketing