We asked Rosanna a few questions about her design, her inspiration for the submission, and where you can find more of her future work.
Tell us about your design. What inspired its creation?
My inspiration for my design was two things: how nice it is at the end of a long adventure day to snuggle in your cozy sleep setup (which of course quilts are the best for,) and how big of a part of the hiking community our dogs are. Some people even take their dogs on thruhikes like the Continental Divide Trail and Appalachian Trail; over all, dogs are just a huge source of joy for pretty much all of us. Their big grins, waggly tails and infectious innocent glee just melt our hearts like chocolate on a hot day. Mountains, also, are a big source of joy; for me, mountains are my temple, my sacred space. Dogs plus mountains plus a snuggly, fluffy Revelation quilt equals happiness!
How did you find EE? What made you want to submit to the contest?
I don't actually remember how I found EE; it could have been that my old buddy Steve told me about it, or that a customer at the gear store where I worked for many years tipped me off. In any case I've been admiring EE's products for quite a few years, quietly bemoaning that I didn't have any of it yet and wishing that I did. I had made a plan to finally order a custom Revelation APEX quilt this winter for my upcoming 2023 or 2024 return to Scotland to finish the Scottish National Trail when I got the email about the contest. It was really short notice and I was headed off to Jasper National Park the next day for a four day backpacking trip to Poboktan Pass but I knew that I had to enter. Not just for the gear acquisition help that the prize would provide but because I honestly love the stuff that EE makes. EE's products really empower the outdoor community by providing lightweight, warm options. I really believe from my own experience that a lighter pack from lighter gear allows you to hike further, faster, happier. (The latter is the most important!) If you aren't in pain from your pack slowly crushing you into the ground then you are a happier human!
Are you a professional artist, or do you do it as a hobby?
I'm kind of semi-professional, I think. I make some money off of my art through my shop and I am slowly producing a graphic novel called Knife Edge which is about the threats facing our wildlife, specifically predators like wolves, but I don't do very many commissions. I don't make my livelihood from my art but that's something which I would love to see change in the future, because then I could spend all day with my cats and finally get a dog of my own to be my own four-legged hiking buddy. I was actually trained at Capilano University in North Vancouver, Canada to become a traditional animator but at the time it did not feel like the right career path for me. I still prefer sequential art and illustration yo animation; my favourite things to draw are animals, especially wildlife (my favourite environments to draw are of course mountains!)
What are your socials (Instagram, Tiktok, FB, etc.) How can people find your art?
I'm Copperbora on Twitter, Instagram, Redbubble and Ko-fi, which is also where you can find my free-to-read graphic novel Knife Edge.
Anything else you’d like to share?
The prize from this contest is an absolute dream come true for my future rematch with the 865 km (537 mile) Scottish National Trail! In late September 2020 I had just reached the 600 km (373 mile) mark in the northern highlands in my thruhike attempt when the weather took a dramatic turn for the worse. I attempted to flipflop north to Cape Wrath for a southbound finish at the Falls of Glomach only to find myself camping through Storm Alex, a hurricane which came off of the North Sea and slammed into Durness where I was. It left a deep puddle in my tent, soaked all of my gear, turning my down sleeping bag into a sopping mess. Like a crazy person I dried off my gear in the campground's laundry (which was a sane move,) then set off hiking for Cape Wrath even though the ferry was no longer running across the inlet and the weather was still profoundly awful (not sane.) (I should explain that they do military testing with live explosive ordnance on Cape Wrath so this was my last day to try for it of the season.) By the time that I got to where I could have hiked to the Cape though I had realized finally at last how bad the weather was, that I would rather experience the place under much drier circumstances, and I roadwalked through drenching rain and harshly blustering wind to the next village of Rhiconich. The conditions were so foul all day that I ended up holing up in a public bathroom overnight because I knew that if I slept in my tent I would get soaked again and I called my SNT thruhike attempt quits from there. The Revelation APEX quilt that I plan to buy with my prize from this contest is going to help me stay a lot safer when I return to Scotland to finish the SNT. It can rain for days on end there and down just doesn't dry in those constantly moist conditions plus a quilt will help me cut some weight. I will feel a lot more confident and hopefully spend a lot less time shivering snuggled under a nice dry synthetic quilt!
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