Natalia Maca is an illustrator and designer based in Regensburg, Germany. A multidisciplinary artist, she’s as equally skilled in hand-drawn illustration as she is in digital and vector design. We love how she combines color, composition and storytelling to express the messages in her work. We absolutely love the cool, confident, beautiful women she designed for our Summer Citrus label, as well as how she captured the feeling of blissful relaxation in her artwork for Mystic Mint. You can see more of her amazing work @natalia.maca on Instagram. We talked with Natalia to find out about what inspires her:

Flirty: Let’s start with two of your favorite things. What’s your favorite food and your favorite way to relax?
Natalia: My favorite food is sushi and smoothies. I also love baking and experimenting with healthy recipes. The best relaxation for me after a long day of work is hiking. Luckily, I live in Bavaria, which is just a treasure for hiking and filled with so many places to enjoy nature.
Flirty: Hiking in Bavaria must be spectacular! Sounds like being in nature is important to you. Is there something specific about it that inspires you?   
Natalia: Everything! But I really love mountains. When you’re up there breathing fresh air; it makes you feel truly free and infinite. Every hill has its pattern and story; only by climbing up, can you see all the beauty and secrets it keeps inside.
Flirty: Sounds like a very powerful experience. Do you ever work outside?  
Natalia: I do prefer to work at home with as few distractions possible. When I go out, it means I’m recharging myself or in search of new inspiration. I do like to sketch on location when I have spare time.
Flirty: Is that part of your creative process?
Natalia: I actually have a formula that helps me with my creative process: Relax-Idea-Sketching-Go. I always dive into the project with a crystal-clear mindset. I usually meditate or go for a nap or a walk. Then ideas just pop into my head, which means its time for sketching. Sketching is another exciting part of the project where I generate, polish, and bring the ideas to life. Which leads me to the final stage, and what was once an idea for a project now become alive flourishing with colors.
Flirty: Well, your creative process definitely works—your design for our Citrus Mint Tea label is really captivating! As a lover of the great outdoors, what worries you about the state of our planet?    
Natalia: Environmental issues of any kind are very sensitive subjects for me. I think every person on earth should be aware of how fragile our only home planet Earth is. Every human should feel a responsibility to educate themselves and others to care not only about the present moment but think about what we are going to leave to future generations. Humans are not even a fraction of a second in comparison with all world history, but unfortunately, we managed to destroy this beautiful place like no one before us.
Flirty: Thank you so much for spending time with us, and for your work.
Natalia: You’re welcome.