amy in wonderland

After spending a few moments studying a collection of charms by designer Amy Allison, one is left wondering, is there a secret door into Amy’s hand-drawn dream-like world? Just how can one get the secret key required to enter this wonderland of little bunnies hopping through fields of poppies? Does one need a password to peer at the love-struck pair of young birds, fluttering about a forest and kissing along the way? Perhaps there will be tall ladder to climb to view the flittering butterflies happily resting on sweet-smelling flowers and colorful wild weeds?

Then, after further studying Amy’s products, you begin to ponder where this imaginative world resides. This wonderland of creatures rivals the compelling creativity of Walt Disney in his early days. Ironically, to make the story all the more whimsical and filled with a preserve of paradox, Amy’s art studio and corporate office are actually located in the middle of the urban cityscape of Chicago. She works, with no exaggeration, less than 50 yards from an industrial working train line. Hardy the imaginative fairy-tale surroundings featured on her products. Yet this is where Amy founded her company, Soda, that designs and manufactures products all based on her sketches. The drawings include playful wild wilderness animals, butterfly-filled forests, and romantic robots that simply must have crawled right out of her wonderland of dreams.

Even more fascinating is the fact that Soda produces items that, to be completely frank, could be purchased just about anywhere. A sketchbook. A ceramic cup. A pillow. Yet consumers find themselves entranced by Amy’s work resulting from the charm of handmade pieces, the wit of her etchings, and the attention to design details and proportions. Her products differentiate themselves from the crowd by allowing the owner to join her captivating world. One young professional displays her ceramic cups on her bathroom vanity, stocking item with a mountain of cotton balls, a cascade of Q-tips, and a few colorful toothbrushes. Another consumer gave a Soda drawing book to her daughter. It now travels in her school backpack everyday and is filled with never-ending doodles and stories. And just last week we encountered a chef who uses his small Soda mug as a pinch pot for sea salt right next to his main cooking stove.

The beauty of Amy’s products is their invitation to become a playful and creative child again. Soda items feature foolishly-charming simplicity that emotionally appeal to your spirit and make you, unknowingly, smile for a few moments. The product line has recently expanded to include both silk-screened fabric and custom wall coverings available by the yard. All of the coverings are produced by hand, on an order-by-order basis, allowing the consumer to purchase just enough wallpaper to adorn a child’s nursery wall with a whole world of fluttering lovebirds.

Amy Allison holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Fine Arts in Furniture Design, as well as Arts and Design. She has worked as a furniture, accessory, and interior designer for companies including Holly Hunt and Troscan Design which are located throughout seven showrooms nationwide. Her career path also includes time at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. She launched her company Soda in 2006 and is currently sold in over 80 local and national retail chains.