The Association of Illustrators

My old Association of Illustrators membership cards 1997-2004

As you can see in the photo above I was a member of the Association of Illustrators (AOI) for seven years. The contract and business information I received from the AOI during my early years as a freelance illustrator was a great help and I made good use of the hotline for advice. Later on I benefited from the social side of the AOI when I moved to Cambridge for a couple of years and got to know illustrators at the local branch meetings.

Up until myself and my partner adopted our daughter I was working full-time or more as an illustrator and managing to earn a reasonable living. While my daughter was young my work hours dropped off and though I never gave up illustration I became cautious about how much I would take on so as to ensure I could hit my deadlines. It became hard to justify paying the yearly fee so, although I missed the AOI, I stopped renewing my membership.

In recent years my commissioned illustration work has built up to the extent that rejoining the AOI seemed a necessity and was also affordable. I've just received logos and other new member materials and was touched by the wording on the image below. It's true, the AOI really are like that - they've been looking after illustrators for a long time and protecting our interests. I am very glad to be back.

Note: I should mention that during the gap in my AOI membership I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). I received a different kind of support from them, made some amazing friends and started writing. Though I've allowed my SCBWI membership to lapse I will rejoin as soon as I can.