Tags
animals, Arts, Collective noun, Gifts, Graphic Design, Harry Potter, Interior design, Limited Edition Print, Natalie Dee, Shopping, Visual Arts, Woop Studios, Words
LM has a birthday coming up. It’s in July. I have to get organised because, as we’ve already established (here), it is almost impossible to find a suitable (read: meaningful, gasp-worthy-in-a-good-way, unexpected, tasteful and/or funky) gift for him. I am not exaggerating. He’s a guy – if he wants something, he gets it for himself. And, before you suggest I make something, my response to that is:
- have you seen my recent post on learning to crochet, and
- I have, on more than one occasion, made something (which could possibly fall under my ‘haberdashery‘ label).

Exhibit A: the teepee embroidery I made for LM (based on a Natalie Dee Cartoon)
(Image by TSL)
And yes – I did all that embroidery by hand and it took me a hell of a long time*.
Anyway, in my search for the right gift for LM’s birthday, I came across the awesome design team that is Woop Studios. Their website says they are the graphic designers of Harry Potter, so they must be cool! In addition to the Harry Potter connection, Miraphora Mina, Eduardo Lima, Harriet Logan, and Mark Faulkner have a love of words, specifically collective nouns and terms.
They have created gorgeous alphabets of limited edition prints to reflect their love of collective words. Even better, their website also offers the visitor the opportunity to learn about and have fun with the images and phrases. Each of the images is accompanied by fascinating facts about the animal depicted.
So, the one that caught my eye first was the ambush of tigers…

‘Ambush of Tigers’ by Woop Studios
(Image © Woop Studios)
Did you know that an adult male tiger eats 150kg of meat per month? – or, that the roar of a tiger can be heard more than a mile away? – or, that tigers don’t purr? – or, that tiger stripes are like fingerprints in that no two are alike? – or even, that a tiger’s saliva contains antiseptic?
I didn’t know any of that.
Here are some more of their seriously groovy images:

‘Bale of Turtles’ by Woop Studios
(Image © Woop Studios)

‘Mob of Kangaroos’ by Woop Studios
(Image © Woop Studios)

‘Gaze of racoons’ by Woop Studios
(Image © Woop Studios)

‘Aurora of Polar Bears’ by Woop Studios
(Image © Woop Studios)

‘Zeal of Zebras’ by Woop Studios
(Image © Woop Studios)
If you want to go and check out the full collection, you can find it here. It is well worth a visit. I promise.
*So that you have some context for the embroidery, it should possibly be mentioned that LM doesn’t have a lot of hair on top. In the past, when I have suggested it may be time for a hair cut, he has been known to threaten to grow the sides so long that he will be able to form a tepee out of his hair. This would be an alternative to a comb-over, if you will. He then believes he could create little dioramas inside this ‘head tepee’ which could reflect different holidays or celebrations throughout the year. For example – Guy Fawkes, Hanukkah, Easter. This has turned into a bit of a running joke.
I think I may be in trouble for over sharing…
